Atlanta Dogwood Festival

What are the highlights of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival?

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival is one of the best arts and craft festivals in Georgia. The highlight of the event is the artist market, which showcases a range of different art. The market is where around 260 artists set up stalls to display and sell their work.

There’s plenty of entertainment beyond the market, with rides in the Meadow. These include a Giant Wheel, Fun Slide, and Grand Carousel. The Kid’s Village has hands-on art activities and interactive games for children to enjoy.

Despite it being predominantly focused on arts and crafts, music has become essential to the festival. You will find a wide variety of music and live performances throughout the weekend. There is also plenty of food and snack stalls selling festival favourites like cakes, onion rings, and corn.

A brief history of Atlanta Dogwood Festival

As one of the oldest art festivals in the USA, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival was first held in 1936. The idea was developed by Walter Ric, who wanted to make Atlanta known for its blooming dogwood trees. The week-long event had parades, carnivals, performances, and pageants. The festival sadly stopped during the war until it was revived in 1964 by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta.

In 1987, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival Inc. was created to allow for community involvement and support in the planning of the festival. It has since seen many changes over the years, but Piedmont Park continues to be the event's venue. In recent times, the festival has attracted more than 200,000 attendees and 260 artists opening their stalls at the market.

Good to know about Atlanta Dogwood Festival

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival takes place across different areas of Piedmont Park. This makes the festival easy to access in the centre of Atlanta, with the best way to reach it is the MARTA public transport network or cycling to the event.

Parking can be quite difficult around the area, especially when the festival is on. Once you arrive at the park, there are plenty of amenities and facilities to cater for a large number of attendees.

You will find information tents with maps and programs, ATMs, first aid, restrooms, a bike rack, and food and beverage stalls. There are a couple of rules for the festival, including no smoking and no pets in the park.

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival is mostly run by a volunteer team of over 400 people. If you live in and around Atlanta, this is a fun way to contribute your time and enjoy the festival.