World AIDS Day to Wrap Up With Speeches Downtown and a Service at Cathedral of Hope

​The World AIDS Day broadcast from D.C., featuring the likes of Presidents Clinton, Dubya and Obama alongside Bono and Alicia Keyes, is livestreaming here. Tune in for "the beginning of the end," a reference to breaking news that researchers are now a little bit closer to an AIDS vaccine. Tonight is the local event: 2011 World AIDS Day Dallas, which kicks off at 7:30 in Main Street Garden and features quite the intriguing assemblage of speakers, among them Dallas Cowboy Martellus Bennett, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, Church of the Solid Rock Pastor Doris Deckard, Monica Greene, Temple Shalom Cantor Don Croll, AIDS Interfaith Network development director Travis Gasper and council member Angela Hunt.

And amidst the speechifying will be some music-making too: The Women's Chorus of Dallas and Booker T. Washington High School's African Dance Ensemble are scheduled to perform. Further details here. Says the invite: "The themes for the evening are strength, hope and knowledge."

Cathedral of Hope sends word that it too is hosting an event tonight -- a worship service set to begin at 7. Says its heads-up, the church will "raise awareness about the alarming (and preventable) infection rate in Dallas County and to discuss how we will 'Get to Zero' here in our own backyard and around the world." The Turtle Creek Chorale will perform. And beginning at 11 this morning, 20 panels from The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the Interfaith Peace Chapel till the beginning of tonight's service.