WEEKEND BEST BETS
Jazz festival, Decatur Arts and Memorial Day
Access Atlanta staff
Thursday, May 21, 2009
FRIDAY
The Gwinnett Courthouse Square becomes a bustling art market as Art on the Square plays host to more than 50 local and regional juried fine arts exhibitors. There will also be a wine tasting 5 p.m.-8 p.m. May 22 and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. May 23, and a silent auction 5-8 p.m. May 22.
Staff
Last year’s Atlanta Jazz Festival was in Woodruff Park, but this year, you’ll find it in Grant Park.
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• 10 a.m.-8 p.m. May 22; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 23. Show is free; wine-tasting $20. Crogan Street at Perry Street, Lawrenceville. 678-226-2639, www.visitlawrenceville.com.
“Doctor Who” and “Stargate” fans gather to get their geek on at the TimeGate convention.
• 5 p.m.-midnight May 22; 10-1 a.m. May 23; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. May 24. $40 weekend pass. Holiday Inn Select Perimeter/Dunwoody, 4386 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta. 404-403-9902, www.timegatecon.org.
The Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti performs with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The concert will feature music from his latest CD, “Italia.”
• 8 p.m. May 22-23. $20-$68. Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-5000, www.atlantasymphony.org.
The 21st Decatur Arts Festival will have the courthouse square buzzing with an art walk and two days of music. The fest brings in more than 140 artists from around the nation.
• Hours vary May 22-24. Check Web site. Free. Decatur Square, West Ponce de Leon Avenue at Clairemont Avenue, Decatur. 404-371-9583, www.decaturartsfestival.com.
The Michael O’Neal Singers complete their 20th season with a tribute to musical theater. Hear works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, among others.
• 8 p.m. May 22. $20-$22; $15-$17 advance. Roswell United Methodist Church, 814 Mimosa Blvd. 770-261-1773, www.mosingers.com.
SATURDAY
The City of Lilburn Memorial Day Ceremony boasts a broad range of musical performances, including sets from the Stone Mountain Barbershop Chorus, the 116th Army Band and Grayson-based folk-rock trio No Strangers. A flag ceremony and keynote speech by Police Chief John Davidson round out the day.
• 10 a.m. May 23. Free. Lilburn City Park, Main Street and Railroad Avenue, Lilburn. 770-921-2210, www.cityoflilburn.com.
There isn’t a beach in sight, but that won’t stop the fun at the fourth annual Clarkston Surf Fest. Cranking up the reverb-drenched guitars are Daikaiju, Killer Filler, the Surge, the Penetrators, the Broken Spokes, the Mystery Men?, the Neconomikids and Stratogeezer.
• Noon May 23. Free. Clarkston Community Center, 3701 College Ave., Clarkston. 678-358-2895.
Mississippi-born jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller performs with trumpeter Marcus Printup in a fund-raiser for the Southeastern Organization for Jazz Arts.
• 8:30 p.m. May 23. $30. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-521-1786, www.variety-playhouse.com.
Atlanta’s sassy rhythm-and-blues goddess Francine Reed is endlessly entertaining. Her gutsy vocals and engaging stage presence have made her an Atlanta crowd-pleaser for many years.
• 11 p.m. May 23. $20. Actor’s Express at King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. N.W., Suite J-107, Atlanta. 404-607-7469, www.actors-express.com.
This year’s Atlanta Jazz Festival culminates with two days of free shows in Grant Park. The festival features local and national acts, headlined by Atlanta pianist Freddy Cole and contemporary fusion band Hiroshima.
• Noon-11 p.m. May 23-24. Free. Grant Park, 537 Park Ave. S.E., Atlanta. 404-521-0938, gpconservancy.org.
SUNDAY
Veterans’ Remembrance Day honors those who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and today’s conflicts. They’ll share their stories of wartime through personal accounts and memorabilia.
• Noon-5 p.m. May 24. Included with general admission: $15; $12 senior citizens ages 65 and older and students ages 13 and older; $10 ages 4-12; ages 3 and younger free. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4000, www.atlantahistorycenter.com.
He’s performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and now concert pianist Robert Henry is artist-in-residence at Kennesaw University. The Atlanta native earned gold medals in four international piano competitions in just one season in 2001-2002.
• 3 p.m. May 24. $15; $12 senior citizens and students. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-872-5338, www.callanwolde.org.
Atlanta Chinese Dance Company explores the West’s influence on China’s artistic traditions and vice versa with “West to East, East to West.”
• 7:30 p.m. May 24; 2 p.m. May 25. $20; $10 students and senior citizens. Gwinnett Performing Arts Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 770-449-9953, 404-249-6400, www.atlantachinesedance.org.
After spending a brief time as the Lovemongers, the sisters Wilson have been trading as Heart again for the better part of this decade. After 30 years, “Barracuda,” “Magic Man” and “Crazy on You” still send a tingle up the spine.
• 7:30 p.m. May 24. $43.50-$53.50; $33.50 lawn. Chastain Park Amphitheater, 4469 Stella Drive N.W., Atlanta. 404-233-2227, 404-733-4800, www.chastainseries.com.
Toad the Wet Sprocket officially called it quits in 1998, but the band has been pretty busy in recent years, despite frontman Glen Philips’ continuing solo career. The one-time college radio darlings, who took their name from a Monty Python skit, are back together again for one of their occasional tours.
• 8 p.m. May 24. $32.50; $30 advance. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-521-1786, www.variety-playhouse.com.
MONDAY
The Woodstock Memorial, which is dedicated to Woodstock Veterans, will be unveiled at a Memorial Day Ceremony.
• 10 a.m. May 25. Free. Woodstock City Park, Arnold Mill Road at Towne Lake Parkway, Woodstock. 770-926-8852, www.woodstockga.gov.
Roswell Remembers, established in 1998, will offer exhibits and demonstrations at 10 a.m. with military ceremony at 11 a.m. to commemorate Memorial Day. The ceremony features speaker Col. Benjamin H. Purcell, who spent more than five years as a POW in Vietnam. The event will also include a POW/MIA tribute, laying of the wreath, patriotic music and more.
• 10 a.m. May 25. Free. Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill St., Roswell. 770-640-3252, www.roswellmemorialday.com.
Marietta National Cemetery’s Memorial Day Ceremony is sponsored by the National Memorial Day Association of Georgia and the Avenue of Flags. The keynote speaker will be Maj. Gen. Jerome Johnson, deputy chief of staff, G-4, Forces Command, Fort McPherson. The event will also feature wreath presentations, the playing of taps and live performances by the Roswell New Horizons Band. Guests are advised to arrive early because parking will not be available on the cemetery grounds.
• Noon May 25. Free. 500 Washington Ave., Marietta. 1-866-236-8159, www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/marietta.asp.
Atlanta-based Zac Brown Band throws a Memorial Day party at Chastain Park Amphitheatre. The band’s current single, “Whatever It Is,” is about to go Top 10 (it sits at No. 11), and follows the recent No. 1 hit “Chicken Fried.” Table set-up; patrons may bring in picnic baskets, but beverages must be purchased on site.
• 5 p.m. May 25. $28 reserved and lawn. 4469 Stella Drive N.W., Atlanta. 404-233-2227, 404-733-4800, www.chastainseries.com.
Relive the days of the Rat Pack with the Sinatra and Friends Tribute, part of Norcross Summer Concert Series in Thrasher Park.
• 7:30 p.m. May 25. Free. Thrasher Park, Buchanan Street and Park Drive, Norcross. 770-448-2122, www.norcrossculturalarts.com.
