For Black LGBTQ+ Atlantans, Sundays in Piedmont Park have long been an unofficial event, until nine years ago when organizers of the first Pure Heat Community Festival turned the unofficial park gatherings into a massive cultural event. This year, the free festival is returning to Piedmont Park on Sunday, September 5, after organizers postponed it in 2020 out of safety concerns for attendees at the height of the global pandemic. A highlight among the extensive list of events offered over Labor Day Weekend during Atlanta Black Pride, the festival is a significant visual representation of the collective power and visibility of Black LGBTQ+ people, with organizers seizing the opportunity to honor and showcase the business acumen and artistic prowess of Black openly LGBTQ+ leaders and entertainers in the community. 

This year’s honorees include Lemuel Plummer (CEO, Zeus Network), Malik Brown (Director of LGBTQ Affairs, City of Atlanta), and Raquell Lord (Legendary Entertainer). Actor Ryan Jamaal Swain (POSE) will also make an appearance. Newly out rapper Da Brat is scheduled to deliver a headlining performance during her first appearance at the festival, and will also be honored along with her partner Jesseca “Judy” Dupart. 

The Reckoning spoke with Melissa Scott, CEO of Traxx Girls, and also a co-founder along with Bishop O.C. Allen III of Pure Heat Community Festival about her plan to deliver a spectacular and safe event despite the COVID-related challenges of producing a festival of this magnitude. 

“We were obviously ecstatic to be able to bring the festival back this year,” says Scott. “We were kind of on pins and needles because the mayor's office had a moratorium against accepting large event applications.” 

An early cap on festival attendees at 1,900 by Bottoms’ office far exceeded the number of attendees at previous Pure Heat Community Festivals. Scott says she was prepared to operate within the new capacity limit, but luckily, Bottoms’ office increased the capacity, which allowed organizers to produce the type of event attendees expect. But there was another obstacle. 

“Unfortunately, it got tricky because they had given the park to the Atlanta Jazz Festival without considering Atlanta Black Pride,” she says. So our wonderful mayor came and fixed that. She went back to the Jazz Festival, and was like, ‘Hey, you guys have to share the park.’” 

Having to share Piedmont Park with another popular event will not be the only change attendees will experience this year. The previous festival location at the entrance of Charles Allen and 10th Street will now move to the promenade and water fountain inside the park. The food and merchandise vendors that attendees have enjoyed over the past nine years will continue to be a mainstay during the festival, with alcohol provided by Premier Events and the vodka brand Tito’s. 

“We're growing so much bigger now,” says Scott, who tells The Reckoning that she has been “completely hands on this year,” including the implementation of a plan to keep attendees safe amidst a surge in the Delta variant. 

“We have areas for people that literally just want social distancing, six feet apart. We'll have an area dedicated to just that. The City of Atlanta gave us about 40,000 masks. We'll have those on hand and we'll have individual hand sanitizers for every single attendee as well,” she says. 

Organizers of Music Midtown announced earlier this month that they would require festival attendees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or present proof of a negative test. Scott says implementing a similar requirement for the Pure Heat Community Festival is not included in their safety plan and is costly. 

“They [Music Midtown] are a ticketed event. At the same entrance that they're verifying and validating your ticket, they're able to add a small layer that says, okay, scan your ticket and let me see your COVID vaccine card or your proof of a negative COVID test,” she says. “We don't have fencing up at our event. We don't charge to get in. So to add fencing to Piedmont Park is about $60,000. Well, that's the cost of our entire festival. So that's our whole budget. Music Midtown, they're making $10 million. So adding a $60,000 layer for a fence where they can validate some things gives them a luxury. The best we can do is obviously provide the masks, the hand sanitizers, and the social distancing spaces,” says Scott. 

LGBTQ Artists Take Center Stage 

In the nine years of its existence, the Pure Heat Community Festival has become a magnet for celebrities like Brandy, Monica, Tweet, Faith Evans, and Kelly Price, among others. In a move that signals a departure from straight allies as headliners at Black PRIDE-related events, organizers have elevated newly out lesbian rapper Da Brat to headliner status. 

“Brat, she's walking in her own light now. She's been in the closet 30, 40 years. So, she's out, proud, happy, and in love with a woman. It’s the perfect opportunity to have her perform,” says Scott. 

Along with Da Brat, Scott says the festival will also feature performances from local artists and artists of trans experience while continuing to provide a platform for J-Sette crews to battle it out before thousands of spectators. 

The Pure Heat Community Festival centers on Black LGBTQ+ people, but Scott says all are welcome. 

“We put this festival on for people that love all people. Everyone is welcome. Now you should not come if you don't love all people. But this is a festival for those that love all. How can you look at that in a negative light?”