Hope Springs Eternal 5K: May 10

The fifth annual Hope Springs Eternal 5K Fun Run/Walk begins Saturday, May 10, at 9 a.m. in the Main Pavilion in Decatur Square (registration from 8-8:45 a.m.). Walkers are welcome, and dogs and strollers are OK.  Others are welcome to cheer or to volunteer to help on race day.  T-shirts, food and prizes are included.

This event raises funds for important community awareness-building activities and Hope's educational programs, including the targeted "Hope in our Soul" and "HIV Vaccine 101" series presentations throughout Atlanta.

Funds raised from this year's efforts will help with the development of new programs aimed at young lesbian/gay/bisexual/queer/transgender adults and African-American women on their role in HIV/AIDS advocacy and prevention research efforts.  

Sponsorship is generously provided by Abbott, Blake's, MixIt Marketing and Landscape Expressions, along with support from Action Cycling Atlanta, Chik-fil-A, Metrotainment Cafes, Feast, Publix, Especially Baskets, Urban Body Fitness, Atlanta Bread Company and Standard Press.

To register for the race by May 7 ($25), go to www.active.com or www.rungeorgia.com or register at the Main Pavilion location in Decatur on race day ($30).  

Educational Lunch on HIV Treatment: May 12

Dr. Ian McMillen will discuss HIV/AIDS laboratory tests and medications for those  who are infected and want more information on the latest in treatment options. A free lunch will be served. Sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Holiday Inn, Decatur
130 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030

• "Understanding Your Labs": 11 to noon
• "Helping you stay on top of your HIV -- Atripla": 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
• Lunch served at 12:30 p.m.

"The Normal Heart" Play Reading: May 12

Larry Kramer's 1985 play, "The Normal Heart" was among the first plays to deal with the then-still-emerging AIDS pandemic. Now, a special one-night-only reading of the play by a celebrity cast will benefit the Emory Vaccine Center.  The reading is sponsored by the Emory Vaccine Center and Action Cycling Atlanta (www.actioncycling.org) in conjunction with The Names Project (www.AIDSQuilt.org), which is the custodian of the AIDS Quilt. It takes place Monday, May 12 at 8 p.m. at the home of the Names Project's AIDS Memorial Quilt Building at 637 Hoke Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30318-4315.

The benefit reading stars Mitchell Anderson ("Party of Five"), Dan Butler ("Frasier"), Peter Paige ("Queer as Folk"), and Amanda Bearse ("Married with Children"). Bearse also will direct the show.

"The Normal Heart" is a searing drama about the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and the formation of the nation's first AIDS service organization. It originally was staged at New York's Public Theatre on April 21, 1985.  It is a tale of the fear, denial, anger, love, and, ultimately, heroism of those whose lives were forever changed during those first terrifying years of the AIDS crisis.

Executive Director of the NAMES Project Foundation/AIDS Memorial Quilt says, "The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the perfect backdrop for a reading of Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart," as both are powerful artistic responses to the AIDS pandemic. The Quilt and the play both offer, through their poignant stories, the chance to reflect on our history and to prepare for the important work ahead, including the crucial work of the Emory Vaccine Center."

A picnic dinner and drinks are available beginning at 6:30 p.m. For prices, to purchase tickets and for further information, please visit www.actioncycling.org of www.xorbia.com/tickets/heart.

"Hope in our Soul" Symposium: May 14

Co-sponsored by the Hope Clinic, SisterLove, Inc, National AIDS Education & Services for Minorities and Hopewell Baptist Church

This educational symposium features Bishop William Sheals of Hopewell Baptist Church in Norcross, Ga., along with the Rev. Edwin Sanders of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville, Tenn. and the Rev. Sherry L. Turner, PhD, Spelman College, Atlanta.

The program will seek to dispel common myths about HIV/AIDS, HIV vaccines and clinical trials, look at the impact of HIV/AIDS in the black community, increase awareness of the urgent need for an HIV vaccine and share information about ongoing HIV vaccine research. It also will aim to increase the community's knowledge and understanding of the scientific and social issues relating to HIV vaccines and HIV vaccine research.

The symposium will take place Friday, May 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hopewell Baptist Church, 182 Hunter Street, in Norcross. Support is provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Community Education Program and the Local Partnership Project, with additional support from Abbott Laboratories.

Collaborating organizations include AID Atlanta, AID Gwinnett, AIDS Survival Project, AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta, AIDS Alliance for Faith and Health, Action Cycling Atlanta, Atlanta Harm Reduction Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Concerned Black Clergy, Humanitarian Endeavors, Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta, the Institute for Health Protection, the Legacy Project and the Emory Center for AIDS Research.

This event is free, but reservations are requested by May 9, 2008. Please call 877-424-4673 or 404-712-9000.  Free parking is available at the church.

Film Premiere of "The AIDS Chronicles: Here to Represent": May 15

This new feature-length documentary, presented by SisterLove, Inc., and the Hope Clinic, focuses on the social and cultural impact of HIV/AIDS on the African-American community of Atlanta. The film will be presented Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m. at SisterLove, Inc. Mother House, 1237 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30310. The event is free and open to the public.

The documentary film features a number of stories that give insight into the reasons why HIV/AIDS is still a major threat to the black population of urban centers nationwide. It opens a window on the lives of Atlanta's African-American population and reveals the thoughts and actions of African-Americans of every walk of life, every economic and educational level and every gender identification. Through frank interviews with activists, health educators and persons with HIV/AIDS, and recorded glimpses into their personal and professional lives, the viewer sees the struggle of those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Interwoven among these stories are the comments of African-American HIV/AIDS experts on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic--in public health, prevention, treatment, education and outreach, including Phill Wilson (Black AIDS Institute), Mindy Fullilove, MD (Columbia University), David Malebranche, MD (Emory University/Grady Hospital and the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS) and Bill Jenkins, PhD (Morehouse College Center on Health Disparities). These participants do not mince words in their assessments of the current situation and the basic preventative actions necessary. Some of the film's "stars" will be in attendance to speak with the audience about the film.

"I have long supported the efforts of SisterLove, Inc. and the Hope Clinic," says the film's producer-director, Bailey Barash, "and I am delighted that they have spearheaded another effort to bring this film 'home' to the neighborhoods and people most affected by HIV/AIDS to continue to keep the conversation relevant and impactful."

Action Cycling 200 Bike Ride: May 17-18

Cycling enthusiasts are invited to help create a world without AIDS by pedaling for a purpose to raise money for AIDS vaccine research at the Emory Vaccine Center. This year's two-day Action Cycling 200 bike ride marks the AC200's sixth year, with 100 percent of the money raised--$300,000 thus far--going directly to HIV/AIDS vaccine research.

Action Cycling Atlanta is a local cycling group whose members have participated in many national and international bike rides benefiting AIDS vaccine research. Bike riders raise money to participate in the event as individuals, relay team riders or crew members.

"Our research at the Emory Vaccine Center has resulted in one of the leading AIDS vaccines currently in clinical trials, as well as other highly promising AIDS vaccine approaches," says Emory Vaccine Center Director Rafi Ahmed. "Support from Action Cycling Atlanta and the riders this weekend will help us to continue pursuing this critical research, and we are honored to have their sponsorship this year and in years past. The ACS funds help fill critical gaps in our federal grant funding and provide seed funding for innovative pilot projects."

Riders will depart at 7 a.m. Saturday, May 17 from the old train depot on Asbury Circle (across from Means Hall) on the Emory University campus and stay overnight at Rock Eagle 4-H Center before returning to the same depot Sunday, May 18 for a celebration barbeque from 5 to 7 p.m.

Emory Vaccine Center scientists are developing vaccines for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, malaria, influenza and other global disease threats. An AIDS vaccine developed at the Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, the National Institutes of Health and GeoVax Labs, Inc., has been tested in clinical trials at several national sites. The Vaccine Center's Hope Clinic conducts clinical trials of vaccines being developed for AIDS and other diseases.

To learn more about the Action Cycling 200 ride or to register, volunteer or make a pledge, visit http://www.actioncycling.org. For more information about the Emory Vaccine Center, visit http://www.vaccines.emory.edu. To learn more about all these and other Hope Clinic activities, please call 877-424-HOPE (4673) or visit www.hopeclinic.emory.edu.