Atlanta has earned its highest annual ParkScore yet in 2024, placing 25th out of the 100 largest U.S. cities in the yearly Trust for Public Land park ranking index. It marks a three-spot jump from last year when Atlanta placed 28th. The city has been on a meteoric rise since 2016 when it placed 51st […]
Author Archives: Delaney Tarr
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South Arts awards two Atlanta artists in annual fellowship
Regional nonprofit South Arts announced its annual class of artist fellows, recognizing the highest quality artistic work in the region on May 13. The reward marks the first group of State Fellows for Literary Arts since the program began in 2017. The 2024 State Fellows for Literary Arts and State Fellows for Visual Arts each comprised nine artists from […]
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‘Atlanta Veterans Village’ breaks ground in Mableton
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation broke ground on a residential facility for homeless veterans in Mableton, Ga., at a former hotel that will soon be home to nearly 100 veterans during a May 17 ceremony. Just yards away from the looming Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia theme park sits the shuttered Wingate by Wyndham […]
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BeltLine shines with 14th annual Lantern Parade
The BeltLine lit up with hundreds of handmade lanterns on May 11 for the 14th annual Lantern Parade, led by artist Chantelle Rytter and her Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons. Each year, Rytter acts as the creator, curator and orchestrator of the do-it-yourself artistic showcase. Her “krewe” of fellow artists put together massive, animated puppets alit from within using a variety of unconventional materials […]
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Atlanta Business League receives $1.5 million grants to restore Ashby Theatre
With two $750,000 grants from the National Parks Service, the Atlanta Business League is taking its first steps in turning the long-vacant Ashby Theatre into a multi-use business and community center in westside Atlanta. The 91-year-old Atlanta Business League fosters economic empowerment and provides business development opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the metro area. In […]
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ARC announces $1.2 million in community grants and new healthcare study funds
The Atlanta Regional Commission announced $940,000 in grant funding for five communities on May 8 through its Livable Centers Initiative, a program that helps pay for planning studies and transportation projects centered around walkability, connectivity, and placemaking. The 25-year-old initiative has invested over $312 million in over 130 communities since its creation, with grants covering 80 percent […]
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BeltLine, Inc. previews $172 million budget for 2025
At a May 8 meeting, Beltline, Inc. board members previewed the draft of a roughly $172 million fiscal year 2025 budget set to be voted on in June. The annual budget is an 11.8 percent increase from last year’s and part of a steady climb from 2020’s $28.6 million budget. The $18 million change is thanks to the tax allocation […]
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Atlanta Story Partners nearing release for 1996 Olympics documentary
The 1996 Atlanta Olympics still loom large through the city decades later. Monuments and parks dedicated to the massive sporting events weave through the streets, and vintage merchandise decorates dozens of storefronts. For many, the Atlanta Summer Olympics are a nostalgic hobby. For the Atlanta Story Partners, it’s a way of life. Writer George Hirthler and […]
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ATL Film Festival dispatches: Indies to Marquees
Atlanta Film Festival kicked off its 48th year on April 25, launching 11 days of red carpets, screenings, panels, and parties for the nearly 28,000 attendees flocking to the city. One of few Academy Award-qualifying festivals in the world, it blends bigger “marquee” releases like “The Idea of You” starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine […]
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‘Changing the Odds’ report finds racial disparities persist in Atlanta
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2024 “Changing the Odds” report found that despite some changes since 2019, Atlantans still face racial inequities across education, housing and income. At a May 2 convening in the Loudermilk Center officials from the foundation and around Atlanta gathered to break down the data revealed in the 2024 report. The “Changing the […]
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Inman Park Festival returns with community parade
Atlanta’s festival season continues, with hundreds of attendees flooding the streets of Inman Park for the city’s largest all-volunteer festival featuring over 260 vendors, local food, a tour of homes and a raucous parade. Inman Park Festival began in the early 1970s to draw attention to the historic neighborhood first developed in the late 1800s. […]
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‘Beyond the Build:’ Habitat for Humanity kicks off annual entrepreneur series
Habitat for Humanity is known for its global work building houses for low-income families, but nonprofit leaders say the organization goes “beyond the build” with long-term wraparound services. A group of volunteers, donors and program participants joined in one of Habitat’s additional programs at an April 25 “Boss Talk,” where a panel of entrepreneurs shared their stories […]
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Atlanta BeltLine’s Southside Trail on track to be ready for FIFA World Cup
Atlanta officials announced at an April 24 press conference that they’re ahead of schedule on the Southside BeltLine Trail — the completed portion will create 17.9 miles of continuous paved trail ready by early 2026. The 1.9 miles of Southside Trail stretching from Pittsburgh Yards in southwest Atlanta to Boulevard in southeast Atlanta were originally scheduled […]
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Inside the biggest night in theater for Georgia high schoolers
Hundreds of impeccably dressed teenagers packed into the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on April 18, buzzing with energy and excitement for the evening ahead. It might seem like a supersized prom, but the event is actually the 16th annual Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Shuler Awards. Every year, the nonprofit arm […]
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Illumine brings Oakland Cemetery out of the shadows
A dreary night at the Oakland Cemetery lit up April 17 with a preview of the third annual Illumine installation, a series of light and shadow focused works weaved throughout the historic graveyard for two weekends in April. The rain or shine art event will run April 18-21 and 25-28, with live entertainment, bars and […]
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Georgia officials ask how to find ‘Justice for All’
Since 2020, the disparity between Black and white Americans in prisons has declined by more than 40 percent according to the Council on Criminal Justice. Reform groups say it’s a major step in fighting inequalities, but there is still work to be done to narrow the gap. On April 16, a group of Georgia leaders, […]
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Atlanta gears up for 48th annual Film Festival
Each year, the city rolls out the red carpet to thousands of guests from around the world for the Atlanta Film Festival. The packed lineup features local, national and international works across 11 days — and it’s all helmed by Christopher Escobar, Executive Director of the Atlanta Film Society. “I’m looking forward to welcoming folks […]
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MARTA sees major updates on Five Points, infill stations
Atlanta’s rail system saw continued construction and expansion on April 11, with Mayor Andre Dickens announcing the locations of three new infill stations on the heavy rail line and the MARTA board approved millions in deconstruction funding for the Five Points station redevelopment. At the board meeting, project manager Keli Davis presented a resolution asking […]
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Georgia breaks ground on Fayette-based soccer center
Georgia and United States Soccer leaders broke ground on the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center at an April 8 ceremony, kicking off the creation of a 200-acre hub for the country’s 27 teams. “Growing up in Georgia, I know Atlanta comes together to do big things,” U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said […]
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King family honors legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at wreath-laying ceremony
Family members of Martin Luther King Jr. held a somber wreath-laying ceremony at the King Center Freedom Plaza to mark the 56th anniversary of the civil rights movement leader’s assassination. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. The […]
