2006 Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park with Midtown Atlanta skyline in background

Atlanta's mild climate and plentiful trees allow for festivals and events to take place in the city year-round. One of the city's most popular events is the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, an arts and crafts festival held in Piedmont Park each spring, when the native dogwoods are in bloom. Atlanta Streets Alive, inspired by the ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, closes city streets to car traffic to allow people to participate in health and community-oriented, such as

bicycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

, strolling,

skating Skating involves any sports or recreational activity which consists of traveling on surfaces or on ice using skates, and may refer to: Ice skating *Ice skating, moving on ice by using ice skates **Figure skating, a sport in which individuals, ...

, people-watching,

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

hula hoop A hula hoop is a toy hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel with careful execution and practice. They have been used by children and adults since ...

ing, and

break dancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consists mainly o ...

Neighborhood

Inman Park Festival, held in the spring in one of Atlanta’s oldest

neighborhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

, offers an artist market, live entertainment, and a wide variety of food vendors. Kirkwood Spring Fling is held in eastside neighborhood of Kirkwood each May. The festival is centered on Bessie Branham Park and features a 5K run in the morning, artist market, live music, Tour of Homes, and a variety of local food trucks and restaurants. Little Five Points Halloween Festival, winner of the 2003 Best Festival award by the International Festival and Events Association, takes place the weekend before Halloween in Atlanta's bohemian district, involving a parade and costume contest. The

Virginia Highland Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's capital is Richmond and its most populou ...

neighborhood holds both an annual Virginia-Highland Summerfest festival, focusing on art but also featuring the dave fm music stage; as well as the Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes each December and the

North Highland Mile The North Highland Mile (formerly Morningside Mile) is an annual race and block party that takes place in March or April in the Virginia Highland and Morningside neighborhoods of Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United ...

around Easter.

Ethnic

Atlanta's large Hispanic community is represented in

Festival Peachtree Latino Festival Peachtree Latino is an ethnic festival held annually Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The festival, which celebrates Hispanic-American culture, is the largest multicultural event in the entire Southeast. The festival features arts and cra ...

, the largest multicultural festival in the Southeast, which is held annually at Piedmont Park. Other ethnic celebrations include the

National Black Arts Festival The National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) is an organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 1987. It was originally a one-week long summer festival which was held biennially starting in 1998. It was started after the Fulton County Arts Counc ...

, the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival, St. Patrick's Day parade, the Atlanta Greek Festival, the Atlanta Turkish Festival, Festival of India, JapanFest, and Korean Festival.

LGBT+

Atlanta is home to some of the nation's largest

gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...

festivals,

Atlanta Pride Atlanta Pride, also colloquially (and formerly) called the Atlanta Gay Pride Festival, is a week-long annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBTQ) pride festival held in Atlanta, Georgia (United States). Established in 1971, it is one of t ...

, as well as what is billed as the world's largest black gay pride celebration, Atlanta Black Pride.

Film

Atlanta is the host of the

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is an international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia and operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a diverse r ...

, an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

qualifying, international film festival held every April and showcasing a diverse range of independent films, including genre films such as horror and sci-fi. Other film festivals include the

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is the largest film festival of any kind in the state of Georgia and is the largest Jewish film festival in the world. The 23-day festival is held in late winter at multiple venues in Atlanta, Georgia and in the s ...

, the Atlanta Asian Film Festival, the Out on Film gay film festival, Independent Film Month, Atlanta Film Festival 365, Atlanta Underground Film Festival, Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival, and the Buried Alive horror film fest. The CinErotic FilmFest is a 3-day festival established in 2010 and "dedicated to screening short films on Super 8mm and

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...

". There is also the Bronzelens Film Festival, held every year in Atlanta.

Music

Atlanta's main music festival is

Music Midtown Music Midtown is a large music festival held in Atlanta, Georgia, annually from 1994 to 2005, after which it returned in 2011 following a six-year hiatus. The festival ran consecutively from 2011-2019 with a cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID- ...

, which was revived in 2011 after a six-year hiatus. The festival, which is held in

Piedmont Park Piedmont Park is an urban forest and park in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as ...

, hosts major bands like

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

and

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...

. Peachtree Music Festival is a one-day, two-stage outdoor music festival held at the corner of 8th Street and Spring Street in the city's Midtown district. The festival blends

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

bands with electronica DJs. Atlanta also hosts one of the largest free jazz festivals in the country, the Atlanta Jazz Festival. In 2017, the Atlanta Jazz Festival will celebrate its 40th year and include 40 Days of Jazz leading up to the Memorial Day weekend event that takes place in Piedmont Park. Corndogorama is a yearly music festival, founded in 1996 by Dave Railey, which features performances from local bands including

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

Metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

, and

Electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

groups. There is also an Atlanta Trumpet Festival.

Conventions

Dragon Con Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. , the convention draws attendance of over 80,000. ...

is a yearly multigenre convention with an associated parade. Dragon Con's 2014 attendance was 63,000.

Races

Atlanta hosts dozens of yearly races including the

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta, once during the first weekend of January and the other on Independence Day. They are held on the sa ...

List of some festivals and events

* A3C Festival & Conference *

Anime Weekend Atlanta Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) is an annual four-day anime convention held during December at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building C in Atlanta, Georgia. Programming The convention typically offers an Anime Music Video contest, Artists' Alle ...

* Atlanta Arts Festival in

* Atlanta Asian Cultural Experience * Atlanta Black Pride * Atlanta Caribbean Carnival *Atlanta Celebrates Photography *Atlanta Cycling Festival * Atlanta Dogwood Festival *

* Atlanta Greek Festival * Atlanta Ice Cream Festival * Atlanta Jazz Festival *Atlanta Jewish Film Festival *

* Atlanta Streets Alive * Bulgarian Festival Atlanta * Atlanta Turkish Festival * Cheese Fest Atlanta * Children's Christmas Parade *

*Fall in the Fourth,

Old Fourth Ward The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated O4W, is an Intown Atlanta, intown neighborhood on the Eastside (Atlanta), eastside of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the Martin Luther King Jr. National H ...

*Festival of India * Festival of Trees *Festival on Ponce,

Druid Hills Druid Hills is a community which includes both a census-designated place (CDP) in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, as well as a neighborhood of the city of Atlanta. The CDP's population was 14,568 at the 2010 census. The ...

* First Night * Fourth of July at

Lenox Square Lenox Square is a shopping mall in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is adjacent to Phipps Plaza, both of which are owned by Simon Property Group. Lenox Square spans of gross leasable area and has 198 tenants, makin ...

and

Centennial Olympic Park Centennial Olympic Park is a public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. It was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as part of the infrastructur ...

* Furry Weekend Atlanta *

Gathering 4 Gardner Gathering 4 Gardner (G4G) is an educational foundation and non-profit corporation (Gathering 4 Gardner, Inc.) devoted to preserving the legacy and spirit of prolific writer Martin Gardner. G4G organizes conferences where people who have been ins ...

*Georgia

Renaissance Festival A Renaissance Festival (medieval fair or ren faire) is an outdoor gathering that aims to entertain its guests by recreating a historical setting, most often the English Renaissance. Renaissance festivals generally include costumed entertainers ...

* Inman Park Festival * JapanFest Atlanta * JordanCon *

Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States, federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the End of slavery in the United States, ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's n ...

Parade & Music Festival *Kirkwood Spring Fling *Kirkwood Wine Stroll *Kirkwood Home for the Holidays *Korean Festival *

Little Five Points Little Five Points (also L5P, LFP, Little Five, or Lil' Five) is a district on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, east of downtown. It was established in the early 20th century as the commercial district for the adjacent I ...

Halloween Festival *

MomoCon MomoCon is a fan convention held on Memorial Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. From its beginning through 2011, it was held on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in its first year, MomoCon was held in the Georgia Tech Student Cent ...

*Outlanta Con *Out on Film *

Passion Play The Passion Play or Easter pageant is a dramatic Play (theatre), presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus: his Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, trial, suffering and death. The viewing of and participation in Passion Plays is a traditional part of L ...

* Screen on the Green *Seishun-Con * Southeastern Flower Show *St. Patrick's Day Parade * Sweet Auburn Heritage Festival *Sweet Auburn Music Fest * Sweetwater 420 Festival,

Candler Park Candler Park is a 55-acre (223,000 m2) city park located at 585 Candler Park Drive NE, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is named after Coca-Cola magnate Asa Griggs Candler, who donated this land to the city in 1922. The park features a ...

*Summit Racing Equipment Atlanta Motorama at

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (currently known as EchoPark Speedway for sponsorship reasons, formerly known as the Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georg ...

* Taste of Atlanta * Taste of Buckhead * TimeGate *TomorrowWorld *

Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe ( 2.HC) stage ra ...

* Virginia-Highland Summerfest * Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes *Walker Stalker Convention * Yellow Daisy Festival

References

{{Atlanta events