Festival Mania

Spring is here and that means festivals all month long

By Collin Kelley INtown Editor

Atlanta loves a festival. The month of April is teeming with events, whether you love arts and crafts or food and music. Clear out your weekend calendar, put on some comfortable shoes and explore Intown’s neighborhood festivals.

Festival on Ponce

The spring version of the festival will be held April 11 – 12 in the Olmsted Linear Park along Ponce de Leon Avenue. Visitors will enjoy fine art and crafts, folk and “outsider art” from more than 125 artisans, a children’s area, live acoustic music and a line-up of some of Intown’s favorite food trucks. For a full list of artists and events, visit festivalonponce.com.

Atlanta Dogwood Festival

The 79th annual event will take place April 10-12 in Piedmont Park. Hundreds of artisans will be on hand along with live music, a kid’s village, food and more. The Backyard Barbecue & Brews will be Saturday and Sunday featuring ‘que, stew and beer from local restaurants and vendors. Also returning this year is the International Village with cultural performances from around the globe. The annual Disc Dogs Southern Nationals, a 5K Race and the Atlanta High School Art exhibition will also be part of the festival. For full details on all the weekend’s activities, visit dogwood.org.

Sandy Springs Artsapalooza

The Artsapalooza will be held April 18 – 19 along Lake Forest Drive between Mount Vernon Highway and Hammond Drive. The event will include a children’s play area, local musicians, interactive art stations, plus up to 150 arts and crafts participants in every discipline. Visit sandyspringsartsapalooza.com for more information.

Sweetwater 420 Festival

The annual music and beer festival returns to Downtown’s Centennial Olympic Park on April 17-19. Along with all the brew, the music line-up includes Snoop Dogg, 311, Gov’t Mule, Thievery Corporation, Primus, Cage the Elephant and many more. The Not-So-Silent Disco will feature Anna Lunoe, Black Boots, Cassian, DJ Babey Drew, among others.The Relapse 420 Comedy Tent will feature comics from around the city. For full details about the weekend and to buy VIP tickets, visit sweetwater420fest.com.

Inman Park Festival

The 44th annual Inman Park Festival is set for April 24 - 27 with more than 150 fine artists lining the tree-shaded streets of the neighborhood. The centerpiece of the festival is the annual parade – floats, bands, local nonprofits and residents – which steps off at 2 p.m. (rain or shine) on Saturday and begins at Edgewood and Euclid and runs to Austin Avenue. There will also be two days of live music on three stages, a Kidzone at Springvale Park, a dance festival at the Trolley Barn and food of all kinds from local restaurants. The annual Tour of Homes will also take place that weekend, starting on Friday. Parking for the festival will be very limited, so visitors are strongly encouraged to take Marta to the Inman Park station, bike, walk or maybe take Uber or Lyft. For more, visit inmanparkfestival.org.

Atlanta Arab Festival

This 10th anniversary celebration of Arab culture will be held April 18-19 at the Alif Institute, 3288 Marjan Drive. There will be music, food, art and more. More details at alifinstitute.org.

The Rooster Crows! New website helps festival-lovers find events

Former Atlanta INtown publisher Wendy Binns has launched a new online endeavor called FestivalRooster.com. The colorful website lists festivals – arts, music, food and specialty events – happening around the southeast, including Atlanta.

A work-in-progress for more than a year, there are literally hundreds – soon to be thousands – of events to choose from. Whether you love bacon, Elvis, cars or crawfish, there’s something for every interest.

“Everyone loves a festival and there seems to be more and more every year, but there wasn’t a comprehensive site for those wanting to find or promote a festival. FestivalRooster.com is the solution,” Binns, a Poncey-Highland resident, said. The social media element of the site – Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter – will allow festival-goers to post photos from the events, while a regular rotating list of “Rooster Picks” will spotlight upcoming, unique events.