Attendees at last year’s Joining Hearts party. Organizers anticipate a return to the Civic Center this year will facilitate larger crowds. (Photo by Sher Pruitt)
We are family Joining Hearts returns to the Civic Center for its 21st year
JOINING
HEARTS
won’t
be
at
the
Piedmont
Park
pool
this
year
as
it
was
in
2006
and
2007,
but
event
Chair
Kerry
Loftis
expects
the
annual
fundraiser’s
famous
atmosphere
of
fun
to
prevail
as
it
returns
to
the
Atlanta
Civic
Center
on
July
26.
“I
think
it’ll
still
be
the
same
spirit,”
says
Loftis,
an
Atlanta
realtor
who
first
came
on
board
with
the
fundraiser
as
a
volunteer
bartender
in
2001.
“It’s
like
a
big
family
reunion,
and
it’s
one
of
the
highlights
of
everyone’s
summer,”
he
says.
This
year,
the
Joining
Hearts
board
welcomes
Los
Angeles
DJ
Roland
Belmares
to
man
the
turntables
at
the
annual
throwdown,
which
benefits
AID
Atlanta’s
housing
program
and
Jerusalem
House.
Loftis
says
that
some
partiers
may
miss
the
pool,
but
there
are
certain
benefits
to
hosting
the
party
at
the
Civic
Center.
“It
does
allow
us
to
have
more
attendees,”
Loftis
says.
“Last
year,
we
were
right
at
our
max
attendance
level
with
right
around
1,700
people
at
the
pool.
The
Civic
Center
gives
us
the
ability
to
have
more
attendees
this
year
than
normal.”
The
more
the
merrier
is
certainly
true
when
it
comes
to
both
the
crowds
at
the
party
and
meeting
the
group's
fundraising
goals,
both
of
which
Loftis
hopes
will
break
records
this
year.
“Last
year,
we
raised
$82,500,
which
brings
us
to,
in
our
20-year
history,
a
total
of
$866,500,”
Loftis
says.
“This
year,
we
would
really
like
to
hit
the
$1
million
mark
for
our
historical
donations.
With
the
state
of
the
economy
the
way
it
is
right
now,
we’re
not
sure
if
that
will
happen
or
not,
but
we
would
at
least
like
to
be
able
to
donate
$100,000
this
year.”
So
far,
Joining
Hearts
is
ahead
of
schedule
on
both
ticket
sales
and
contributions
already
in
the
coffers,
he
adds.
THAT’S
MUSIC
TO
THE
EARS
of
Tracy
Elliott,
executive
director
of
AID
Atlanta.
The
organization’s
housing
program
has
been
a
recipient
of
Joining
Hearts
proceeds
since
the
event's
inception,
and
Elliott’s
grateful
for
the
important
role
it
plays
in
AID
Atlanta’s
work.
“It’s
very
focused
on
one
specific
need
among
the
many
needs
created
by
HIV
and
AIDS:
preventing
homelessness
among
AIDS-affected
people
and
families,”
Elliott
says.
“This
is
a
huge
unmet
need.”
And
Loftis
and
the
rest
of
the
board
are
dedicated
to
continuing
meeting
that
need.
“One
hundred
percent
of
our
ticket
sales
and
our
donations
from
the
bar
goes
strictly
to
our
beneficiaries,”
he
says.
For
his
part,
DJ
Belmares
is
grateful
for
the
role
he’s
able
to
play
in
providing
housing
assistance
to
Atlantans
in
need.
“It’s
always
nice
to
play
for
a
charity,”
he
says.
“Number
one,
I
think
it’s
only
right
to
give
something
back
in
some
small
way
to
a
community
that
has
supported
me
all
this
time.
And
number
two,
when
you
know
that
the
organization
you
are
doing
it
for
in
turn
does
so
much
good
for
the
local
community,
how
can
you
not
want
to
be
a
part
of
it?”
THIS
YEAR’S
PLAN
is
to
take
Joining
Hearts
above
and
beyond
its
past
incarnations
by
creating
more
awareness
of
the
event
through
promotional
pre-events,
which
have
taken
place
in
recent
weeks
at
venues
including
WETbar,
Blake’s
and
the
Heretic.
Loftis
says
this
is
the
result
of
some
new
blood
within
the
planning
committee.
“Probably
60
percent
of
our
board
is
all
new
members,
and
we
had
all
come
to
the
consensus
that
we
really
need
to
push
the
event
in
order
to
take
it
to
the
next
level,”
he
says.
“Last
year
was
our
biggest
as
far
as
donations,
we
had
$10,000
just
as
tips
from
the
bar,
and
we
had
a
record
number
of
attendance.
"After
last
year,
we
just
saw
that
this
thing
is
really
starting
to
grow
and
get
bigger
and
bigger,
and
we
need
to
restructure
things
and
try
to
continue
that
growth.”
In
addition
to
the
promotional
events
and
the
main
party
itself,
there
are
a
few
peripheral
events
centered
on
Joining
Hearts
weekend,
including
WETbar’s
official
after
party
with
DJ
Bryan
Pfeiffer.
In
addition,
the
Heretic
will
donate
a
portion
of
the
door
proceeds
from
its
July
26
evening
with
John
Miller
to
Joining
Hearts,
and
C2
Production’s
Chris
Coleman
presents
a
Joining
Hearts-benefiting
tea
dance
on
July
27
at
Opera.
The
C2
party
is
also
the
Atlanta
stop
of
the
2008
Global
Groove
Tour,
and
features
local
DJ
David
Knapp
at
the
tables.
“It
just
kind
of
came
together,
and
everybody’s
really
excited
about
doing
both
events
under
one
roof,”
Coleman
says.
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