In Focus

inFOCUS NEWS BITES FROM AROUND ATLANTA

WALKING IN

WONDER Now in its 10th year, Garden Lights, Holiday Nights showcases the natural beauty of the Atlanta Botanical Garden with breathtaking displays, including Nature’s Wonder, billed as the world’s largest curtain of synchronized light and sound. Timed-entry tickets are limited due to COVID-19 protocols, and are available online only. Through Jan. 16, including Christmas and New Year’s. atlantabg.org.

Take a Virtual Tour

The pandemic has made finding a new school for your child a little more challenging. You may not be able to visit a prospective school in person, but Woodward Academy, an independent school serving pre-K through high school on two metro Atlanta campuses, is offering the next best thing: virtual tours. Each individualized tour is led by a guide who leads parents through an online platform using videos and photography to give them a full sense of the Woodward experience. To book a virtual tour, visit woodward.edu/visit.

SEASONAL SPLENDOR

What better way to spend the holidays than by exploring other cultures in the shadow of giant dinosaur skeletons? Winter Wonderland, at the Fernbank Museum, features two floors of beautifully decorated trees illustrating holidays and traditions celebrated by cultures across the globe. New additions this year include a sock skating rink and 7-foot snow globes. Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 8. For more information, call 404-929-6300 or visit fernbankmuseum.org.

CMA Receives Fulton County Grant

Congratulations to Children’s Museum of Atlanta, which was recently awarded a grant from the Fulton County Department of Arts and Culture, which aims to ensure that all Fulton County residents have access to the arts. The grant helped to support CMA exhibits like Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secrets of the Sewer and Fun and Games: Make Your Move. Visit childrensmuseumatlanta.org to

schedule a visit today!

The Show Must Go On

The enterprising students at Marist School recently found a way to stage a thought-provoking production while still practicing safe distancing. Marist Theater’s Unprecedented featured a mix of prerecorded material and live shows (each 10 minutes or less), with audiences divided into groups of no more than 25, which experienced the shows in rotation. The two October productions were a celebration of the magic of theater and storytelling. Congratulations to all!

Magical Night 0f Lights

Every year, countless metro Atlanta families make the hour-plus drive south to Callaway Resort & Gardens in Pine Mountain for Fantasy in Lights, recognized by National Geographic as one of the 10 best light displays in the world. Ride through a dazzling forest illuminated with over 8 million lights, and take in the all-new Magical Field of Lights, featuring a Christmas tree over 10 stories tall! Through Jan. 4. For more information, call 844-512-2836 or visit callawaygardens.com.

Atlanta’s Best Neighborhood PARKS PEACEFUL SPOTS FOR A RELAXING ESCAPE

By Alexa Martin

Heritage Green, a park in Sandy Springs, is home to the natural spring where the city gets its name. THE METRO AREA IS FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL, EXPANSIVE PARKS,

from Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta to sprawling Piedmont Park in Midtown. But it also has plenty of smaller spots for when you just want to spend an intimate afternoon playing catch with the kids or strolling through nature. With that in mind, we’ve spotlighted five neighborhood parks where you can enjoy great recreational amenities while taking a break from the everyday world.

HERITAGE GREEN

This 4-acre park is the heart of Sandy Springs, a bustling city of more than 110,000 residents just north of Atlanta. Heritage Green serves as the city’s official gathering place, and is the home of the natural spring for which the town is named.

Heritage Green is also home to the Heritage Sandy Springs Museum, dedicated to preserving the area’s history. The museum hosts the permanent Sandy Springs: Land and People exhibit, and A Land Nearby, a temporary exhibit which features a collection of 20 photographs of Georgia's Barrier Islands taken by Dr. Curt Hames Jr.

The Sandy Springs Society Entertainment Lawn is a terraced, 14,000-square-foot expanse of lush greenspace located within the park. The lawn hosts as many as 1,000 people for concerts that take place on a semicircular stage May through September. The lawn is also available for theatrical performances, weddings and other special events.

PIEDMONT PARK

Every city has its own treasured greenspace; for Atlanta, it’s Piedmont Park. On any given day, Midtown’s Piedmont Park is filled with joggers, people-watchers, dog walkers, sunbathers and Frisbee players—and on especially beautiful summer days, the best seat in the city is a patch of grass on its great lawns. Aside from its walking and jogging paths, another big draw is Lake Clara Meer, a stocked fishing lake. The park is also the location of many festivals and concerts throughout the year, including the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival and Music Midtown.

Piedmont Park in midtown, Atlanta's signature park, includes Lake Clara Meer.

TOWN CENTER PARK

Located at the intersection of Buford Highway and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, this 10-acre park is known as Suwanee’s “front yard.” Visitors walk, jog and bicycle along a mile of paved surfaces dotted with interlinking pathways and sidewalks. They also enjoy sitting back on park benches to chat with friends or simply take in the beautiful scenery.

Of particular interest to families is Big Splash, the largest interactive fountain in Gwinnett County. Adults and children splash and frolic among 43 jets that shoot up to 1,400 gallons of water per minute. The fountain is generally open seven days a week between April and October.

Town Center Park is Suwanee’s pre-

Town Center Park, considered Suwanee's “front yard,” hosts a variety of events annually.

mier spot for special events, including Food Truck Fridays, Movies Under the Stars and the Suwanee Fine Arts Festival. Among its amenities is a terraced amphitheater that can host up to 1,000 for outdoor concerts and other events.

HISTORIC FOURTH WARD PARK

Opened in 2011 in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, Historic Fourth Ward Park stands as a vibrant symbol of the area’s revitalization over the last decade. Designed as a focal point for the rapidly evolving community, this 17-acre park located near the Atlanta BeltLine— a multi-use trail designed to form a ring of parks and green spaces around the city—is anchored by a picturesque lake, surrounded by rolling lawns filled with native plants and plenty of paved pathways for walking and biking.

Smaller visitors will enjoy the children’s playgrounds, with slides, swings, rock walls, climbing areas and other features. There’s also the Splash Pad, with jets of water streaming from the ground and overhead, open from May 1 through Oct. 1. The park also features a public skate park, the first in Atlanta.

COBB PARK AND KIDSCAPE VILLAGE

This 5.8-acre park in Smyrna, just west of the city’s downtown area, is one of the most popular spots in metro Atlanta among parents of small children, perfect for a morning or afternoon of fun-filled activity. Kidscape Village boasts swing

With a playground and other amenities, Gwinnett County's Sims Lake Park is a popular place for families.

Atlanta's Historic Fourth Ward Park includes a Splash Pad for kids to play on.

sets, slides and a small train for the younger tykes and a large playground with climbing structures, a spider web and other diversions for slightly older kids. There’s also a baseball field that can be used for a variety of sports.

The park itself radiates a rustic, wooded feel, full of benches and shaded areas ideal for relaxing on a summer afternoon. This place can fill up fast, especially on weekends, so be prepared to share the space with other families.

SIMS LAKE PARK

This moderately sized (62 acres) general-use park has become a major draw for nature lovers in Gwinnett County. Located just a few miles from downtown Suwanee, Sims Lake Park almost feels like a gorgeous preserve worlds away from city life. Dog owners walk with their furry friends, walkers and bikers enjoy the 1.2-mile trail, and everyone can take in the beautiful view of the 7-acre lake that gives the park its name.

A playground and picnic pavilion situated near the entrance offer kids a perfect spot to blow off some steam while the parents relax, and a pair of 2-acre meadows provide great opportunities for tossing a Frisbee or laying out in the sun. And an abundance of scenic backdrops attracts artists, photographers and those who simply enjoy being surrounded by natural beauty. FOR MORE INFORMATION

Cobb Park and Kidscape Village

smyrnavinings.com/ cobb-park-and-kidscape-village

Heritage Green

visitsandysprings.org

Historic Fourth Ward Park

h4wpc.com

Piedmont Park

piedmontpark.org

Sims Lake Park

suwanee.com/exploresuwanee/parks

Town Center Park

suwanee.com/exploresuwanee/parks