Atlanta Intown - May 2023

Atlanta Intown

MAY 2023 Vol. 29 No. 5 ■ RoughDraftAtlanta.com

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Contents MAY 2023

Editor’s Letter

4

Community AMC Moratorium

6

Treen Canopy

6

Tara Theatre Fundraiser

8

BeltLine Streetcar

10

Remerge HQ

12

ABG Head Gardener

14

Sustainability Above the Waterline

15

Arts & Entertainment Festival Fever!

16

Special Sections

8

•VaHi Porchfest

17-23

•Atlanta Jazz Festival

25-29

Fox ‘Revival’ Concert

30

Real Estate Perspectives in Architecture

32

Dining

32

Women + Wine

34

Quick Bites

38

Summer Camps

36

38

Atlanta Intown A

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Collin Kelley Editor collin@roughdraftatlanta.com

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Staff Writers Dyana Bagby

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Bob Pepalis Contributors Sally Bethea, Joe Earle, Melody Harclerode, Isadora Pennington, Sarah Pierre, Katie Rice, Clare Richie

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About the Cover The 46th annual Atlanta Jazz Festival returns to Piedmont Park over Memorial Day weekend with a free concert headlined by Wynton Marsalis, Stanley Clark, and Ledisi. See more on Page 16.

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MAY 2023 |

3

H I G H M U S E U M O F A RT AT L A N TA

ANCIENT

EDITOR'S NOTE

JUNE 2–SEPT 3 | HIGH.ORG PREMIER EXHIBITION SERIES SPONSOR

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Nubian Artists, Sudan, Winged Isis Pectoral, 538–519 BCE, and Heart Scarab of Queen Asata (detail), 593–568 BCE, jasper, Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. Photos © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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When Ryan Gravel first envisioned the Atlanta BeltLine in 1999, light rail was a main component. When the BeltLine miraculously began construction seven years later, room was left for the tracks on the main stretches of the trail.

Now that it’s time to start laying track on the Eastside Trail, there has been a bewildering mix of surprise and anger from home and business owners along the corridor. Judging from comments made at public forums, many thought rail on the BeltLine was a pipedream.

Collin Kelley The extension of the Atlanta Streetcar from Downtown to Ponce City Market has gone over like a lead balloon with many – even those in favor of rail on the BeltLine. And I totally understand why.

If you’ve ridden the streetcar, you’ll know that it’s empty most days and costs a fortune to maintain. But I do feel bad for the streetcar. It was built to be extended but has just been circling the core of Downtown for nearly a decade.

Now, there’s an opportunity to make the streetcar a mode of transportation that people will use, but the disruption to city streets and the trail itself are going to be a serious issue when construction begins.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m a proponent of transit on the BeltLine, but I’ve also wondered about alternatives. Something less expensive, less “bulky.”

I was scrolling through YouTube last week and found the fantastic footage Thomas Edison took of the moving sidewalk built for the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900 (the same year the Eiffel Tower made its debut).

“Le trottoir” was the first iteration of what is now standard in airport terminals, but its little handholds and the gentle glide past some of Paris’ greatest wonders made it seem like a charming alternative.

Of course, Paris ditched the moving sidewalk, and something tells me it would be a constant maintenance battle to keep it clean and running here in Atlanta in this day and age.

Some opponents of the streetcar on the BeltLine suggested small autonomous shuttle buses like the Beep that runs in Peachtree Corners. MARTA dismissed that idea out of hand, but I think it had some merit.

My hope is that once this first extension is done and folks see the benefit, they’ll be more on board. My advice to MARTA and the City of Atlanta is to listen to the concerns of residents who live along the route, address their inconveniences and complaints in a timely way, and get this extension done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

For more on this story, turn to page10.

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Finding the benefit of BeltLine rail

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Global News, Podcasts

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Sports, Top Stories of the Week

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MAY 2023 |

5

COMMUNITY

City extends moratorium on AMC site

By Dyana Bagby Mayor Andre Dickens signed an executive order on Monday extending the ban on new development at the Atlanta Medical Center site in Old Fourth Ward.

The Atlanta City Council is expected to approve the mayor’s executive order at its May 1 meeting to extend the development moratorium for 180 days, according to legislation introduced at Monday’s council meeting.

Dickens’ executive order directs the Department of City Planning to refuse any applications for rezoning, building permits, land disturbances or other development plans within Atlanta Medical Center’s 25acre footprint.

Dickens issued similar executive orders last year when Wellstar Health Care announced it was closing the 460bed hospital. The council approved the executive orders and issued a six-month redevelopment moratorium in October.

That moratorium expired April 16.

The non-profit Wellstar, one of the state’s largest health systems, said it was forced to close AMC due to heavy revenue losses. The announcement shocked city and county leaders. They said the 120-yearold hospital played a key role in Atlanta’s healthcare ecosystem because it served

some of Atlanta’s most vulnerable people, including low-income and Black residents.

Dickens has said the moratoriums ensure AMC’s prime real estate in the heart of booming Old Fourth Ward is not redeveloped with ”luxury condos.” The mayor has also said he is working with local, regional and state elected and healthcare officials to ensure the future development of the property includes healthcare services, such as another, perhaps smaller, hospital.

The planning review underway for what to do with the AMC site must take into account that numerous parcels are divided into several zoning categories, such as C-1 Community Business District Regulations, C-2 Commercial Service District and C-4 Central Area Commercial Residential District. Some of the properties are also located with the Beltline Overlay District and Beltline Affordable Workforce Housing District.

Wellstar also closed its AMC South facility in East Point last year citing low revenue. The hospital also served mostly Black and low-income people and left those living south of Interstate 20 without an emergency room and other medical services.

Last month, the Fulton County Commission approved a resolution requesting the U.S. Department of Justice investigate Wellstar for “health

Atlanta Medical Center

care redlining” after closing two Atlanta hospitals used primarily by Black and lower-income residents.

The NAACP and state lawmakers have also filed two federal complaints over Wellstar’s closures of Atlanta Medical Center and Atlanta Medical Center South, alleging the health system discriminated against Black patients.

Wellstar issued a statement that said

it “does not and has not discriminated against patients or communities of color — any suggestion otherwise is shameful and patently false.”

Last month, Wellstar reached an agreement to take over Augusta University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Georgia, also located in Augusta.

City Council okays legislation to achieve 50% tree canopy Courtesy Trees Atlanta

6 | MAY 2023

By Dyana Bagby The Atlanta City Council approved legislation on April 17 that seeks to establish a goal of achieving and maintaining a 50% average tree canopy cover in Atlanta.

The legislation also requests a study be conducted every five years to determine if the city’s tree ordinance is helping meet the 50% goal.

The resolution approved by the council notes that Atlanta is commonly described as a “City in the Forest” but studies dating back to 2008 showed the city’s tree canopy is shrinking.

“An informal goal of 50% tree canopy cover for the city was described over a decade ago by a previous city administration and, while socialized in Atlanta, the goal has never been formally

recognized,” the resolution says.

The most recent city-wide canopy study from 2018 showed Atlanta’s cover at about 46.5%, or nearly 41,000 acres of the city’s total area, excluding the airport.

The legislation was approved as the city begins implementing amendments to its tree ordinance approved by the council in December. The tweaks include giving the city arborist more enforcement resources and stricter tree-planting requirements in parking lots.

The amendments being implemented now are Phase 1 of an “incremental approach” to rewriting the city’s tree ordinance, according to a city news release.

Phase 2 of the rewrite is set to begin in early summer and is expected to include updates to the tree ordinance on tree preservation, recompense, and an incomesensitive tree replacement program. A draft of the Phase 2 rewrite is set to be finalized by the end of the year.

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MAY 2023 |

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After fundraising success, Tara Theatre set to reopen soon

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By Collin Kelley Cinephiles and preservationists ponied up $50,637.25 as part of an initial fundraising goal to reopen the historic Tara Theatre this spring.

In just seven weeks after Plaza Theatre operator Christopher Escobar announced the reopening of the Tara, movie fans have purchased $29,972.25 in advance gift cards and tickets, plus donations of $20,665.

“We are overwhelmed by, and greatly appreciative of, the enthusiastic response to the Tara Theatre’s return,” said Escobar, who also founded the nonprofit Friends of Tara. “We can hardly wait to open the doors and welcome moviegoers later this spring.”

The initial funds will enable the cinema, located at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road, to install new equipment, fixtures and furnishings and make other improvements.

The grand reopening date remains to be announced pending the resolution of operating permits, Escobar said, but the

8 | MAY 2023

cinema could reopen as early as May. “Energized by Atlanta’s generosity, and to further enable the re-opening, with this initial goal of $50,000 achieved, we established a stretch goal of $75,000 to make additional specific improvements to our historic marquee sign,” said Escobar.

“The changes we envision will restore or celebrate the original Mid-Century look for the ‘now playing’ and ‘coming attractions’ sign facing the intersection of LaVista Road at Cheshire Bridge.”

Escobar said the revitalized Tara will screen classic films, art house releases, and independent films. This format brings back some of the traditions established during the first few decades of operation after Loews opened Tara Theatre in 1968 or “the Lefont years” starting in 1980 when George Lefont owned the cinema.

The Tara’s previous owner, Regal Cinemas, shocked moviegoers when it shuttered the venue last November with only a few days’ notice.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit TheTaraAtlanta.com.

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MAY 2023 |

9

Intown News RoundUp More than 40 residents were displaced on April 2 after a fire gutted one of the buildings at North High Ridge Apartments in Poncey-Highland. The community had rallied with fundraisers and resources for the residents. Scan the QR code to see how you can help.

MARTA has launched the Breeze App 2.0, which allows riders to use their smartphone as their ticket for rail and buses. Riders can load stored value to their mobile account, allowing the app to work just like a Breeze card.

The Atlanta Police Department said a social media trend is driving the surge in Kia and Hyundai thefts, with more than 500 stolen during the first three months of 2023. APD is offering anti-steering clubs to vehicle owners at local precincts.

Civil rights activist Carolyn Long Banks, the first Black woman to serve on the Atlanta City Council, died April 12 at age 82. She served on the council from 1980 to 1997.

MARTA approves streetcar extension to BeltLine, prepares for audit

By Dyana Bagby

Courtesy MARTA

The MARTA board of directors has approved extending the Atlanta Streetcar from Downtown to Ponce City Market along the bustling Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail.

The board voted on April 13 to extend the streetcar, despite growing opposition from some homeowners and business owners who live and own property near the Eastside Trail.

The roughly 2-mile extension would run nearly a mile down Edgewood Avenue, up to Randolph Street, along Auburn Avenue to Irwin Street where it will connect

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with the Eastside Trail. From Irwin Street, the streetcar route would continue about another mile north to Ponce City Market.

Five stop locations are planned.

The streetcar expansion has been in the works for years to fulfill the vision of having light rail along the entire BeltLine, a 22-mile multi-use path being built mostly along abandoned railroad tracks encircling the city’s urban core.

The estimated $230 million project is a priority for MARTA as well as Mayor Andre Dickens and the Atlanta City Council to be funded with More MARTA funds.

Fred Duncan, who lives near the Beltline, represents about 350 homeowners who live along the proposed route who oppose the project. The streetcar extension would cut through a historic area with narrow streets and disrupt the quality of life of these hundreds of homeowners, he said.

“Atlanta is a car city,” he said. “The streetcar causes traffic backups now.

Spending $230 million for 2.3 miles is a total waste of money. This project has been a huge albatross since its inception.”

Julia Neighbors, a member of the Historic District Development Corporation, which owns Haugabrooks Funeral Home, said she lives on Randolph Street. She said MARTA’s community outreach has been “performative” to only reach a broad spectrum of the community impressed by the “sexy, vanity project.”

Matthew Rao is chair of Beltline Rail Now, an advocacy group pushing for light rail on the Atlanta Beltline, said the streetcar

extension is critical in alleviating gridlock building up along the Beltline corridor.

He also said it is important to remember history. When Ryan Gravel envisioned the Beltline and a grassroots movement pushed political leaders to approve it, light rail was always part of that Beltline’s DNA, he said.

“The extension will bring equity and mobility in a green way,” he said. “The longer we wait, the more expensive the project will get and the harder it will be for our leaders to build what we voted for.”

Meanwhile, the city council has called for a financial audit of the More MARTA program.

In response, MARTA said the audit request was “disappointing and disingenuous” and accused the council of “playing politics,” but the transit agency ultimately said it would cooperate with the city.

The sales tax is expected to generate $2.7 billion over 40 years; more money for the More MARTA program is coming from public and private dollars.

The audit’s scope would include all revenue and expenditures tied to More MARTA and local revenue and expenditures that support operations and capital projects in Atlanta, according to the resolution.

The audit would also review federal funds received and spent by More MARTA to date, including federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park homeowners along the route have formed the Streetcar Impact Team urging MARTA to consider alternative routes and modes of transit besides the streetcar. More than 700 homeowners in the area have signed a petition calling for MARTA to consider other options.

One alternative the group proposed is Beep, an autonomous shuttle service currently being used in Peachtree Corners, Jacksonville, FL, Yellowstone, WY, and other locations. Bentson said MARTA’s response was that it didn’t make sense for the project.

“We’re not against public transportation or even having it on the BeltLine, but it doesn’t make sense to spend this much money without any proof streetcar usage will grow,” Bentson said.

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MAY 2023 |

11

Remerge brings neighbors together to solve problems

Remerge’s space at 340 Auburn Ave. will be used as an arts center. (Photos

by Hannah Coleman)

By Clare S. Richie

Nonprofit organization Remerge is moving its headquarters to 597 Auburn Ave.

Nonprofit Remerge is moving its Community Building Studio and administrative headquarters to the quirky 597 Auburn Ave. building in the historic Sweet Auburn district.

Its current 340 Auburn Ave. location will continue offering community space, but will primarily serve as an arts center.

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“We’re nearing the end of the design phase and hope to start the renovation this summer,” said the organization’s executive director Andy Odle.

Founded in 1999 to aid Atlanta’s chronically homeless, Remerge evolved into a place-based nonprofit driven by inclusion and collaboration, welcoming all neighbors to work toward common ends.

“Internal to our mission is this theological concept of reconciliation, joining lives together or re-merge,” Odle said. “What better place to do that than in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood that has historically been the heart of reconciliation, experienced segregation, disinvestment, and a highway through it … and is now seeing a resurgence of interest?”

The Community Building Studio is where Remerge brings people together to try to solve problems, sometimes through programs like Community Connections.

“How do you get [Atlanta City Council Member] Amir Farokhi in a room with a neighbor experiencing homelessness to talk about participatory budgeting?” Odle posited. “We help facilitate that.”

Relationships, trust and ownership are built through programs, like Open House Tuesday, and by staff who have walked in their vulnerable neighbors’ shoes.

“Having a shared lived experience

allows me to empathize and patiently support those in similar conditions,” said Ben Graham, Senior Associate with Sweet Auburn Connections. “It gives me a spark of connection needed to relight the pilot light of hope and perseverance.”

Volunteers have started programs like Giving Grace, which provides emergency financial assistance, a sustainability plan and ongoing relational support for single-parent families, the homeless, and the extreme poor. “[Christy Betz] showed up with donations for the homeless, was pretty scared, so dropped stuff off and left,” Odle said. “She came back and started to meet the human beings who were there. She met Rico, who needed shoes because he went through a pair a week, walking the streets. She asked Rico his size and asked her friends to donate shoes. Then she got to know somebody else.”

From this first act grew Giving Grace, which in 2022 served 2,436 metro Atlanta families with $1.7 million in direct services.

She explains it now as, ‘I have friends who have means and friends who don’t have means.’

William Massey, a local artist who volunteered with Remerge hosting community coloring sessions, launched ColorATL to connect people using art. Since 2016, Remerge collaborated with 105 local artists to produce four “Atlanta-grown” adult coloring books, partnering with Power Haus Creative for a Juneteenth edition and the Asian American Advocacy Fund for an Asian American and Pacific Islander children’s edition.

“Our coloring books have entered the hands of thousands of people,” Massey said. “[And] often go where artists can’t (i.e., rehab facilities). So even in hardship, each person who starts coloring may feel more connected to the artist’s artwork, biography and love for our city…and themselves.”

Remerge emphasizes relationships with neighbors to drive decision-making.

“The more that we can love our neighbors, accept differences and try to find space that our lives are joined together, we’ll create communities of peace,” Odle said.

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13

Spring is primetime for ABG head gardener

Amanda Bennett

By Joe Earle

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Amanda Bennett wanted a job that let her work outdoors.

Growing up on a cattle farm near Madison, she said, “I was always outside.”

When she headed off to college, she decided to pursue a career that wouldn’t keep her at a desk inside an office. “Why would you want to spend your time inside when you could be outside?” she asked.

She’d always liked working with plants, so she tried majoring in botany, the study of plants. It didn’t stick. Botany required too much time in a lab, peering into a microscope. She switched to horticulture, the art and practice of gardening.

“I like to get dirty, I do,” she said one recent sunny afternoon as she sat on a bench in the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where now, at age 44, she’s vice president of the garden for horticulture and collections.

That means you can call Bennett the head gardener for the showiest public gardens in metro Atlanta. She oversees 30 acres of plants and plantings and directs 36 horticulturalists who tend the Midtown attraction. And it means she can work outdoors in one of metro Atlanta’s most spectacular plant places, a carefully crafted, high-profile display at a high-profile institution.

“Plants are cool,” she said one recent sunny afternoon as she sat on a bench overlooking a newly redeveloped area of the garden. So are gardens. “I tell people that above all, gardens should make you happy,” she said. And they are personal.

You can try things out and take a shot at growing whatever makes sense to you. “[A garden] doesn’t’ follow rules,” she said.

“Plants don’t read books [about what to

plant, or where].”

In a public garden, the plants change constantly. Gardens are redesigned regularly and restocked with new plants and new combinations of plants.

Returning flower fans want to see new things, after all, and not just repeats of last year’s blooms. Bennett jokes that the planning and execution takes a lot of spreadsheets.

It also takes months. She and her staff start working on plans for their gardens a year or more in advance, she said. They want every space to make visitors in some way say “wow.”

“If everybody could do this,” she said, “you’d never have to leave your backyard.”

Saying she oversees 30 acres doesn’t fully cover the ground she and her staff care for. Each section of the public space is divided into smaller, individual gardens.

Some areas are named, but most simply are identified by plot number. Each has its own plan and is attended by its own gardener. “There’s not a garden that doesn’t have something going on all the time,” she said.

So, what’re her favorites? The native azaleas? The towering camellias? Daffodils?

Hydrangeas? Tulips? Nope. “I love cactuses and succulents,” she said. “If you look at cactus flowers, they’re extremely sculpted.

They’re extremely structural.”

She learned to appreciate desert flowers during her first job at the botanical garden, which she started right out of college.

More than two decades later, she’s still finding new treats in the garden. “I learn something every day I didn’t know about plants,” she said.

“And I get to be outside.”

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SUSTAINABILITY

Electric vehicles are in my future – and yours

Two years ago, I bought my third hybrid car in the past 16 years, all Toyotas. I have loved every one of the gas and electric batterySally Bethea powered vehicles: a Highlander, then a Prius, and now a RAV-4, which is my favorite.

Considered a compact SUV, my RAV-4 is currently getting an impressive 42.5 miles per gallon, thanks to its electric battery and what I call my “soft” driving techniques. I’ve learned how to maximize the car’s fuel efficiency with a steady speed, minimal sudden braking or acceleration, and coasting to red lights and traffic slowdowns. Other motorists don’t seem to be as thrilled with my driving as I am—given their noisy (and gas-guzzling) acceleration when they pass me.

Once a speedy driver myself, a slower life in retirement and a desire to reduce my fossil fuel (carbon) footprint have led to new driving habits. When I bought my RAV-4 in 2021, I knew it would be my last hybrid. An all-electric vehicle (EV) will be my next purchase.

ABOVE THE WATER LINE

Cars and Carbon The transportation sector is Georgia’s

largest source of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions causing global heating and extreme weather events. According to the nonprofit Drawdown Georgia (drawdownga.org), a whopping 41% of the state’s emissions are released from cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes every year.

Nationwide, the percentage is lower, but transportation remains the number one producer of the carbon pollution fueling the planet’s climate crisis.

Human activities are responsible for almost all the increase in GHG in the atmosphere over the past 150 years.

Human actions can also slow (and possibly reverse) the catastrophic trend if we move quickly with new policies and major investments in the most effective solutions, one of which is a rapid transition to zeroemission electric vehicles.

EVs are more efficient than internal combustion engines – and easier and less expensive to maintain. The average fuel efficiency in the U.S. today for gaspowered cars is 25.7 miles per gallon; however, the efficiency for most electricpowered is at least 100 miles per gallon of gas-equivalent. In other words, you can drive four times as far using electric power instead of gas and at lower fuel costs.

Drawdown Georgia calculates it will cost just $31 to drive 1,000 miles on electric power versus $165 on gasoline.

Electric cars can be charged overnight

at home using a traditional 110V outlet and a cord plugged into the vehicle, or more quickly at fast-charging public stations. In Georgia, there are already more than 30,000 EVs and 1,600 public recharging stations, primarily in metro areas, with thousands more on the way.

Thanks to new federal funding, Georgia will receive $135 million in grants to significantly expand its charging infrastructure. The focus will be on key road corridors in rural and underserved communities with the goal of creating a network of recharging stations every fifty miles. The Inflation Reduction Act passed last year offers another incentive with tax credits: $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for used EVs assembled in North America.

Leading the Deep South battery belt Georgia is positioned to become “the electric mobility capital of America,” according to Gov. Brian Kemp. Since 2018, dozens of EV-related projects have contributed more than $20 billion in investments. While the state’s focus has been on successfully attracting new facilities and jobs, less effort has been made to provide consumer incentives. The generous tax credit once offered to EV purchasers in Georgia ended in 2015.

“Our state is leading in

manufacturing,” says Jennette Gayer, director of Environment Georgia (environmentamerica.org/georgia), “but not leading in policies to encourage people to drive EVs made in Georgia.” Recent legislation at the State Capitol proves her point, even while also revealing the increasing interest of elected officials in electric transportation.

Motorists in gasoline-powered cars and trucks pay a gas excise tax that funds the construction and maintenance of state roads and bridges. Since EVs do not use gas, they pay no taxes. Their owners do pay a high annual registration fee of over $200, the second highest in the country.

During Georgia’s recent legislative session, a bill to overhaul the way payments are made at EV charging stations was debated, amended, and then passed. Similar to the tax levied on gasoline, the EV charging tax will be calculated based on electricity used: a kilowatt-hour fee.

Because Georgia already imposes a high annual fee on EVs to help replace lost gas tax revenue, electric transportation advocates view the additional charging tax as punitive. As originally written, the tax would have been the highest in the country, a fact that Gov. Kemp and other EV boosters rejected. The tax was lowered closer to the middle of the current national range in the final version of the bill. A pilot study will evaluate whether or not the flat tax rate should be replaced with a system based on all vehicle EV miles driven.

New tailpipe emission limits In mid-April, the Biden administration announced proposals for stringent new tailpipe pollution limits intended to ensure that EVs make up two-thirds of new cars sold in the U.S. by 2032.

Described as a “quantum leap,” this action – undoubtedly to be heavily debated, challenged, and amended – would be the most aggressive climate regulation enacted in the U.S. To meet federal goals, automakers may have to cut emissions for 2032 vehicles by more than half. Hurdles to the success of this initiative are many, but not impossible to overcome: supply chain issues, adding new recharging stations, vehicle price, and, of course, the usual politics, meaning opposition from climate deniers, fossil fuel producers, and those who simply hate change.

Fossil fuels face a diminishing future in transportation. Electric vehicles are one of many solutions that will help us contend with climate change. Time is of the essence – as we make this transition easy, fair, and fast.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Festival season brings art, music & parades Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade (Photo by Steve Eberhardt)

and “The Rescuers”). Get all the details at momocon.com.

Chastain Park Arts Festival The 13th annual festival on May 13-14 will feature 175 artists and artisans, a children’s area, food, and acoustic music. Find out more at chastainparkartsfestival.com.

Decatur Arts Festival Downtown Decatur will be buzzing with artists, music, food and more on May 5-8, for the annual arts festival. The weekend kicks off with the Art Walk on Friday, May 5 with music on the square and local galleries and businesses showcasing work by local artists. The weekend artist market will feature more than 120 artists exhibiting and selling their creations. A kid’s area and full slate of music is also on the menu. Visit decaturartsfestival.com for the full schedule.

Kirkwood Spring Fling & Tour of Homes The 20th annual festival will feature an artist market, a kids’ area, 5K race, and a tour of homes. The Wing Fling invites challengers to compete for the title of best

By Collin Kelley

Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade

Festival season is in full swing around metro Atlanta, offering everything from arts & crafts and music to home tours and lantern parades.

We’ve rounded up a guide of some must-see events in May, plus we have many more at the How Do You Atlanta? event calendar (howdoyouatlanta.com).

Thousands are expected to flock to the Westside Trail on Saturday, May 20, starting at 8:45 p.m. Line-up will begin at 7:45 p.m. at Adair Park for those who want to build a lantern and take part in the parade. A number of lantern-making workshops are planned leading up to the parade. Get more details at art.beltline.org or weirdgonepro.com.

Dunwoody Arts Festival

Shaky Knees Festival For those who still need a little rock ‘n roll in their lives, the Shaky Knees Fest returns to Atlanta’s Central Park on May 5-7 with headliners The Killers, Muse, and The Lumineers along with Great Van Fleet, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tenacious D, The Mars Volta, Hozier, The Flaming Lips and many more.

Tickets are sold out, but there’s a wait list at shakykneesfestival.com.

Decatur Arts Festival

16 | MAY 2023

chicken wings. The event is one-day only, May 13, at Bessie Branham Park. Find out more at historickirkwood.org.

Sweet Auburn Spring Fest Jazz, food, vendors and more will be on hand for the 37th annual festival taking place May 13-14 in Downtown Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn District. See the lineup at sweetauburn.com.

Momocon

Dunwoody Arts Festival

The “all-ages geek culture convention” is back May 25-28 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Downtown. There will be plenty of cosplay, vendors, panels, and special guests including legendary Disney director/animator Don Bluth (“Sleeping Beauty,” ‘Pete’s Dragon,” “Robin Hood”

The festival returns May 13-14 with artisans, vendors, a kid’s zone, food, and more at the Dunwoody Village Shopping Center. See more details at splashfestivals. com.

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MAY 2023 | A SPECIAL SECTION

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Vectralux performs at the 2022 Porchfest.

(Photo by by Sarah Carpenter) MAY 2023 |

17

Hitting a high note with VaHi Porchfest A Porchfest finale to top the charts Virginia Highland Porchfest will roll out its first-ever headlining band finale at John Howell Park, with a 6 p.m. performance by We The Party Band.

This will be We The Party Band’s inaugural performance at any Virginia Highland Porchfest. The band stated

The third-annual Virginia Highland Porchfest is drumming up to present a record-breaking lineup of 85 bands on 55 porches across the neighborhood on Saturday, May 20.

With the influx of bands come a few enhancements to the event. Virginia Highland District Association (VHDA), which plans and operates the festival, has decided to centralize the last hour of the event by having a headliner, We The Party Band, perform at John Howell Park. They have also expanded the vendor market to include 40 local vendors along Adair Avenue, which will intersect with 30 food trucks placed along Barnett Street.

Virginia Highland Porchfest will get a running start at 11 am with the Rock n Run, a 1-mile fun-run, in which neighbors and visitors put on their favorite rock n roll garb or dress up as their favorite musicians.

Music will follow the run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on porches across the neighborhood, and the headlining show will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Kids can bounce around at Kids Corner, a fun zone for the youngest Porchfest attendees to play games, jump in the bounce house, stop for a balloon animal or one of three magic shows.

VHDA started Porchfest as a means of linking the community through the enjoyment and support of local musicians, all the while enhancing foot traffic to support the small businesses along the North Highland Ave corridor. Elizabeth Howell, General Manager of Atkins Park Restaurant and Bar, said, “Porchfest is such a great event! We love the energy of

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the community plus, it is fun to show off this great neighborhood to the rest of Atlanta!”

Rachael Pack, co-owner of Kinship Butcher Sundry, commented on the “buzz that fills the neighborhood” during Porchfest. She stated that Kinship is “elated to be able to grace the grill” of local residents during Porchfest and serve up “breakfast sammies” the next day to recover from the busy event.

Local resident Sophia Rosen and her family have enjoyed the event since its inaugural year in 2021. Rosen stated that “The first year Porchfest came about I was so excited. I had no idea what to expect and I was overwhelmed with joy the first year. It was just out of COVID and it was a breath of fresh air. But when I arrived, I was in awe. It exceeded my expectations. I thought, ‘Oh maybe it is because I’m just out of quarantine.’ The next year was even more amazing.”

A resident of the Virginia Highland Neighborhood since 2008, Rosen explained that the combination of each portion of the event “sold me forever.” This year, she is registered for the Rock n Run and her mother will be volunteering. “It brings joy and community to our historic, beautiful neighborhood. Cheers to the community who puts it on. We can’t thank you

enough,” said Rosen.

Porchfest is presented by 14 Hands Wine, Jack Daniels and Coca Cola Can, Sweetwater, Tanteo Tequila, and Fever Tree, along with White Claw Vodka and Hard Seltzer. Festival goers can enjoy these beverages at six drink tents within the event perimeter. The event is co-sponsored by Audi Atlanta. It is also supported by small businesses and resident sponsors throughout the neighborhood.

Proceeds from the event go towards public realm investments in the neighborhood such as plantings, clean-ups, and urban planning. Residents, visitors, musicians, and local businesses will up the volume while investing in their community at the third-annual Virginia Highland Porchfest.

that they couldn’t be more thrilled to be performing as the festival’s first-ever, one-and-only headliner. We The Party Band got started in 2011 as a group of friends from church, getting together to perform at Dugan’s Restaurant in College Park.

Alex Harvey, the band manager and MC for the band said that We The Party Band wants to “give the audience the experience of euphoria.” The band plans to provide “an experience of escaping the reality of the day, kick back, and listen to the sweet sounds of music, because music heals, and it’s good for the soul. We want our audience to feel liberated, excited and free to let go, dance, and groove to the beats.”

We The Party Band plays R&B and Hip-Hop from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s. Their energy-charged covers are slated to bring the good vibes to this year’s Virginia Highland Porchfest.

Scan this QR code for the festival map

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PR E S E N TE D BY

TM

CO - SP ON SOR E D BY

S U PP O RT E D BY

BEING A CONTINUED SPONSOR OF

Virginia Highland Porchfest YOUR VIRGINIA HIGHLAND NEIGHBOR & TOP PRODUCING AGENT SINCE 2003

Celebrating 20 years in Real Estate! @virginiahighlanddistrict

Ashley Bynum c. 404.423.8025 | o. 404.480.4663 | AshleyB@AnsleyRE.com ANSLEYRE.COM | 952 PEACHTREE ST. SUITE 100, ATLANTA, GA 30309 | 404.480.4663 All data believed to be accurate but not warranted. If you have any existing brokerage relationship, this is not intended as a solicitation. Equal housing opportunity.

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packed with happy faces, as the signature VAHI sign will be moved from North Highland Park for the day to serve as a photo backdrop. Enjoy a fun launch to your day or a shaded interlude, where the kids can get in the festival mood!

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Launch your day at Porchfest by participating in the Rock n Run, a 1-mile fun run that celebrates musicians of all sorts. Participants will deck themselves out in their greatest rock and roll garb, whether a wig, tie-dye, inflatable guitars, or the styles of a favorite musician. Enjoy a community celebration of fun as a DJ announces the race at the start, and the best dressed will receive awards at the finish. Rock n Run participation is $25 (12 and over) and includes a bag of goodies at the end of the race.

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Break sound barriers at the Porchfest Rock n Run

Bring the kiddos over from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to enjoy the Kid’s Corner, presented by Druid Hills Presbyterian Church. Located at John Howell Park, the Kid’s Corner is great for all ages, stacked with both free and paid fun activities. A rockin’ DJ will start the day to pump up the park with smooth tunes. Free activities will include a craft station with music-themed painting and coloring, magic shows at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 p.m., and large yard games like Jenga, cornhole, and Connect 4. Paid activities like the bounce houses and balloon art, contribute to VHDA fundraising. Porchfest Kid’s Corner will be

A recipe for success: food trucks at Porchfest

From savory to sweet, Porchfest will host a variety of Atlanta’s most delightful food vendors. Check out over 30 mouthwatering food trucks, with flavors from around the world, to savor on this spring day in Virginia Highland.

Unique local finds at Porchfest’s Vendor Avenue Part of VHDA’s mission is to support local businesses, including stellar popup vendors. Specially curated for your Porchfest outing will be over 40 of Atlanta best artists and craft goods makers, ready to show you their unique creations. Running along Adair Avenue, this artisanal market is an opportunity to shop and support local creators while taking a break between musician sets. Vendors will have a variety of goods including fiber arts, jewelry, local honey, sunglasses, and even dog bandanas.

Rock the Porchfest shirt and support high school students Savor the Porchfest experience with a Porchfest T-Shirt, bag, or sunglasses.

There will be two merchandise booths at the event along Barnett Avenue. You can also purchase your Porchfest shirt early and enjoy a quick pick-up the day of the event by purchasing during presale. Merchandise includes the T-shirt crafted by the winner of the design contest at Midtown High, sophomore Ava Johnson. Twenty percent of the proceeds for the shirts with Johnson’s design go to the arts and communication programs at Midtown High.

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‘Feeling Good’ in the neighborhood

Virginia Highland Porchfest is a group-effort project, conceptualized and operated by the volunteers and board directors of Virginia Highland District Association (VHDA), of the northeast intown neighborhood, Virginia Highland. VHDA is a business association founded by resident stakeholders and dedicated to the prosperity of the small business corridor of North Highland Avenue, from Ponce de Leon Ave to Morningside.

Large events like Porchfest present a rare, effective fundraising opportunity for neighborhood nonprofits. By attracting community-orientated sponsors, selling tickets to sub-events, and having a portion of the concession sales go to the organization, the entire event is planned and oriented toward fueling VHDA’s mission. The association creates a liaison between neighborhood stakeholders and city professionals to “support small businesses in Virginia Highland through economic development, public realm investment, and community engagement.”

In 2020, VHDA Board Director and child therapist, Christina Carrick, took VHDA’s community engagement mission and linked it to the concept of Porchfest. She had visited the Oakhurst Porchfest in Fall for many years and, after some research, gave the organizer, Scott Doyon, a call. Since then, the VHDA board and Porchfest team have learned and grown. It takes a little over six months to plan and, this year, over 20 people have dedicated many hours to plan the event. This year’s record-breaking lineup of bands and porches has been a newly expanded undertaking for the team.

VHDA sends a huge “Thank you!” to Porchfest attendees for supporting your local community events, musicians, artists, and associations.

Volunteer at Porchfest Porchfest relies upon the support of community members to operate this melodious event. Volunteers help set up and break down, check-in, and cheer on Rock n Run participants, monitor streets for safety and wayfinding, make sure kids have a blast at Kids Corner, answer questions at the info booth, and help ensure everyone has a rockin’ fun time. A complimentary Porchfest T-shirt is provided to volunteers upon arrival at their shift. Volunteers attend a 1-hr informational meeting the week before the event to learn about the event. Sign up to volunteer by May 10.

Logistics and safety Porchfest music is viewable from the sidewalks only; please be respectful of local residences. Limited parking is available, VHDA encourages festival goers to walk, bike, and rideshare. The event will have three strips of portable restrooms, along with a firstaid station on Barnett Ave near John Howell Park. To pair with the in-festival provisions, VHDA encourages festival-goers to check out food, drink, and shopping offerings from local businesses along North Highland Avenue.

Contributors WRITING Judie Levy Katie Voelpel Christina Carrick RoughDraftAtlanta.com

DESIGN Sarah Carpenter

PHOTOGRAPHY Electric Creative Sarah Carpenter Brittany Hester

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MAY 2023 | A SPECIAL SECTION

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One of the largest free jazz festivals in the country, the Atlanta Jazz Festival is an annual celebration of music, culture, and the art of jazz. The festival returns to historic Piedmont Park, in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, from Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.

Attendees will enjoy music featuring local, national, and international artists.

MAY 2023 |

25

2023 Atlanta Jazz Festival The festival is free and open to the public. While enjoying the live jazz, festivalgoers will also find a kidzone with games and interactive play as well as shopping and food vendors. No grilling, pets, tents, or glass containers are allowed in the park during the festival. Due to limited parking, organizers encourage concertogers to take public transportation or use the free bike valet located on 10th Street near Park Tavern. No parking will be allowed in the neighborhoods surrounding the park.

Piedmont Park Schedule

Ledisi

Saturday | May 27 1 PM

Lakecia Benjamin – jazz, funk, and R&B saxophonist

3 PM

Tony Hightower – vocalist

5 PM

David Sanchez – Latin jazz saxophonist

7 PM

Samara Joy – vocalist

9 PM

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis

Late-Night Jazz Concert featuring singer/songwriter Cecily will take place at Park Tavern at 10 pm. This is a ticketed event, and reservations can be made on the festival website.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

Monday | May 29

Sunday | May 28 1 PM

Sélène Saint-Aimé – afro-French bassist and vocalist

1 PM

Satya – singer/songwriter

3 PM

Brandee Younger – contemporary jazz, soul, and funk harpist

3 PM

James Francies Trio – pop influenced jazz

5 PM

Javon Jackson and the Gospel according to Nikki Giovanni – poet and saxophonist

5 PM

Brenda Nicole Moorer – singer/songwriter

7 PM

José James – hip-hop infused jazz vocalist

7 PM

Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) – trumpeter and jazz innovator

9 PM

Stanley Clarke N 4 Ever – jazz fusion bassist

9 PM

Ledisi – R&B and jazz vocalist

26 | MAY 2023

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HENSE creates 2023 festival artwork Alex Brewer, also known as HENSE, created this year’s festival artwork.

An American contemporary artist, best known for his dynamic, vivid, and colorful abstract paintings and monumental wall pieces, Brewer utilizes unique color and composition in his installations to evoke a bold presence in the varied spaces they inhabit.

Brewer, a native of Atlanta, began his career painting and writing on the walls around the city at a young age.

He discovered his love for creating art in public spaces through graffiti in the 1990’s. He produces numerous public works worldwide through a combination of techniques learned through graffiti writing and the formal language of abstract painting.

He has received recognition as a contemporary abstract painter, exploring, color, form, and material. His works in the realm of public art have garnered him national and international attention.

He has also received numerous notable commissions internationally and throughout the United States.

Brewer’s largest commissioned work is in Lima, Peru amassing an impressive size of 137 feet tall and 170 feet wide. With the ability to transform a gallery space or city’s landscape, Brewer’s paintings can act as a unifying thread in a community. Brewer is always inspired by creative expression and process in the public realm and creates works that play an important role in the visual interactions and dialogue of a community.

Scan the QR code for more festival information.

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‘The Blues and Its People’ concert kicks off festival May 26 The Apollo Theater’s production of “The Blues and Its People” celebrates the 60th anniversary of “Blues People: Negro Music in White America” by Amiri Baraka. The concert sold out in New York and now it’s coming to Atlanta to kick off the Atlanta Jazz Festival.

The evening will feature Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music performed by Russell Gunn and the 24-piece Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra with special guests including Weedie Braimah, Miles Griffith, Jazzmeia Horn, jessica Care moore, Leon Timbo, Warren Wolf, and narrated by Amber Iman.

The concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall

Russell Gunn

on Friday, May 26, at 8 p.m. To reserve tickets, visit atlantajazzfest.com.

Commissioned by The Apollo Theater, “The Blues and Its People” is composed and Music directed by Gunn and developed

by Leatrice Ellzy, with projection design by Zavier Taylor, and lighting design by CJ Pierce.

“I saw the concert

at The Apollo, and it was a profound and uplifting experience,” states Camille Russell Love, Executive Director of the City of Atlanta - Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

“It’s the perfect way to kick off the Atlanta Jazz Festival weekend.”

Poet, novelist, teacher, and political activist Amiri Baraka was also a noted writer of music criticism. His classic history “Blues People: Negro Music in White America” (1963) traces Black music from slavery to contemporary jazz. “Where the music goes that’s where the people go. The music reflects the people,” Baraka said.

The VIP Experience Music lovers are encouraged to join the Atlanta Jazz Festival Society, which offers VIP access to the weekend of music.

A membership for two costs $1,500 and includes two VIP festival passes for all three days of the festival, including access to the VIP Lounge with food and beverages, seating in the VIP area to view performances, and private restrooms.

Other perks of the membership include parking passes for all three days, a gift bag of festival souvenirs, a framed poster of this

year’s AJF artwork, and two tickets to the Russell Gunn concert at Symphony Hall on May 26.

Individual Day Passes are $350 per person and include a one-day pass to the festival, access to the VIP Lounge, seating in the VIP area to view performances, and private restrooms.

Visit atlantajazzfest.com for more information.

Singer, songwriter Cecily featured at Late-Night Jazz Concert

Cecily

DC-based vocalist and songwriter Cecily, (pronounced ses-suh-lee), is known for her agile soprano and honest lyrics. Her sound, as soothing as it is rich, is rooted in a deep appreciation for mid-century soul and

28 | MAY 2023

jazz, 90’s R&B, and re-imagined folk music.

Cecily will bring that sound to the Atlanta Jazz Festival on May 27 as part of a special Late- Night Jazz Concert at Park Tavern, adjacent to Piedmont Park, starting

at 10 p.m. Tickets for this special show are available via atlantajazzfest.com.

In Cecily’s songs, you’ll hear the influence of growing up surrounded by her parents’ vast record collection. Her father, a lover of Miles Davis, and her mother, a Smokey Robinson fan, filled their home with soulful sounds that captivated their daughter, and which she has channeled into her own work. This influence gives her work a unique sensuality that informs not only her vocal approach, but also her self-reflecting lyrics, grappling with self-acceptance, vulnerability, and rebirth.

Soulbounce says that Cecily creates “music that pulls from the past but looks toward the future.”

Her debut album “Songs of Love and Freedom” garnered her a 2019 Wammie Award for Best Soul Album and was named Best New Soul on Bandcamp by the Bandcamp editorial team, who described the project as “stirringly timeless and modern.”

Cecily’s 2019 release exploring unconditional love, “Awakening Pt. 1” landed her first SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Awards nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year, a 2020 Indie Soul Music Award for Best Female Artist of the Year, and a 2020 Wammie Award for Best Soul Song for her single, “Clumsy,” which BET.com praised for its “gorgeously sultry vocals.”

The project was also named “Best New Soul on Bandcamp” by Chaka Grier of the Bandcamp editorial team, who praised her ability to blend “top-notch songwriting and thoughtful self-reflection with a gentle jazzinfluenced sound.”

“Awakening Pt.II,” Cecily’s eagerly anticipated continuation of the critically acclaimed “Awakening Pt. 1” is set to be released in Spring 2023. The album interweaves Cecily’s life experiences with inspiration from the book “All About Love”

by Black feminist writer bell hooks.

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46th ANNUAL

ATLANTA JAZZ FESTIVAL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

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27-29

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

PIEDMONT PARK

Stanley Clarke 4 Ever

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RUSSELL GUNN FEATURING WEEDIE BRAIMAH, WARREN WOLF, JAZZMEIA HORN AND MORE

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MAY 2023 |

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The Fox Theatre is set to host a historic night on Saturday, May 13, as the theatre celebrates 15 years of preservation efforts through its outreach program the Fox Theatre Institute (FTI).

Hosted again by Atlanta native and famed musician Kevn Kinney, the organization’s “Revival” benefit concert will raise money to preserve and restore Georgia’s historic theaters and expand its education arm through an auction.

With performances by Collective Soul, Mother’s Finest, Drivin N Cryin, Jet Black Roses and other special guests, this unique musical event is inspired by the power of storytelling and the role theaters play in bringing communities together. Tickets for “Revival” are on sale now at foxtheatre.org.

FTI director Leigh Burns said marking 15 years is significant for the organization.

“For us, it’s a time to reflect on the impact we’ve made across Georgia and the southeast.”

Burns noted that the last “Revival” – held pre-pandemic in 2019 – raised more than $120,000. She said FTI’s mission to help save their historic theatres has its origins in the “Save the Fox” campaign from the 1970s that saved the venue from demolition.

“We've assisted more than 70 theatres and provided $2.7 million in funding,” Burns noted, including helping the City of Eatonton purchase the historic Pex Theatre.

From the smell of the popcorn to sitting in the same seat his grandparents

once did, Kinney recollects how strong the memories created in a theater can be.

“There is no substitute for a theater full of people from every walk of life laughing, thinking and crying together,” he said.

“Art is the backbone of our society”, said Collective Soul’s Ed Roland. “From the beginning, historic theatres allowed those arts to be portrayed through plays, movies and music. It is so important that we do everything we can to preserve these meaningful buildings, so we can continue to spread joy and creativity that we will never forget.”

All concert attendees will be invited to participate in a live “Fund-A-Mission” auction driven by Atlanta’s Your Rocktioneer from the Fox’s stage. This live component will help raise money for FTI’s educational arm, “Fox in a Box,” a program that directly benefits students throughout Georgia.

The auction includes notable items and experiences such as a private behind-thescenes tour and dining experience at the Fox Theatre’s famed Marquee Club presented

by Lexus, signed artist memorabilia like Joe Bonamassa’s guitar, and more.

“Revival’s” Fund-A-Mission sponsor and Official Bank of the Fox Theatre, Regions Bank, will generously match what the audience is able to raise in this interactive five-minute fundraiser. More details on how to participate in each of the auction activities are coming soon and fans are encouraged to check the event’s web page at foxtheatre.org for more information.

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REAL ESTATE

New era for Oakland’s historic bell tower An aerial view of the refurbished Bell Tower (Courtesy Historic Oakland)

Augustus Koch’s bird’s eye view of Oakland Cemetery, 1892.

The PERSPECTIVES IN Oakland ARCHITECTURE Bell Tower

Melody Harclerode

is ringing in new energy at historic Oakland Cemetery in Southeast Atlanta. The

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Jackson, legendary golfer Bobby Jones, 25 Atlanta mayors, and country singer Kenny Rogers. With more than 100,000 annual visitors at the Victorian garden-style cemetery, Historic Oakland Foundation, the nonprofit organization in charge of managing the property since 1976, had expanded uses for the two-story, Romanesque Revival building to serve as a visitor center, Foundation offices, and meeting space for corporate, civic, and educational groups.

Cramped and drab interior spaces, lack of accessibility, and overuse of the Bell Tower led Historic Oakland Foundation to hire Atlanta-based Smith Dalia Architects for the rehabilitation of the 2,800-square-foot building. A longtime visitor to the cemetery, Smith Dalia Architects Principal Greg Cross has centered the project on preserving, refreshing, and modernizing the Bell Tower; adding more accessibility; and creating revenue-generating opportunities for the Foundation.

Historical building elements, such as exterior windows and the belfry structure housing the bell, have been restored. The renovated vault in the basement, once used to store deceased bodies, now functions as the sexton’s office.

Removal of walls constructed during ad hoc renovations has resulted in a new lobby that doubles as event space for private, public, and school groups. Cross notes, “We had to remove nonsympathetic components to demonstrate the greatest standard of care for the building and visitors.”

New building elements are distinguished from existing ones through the use of contrasting materials to express the design evolution of the building. In the lobby, metal finishes on a new stairway and elevator stand in contrast to the gypsum wall finish and original wood floors and trim.

The addition of a stairway and elevator adds accessibility to the second floor featuring a meeting room and two newly restored

porches.

Enclosed in the 1970s as offices for the Foundation, restoration of the secondstory porches for outdoor use allows visitors to see the cemetery’s gardens and ornamental memorials, new developments nearby, and the Atlanta skyline. As a site for funerals, public programs organized by the Foundation, and public relaxation, panoramic views from the Bell Tower help guests to see how the city’s oldest and first public greenspace serves a myriad of needs for Atlanta.

For more information about the Bell Tower, tune into the Uplifting Places podcast on Spotify hosted by Melody Harclerode with guest Smith Dalia Architects Principal Greg Cross and Historic Oakland Foundation Executive Director Richard Harker.

The exterior of the renovated Bell Tower at the heart of the cemetery.

(Courtesy Historic Oakland)

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The view of Cabbagetown from Oakland Cemetery in the 1930s.

(Courtesy U.S. Library of Congress)

The renovated interior of the historic Bell Tower. (Courtesy Historic Oakland)

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MAY 2023 |

33

DINING

Finding balance as a business owner and mom WOMEN + WINE

Katie Rice & Sarah Pierre

Katie here! When thinking about this month’s article I considered that May is significant because of Mother’s Day. When thinking about what it means to be a mom – especially as a wine professional and also a business owner – I thought of the conversations about these challenges I’ve had with Carson Demmond, founder of Rive Gauche Wine Co., a purveyor of mindfully made wines based in Carson Demmond Atlanta.

Carson came into wine the same way that most of us have – the restaurant business.

Born in Atlanta to “restaurant parents,” Carson says she was “trained to carry no less than three plates at a time as a child.” After graduating from Skidmore College and moving to NYC, she landed a job at the Modern, and under the tutelage of Belinda Chang, a James Beard Awardwinning sommelier, she became immersed in the wine scene. Carson credits this time and her ability to speak French as the natural progression into her next foray as a sommelier in tasting panels.

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panels are groups of wine professionals who come together to taste through a series of wine flights, blindly and sometimes up to 40 wines a day. Tasting without any preconceived notions allows a truly unbiased opinion. They rank them by quality, flavor, and if they are an overall correct representation of the wine. Tasters are not told the producers or price of the wines, but simply the theme: Chenin Blanc, 2019 vintage for example. The group ranks and reviews them and Carson says that in almost every tasting, a benchmark producer is knocked out and a value wine is strongly rated.

These sessions led to Carson’s appointment as tasting director for Wine & Spirits Magazine and eventually the lead critic for South African and Alsatian wines. After several years writing for the publication, she moved into a role with Duclot, a Bordeaux wine importer.

Through this role, she learned firsthand the logistics of wine importing and how to navigate compliance with the government.

Next, she was fortunate to work a harvest in Arbois, France, furthering her education with an immersion into production. She then moved back to NYC and continued writing freelance for multiple publications, and then on to Food & Wine Magazine as assistant wine writer.

In 2017, after becoming pregnant with her first child, Carson moved back to Atlanta and began the process of building her own company, Rive Gauche – which translates to ‘Left Bank.’ With her bevy of contacts from her previous career and “friends met along the way,” Carson built a distributor with the intent of working with small companies and small wines.

The ethos of RG focuses on “mindfully farmed wines” that naturally are small production.

Carson explained that if “wines are made with low intervention it is difficult and labor intensive. When wines are hard to make, there isn’t a lot of wine made.”

Carson’s challenges that come with building a company, especially when importing alcohol, were many – everything from leasing warehouse space to licensing to navigating Georgia’s law, all while caring for a newborn.

Then came COVID. The logistics of every aspect of the supply chain were affected, from the labor shortages at ports to the fact that wineries could not get supplies; it took months to just get bottles.

The delivery cycle that normally takes four to six weeks after an order was placed was now taking four to six months. And

on top of it all, new tariffs on international wines increased pricing and import costs.

These obstacles still exist. There are still labor shortages, transit times have increased, fluctuating dollar values and lack of supplies have yet to be regulated.

As Carson and I spoke, we came back to the original conversation about motherhood and business ownership – “trying to juggle lots of balls and being ok with dropping one when you have to.” Keeping up with payroll and logistics but putting a healthy meal on the table while continuing to have a positive, “do it all” mentality is impossible. There is a need to be decisive but also prioritize when it comes to being a busy mom.

“There is less freedom to dwell on your decisions – like sending an email, you aren’t able to spend 10 minutes going over it before hitting send,” Carson says. “You just have to let go, not overthink and forget about perfectionism and it has honestly made me more proactive and quick!”

A second point that Carson points out and I strongly agree with: “Our particular industry is a very social one, and many customer-facing events happen in the evenings when it’s also the most important time to be spending with the kids. I rarely get the occasion to participate.”

Trying to prioritize family over work is a challenge in any regard. Being a mom is hard. What I took away from our conversation is that I am not alone. We all must remember to slow down, give ourselves grace and cherish our time with family. After all, our business revolves around a beverage: one that comes from deep family ties.

Carson Demmond with her family.

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DINING

Quick Bites

▲The co-owner and executive chef at Atlanta’s Miller Union has released a second cookbook. Steven Satterfield, along with co-author Andrea Slonecker, has published “Vegetable Revelations: Inspiration for Produce-Forward Cooking.” Follow him on Instagram @millerunionchef for more information.

Historic Hotel Row in the South Downtown redevelopment has its first tenant: TydeTate Kitchen, a Thai restaurant from brother and sister Sai Untachantr and Bank Bhamaraniyama. The eatery is at 229 Mitchell Street with a menu that includes sweet chili crispy tofu, Kee Mao, basil chicken, chicken curry puffs, Panang curry beef, and more. Find out more at tydetatekitchen.com.

Halidom Eatery, a full-service food hall, is slated to open at 1341 Moreland Ave. in East Atlanta in early 2024. The food hall will be located in a 13,000-square-foot space and is expected to have 11 stalls featuring cuisine from local chefs. Those attending the Ormewood Park Makers Festival on May 20 can get a sneak preview of some of the food that will be on offer.

AlcoHall, a hall that will offer patrons a slew of different beverages to try, plans to open at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood this spring.

The stalls will offer everything from tequila tastings to tap rooms, along with places for live music, billiards, and even mechanical bulls. The first round of beverage stalls has been announced, including Wicked Weed, an Asheville brewery known for Freak of Nature; Shortbarrel Bourbon, an Atlanta-based liquor company; Three Chord Bourbon, a company founded by guitarist Neil Giraldo, husband of musician Pat Benatar; House of Suntory, a Japanese spirits outfit; Desert Door, a Texas distillery that specializes in a spirit called sotol; and Babylonstoren, a South African winery.

Check pullmanyards.com for updates.

Boxcar Betty’s is now open at Westside Paper at 950 West Marietta Street serving up gourmet chicken sandwiches. The Atlanta location will be the first in the area, but the fifth location overall. Get more details at boxcarbettys.com.

Nowak’s has opened a second restaurant in Sandy Springs. The steakhouse, located at 6690 Roswell Road, is open for dinner

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Dave Green, the owner of The Select in Sandy Springs, is bringing a new restaurant to The Works on the Upper Westside. Damsel, a new 10,000-square-foot restaurant, will offer a collection of globally inspired small plates and entrees when it opens this fall.

Monday through Saturday. Nowak’s currently has a location in the Morningside neighborhood of Atlanta. Get more information and make reservations at nowaksrestaurant.com. ▲“The Menu” – a satirical, Black horror/ comedy about the restaurant industry

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and the artifice of the foodie – might not seem like a great source of inspiration for a good cause. But NFA Burger’s Billy Kramer was inspired to create The Burger Benefit which will be held on May 7 at NFA Burger in Dunwoody. The event will feature a multitude of chefs and burger experts offering their own takes on a

▼D’Juan’s New Orleans Bistro has opened in Vinings at 3300 Cobb Parkway.

The restaurant offers up typical New Orleans fare such as gumbo, crawfish mac and cheese, bread pudding, and more.

Chef Hugh Acheson confirmed on social media in April that he has permanently closed Empire State South in Midtown. Acheson said on Instagram that the acclaimed Southern restaurant shuttered in February due to ongoing financial issues post-pandemic and inflation. He continues to operate Five and Ten in Athens.

MAY 2023 |

39

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