Hello All,
I wanted to give you all an update on Atlanta Pagan Pride Day 2019.
Short version: Due to some logistical challenges which have arisen while planning a change in event venue, we have just made the official decision to shift our focus toward planning a full Atlanta Pagan Pride Day 2020, in a new venue. We will NOT hold a full Atlanta PPD in 2019. We are working on plans to have a paired down Atlanta PPD 2019 gathering this fall, which will be much more informal and will not involve vending, but the details of that are not available at this time.
We had really hoped that the plans we were working on would come together in time to make an announcement for a full 2019 Atlanta PPD event. However, we are two months away from our target date, and some of the critical components are still not firm enough to be able to be able to officially announce the event or open up registration for vendors.
Longer version:
As many of you are probably aware, we have been working on finding a larger venue for Atlanta Pagan Pride Day for several years. We have really, really enjoyed the peaceful space and the welcoming nature of the Friends Meeting, but we have definitely stretched the capacity of that space to its limit. Additionally, parking, which has always been a challenge, has become increasingly more difficult over the years. This is in part due to increased street parking restrictions in the area paired with an increase in our attendance numbers each year. The final tipping point on parking was last year when we discovered that the parking lot, that we have been relying on for the past 10 years, was not going to be available to use for future events. While we have gotten pretty adept at folding space to fit people and booths into the event space, ultimately it was the loss of enough viable parking around the Friends Meeting which has made a change of venue an absolute necessity.
Last fall we relaunched the search for a new venue which would check all of the “need to have” boxes and as many of the “nice to have” boxes as possible. I am sure that you can imagine that finding a location which meets all of our space needs, is within Atlanta, and which is within our budget, is quite a challenge. Some of you may have even been involved in past location search campaigns.
Last fall, we thought we had found a great relocation option, and we have been working toward planning for that move. However, we have had a number of concerns pop up which needed to be addressed, and fairly recently some larger challenges have popped up and we are no longer certain that location is going to work out for this year. We do have some viable leads on some other locations, but we are running short on time to pull that switch in time for a full event this year. Planning an event on short notice is possible to do. However, vendors, performers, and class presenters all need time to plan, prepare, and to get events on their calendar.
We are hoping to hold a paired down, shorter Atlanta PPD gathering opportunity for the community, in place of the regular event for 2019. However, we do not have any official plans to announce at the moment.
I will post when there is news to share.
Blessings,
Lady Arden