For 110 years, downtown Atlanta has been home to some version of the Rialto Center for the Arts — a movie theater, a shuttered building and now an arts and culture hub all on the same corner. Now the theater team is looking to the future. 2026 also marks a 30-year anniversary. In 1996, Georgia […]
Author Archives: Delaney Tarr
Posted inLatest News
Justin Cutler to exit as Atlanta Parks and Rec commissioner
After four years Atlanta Parks and Recreation Commissioner Justin Cutler is set to exit the role, according to park insiders. He will host a going away party later this week. Cutler joined in 2022, in the midst of some major Atlanta park improvements. He brought over 20 years of local government experience from places like […]
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Atlanta launches new World Cup ‘Cultural Exchange’ at former CNN Center
With only 25 days until the 2026 FIFA World Cup lands in Atlanta, the city is making its final preparations to welcome the world. The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs is the latest to join a roster of projects like Centennial Yards, SoDo and Decatur WatchFest with the Atlanta Cultural Exchange – the city’s new “cultural […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Atlanta cracks top 20 in national ParkScore – but the city may cut park funding
It’s official: Atlanta has the 18th ranked park system in the nation, according to the Trust for Public Land’s annual ParkScore rating. But the announcement comes amid possible funding cuts for the city’s sprawling park system. Atlanta moved up three spots from last year’s 21st ranking in the national nonprofit’s list of park systems in […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Virginia Highland Porchfest preps for first-ever paid year
Last year’s Virginia Highland Porchfest put up serious numbers. Organizers estimate well over 40,000 people attended the free, single-day neighborhood festival with over 100 bands at 50 porches-turned-stages. Things are changing this year. For the first time since it began six years ago, the May 16 Porchfest will be a ticketed event. Attendance will be […]
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Gov. Kemp vetoes historic rehabilitation tax credit expansion to preservationists’ dismay
On Wednesday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp vetoed 12 state bills before the signing deadline, including HB 376, a bill that would have expanded tax incentives for historic property preservation. The bill, passed in the House and Senate, would have increased the limit on the available tax credits from $30 million to $60 million. It was […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr, Latest News
How the Beltline generates billions, from ‘tacos to tech’
“From tacos to technology, and everything in between.” That’s how Atlanta Beltline, Inc. President and CEO Clyde Higgs sums up the Beltline appeal. The bustling attraction and “new business mode” has a little bit of everything –grocery, offices, retail, dining and plenty of people. In the early 2000s, the city of Atlanta was losing residents […]
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The bumpy road to bring Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary into a new and improved era
It hasn’t been an easy journey for Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary. The long-standing roadside attraction is famed in Atlanta, and not always for the right reasons. Many know of “BLT,” the trio of bear, lion and tiger cub rescued in 2001 that made the sanctuary famous. Sadly, all three have since passed. But Noah’s Ark […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Peachtrees are finally returning to Peachtree Street – temporarily
Atlanta has a staggering 71 streets and roads named Peachtree, but few are lined with their namesakes. That’s about to change. On May 8, Atlanta Way 2.0 announced PeachTrees on Peachtree, a three-week “immersive celebration” of the state fruit. 16 trees from Pearson Farms, one of the state’s remaining family-owned peach farms, will be placed […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
ATLFF Favorites: ‘Frogtown’ is built like a magic trick
On April 23, the front of the Plaza Theatre is packed with crowds at the opening night of the 50th annual Atlanta Film Festival, where stars like O’Shea Jackson Jr. walk the red carpet to promote the local premiere of “Idiots.” Most are lined up to get into the screening. But another, smaller line has […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Fox Theater gives $1 million to Rome, Thomasville for theater restoration
In the 1970s, Atlanta rallied around a campaign to “Save the Fox Theater” from imminent destruction. It rescued the building, preserving an iconic piece of the city’s landscape and a hub for the arts. Now the theater wants to pay it back. On May 6, National Historic Preservation Month, Fox Gives awarded $1 million in […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Q&A: SaportaReport talks the next 50 years of Atlanta Film Festival with former Sundance, Tribeca leaders
At the 50th annual Atlanta Film Festival, SaportaReport’s own Maria Saporta and Delaney Tarr hosted a conversation with two film industry veterans about what the next 50 years of film in Atlanta could look like, and what the festival needs to move forward. Amanda Kelso, former interim CEO of the Sundance Institute, started her career […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
ATLFF: Craig Zobel and James Ponsoldt on the fight to make Georgia films
Craig Zobel knows it isn’t easy to make a movie in Georgia. At an April 28 Atlanta Film Festival Creative Conference panel, the director of “The Penguin” and “The Mare of Easttown” got candid about the difficulty of creating in his home state. “The world doesn’t want you to,” he said. “You have to fight […]
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Atlanta Regional Commission teases strategy for affordable housing across the metro
“It’s time to move from discussion and talk to action,” Atlanta Regional Commission CEO Anna Roach said. In September, the ARC will release its comprehensive strategic plan, the Housing Strategy for the Atlanta Region, to address the region’s growing housing affordability challenges. It will lay out what housing needs to be built or preserved, who […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
“Idiots” brings laughter and sold-out crowd to 50th Atlanta Film Festival opening night
The 50th annual Atlanta Film Festival opened with a bang. Or more accurately, it opened with raucous laughter at the sold-out Opening Night presentation of “Idiots” on April 23 at the Plaza Theatre. “Idiots,” a 2026 Sundance Film Festival hit, follows two “unqualified bozos” played by Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr., who are […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Dickens talks youth investment at APC newsmaker event
Teens are still the talk of the town, but this time Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is weighing in. Dickens sat down with Atlanta Press Club Chair Mike Jordan for a conversation on citywide youth investment at the April 24 APC Newsmaker luncheon, where he covered everything from arts funding to “teen takeovers.” By all accounts, […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Piedmont Park Conservancy announces master plan update at annual luncheon
Among the greenery at Piedmont Park, hundreds of civic and park leaders gathered for the annual Landmark Luncheon hosted by the Piedmont Park Conservancy. The guests heard a host of updates on the master plan announced last year. In 2025, the conservancy announced its first comprehensive master plan in 25 years, which would kick off […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Atlanta Press Club readies for largest debate series yet from April 26-28
The Atlanta Press Club is gearing up for its biggest debate year yet. From April 26-28, the Loudermilk-Young debate series will bring almost 85 candidates, ranging from governor hopefuls to the Public Service Commission, on the stage for 18 different primary election debates. “We’re like a little factory over three days,” Atlanta Press Club past […]
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Beltline cuts the ribbon on final chunk of Southeast trail
An all-ages crowd packed under a tent to watch the Atlanta Beltline open its final segment of southeast trail in Glenwood Park on April 16. It will mark the first time Atlantans can walk or ride their way on a paved path from Piedmont Park to Grant Park. “This is drawing circles, not lines,” Atlanta […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Invest Atlanta greenlights $2 million for Andrew Young ‘peace institute’ in Vine City
On April 16, Invest Atlanta approved a $2 million Westside TAD grant for critical relocation work on the Vine City site of the planned Andrew Young International Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. It’s an essential step for the $100 million project. The grant will pay for the relocation of sewer overflow pipes on the property, […]
