BREAKING: Freaknik party has been canceled.
What is Freaknik: Atlanta remembers festival of epic proportions
Is Freaknik, the former spring break bash known for its traffic tie-ups, coming back?
#FreaknikATL started trending on social media when planners began a publicity blitz to promote a party scheduled for Labor Day weekend in Stone Mountain. It's not the first time someone's tried to "bring Freaknik back," and this most recent iteration appears to be aimed at a different audience than college kids who want to just ride up and down the street.
UPDATE: Freaknik's coming back? Well .. not exactly
Instead of a rolling party, this one is planned for a a sophisticated venue in Stone Mountain, called The Atrium. Its web site shows photos of a sleek, upscale interior and details plush amenities like VIP suites and an indoor heated pool.
PHOTO GALLERY: Looking back at Freaknik
PAST COVERAGE: Freaknik wasn't just another traffic jam
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Freaknik thrived during the early 1990s but by 1995 authorities started cracking down.
"Peachtree, Cascade, Piedmont and Monroe were favored destinations," the AJC's Christian Boone reported in 2010. "So were Underground, Lenox Square and Greenbriar, where a Rich's was looted during Freaknik '95. That year police reported more than 2,000 crimes, from indecent exposure to looting to rape."
Attempted Freaknik comebacks pop up on social media from time to time, including around the time of the 2010 report. At the time, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed didn't sound interested in Freaknik 2.0.
"There will not be a takeover of Atlanta under my watch," he said then.
