Let’s Picnic!

Event coordinator sees success in picnic-themed events.

Words by Arlinda Smith Broady

Photos by George Hunter

Peachtree Corners native Aleatha Lindsay didn’t start out wanting to be an event coordinator. She grew up in the area, was homeschooled and went to Georgia State for fine arts.

Lindsay obtained a master’s degree Russell Sage College, a small liberal arts college in New York. “After I graduated there, I worked in creative art therapy for a couple of years in mental health. And I got burned out,” she said.

Creative art therapy is an unconventional process to help people explore and express unconscious material often difficult to articulate in words. It uses art forms such as dance, drawing or music. Trained therapists can ad- minister creative therapy to help people experiencing a range of mental, emotional and physical issues. It is rooted in the idea that creative expression can foster healing and mental well-being.

“If someone is dealing with depression, or they’re bipolar or they’re dealing with addiction or whatever, they will use art so they can paint through it,” Lindsay said. “Instead of laying on a sofa talking, they’re doing pottery or drawing.”

Lindsay moved back to the Atlanta area and got a master’s degree in creative business arts from SCAD. “It’s kind of like a business degree for the arts,” she said. She then launched a nonprofit to provide opportunities for disabled artists.

Lindsay lost most of her hearing at age one. “I got sick as a baby. And [hearing loss] was a result of the sickness,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with that all my life. But I’ve adapted and it hasn’t stopped me from accomplishing my goals.”

Brown Sugah Picnics

Although she still runs the nonprofit, Lindsay said she needed something that was creative and could supplement her income. She’d seen someone in California coordinating picnics for people and thought it would be a good fit for her skills and the area. Brown Sugah Picnics was born soon after.

“It’s something that I can enjoy doing — being creative and making people smile,” she said. It’s been a year and a half, and her business is steadily growing, mainly by word of mouth and social media, but she’s done some outreach as well. “It’s funny because 75% of my clients come from Google,” Lindsay said. “They want a party planner or luxury picnic or whatever.” Recently, she landed her biggest gig right in her own backyard. Lindsay was the primary vendor for “Girls Night Out,” part of the seasonal events schedule at The Forum at Peachtree Corners.

“Aleatha actually reached out to me before our Galentines event back in February,” said Charlotte Hinton, marketing manager for The Forum. “She said she owned this picnic our boulevard — and it was gorgeous.”

The theme for June’s Ladies Night was a garden party, and Hinton loved the idea of a picnic setting.

“It was a natural evolution with the florals and the picnic,” she said. Unfortunately, the threat of rain forced the event indoors, but it was still a huge success.

Forum focus on community growth

Utilizing local vendors — especially women and minorities — is part of the goals North American Properties has for The Forum. When the real estate developer took over the proper- come through our website. Whether they’re interested in leasing, in events, in business opportunities, we always encourage the community to reach out,” she said.

Lindsay is proud of the success she’s had so far and is anticipating bigger and better things to come. Right now, she’s a one-woman operation, with occasional assistance from family and friends.

She has yet to do a proposal picnic but has plenty of ideas on how to make is special and memorable. “I would love to do a small wedding and progress to bigger events, like more baby showers, bridal showers… you name it!” she said. “That’s kind of what I’m seeing in the next six months. ## business and if we were ever interested in her services, she would love to work with us.”

Hinton thought the ideas was so great, she gave Lindsay a trial setup.

“I think she typically does more private, individual picnics, like couples and girls date nights and things like that,” said Hinton. “I explained to her that I wanted to do this larger scale event, so she was kind enough to offer a trial session for Valentine’s Day and we did a beautiful picnic photo op right in the heart of ty more than a year ago, it emphasized that it wasn’t just parachuting in for a good deal.

“One of the things that we try to focus on most as a company is willingness to work with our tenants and partner with our community,” said Hinton. “As far as vendors go, we have our repertoire of vendors that we love to use, but we love to partner with the community. So, we partner with Town Center, we partner with restaurants with anyone around in the area.”

Hinton encourages small businesses to reach out to The Forum. “Inquiries are always wel-

Above, a variety of activites during the Night Out What