Cats may have nine lives, but the Pink Pig is about to embark on its third.
A fresh version of the Christmas kids ride, which originated at Rich’s department store in 1953, is debuting at the annual Georgia Festival of Trees from Nov. 23 to Dec. 1 at Gas South Convention Center in Duluth (with Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day off.)
“It’s the perfect time for our Gwinnett community to embrace this beloved tradition,” said Stan Hall, CEO at Gas South District, in a press release.
The ride was first a monorail along the ceiling of Rich’s department store in downtown Atlanta, dubbed the Snowland Express. When a headlight fell off later that decade, the store fashioned a pig snout, painted the ride bubble gum pink, and dubbed it Priscilla the Pink Pig. A second monorail called Percival joined Priscilla in the early 1960s.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The rides, which provided the kids with a skyline view and a ride around the big Rich’s Christmas tree, became a downtown staple until Rich’s closed down in 1991, a victim of suburbanization and shifting shopping patterns.
After a brief stint at Egleston Children’s Hospital’s Festival of Trees, the original pigs became museum relics at the Atlanta History Center.
Credit: File
Credit: File
In 2003, Federated, which merged Macy’s with Rich’s that year, decided to resurrect a new version of the Pink Pig on a parking deck near Macy’s at Lenox Square in Buckhead. The train ride, under a pink and white tent, carried kids and their parents through a life-size storybook until 2019.
The pandemic in part led Macy’s to not only kill off the Pink Pig but also its once popular annual Thanksgiving tree lighting ceremony, another tradition originated at Rich’s decades earlier.
Angie Ulibarri, creator of the current iteration of the Georgia Festival of Trees which debuted in 2021, moved to Atlanta in 2016 and had no clue what the Pink Pig was until volunteers and attendees of the first event kept asking her about it. “My staff was driving me crazy,” she said.
So she approached Macy’s last year to license the Pink Pig name. She said it took time, but the department store gave her the green light. “They are great people at Macy’s,” she said. “I hold them in the highest regard.”
She said the final design of the train has not been set so all they have so far is a logo. She plans to hold a contest to name the new pig and create a memory wall, encouraging people to provide photos of their families on the Pink Pig going back decades.
The trackless ride will cost $5 and will journey around the convention hall itself.
Monica Pearson, the longtime broadcaster who now hosts “The Monica Pearson Show” on ajc.com, will emcee the Georgia Festival of Trees opening night gala on Friday, Nov. 22.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
“The Pink Pig is such a part of Atlanta history,” said Pearson, who moved to Atlanta in 1975 and often hosted the tree lighting. “It became one of those great traditions for families around Christmas to bring take their children on the ride downtown.”
Sheffield Hale, who runs the Atlanta History Center, recalls riding the Pink Pig as a child in the 1960 and receiving Santa Bucks at Rich’s from his parents so he could buy gifts for the adults without them knowing what he was getting. “I remember buying my grandpa this siren for his boat,” he said. “I thought it was so cool!”
The Georgia Festival of Trees, a seven-day event featuring a display of Christmas trees, wreaths, centerpieces and nativities for auction, is also on the move, transplanting from the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) to Gas South Convention Center this year.
“There was a lot of frustration from families coming into the city,” Ulibarri said, noting that on days when there was an Atlanta Falcons or college football game, parking became pricey and scarce. “They had fun once they got to us, but parking was a problem.”
Credit: Jonathan Phillips
Credit: Jonathan Phillips
So she moved the event this year to the convention center in Duluth, which recently doubled in size and offers ample parking for its target suburban family audience.
The event, which covers 90,000 square feet of convention space, will feature live music and entertainment on a main stage as well as space for Santa, his reindeer and a life-size sleigh. Kids ages 5 and up will be able to run an Elf Training Academy obstacle course while toddlers can play at the Lil’ Elves Driving Academy. There will be a Lego holiday/winter themed competition and a battle for best gingerbread house. Kids can talk to elves at the Elf Phone Booth and drop gift lists off at the North Pole post office.
On Saturday, Nov. 30, there will be an after-hours, 21-and-over comedy showcase.
The event raises money for two nonprofit groups: Street Grace, a Norcross-based group that works to eradicate sexual exploitation of children, and Atlanta Redemption Ink, which removes or covers up tattoo brands that traffickers place on their victims.
A comparable festival of trees unrelated to this one ran for nearly 30 years to raise funds for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta but was scrapped in 2007 due to high costs and scheduling issues at the GWCC.
This new Georgia Festival of Trees, also at the GWCC, drew 5,000 attendees its first year, 15,000 in 2022 and 18,000 last year. Ulibarri expects bigger crowds this year, though adding the Pink Pig adds a layer of uncertainty in terms of potential attendance.
“It’s a little surreal,” Ulibarri said. “I’m such a big believer in the power of nostalgia generating that joyful feeling. That’s what we want to provide.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
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