Looking for something to do this weekend in metro Atlanta? Several plant sales are on the calendar if you’re looking to spruce up your landscaping, and the annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival and Acworth Arts Fest will bring art, fun and food to the area.
Check out the following 15 things to do in metro Atlanta this weekend:
Intown Atlanta
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Dogwood Festival
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Dogwood Festival
Noon-9 p.m. Friday, April 14, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, April 15 and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, April 16 (artist market closes at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.) Piedmont Park, 1320 Monroe Drive NE, Atlanta. 404-827-8663.
Visit the 87th annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival for an artists’ market featuring many types of art, sponsor booths (some with interactive fun) and kids’ activities including make-and-takes and face painting. A wide array of diverse music and entertainment is also featured, as well as foods such as crab cakes and kettle corn.
8 a.m. registration, 9 a.m. opening ceremony, 9:30 a.m. race start and 10:30 a.m. closing ceremony. Saturday, April 15. Chastain Park, 135 Chastain Park Ave. NW, Atlanta. 202-303-3110.
Register and raise money to support prostate cancer patients and their families and run or walk in a 5K or a one-mile route. Fun kids’ activities, including a Kids Superhero Dash for Dad, will also be held.
3 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Friday, April 14 members-only presale. 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15 sale for non-members. $15 reservation good for one or two people and applied as a credit off your purchase when you check out. Oakland Cemetery, 248 Oakland Ave. SE, Atlanta. 404-688-2107.
Reserve your time slot to buy interesting and hard-to-find plants at the Historic Oakland Foundation’s Spring Plant Sale.
Cobb
Credit: Mableton Improvement Coalition
Credit: Mableton Improvement Coalition
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 15. Free admission. Mable House Complex, 5239 Floyd Road, Mableton. 732-713-2667.
Enjoy a parade, a Family Fun Zone and live performances and shop at vendors, food trucks and artists’ booths.
4 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, April 16. Free. East Cobb Park, 3322 Roswell Road, Marietta.
Listen to music from singer, songwriter, guitarist and published author Jeannie Caryn, who celebrates life through story and song.
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, April 15 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, April 16. Free. Historic downtown Acworth.
Shop for artists’ creations, let your kids have fun in the Kidz Zone and buy festival food and beverages or eat at a downtown restaurant.
DeKalb
Fernbank After Dark: Booze and Botanicals
7 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday, April 14. $22.95 nonmembers, $17.95 members. Fernbank, 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta. 404-929-6300.
Head to Fernbank After Dark for museum exhibits, live music, full bars, tapas menus, science demonstrations and more. This month’s theme is Booze and Botanicals, which explores botanicals through fun activities and cocktails.
4 p.m.-7 p.m. preview for Wylde Center members (join at the door for $50 individual, $75 family), 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, April 15 and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, April 16. Wylde Center - Oakhurst Garden, 435 Oakview Road, Decatur. 404-371-1920.
Visit Wylde Center’s Oakhurst Garden to buy plants such as perennials, annuals, herbs and vegetable plants including beans, okra, peppers, summer squash and tomatoes.
Credit: From decaturglassblowing.com
Credit: From decaturglassblowing.com
5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, April 14 and 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 16. $66 per person. Decatur Glassblowing, 250 Freeman St., Decatur. 404-849-0301.
Take a group class to learn from professional glass blowers and make your own egg-shaped glass paperweight.
North Fulton
6 p.m. pre-parade activities, 8:15 p.m. parade start. Saturday, April 15 Pre-parade activities and parade start at Steel Canyon Golf Club parking lot, 460 Morgan Falls Road, Sandy Springs, with the parade ending at Morgan Falls Overlook Park, 400 Morgan Falls Road, Sandy Springs. 770-206-2022.
Enjoy music, food trucks and kids’ activities at the pre-parade and then join in or watch the lantern parade. At the end of the parade, participants will be able to have up-close encounters with lanterns including Alice the 25-foot Albino Alligator.
Shakespeare in the Park: “Macbeth”
7 p.m. Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15 and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 16, plus additional dates. $20. Autrey Mill Nature Preserve Amphitheater, 9770 Autrey Mill Road, Johns Creek. 678-366-3511.
Watch a version of “Macbeth” that’s set in an imaginary Scottish-American colony in the late 1600s.
2 p.m.-5 p.m. (1 p.m.-5 p.m. for VIP ticket holders) Sunday, April 16. $70 general admission, $120 VIP, both plus fees. Town Green by Alpharetta City Hall, 2 Park Plaza, Alpharetta. 678-297-6000.
Sample complimentary wine tastings from your favorite participating restaurants and businesses. VIP tickets include access to around 30 ultra-premium wines and tasty bites from local restaurants.
Gwinnett
Speeder Days at Southeastern Railway Museum
Credit: custom
Credit: custom
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 15 and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, April 16. $4 per ride (available for ages 5 and older). Paid admission required: Adults age 13-64 $18, seniors age 65 and older $15, children age 2-12 $12, children under 2 free. Southeastern Railway Museum, 3595 Buford Highway, Duluth. 770-476-2013.
Tour the museum and ride railroad speeder cars that railroad crews used to service the rails across North America.
8 p.m. Friday, April 14, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 15 and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 16, plus additional dates. $25.50-$168.50. The Eagle at Sugar Hill, 5029 West Broad St., Sugar Hill. 770-945-6929.
Watch the Players Guild at Sugar Hill production of “Guys and Dolls,” an oddball romantic comedy set in Damon Runyon’s mythical version of New York City.
8 a.m. Saturday, April 15. Adults 14 and older $35, children 6-13 $10 and children 5 and under free. Suwanee Town Center, 330 Town Center Ave., Suwanee.
Take part in a timed 5K Run or 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk to raise money for the Sarcoma Fountain of America.
About the Author
