Atlanta Event Calendar

Atlanta Jazz Fest

May 25, 2012 - May 27, 2012

The 35th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival is regarded as one of the Country's largest FREE jazz festivals. It is an annual musical showcase, celebrates jazz legends and up-and-coming jazz greats in venues throughout metropolitan Atlanta during the entire month of May. Culminating during Memorial Day weekend, May 26th-28th, this year's 3-day festival will feature show-stopping performances at Piedmont Park. According to former Mayor Shirley Franklin "The festival was formed to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of our city and has blossomed into a celebration of our nation's contribution to human expression. Music heals. It reaches deep within the human soul and soothes and nourishes the empty-hearted and cultivates the spirit of community that surges through the City of Atlanta. The Atlanta Jazz Festival is one of the city's proudest traditions." The Festival is produced by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, and it is FREE and open to the public. For more information, including lineup and ticket information visit atlantafestivals.com/.

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Georgia Renaissance Festival

Apr 13, 2012 - Jun 2, 2012

Hear ye! Hear ye! All ye bards and damsels come to the Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival for the 27th anniversary season. For eight weekends in a row, knights and jesters will wander the almost 100 acre festival landscape to entertain the public. Yearly they host jousting, musical interludes, and grand theatrical presentations - all preformed by a talented cast of hundreds in full medieval garb. With 12 stages, there's plenty of room for impressive staging. What exactly is a grand theatrical presentation? How about: a juggling, magician with a pig that flies? The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - minus a sick Pestilence - crossing swords over the fate of the earth, while acerbically attacking one another? Not theatrical enough for your tastes? Would a Bengal tiger or a snow leopard padding feet from you on the stage suit your sense of excitement? Or watching knights in armor jousting on horseback in awesome displays of power and skill? The shows go on and on... but everyone needs food and drink to refresh themselves. And the Renaissance Festival has a surprisingly varied and mouth-watering menu - and cold, frosty beer! Renaissance. The word is redolent of art, artists and master craftsmen. The Fair has those in abundance too... glass blowers, porcelain artists, metal smiths and more. From the end of April clear through June, transport yourself back in time to King Arthur's days. We'll see you at the roundtable.

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Virginia-Highland Summerfest

Jun 1, 2012 - Jun 2, 2012

Summerfest celebrates the beginning of summer with diverse arts, great food, live musical performances and much more. The festival takes place along Virginia Avenue, in the heart of historic Virginia-Highland. Recently voted the "Best Neighborhood Festival" in Creative Loafing and consistently revered by art professionals as one of the best artists' markets in the southeast, Summerfest is a great event for thze entire family. Make sure you stick around and explore the unique shopping and eclectic dining throughout the Virginia-Highland neighborhood.

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The Blairsville Scottish Festival & Highland Games

Jun 7, 2012 - Jun 8, 2012

The Blairsville Scottish Festival & Highland Games features a Kilted Golf Classic at the Butternut Creek Golf Course, one of North Georgia's premier golf venues. Throughout the festival, there will be vendors from around the world selling Scottish kilts, and other merchandise that is uniquely Scottish. There will be events designed for all members of the family including putt-putt golf for the children. Click here for this year's Blairsville Scottish Festival & Highland Games schedule. Highlights for many are the workshops on genealogy, live weapons demonstrations, song and dance. For more info visit: the Blairsville Scottish Festival & Highland Games website.

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Mississippi in the Park

Jun 29, 2012

The fourth annual Mississippi in the Park celebration will take place in Chastian Park in Buckhead on June 30th from 10:30am to 3:30pm. Admission for this event is free. This year's line up of entertainment. The day will once again start out with the bluegrass & gospel music of Homegrown who have become a picnic regular. Then you'll dance the afternoon away to the sounds of The Shuflejunkies and Chick Willis. For more information visit mssocietyofga.org.

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National Black Arts Festival

Jul 12, 2012 - Jul 21, 2012

The National Black Arts Festival was founded in 1987 after the Fulton County Arts Council commissioned a study to explore the feasibility of creating a festival dedicated to celebrating and advancing the work of artists of African descent. The study provided compelling reasons why the Atlanta community was the right place for such a festival. With Fulton County Government as the major sponsor, joined by additional corporate and foundation sponsors, the Festivals first biannual summer festival was held in 1988. Over the years of the festival, artists and attendees alike have come to expect the emerging and renown artists to grace the stages and exhibition spaces of the city; collectors look eagerly to the Artists' Market for their next opportunity to buy from some of the best artist in the country; film fans flock to the screenings of known and unknown work; concert halls are filled with the voices and instruments of those who are considered to be the standard bearers in jazz, gospel and everything in-between; the masters of the stage and screen have joined us over the years; and the writers who have preserved the African American voice in literature have blessed us with their presence. People of all ages and races have gathered together to bask in the presence of: Maya Angelou, Charles Dutton, Wynton Marsalis, Amiri Baraka, Avery Brooks, Nancy Wilson, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Spike Lee, Ousmane Sembene. Peal Cleage, Kenny Leon, Carrie Mae Weems, Radcliffe Bailey, Sonia Sanchez and literally thousands of other artists from this country and beyond. As the festival firmly established itself as one of the most important festivals in the World presenting the art and culture of the African Diaspora, it seized the opportunity to expand to year round educational and humanities programming and hosting the Festival every year. With a regular presence the festival looks forward to continuing and strengthening its important ties with its many local, national and international partners. The Festival's success has been anchored by the willing and creative collaborations of local cultural institutions. This year alone there are over 40 independently produced programs; without them side by side, the festival's energy and ability to reach so many-the young and old in every corner of the county-would be dramatically diminished. And the commitment of the festival's various artistic leadership: Avery Brooks, Dwight Andrews and Stephanie Hughley have allowed the breath and reach of the festivals to touch over five million people since the first Festival. Each artistic director brought their own ideas and energy, building on the vision of their colleagues across the Diaspora. But none of this is done without volunteer leadership. The Festival has a history of attracting volunteers from every sector from government to corporate to university professor to art collector and young entrepreneurs; dedicated all to ensuring that the festival remains financially stable and artistically relevant and connected. In the tradition of strong and enlightened leadership, the Board is currently chaired by Curley M. Dossman, Jr., President, Georgia-Pacific Foundation. Click here for a schedule of events at this year's National Black Arts Festival. And each day the festival is supported by a combination of dedicated staff and festival experts who together ensure that the festival remains vibrant and engaging. And behind the scenes, over the last five years, Stephanie Hughley has been supported by one of the best Associate Producers in the country- Laura Greer. "Our humble thanks and sincere appreciation for Laura's constant quest to celebrate the artist of African descent.... each bring us closer to one another through their art."

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Flying Colors Butterfly Festival

Jul 13, 2012 - Jul 14, 2012

As hundreds of native butterflies whirl around you, you can have a picnic, make arts and crafts, have butterflies painted on your face, visit fascinating entomology exhibits, listen to the delightful live entertainment of Tahino all while you enjoy nature's magic! See the live release of over 4,000 butterflies on the Chattahoochee Nature Center property and frolic with the flowers and butterflies as they flutter around the grounds. Summer wouldn't be the same without witnessing this exclusive show of nature! The only place to see these fantastic, fluttering creatures up close is at the Chattahoochee Nature Center! Bring the whole family for a fun-filled day of activities! The Chattahoochee Nature Center is a pristine refuge just minutes away from downtown Atlanta that attracts thousands of visitors each year. Located along the beautiful Chattahoochee River, the Nature Center is a place where hawks swoop, turtles sunbathe on submerged logs, and cattails sway along the quiet riverbank. Here, nature sets the pace for your learning expedition.

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Folk Festival

Aug 16, 2012 - Aug 18, 2012

Pay a visit to the world's largest folk art show & sale hosting 100 galleries & dealers from around the nation specializing in Self-taught Art, Outsider Art, Folk Art and Southern Folk Pottery & Anonymous Antique Folk Art. This event will take place August 17-19, 2012 at the North Atlanta Trade Center. For more information visit slotinfolkart.com.

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Summer Shade Festival

Aug 24, 2012

You are invited to the 10th Annual Grant Park Summer Shade Festival. Soon we will post all kinds of information on Festival hours of operation, performance stage schedules, Adams Realtors 5K Run for the Park, children's activities and Corks & Forks A Fine Food and Wine Event. The Grant Park Summer Shade Festival began in August 2003 as the Adams Realtors 5K RUN for the PARK. A half day festival opened immediately after the RUN featuring 45 artists, community groups/organizations and local eateries. Attendance was around 750 people. Positive comments were so overwhelming, we decided to expand the 2004 Festival. In year two, the Festival ran for two days. The name was changed to Summer Shade Festival to encourage people to get out of the stale air-conditioning to enjoy the cooling shade of century old trees in Grant Park. The Adams Realtors 5K RUN for the PARK remained a major component but the artist market was expanded, an entertainment stage was added, and a very exciting Cycling Criterium gave a whoosh and a thrill to Sunday. Attendance topped 6000. Again, we had a huge positive response from attendees and vendors. Year three was more of the same with attendance over 10,000. And then, year four and five, we exceeded our expectations with 16,000-18,000 attendees. In 2008 we broke the 20,000 mark. And now Get ready for 2012. The 10th Annual Grant Park Summer Shade Festival will be even better. For more information please call 404.243.5051.

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Festival Peachtree Latino

Aug 25, 2012

Festival Peachtree Latino in Atlanta, GA has been the largest family and multicultural event in the southeast since 2000. They have featured hundreds of exhibitions, family activities, sporting events, parades, arts & crafts, ethnic foods, and outdoor musical performances. The best part about this event is that it is absolutely free! This year, the Festival Peachtree Latino has more to offer with new attractions and a larger schedule of music performances. For more information visit festivalpeachtreelatino.com.

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