ATLANTA: The Hollywood of the South

By Yolande Brunson Collins, Verger, St. Simon's Episcopal Church, Conyers, Georgia, [email protected]

One of the major highlights of each VGEC Annual Conference is the opportunity to dress up for the closing Reception and Awards Banquet, and this year is no exception! Our theme is ATLANTA: The Hollywood of the South, and we ask that your dress accordingly!

Atlanta and the surrounding area has become a very popular place to make movies and television shows. Due to our great weather (REAL summers and mild winters), movie crews are able to work year-round to accomplish their filming goals. In addition, many of the area colleges and universities have added technical and artistic programs of study, which provide an on-going supply of college interns, degreed individuals, and other interested persons to work in the industry.

In the 1970s, the movie Deliverance (1972) helped bring the state of Georgia to Hollywood's attention. Since the 1980s, film and production crews have regularly utilized Atlanta's stately mansions, fascinating skyline, beautiful landscapes and eccentric neighborhoods as backgrounds and backdrops for movie sets. One such award-winning movie is Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Following the success of this film and others, Atlanta became a prime location for making movies.

Also, in the late 1980s, television production became a mainstay of the Metropolitan Atlanta area, with productions taking place on local sound stages in and around the city. Extremely popular television shows In the Heat of the Night (1988 – 1992) and The Vampire Diaries (2009 – 2017) were both produced in Covington, Georgia, about 30 miles east of the city. Since 2005, all of the Tyler Perry sit-coms (and full-feature movies) were filmed in Atlanta. The Walking Dead series (2010 – present) continues to be filmed in and around Atlanta. And yes, even a game show is taped here: Family Feud (2011-2017). There have been very many television shows produced in Atlanta!

There are a number of major film and television production companies in the Atlanta area including Turner Broadcasting, Tyler Perry Studios, and EUE/Screen Gems. In 2012, the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office stated that, "More than 700 feature films, TV movies, TV series, single episodes and pilots have been produced in Georgia since 1972, generating a great economic impact. They estimate the economic impact of entertainment industry projects that they handled in 2009 was $770 million."

The industry has exploded in the Atlanta area, and according to a 2016 article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia remains the third most popular site for movie and TV production in the U.S., following behind only California and New York. Two of the three Hunger Games trilogy films were shot in Atlanta, and in the past year alone, big-ticket films like Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, The Fate of the Furious, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Hidden Figures, Marvel’s Black Panther, and Pitch Perfect 3 filmed in and around Atlanta. It was reported earlier this year that the Georgia TV and Film Industry brings in about $7 billion per year! For this reason, we boast that we are, in fact, ATLANTA: The Hollywood of the South!

So, come prepared to celebrate with us! As we roll out the red carpet for you, we ask that you come dressed in your “Hollywood Glam,” while you mix, mingle and hob-knob in old or new Hollywood style. You may ask, "What exactly IS Hollywood Glam?" Today, it's whatever you want it to be, as long as you make it FUN and you look FABULOUS! To make it simple, Hollywood Glam is:

• Basic black
• Formal (with boa) and tux
• Casual swag with your All-Star "Chucks"
• Long dress, short dress
• Slacks -- with a blouse or jacket and shirt
• Denim, perhaps bedazzled
• Your favorite footwear

 Today's Hollywood Glam is an individual decision, so just look FABULOUS... that's your one and only mission!!!

The Verger Reception will start at 6:00pm. Come and enjoy the opportunity to become better acquainted with your fellow vergers and to hang out with and say, "good bye" to those whom you have come to know during the days of the conference. At 7:00pm the doors to the banquet hall will open, and we will invite you to sit and enjoy a fabulous feast and the program that follows.

We look forward to seeing you at the reception and banquet, and we are oh, so excited to see what you will choose as your Hollywood Glam!

Not Registered for the Annual Conference Yet?

Register by clicking HERE.

Registrations made through August 31, 2017 are $225.00 per person.
Registrations made after August 31, 2017 are $275.00 per person.

Registrations must be made by Monday, October 2, 2017. All conference plans for transportation, food, and logistics must be set by that date. We cannot accept on-site registrations; they must be made in advance online through the Guild Shop.

Alert for all Vergers Who Have Not Yet Booked a Hotel Room for the Atlanta Conference

There is much more occurring in Downtown Atlanta the second weekend of October than the VGEC Annual Conference. The Marriott Marquis has sold out of rooms. The good news is that as of today there are still a dozen or so rooms available at the at the conference rate of $135.00 per night, but when our block of rooms is sold out, there are no other rooms available.

If you plan to attend the conference and would like to stay at the conference hotel at a highly discounted rate, please book your room at the Marriott Marquis today. Procrastinators will not be pleased with the cost of their alternative choices. We certainly cannot guarantee a comparable rate to our conference rate.

Click HERE for a list of hotel options on the vergers.org/conference/2017 page.

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The 2017 VGEC Annual Conference in Atlanta is coming soon on October 12th to October 15th. Registrations made through Thursday, August 31, 2017 are $225.00 per person. Registrations made after August 31, 2017 are $275.00 per person. The deadline to register is Monday, October 2, 2017. We cannot accept on-site registrations!

Editors note: Send ideas for Vergers Voice blog topics to [email protected]

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Abstract: Atlanta and the surrounding area has become a very popular place to make movies and television shows. As we roll out the red carpet for you at this year's reception and awards banquet, we ask that you come dressed in your “Hollywood Glam.” You may ask, "What exactly IS Hollywood Glam?" Today, it's whatever you want it to be and this blog gives you some fabulous ideas!