[caption id="attachment_4986" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Atlanta proudly celebrated it's 40th Annual Gay Pride!"]

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The weather could not have been more pleasant for the

40th Annual Atlanta Gay Pride Weekend

. Saturday and Sunday, Piedmont Park was filled with people from all walks of life coming together for the most festive weekend of the year.

[caption id="attachment_4987" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Brian & Jenny Leahy"] 

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I had a prime location on 10th Street. Not only did I find shade, but found a party as well!  I was a guest of a colleague, Brian Leahy, who, with his wife Jenny, hosted a big cookout at their place. This was the way to go. Great company, great food and too many cocktails at a prime spot. Happy Pride!

The Pride parade which ran for a solid 90 minutes+ did not disappoint. The floats seemed more elaborate and colorful. As usual, there was a strong political and religious presence mixed in with all the drag queens, non-profits, restaurants, corporations, night clubs and radio stations.

Atlanta favorites, Baton Bob, Nicole Paige Brooks, Bubba D. Licious and Project Q's Matt Hennie were doing their enthusiastic and respective roles in the parade. And that's just to name a few. Check out the photo gallery to see all the incredible supporters.

[caption id="attachment_4988" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="One of my parade favorites are the "dykes on bikes" that start off the event and set the tone with such great energy!"]

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[caption id="attachment_4995" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The fabulous Nicole Paige Brooks!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5001" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Wells Fargo went all out in a beautiful red horse drawn carriage to celebrate the 40th Annual Atlanta Gay Pride."]

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[caption id="attachment_5002" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Gay Pride wouldn't be the same without its share of eye candy!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5007" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Another Atlanta staple, Baton Bob, doing what he loves most, swirling his baton!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5010" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The famous Armorettes!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5013" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Gay friendly Orbitz."]

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[caption id="attachment_5015" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The Digging Dykes of Decatur!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5016" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The 20th Annual AIDS Walk Atlanta is next Sunday October 17th!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5018" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="We three Queens, representing Pets Are Loving Support! Bubba D. Licious, Erica Lee, Deserie Storm!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5020" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Chris Kids, an important organization for GBLT youth, look into them."]

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[caption id="attachment_5023" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Youth Pride is another group for GBLT youth work checking out."]

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[caption id="attachment_5024" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Matt Hennie, the genius behind the very popular ProjectQ Atlanta, stop over to say hello and snap a picture, when I snapped one back!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5026" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="I have a thing for butterflies."]

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Gay Pride is a celebration of life and diversity. We need to go deeper than that. Now more than ever, we must go beyond tolerance and embrace acceptance. Human life is precious. One suicide, one beating is one too many. The hatred, violence and bullying must stop!

Take action and save lives through The Trevor Project.

[caption id="attachment_5027" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Please do your part to save a young life. Check out The Trevor Project."]

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