News / WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA - JULY 2007

...a glance at what's making the news...

SunTrust Lunch on Broad
SunTrust Lunch on Broad is back! Grab your friends and co-workers and head over for lunch every Friday, May 4 through September 28 from noon – 1:30 p.m. (weather permitting). Pull up a seat and enjoy music by local artists performing jazz, reggae, blues and more. Bring your own lunch or grab a bite to eat at one of downtown’s delicious eateries. www.atlantadowntown.com

Wednesday WindDown at COP
Atlanta’s longest running, FREE concert series is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Don’t miss this exciting season brought to you by AirTran Airways. What better way is there to avoid the chaos and frustration of rush-hour traffic and mingle with other Atlanta music lovers? Wednesday WindDown concerts are every Wednesday, April through September from 5:30 - 8 p.m. in Centennial Olympic Park’s Southern Company Amphitheater. Enjoy everything from jazz to contemporary music performed live by your favorite local and national touring acts. www.centennialpark.com

Cutest Kids Model Search at GWCC
The annual national Cutest Kids Calendar competition is one of the most acclaimed projects. Every year hundreds of children travel from all over the world for the opportunity to be a part of the wonderful project. The national Cutest Kids Calendar represents and markets children 6 months - 12 years old from all over the world. The competition returns to Atlanta on July 14. www.freshfacesmagazine.com

Louvre Atlanta at the High Museum
Louvre Atlanta is an unprecedented partnership between the High Museum of Art and the Musée du Louvre in Paris that will bring hundreds of works of art from the Louvre's collections to Atlanta over the next three years. Built around specific themes and periods, the High will present a series of long-term special presentations of art from the Louvre beginning October 2006 through 2009. www.high.org

Drum Corps International at Georgia Dome
The Southeastern Championship enters its second year on July 14 in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome after record-breaking attendance surprised many in the show’s inaugural season in 2006. Great acoustics and southern hospitality have made this afternoon (prelims) and evening (finals) competition an instant classic. www.dci.org

Real Estate Disposition Corporation Foreclosure Auction at GWCC
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and auction starts promptly at 9:30 a.m. on July 21. www.ushomeauction.com

Heritage Arts Festival at Underground Atlanta
Join in the cultural celebration of African-American art June 13-22, featuring artistic exhibits and live demonstrations, plus jazz, gospel, R&B and blues music. Merchants' exhibits include jewelry, clothing, health and beauty products and African artifacts. Praise 97.5 and 102.5 Grown Folks Music will host gospel and nu soul entertainment showcases. www.heritageartsfestival.com

Summer Gospel Fest at GWCC
Enjoy a Gospel Fest located in the Sidney Marcus Auditorium at the Georgia World Congress Center. July 27 at 7 p.m.

Fourth Saturday Family Fun Day at COP
Enjoy an afternoon full of interactive, entertaining and educational activities for children of all ages themed around All About Sports from Noon - 4 p.m.! Good times for the whole family. www.centennialpark.com

Cocktails in the Garden at Atlanta Botanical Gardens
The Atlanta Botanical Garden's most popular event is now weekly! Every Thursday night, May thru September, cocktails are paired with a featured flower or plant highlighting different and unique locations in the Garden. Guests mix and mingle to the Garden DJ's best beats as one of the city's hottest restaurants provides light tastings. July’s theme is Bumblebees and Bellinis. www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org

Great Atlanta Blues & Music Fest at Woodruff Park
This festival promotes the rich musical heritage of Georgia, Atlanta and particularly the Auburn Avenue corridor July 20-22. This year's Music Fest features performances by Willie Hill, Harvey Scales, Theodis Ealey, Sandra Hall, Slide By Slide, and Gokh-Bi System from Senegal. www.dr-love.com

National Black Arts Festival
Experience the dance, music, film, theatre, visual and literary arts of the African Diaspora during the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) July 20-29. Downtown venues include the Balzer Theater at Herren’s, APEX Museum, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Rialto Center for the Arts, Auburn Avenue Research Library and Woodruff Park. www.nbaf.org

Sesame Street Exhibit at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
If you love watching Sesame Street on television, imagine stepping right onto 123 Sesame Street. Children will have the chance to feel like they are a part of the show! They will learn all about their ABCs and 123s as they skip through their favorite familiar places, like Gina’s Day Care Center, Oscar’s Newsstand and Bird Air Travel Agency. www.imagineit-cma.org

FREE Beltline Tours
Free Public Tours – Every Friday and Saturday – from 9:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. – the BeltLine Partnership will host free tours of the BeltLine. Tours begin and end at the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA Station and travel through the 45 neighborhoods that will be connected by the BeltLine. To reserve a seat on an upcoming tour, email tours@beltlinepartnership.org.

Turner First Thursday
On the first Thursday of every month, art lovers can view the arts, tour the historic districts of Downtown and enjoy various discounts at Downtown restaurants. Turner First Thursdays is a self-guided tour of galleries, with no beginning or ending point, you are free to move at your own pace. Selected by Atlanta Magazine as the Best Art Crawl, come see what you are missing on August 2! www.atlantadowntown.com

Woodruff Park Reading Room
The Reading Room is an open-air reading room in the northern portion of Woodruff Park. In partnership with the Fulton County Library, carts are stocked with a selection of books, periodicals and newspapers available to the public. Pick up a book and enjoy lunchtime readings and programs Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Reading Room is closed for bad weather and for special events. www.atlantadowntown.com

Hotlanta Hospitality Happy Hour at Ruth Chris’s Steak House
Join us for the 2007 edition of the Hotlanta Hospitality Happy Hour on August 9 from 5 - 7p.m. This informal gathering is an opportunity for members of Atlanta's hospitality community to network, catch up with colleagues from every aspect of the industry and discuss the exciting things happening all across our great city. HHHH is the second Thursday of every month at Ruth’s Chris Steak House across from Centennial Olympic Park. For more information about sponsorship opportunities or being added to our mailing list, please email agrubbs@gwcc.com.

Music @ Noon at COP
Music @ Noon is the perfect lunchtime getaway! Get out of the office for a midday break filled with sunny skies and great entertainment every Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. April through October. Bring your friends, coworkers and lunch to enjoy a variety of live music including pop, R&B and jazz, performed by your favorite local artists. Every Thursday, concerts are programmed and produced by the audio production students from the Art Institute of Atlanta. www.centennialpark.com

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990 – 2005 at the High Museum
The personal photographs in the exhibition document many events involving her family, including the birth of Leibovitz’ three daughters and the death of her father. Portraits of public figures include the pregnant Demi Moore; rock star Mick Jagger; actors Chris Rock, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Scarlett Johansson; George W. Bush with members of his Cabinet at the White House; William Burroughs in Kansas; and Agnes Martin in Taos. Assignment work includes searing reportage from the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s, and a series of landscapes taken in the American West and in the Jordanian desert. The exhibit is on display until September 9. www.high.org

Free Wi-Fi Available at Centennial Olympic Park
Free wireless Internet access is available in and around the Visitor Center and FountainSide Café at Centennial Olympic Park. Visitors wishing to utilize this service need to have a laptop equipped with a wireless network card. Accessing the network is then as simple as connecting to the "PARKWIFI" network and opening an Internet browser, no registration required. Centennial Olympic Park’s Visitor Center is home to the commemorative brick locators, public restrooms and friendly volunteers who can answer questions about the Park as well as the city of Atlanta. The Visitor Center is open daily; hours vary on holidays and by season. www.centennialpark.com.

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