Park Pride awards more than $20,000 for nine park improvement projects
Park Pride has awarded more than $20,000 to support nine community-led park improvement projects across Atlanta and DeKalb County through its Small Change Grants Program.
The annual grants, supported by an anonymous donor, fund projects led by Friends of the Park groups. This year’s projects include invasive species removal, native plantings, erosion control, tree care and other efforts to improve local parks while engaging community volunteers.
Projects receiving funding include invasive removal and lawn restoration at Barker Bryant Memorial Park; an eco-friendly goat-grazing pilot at Delano Line Park; native plantings and a volunteer-built birdhouse at Flat Shoals Park; and native species plantings at Glen Emerald Park to address erosion and support pollinators.
Historic Fourth Ward Park will use its grant to hire a professional arborist for tree-canopy work, while Orme Park will continue invasive removal and plant more than 1,000 native plants. Red’s Farm Preserve will add tree-identification signage and expand educational opportunities.
At Vermont Park, funding will address erosion and washouts through drainage improvements, path restoration, natural erosion-control materials and native plantings. Zonolite Park will remove invasive plants and replace them with native species in partnership with the Georgia Native Plant Society.
— Derek Prall
atlFREEfair returns with free food, skill shares and community resources
Atlanta’s atlFREEfair will return Oct. 3 with a day of free food, arts and crafts, skill-sharing and other community resources.
The mutual aid festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Friendship Center, 737 Woodland Ave. SE. The family-friendly event is organized around the exchange of shared resources and skills.
Activities will include a plant swap, clothes-mending station, free haircuts, reiki sessions, arts and crafts, live entertainment and other skill shares. The event is intended to bring neighbors together to share resources, learn from one another and build community connections.
The event is free to attend. More information is available through atlFREEfair.
— Derek Prall
Atlanta Ballet names Zachary Brown chief development officer
Atlanta Ballet has named Zachary Brown as its chief development officer as the organization prepares for its 100th anniversary and works to expand philanthropic support.
Brown joins the ballet after serving as executive vice president of development at WABE, where he increased major-gift revenue from about $600,000 to more than $3 million in two years. He also launched WABE’s first planned giving program, securing multiple commitments totaling more than $1 million.
In his new role, Brown will lead Atlanta Ballet’s fundraising efforts and work to strengthen the organization’s financial stability ahead of its centennial. Atlanta Ballet Board of Trustees Chair Nancy Field said Brown’s experience and relationships in Atlanta will support the organization’s efforts to expand philanthropic support and community engagement.
Brown previously served as director of development, special events and volunteer leadership at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. His other nonprofit leadership roles include positions with Habitat for Humanity International, Communities In Schools of Atlanta and Hands On Atlanta.
— Derek Prall
Gibbs Gardens welcomes fall with wildflowers and migrating monarchs
Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground is welcoming fall with 15 acres of wildflowers and the annual migration of monarch butterflies through North Georgia. Cosmos and zinnias are now blooming across the Wildflower Meadow, with additional sections expected to bloom every two weeks through November.
And with blooms come butterflies. The Eastern monarchs pass through Georgia during their annual journey to central Mexico, traveling as far as 3,000 miles from summer breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada. The butterflies rely on nectar to fuel their migration, while milkweed provides the only food source for monarch caterpillars.
Gibbs Gardens began reshaping its Wildflower Meadow as a pollinator garden in 2021 and has expanded its cosmos and butterfly plantings from three to 15 acres. Milkweed and native butterfly weed are planted throughout the meadow to provide habitat for monarchs.
Gibbs Gardens is at 1987 Gibbs Drive in Ball Ground and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with operating days varying by season. Visitors can check the garden’s website for current hours, admission information and its Bloom Calendar.
— Derek Prall
Spelman Museum opens fall exhibition exploring Black feminist imagination
The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art will host an opening reception Oct. 2 for “Between Here and Infinity,” a fall exhibition featuring more than 80 works from the museum’s permanent collection.
The reception will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition is the first at the museum to span both of its galleries, with the first portion opening Sept. 9 at the Bank of America Gallery in the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts and the second opening Oct. 1 in the gallery at the Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby, Ed.D. Academic Center.
“Between Here and Infinity” explores Black feminist imagination, creativity and ways of seeing through painting, sculpture, photography, film and installation. The exhibition marks the 30th anniversary of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art and draws from its permanent collection.
— Derek Prall
