Natalie Ransom, left, and Shannon Smith are co-chairing an upcoming charity event to benefit the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

The agreement struck between Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians and management comes at a great time for patrons, players – and the volunteers hard at work to benefit the organization they treasure.

Both sides signed off on a new collective bargaining agreement Wednesday, barely missing affecting the fall season, not to mention a fundraiser coming up in a few weeks.

Bravo, the young professionals group within the Atlanta Symphony Associates, which raises money for the symphony, is organizing a Casino Night fundraiser on Oct. 19 at Mercedes Benz of Buckhead, 2799 Piedmont Rd. NE. Tickets start at $75 and are available here.

“It’s a good time, it’s fun,” said event co-chair Shannon Smith. “We’re able to be there and support what we love. We’re excited to be part of the symphony.”

Casino Night will feature food, an open bar and casino gaming. …

Continue reading Atlanta Symphony labor strife resolved, volunteers focus on fundraising »

AP photo

Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina reportedly was a passenger in a car that wrecked over the weekend in Alpharetta, the online celeb news site TMZ posted, but details are unclear.

TMZ reported that Bobbi Kristina was involved in a “BAD car accident,” and posted photos of the banged-up black Camaro that the news site said belonged to her boyfriend Nick Gordon.

“The details surrounding the accident are unclear, but we’re told the couple had been arguing at the time of the crash – and Nick’s Camaro was the only car involved,” TMZ reported. “No one was injured.”

TMZ went on to report that “Cops went to the apartment soon after the accident for a noise complaint, but no one answered the door. According to the incident report, officers saw the car parked outside the apartment with its hazard lights on — and it appeared it had been driven in a damaged state.”

George Gordon (no relation to Nick Gordon) Executive Officer/Public Information Officer for the Alpharetta …

Continue reading Bobbi Kristina in car wreck? Details unclear »

Courtesy of Georgia Aquarium and SharpShooter Imaging

Evander Holyfield took a family visit to the Georgia Aquarium the other day.

Here’s a nice photo of the champ and two of his kids near the Ocean Voyager area, home to the whale sharks, during a behind-the-scenes tour.

“Thank you to the Georgia Aquarium staff!” Holyfield tweeted afterward. “My kids had a great time, we will be back again.”

It’s been an up and down year for Holyfield. Not long after he was evicted from his 109-room mansion in Fayette County due to financial problems, he announced a huge auction of boxing memorabilia and other stuff. Then NBC interviewed him during the 2012 London Olympics as just another man-on-the-street, having failed to recognize him.

But his Twitter feed is always full of uplifting, positive messages like, “I had a lot of setbacks in my career but I always had a good attitude which gave me another chance to try,” and “A good attitude is better than talent.”

He likes to post photos, too, …

Continue reading Evander Holyfield at the Georgia Aquarium »

Jeffrey Goldworn serves as wine host chairman for the annual Best Cellars Dinner benefiting the T.J. Martell Foundation.

Jeffrey Goldworn runs the most exclusive club in Atlanta: the wine locker at the prestigious Buckhead Club, where he is general manager.

While the club boasts a membership of more than 1,000, fewer than 100 are able to store their private labels there in the club-within-the-club off the main dining room.

“We have a waiting list, ” said Goldworn, who is serving as wine host chairman for the annual Best Cellars Dinner benefiting the T.J. Martell Foundation. The event is Oct. 13 at the InterContinental Hotel.

Dinner will be created by Goldworn’s friend, celebrity chef Art Smith. Wine hosts include Greg Greenfield, Gary Handler, West Johnson, Niko Karatassos, Hal Nowak, Todd Rushing, John Sholota and Frank Ski.

Dinner committee members include Cyndae Arrendale, Larry Beckwith, Rebecca Bily, Dayna Carney, Ainsley Charles, Verna and Bill Cleveland, Marie and Jim …

Continue reading Charity check-in: Elegant events benefit Atlanta Opera, T.J. Martell Foundation »

Chaka Kahn performs at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in April. Photo by Raymond Hagans for the AJC

Chaka Khan will take the stage in Atlanta this Saturday. Make that, take the field.

The 10-time Grammy Award winner will join Doug E. Fresh and Atlanta’s own Future for the halftime show during the 24th annual Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic. The concert will be themed: “One Love. One Music. One Culture.”

When we talked by phone the other day we asked Khan if she’s into football.

“Between you and I absolutely not,” she said. “It’s not because I’m a girly girl. I’m not a Barbie doll. I’m just into other pastimes.”

Her addition to the lineup stems from friendship.

“Doug E. Fresh is a great friend of mine,” she said. “He asked me if I’d be involved and I said sure!”

Khan, who performed at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center earlier this year, made headlines by revealing health issues and then later with the stunning physique that resulted in …

Continue reading Interview: Chaka Khan to perform at Atlanta Football Classic halftime show »

Actor Michael Ealy is no stranger to difficult story lines, as evidenced by his gripping performance as the disturbed and disturbing Beau Willie in “For Colored Girls,” which was directed by Tyler Perry and filmed partly in Atlanta.

He’s also no stranger to more lighthearted fare; he played the adorable Dominic in “Think Like A Man,” the smart, feel-good romantic comedy based on Atlanta-based entertainer Steve Harvey’s guidebook to love.

His latest role as Papa Joe in “Unconditional,” in theaters now, straddles darkness and light. See this link to find a theater where it is playing.

Written and directed by Brent McCorkle and produced in Nashville, the movie tells the story, inspired by true events, of Samantha (Lynn Collins) who loses her husband in a tragic and senseless act of violence. Her despair nearly drives her to ruin when a chance encounter reunites her with her beloved childhood friend Joe Bradford, now known as “Papa Joe” because of his role in the community …

Continue reading Michael Ealy discusses faith-based film “Unconditional” »

Meghan Hodges the beauty queen. AJC staff photos by HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Even when she’s just walking down the hall, Meghan Hodges strides with runway-perfect poise, flashing a smile that sparkles like her tiara.

The state’s reigning Mrs. Georgia America, crowned this February, Hodges has enjoyed the community outreach and charitable causes she’s been involved with.

“I’ve had an opportunity to do a lot of fundraisers,” said Hodges, 26, who focuses on charities that benefit cancer research. “The first time a little girl walked up to me and called me a princess, I melted. To have something in common with the little girls of Georgia is pretty great.”

But this beauty queen has a dark side. A really dark side.

Starting Sept. 28 through Halloween season, Hodges will be lurking in the shadows outside the Netherworld Haunted House, ready to scare the pants off visitors before they even get inside. Here is a link to Netherworld’s web site for hours, dates, prices and other …

Continue reading Glam to ghoul: Mrs. Georgia is also a haunted-house gargoyle! »

We took this photo of Honey Boo Boo and her mom when we went down to visit. Sort of looks like she has her giant inflatable hammer in a wrestling choke hold, doesn't it?

Honey Boo Boo is taking her show on the road. The 7-year-old star of TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” plans a public appearance next weekend at a Global Championship Wrestling match in Alabama.

Alana Thompson, as Honey Boo Boo is also known, will be on hand for the “Fall Brawl” at the Pell City, Ala. Civic Center on Sept. 29, according to the Talladega Daily Home.

A photo and autograph session with the breakout star of TLC’s “Toddlers and Tiaras” starts before the match, according to the GCW web site. You’ll need a ticket to get in – they’re $10. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. (Remember Alabama’s in the Central time zone, if you plan to drive over from Atlanta).

Evidently a wrestler known as “The New Sensation Steve Stiles” is also from McIntyre, so having Honey Boo Boo there was a natural …

Continue reading Honey Boo Boo plans public appearance »

Hammerin' Hank Aaron with Chadwick Boseman on the set of "42" while it was filming in Atlanta this summer.

The trailer for the Jackie Robinson biopic “42,” which filmed in Atlanta and elsewhere, has been released. The movie, starring Chadwick Boseman as the great Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, the baseball executive who signed him, will be released next year.

(Harrison Ford was spotted a number of times while he was in Atlanta and posed for a nice photo with a Buford Highway sushi chef, good sport that he is. Click here for details!)

“42″ is set during Robinson’s 1947 rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, during which he broke Major League Baseball’s color line. The movie filmed in Macon, Birmingham and Chattanooga with some scenes shot in Atlanta, too. The Biltmore hotel in Midtown was used to portray the 1940s era Waldorf Astoria.

While the project was here over the summer, Atlanta Braves great Hank Aaron visited the set of “42.” The homerun …

Continue reading Here’s the trailer for “42,” made-in-ATL film about Jackie Robinson »

Honey Boo Boo and her mom

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has weighed in (pardon the pun) on reality show star Honey Boo Boo, regarding her family’s dietary choices.

“Locals are cringing with concern that the nation might view this family as an accurate portrayal of our state,” Dr. Stephanie Walsh, medical director of child wellness at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, wrote in a recent opinion piece that was published in the AJC. “However, based on the children and families we see at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the truth is that Honey Boo Boo and her family’s health habits may be more of the norm in Georgia than everyone would like to believe.”

Here is a link to Walsh’s piece.

A recent “Honey Boo Boo” episode showed the family of 7-year-old beauty queen Alana Thompson, the breakout star of “Toddlers and Tiaras,” enjoying a dinner of “sketti,” which is a concoction involving butter, ketchup and pasta. In previous episodes of the TLC show, family members graze on …

Continue reading Children’s Healthcare weighs in on Honey Boo Boo »