He and his partner, Ben Bryson, came to Atlanta this weekend to help friends participating in the parade with the Hotlanta Square Dance club. Sunday's event was the eighth Atlanta Pride Festival for Gary Monday, of Asheville, N.C. The festival was sponsored by Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, Bud Light and others. 'As society as a whole has started to change, it's become a happy occasion and less of a ‘we-have-something-to-prove' event.'īritt, 44, noted the rise in mainstream corporate sponsorships and plethora of participating politicians as a sign the event has become popular with groups outside the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. 'I think it has evolved organically from less of a protest to more of a celebration,' said Rogers, 44, who represented the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Georgia with Britt. The Avondale Estates woman, who participated in Sunday's parade alongside her partner Kathy Britt, said the event has changed notably since she first attended more than 20 years ago. Chris Rogers recalled when the Atlanta Pride Festival numbered less than 2,000 people.
