World AIDS Day Around the Nation

AIDS has taken lives for almost three decades, and for 25 years scientists have known what causes the disease to spread. Yet people continue to die at a harrowing rate: it's estimated that two million people succumbed to AIDS complications in 2007. World AIDS Day on December 1 serves as a global reminder that a cure remains elusive. On this day events are planned around the world, including numerous memorials and fund-raisers in America's gay meccas:

New York City

- Free rapid HIV testing is available at the Ryan/Chelsea-Clinton Community Health Center on 10th Avenue (between 45th and 46th streets), from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. An art exhibit created by HIV-positive New Yorkers will be featured along with the AIDS Memorial Quilt -- on display at the center all week.

Click here for more information.

- Additional free HIV testing is available December 1 at the Marble Collegiate Church at Fifth Avenue and West 29th Street.

Click here for more information.

- Gay Men's Health Crisis and SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders) are hosting a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church (Broadway and West 93rd Street) to honor those lost to AIDS.

Click here for more information.

- Young Professionals for CARE and Face-to-Face AIDS Project are hosting a presentation on the global AIDS pandemic and the efforts to fight it at the People Kitchen and Lounge, 163 Allen St., at 7 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Los Angeles

- The city of West Hollywood hosts its annual World AIDS Day Commemoration at 6:30 p.m. at Gallery 825, located at 825 N. La Cienega Blvd. Awards will be presented to people working in HIV services, and a historical retrospective of HIV prevention campaigns from the city of West Hollywood will be on display. The event will also feature speakers, including Ricki Lake, Malawian HIV activist Marie Da Silva (a CNN 2008 Hero), and Brenda Goodman, board president of Aid for AIDS.

Call (323) 848-6403 for more information.

- Beloved Real World star and AIDS activist Pedro Zamora will be honored posthumously for his contributions to HIV awareness in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Zamora's name will be etched on the granite panels of an AIDS monument at 7 p.m. at Lincoln Park, 3540 Mission Road. Attendees will be asked to launch a petition drive to honor Zamora's legacy with a stamp, and Zamora's sister Mily and Real World creator Jonathan Murray will be in attendance.

Click here for more information.

Chicago

- A candlelight vigil in honor of those affected by HIV will take place at 4 p.m. in the Buchanan Lounge of the McCormick Theological Seminary, 5460 S. University Ave.

For more information contact prodriquez@mccormick.edu.

- Embodying the Change: World AIDS Day Ubuntu Benefit Soiree -- a fund-raiser for HIV-positive African children -- will take place at 7 p.m. at Wicker Park Grace, 1741 N. Western Ave. Music, art, and poetry performances will be part of the event. Free HIV testing will also be offered.

Click here for more information.

Dallas

- The Angelika Film Center and Cafe, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, hosts a free screening of All of Us--Love and Sex Can Mean Life or Death at 6:30 p.m. A panel discussion will follow, and free HIV testing will be available.

Click here for more information.

San Francisco

- Free rapid HIV testing and a panel discussion titled "Right to Access: Emerging Challenges for Emerging Populations" will take place at the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, 730 Polk St., fourth floor.

Click here for more information.

Washington, D.C.

- An exhibit by photographer Elena Rue that examines the lives of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia will be on display at the World Bank's J Building Lobby, 708 18th St. N.W. Click here for more information.

Click here for more information on World AIDS Day.