World AIDS Day is December 1st, and there’s plenty going on around town to commemorate the event.
* The City of Memphis Office of Youth Services is hosting the 2nd annual World AIDS Day event on Thursday, November 29th at 4 p.m. at the Glenview Community Center (1141 S. Barksdale). The event features speakers addressing HIV/AIDS awareness, commemorating those who have passed, and celebrating treatment and prevention victories.
* Christ United Methodist Church is hosting a World AIDS Day service from noon to 1 p.m. in their Wilson Chapel on Friday, November 30th. Friends for Life director Kim Daugherty and CMC senior pastor Shane Stanford will speak. For more, go here.
* There’s a World AIDS Day Kick-off Party (hosted by the Mid-South AIDS Fund) at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Steven Bares on Friday, November 30th at 7 p.m. Cocktails will be served and hors d’oeuvres will be provided by The Majestic Bar & Grille. There’s a suggested donation of $50 per person or $75 per couple. For more information, call Evan Hurst (901-729-9439) or Elizabeth Rincon (901-413-6983).
* Christ Missionary Baptist Church will host a Faith and AIDS Conference on Saturday, December 1st at 8:30 a.m. The conference includes breakfast, workshops, and a screening of the documentary, The Gospel of Healing. Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region will be on-hand between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. providing free HIV testing and prevention counseling. To register, go to http://faithandaids.eventbrite.com or call Christ Missionary Baptist Church at 901-948-9786.
* Choices is hosting a screening of Love Choice, a love story written and directed by Memphian Phil Darius Wallace and produced by Caritas Village with funding support from the Mid-South AIDS Fund. The free screening begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 1st at Malco’s Studio on the Square. Coffee and donuts will be provided. The film will be followed by a Q&A.
* Later that day, Caritas Village will host the opening reception for its “Life Over AIDS” exhibit. It lasts from 2 to 4 p.m. and features art by Liz Bass, Jamond Bullock, Lauren Beyer, Phyllis Boger, Mary Bowman, Lindsey Byard, Marilyn Califf, Maria Ferguson, Lurlynn Franklin, Dawn Kimble, Marcellous Lovelace, Carl E. Moore, Darlene Newman, Tammy Groves Thornton, Sarah Ray, Frank D. Robinson, Malik Seneferu, and Bill Piacesi.
* The South Memphis Alliance is hosting a World AIDS Day health fair at Towne Center at Soulsville (915 E. McLemore) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 1st. The fair will include information on prevention, treatment and care, including female condom demonstrations and HIV testing. Snacks will be provided.
* Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital’s Community HIV Network is holding a World AIDS Day ceremony on Saturday, December 1st at 5 p.m. at the Mississippi River Greenbelt Park. They’ll be lighting and launching a floating water lantern to remember those lost to HIV/AIDS.
* Also, don’t miss the ongoing World AIDS Day Marker Project at First Baptist Church (East Parkway at Poplar). White sticks with red ribbons on the church’s lawn represent the 2,924 Memphians who have lost their battle with HIV/AIDS.
