Photos from the 2024 Virginia-Highland Porchfest

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The Virginia-Highland neighborhood in Atlanta was host to the 4th annual Porchfest on Saturday, May 18.

More than 90 local / independent bands performed throughout the day from 12PM to 6PM on 57 porches of homes in VaHi, making this the largest Porchfest festival to date. The Virginia-Highland District shared the following map of the bands, food vendors, artists, and more in attendance for the 2024 Porchfest:

The day was mostly cloudy, and a little rain didn’t keep thousands of people from attending and enjoying the event.

A few favorite images below, and a full gallery of photos is embedded from the 2024 Porchfest in VaHi.

Photos from the 2019 Lantern Parade in Atlanta

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Last night, Atlanta was treated to the 10th annual tradition of the Lantern Parade along the Atlanta Beltline. Among tens of thousands of other spectators, I watched this amazing display of light and creativity. The Lantern Parade has become one of Atlanta’s great new(ish) traditions:

One of Atlanta's great new(ish) traditions! Created and hosted by Chantelle Rytter and the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons, the Lantern Parade is a celebration of the annual Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibition, the largest temporary art exhibition in the south!

This year, I was (strategically) situated near the Ponce City Market, in order to frame the images against one of Atlanta’s landmark buildings. (Previously: see the photos from the 2015 Lantern Parade). This year’s Lantern Parade route began near Krog Street Market and continued north along the Eastside Beltline Trail toward Piedmont Park:

My favorite set of 19 images from the 2019 Lantern Parade appear below. The entire gallery of photos is embedded at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy!

Did you attend the 2019 Lantern Parade? What were your favorite lanterns and/or costumes from this year’s parade?

The entire gallery from the 10th Anniversary of the Lantern Parade is embedded below. If you recognize anyone in the photos, feel free to send/share this blog post with them!

Spotlight on Sweet Auburn Curb Market: A Collaboration with the Peach and Prosperity Podcast

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I recently went behind the scenes with the Atlanta-based Peach and Prosperity podcast for the taping of their most recent podcast episode about Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Curb Market (aka, Municipal Market).

You can listen to Peach and Prosperity’s Episode 11: Sweet Auburn—The Curb Market, at any of the links below:

Profiled in this podcast episode are Miss D and her New Orleans style pralines and candy, Just Add Honey Tea Company, as well as the director of the Sweet Auburn Curb Market and other vendors.

A selection of photos from this exploration of Sweet Auburn Curb Market are below.

Interior of Sweet Auburn (Municipal) Market. The Market has a few names, the reason for which is explained in the podcast episode.

Inside the Municipal Market.

Sweet Auburn Bakery, where fresh pies are baked daily.

Miss D’s famous popcorn. Listen to the episode to find out what makes the “Triple” so popular. (It’s delicious!)

Inside the Just Add Honey Tea Company shop. Note: they also serve coffee.

A scene from the Sweet Auburn Curb Market in downtown Atlanta, GA.


You can see the rest of the photos that accompany this podcast episode on the Peach and Prosperity website.

If I were to provide a sub-title to this podcast episode, it would probably be “Overcoming Adversity”—a testament to the vendors that call Sweet Auburn Market their home, but also to the market itself, which has operated in downtown Atlanta for over 100 years.

Listen to the podcast episode for more.

The 2018 Little Five Points Halloween Parade

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Yesterday was the 18th annual Little Five Points Halloween Parade in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta, GA.

The parade route started at Austin and Euclid Avenues and continued up Euclid Avenue to Moreland Avenue. I arrived and grabbed a spot at the McClendon Avenue and Moreland Avenue intersection, across from The Corner Tavern. Below is a gallery of photos I captured from the 2018 Little Five Points Halloween Parade.

My favorite images are below (I especially loved the Thriller ambulance and the Zombie librarians from DeKalb County Public Library).

A full gallery of the images from the Little Five Points Halloween Parade is at the bottom of this post.


A GrantMeFood Dinner with the "1912 Paris" Theme

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Last weekend, I attended a GrantMeFood dinner with the theme of 1912 Paris. It was my second GrantMeFood dinner (I blogged about my first experience here), and it was, again, fantastic. Chef Grant and his wife Ria made everyone feel welcome and did an amazing job preparing, cooking, plating, and hosting.

On the menu this time:

Course 1: Gougères au foie gras with blackberry gel & hazelnut

Course 2: Beef tenderloin with dill crème fraîche, horseradish, capers & zest

Course 3: Celery velouté with celery leaves, smoked morels, and lemon oil

Course 4: Summer vegetable tarte (a play on ratatouille) with eggplant, zucchini, squash, roquefort, truffle, tarragon & red pepper pureé

Course 5: Duck (72 hour prep) with caramelized onion broth, field pea & mint pistou, earl grey ash, and pea shoots

Course 6: Chocolate soufflé with basil sabayon

Some photos I captured at this dinner are below.

Ria serving the beef tenderloin with dill crème fraîche, horseradish, capers & zest.

Detail of the beef tenderloin.

Celery velouté with celery leaves, smoked morels, and lemon oil

Ria serving the summer vegetable tarte (a play on ratatouille) with eggplant, zucchini, squash, roquefort, truffle, tarragon & red pepper pureé.

Ria serving the summer vegetable tarte.

Detail of the summer vegetable tarte. So yummy!

Prepping the plates.

Grant and Ria plating the tarte.

The tarte is ready to be served.

The tarte is served.

Another angle of the vegetable tarte.

Serving of the duck (72 hour prep) with caramelized onion broth, field pea & mint pistou, earl grey ash, and pea shoots.

Another view of the final serving of the duck.

The duck was the star of the evening.

Getting ready to put the chocolate soufflé into the oven.

Chocolate soufflé out of the oven.

Grant and Ria putting the final touches on the chocolate soufflé.

Grant and Ria putting the final touches on the chocolate soufflé.

Chocolate soufflé with basil sabayon ready to eat.

If you are interested in tasting incredible food in a warm, friendly atmosphere (and don't mind the serendipity that's involved with interacting with other strangers/like-minded foodies around Atlanta), I highly suggest checking out the GrantMeFood website and signing up for his mailing list (some dinners sell out very quickly as there are only eight spots at the table), following the @GrantMeFood Instagram account, and liking/following the page on Facebook.

Photos from the 2018 Doggie Daze Festival at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve

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On July 14, 2018, I attended the annual Doggie Daze festival at my local Atlanta park, Blue Heron Nature Preserve. 

Among dog-related vendors/charities present at the event were:

I captured the vendor booth photos as part of my volunteer efforts that day, but in this post, I wanted to highlight photos of the dogs (and their human owners) that showed up to the event. If you recognize any of the dogs (or owners) featured below, please leave a comment!

Earth Day Celebration at Blue Heron Nature Preserve

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This past Saturday, Blue Heron Nature Preserve held its annual Earth Day Celebration. I've been coming to the Blue Heron both as a local resident (I come to BHNP by myself or with my dog) and as a volunteer for a couple of years—I've done volunteering both in terms of tree plantings, weed removal, and most often, photography.

This was the schedule of events for the 2018 Earth Day Celebration:

9 am - 10 am           Outdoor Yoga with Ronald Dill
10 am - 11 am           Volunteer Planting Event
10 am - 11 am           Children’s Camp Open House
10 am - 11 am           Forest Walk with with EcoAddendum
10 am - 2 pm           Local Artist Market
11 am - 2 pm            Native Plant Sale / Environmental Exhibits / Student Art Show
11 am - 12 pm          Bird Walk with Atlanta Audubon Society
11 am - 12 pm          Vamos Chicos Art Bus Demonstration*
12 pm - 3 pm           Neighborhood Block Party with Music, Food, and Activities
12 pm - 1 pm            Green Theater Performance
12 pm - 1 pm            Mini-Hive Inspection with Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association
12 pm - 12:30 pm     Turtle Sanctuary Dedication
12:30 pm - 1 pm       Art of Nature Opening
1 pm - 2 pm              Mini Critter Camp with The Amphibian Foundation
1 pm - 1:30 pm          Blueway Trail Groundbreaking Ceremony & Tour
1:30pm - 2:00pm      Farmer D Organics Gardening Talk 
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm    Blueway Trail Tour

While I didn't make all of the activities above, I captured photos of the outdoor yoga, volunteer planting event, the local artist market, the bird walk with the Atlanta Audobon Society, the turtle sanctuary dedication, and the Blueway Trail groundbreaking. 

Below are some photos from the 2018 Earth Day celebration!

If you're a local Atlanta resident, I highly recommend checking the urban oasis that is the Blue Heron Nature Preserve. There are a wonderful series of trails in the 30-acre park. Additionally, there are plenty of events that occur throughout the year, such as the Moonlight hikes, planting/weeding volunteering, and much more. Just check the calendar if you're looking for more information.

The 2017 Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival

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Today I attended the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, held in Blackburn Park in Brookhaven, GA. I came with my puppy, Penny, who received a lot of compliments herself.

The festival featured a number of food trucks, arts & crafts booths, and live music. I stayed around for the dog parade & costume contest, which had the following categories in 2017:

  • Artsy Bark (stepping outside the box, creative)
  • Cherry Blossom Awesome (your finest in pink)
  • Doggie Diva (sophisticated, stylish)
  • Super Hero Swag (need we say more)
  • #SquadGoals (Pet+Pet or Pet+Human Combos)¹
  • Best in Show (All will bone down to you if you win)

There were a number of creative costumes this year! Below, a gallery from the images I captured during the event.

If you attended, what was your favorite part of the festival?

____

¹ The #SquadGoals category was won by "The Three Amigos," my personal favorite from the day.

The 2016 Atlanta Dogwood Festival

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This weekend I attended the Atlanta Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park. On Saturday, I participated in the Mimosa 5K race with a few friends. It was a lot of fun—and my first time drinking mimosas after a race.

On Sunday, I came back to stroll around the park, see the artist/vendor booths, and watch the dog frisbee competition. Below, a few photos from the 2016 Dogwood Festival.

 

The 2015 Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade

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This Saturday, I went to see the Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade. Having gone last year (but without my dSLR), I thought I would capture a few photos of the festivities. There was great music, food trucks, and hundreds of people (and some of their pets) either carrying lanterns or wearing them. Overall, more than 20,000 spectators came out to see the event.

The parade went through various historic districts of Atlanta along the BeltLine: Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, and Virginia Highlands. I stood near the intersection of Monroe Drive and 10th Street (where the conclusion of the parade took place) to capture some of the photos: