Your Complete Guide to the 89th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival

When spring arrives in Atlanta, locals know that means it’s time for the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. A three-day fine arts event that incorporates live music and entertainment, activities for children, culinary experiences and more, this annual celebration of the blooming dogwood trees has a long history of highlighting the breadth of what makes this city special.

With so much to see and do at the 89th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival, here are some of this year’s not-to-miss features, along with tips for getting to the festival and how to make the most of this springtime event.

First, the important details — the city’s largest and longest-running fine arts festival and the third oldest in the country, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival takes place Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13 in Piedmont Park.

At its core, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is an arts festival, and the juried Artist Market welcomes more than 260 fine artists from throughout the country. Participating artists work in a dozen mediums, such as metal, mixed media, oil, photography, sculpture and more.

Each year, these artists bring their best new work to the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, which is one of the first stops in the country on the annual art festival season schedule. Visitors can browse, talk with the artists, admire their creativity and purchase one-of-a-kind pieces. To make identifying artists of interest easy, the full list of artists is available on the festival website for advance scouting.

In addition to the professional artists featured in the Artist Market, the festival highlights the city’s young creative talents with the award-winning Atlanta High School Art Exhibition. Held in the Community Center near the park’s 12th Street entrance, this exhibition showcases approximately 100 works submitted by metro Atlanta high school students and selected by a panel of judges.

Top high school artist submissions earn prizes and scholarships, thanks to the support of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, and visitors can cast their vote for the People’s Choice Award during the exhibition. This showcase is joined on-site by the Art Throwdown, a creative battle that pits teams of high school students against each other in a live scrimmage for artistic dominance.

All three days of the festival feature live music and entertainment like local bands, DJs, dance troupes, international performers and choirs. Special family-friendly entertainment is offered in the form of puppet shows, animal experiences and creative demonstrations.

And speaking of families, those with young children will find plenty for them to enjoy in the Kids Village. With hands-on crafts, games and sometimes even live wildlife, this dedicated area is just the right fit for the youngest festival attendees.

While visitors will find plenty of food and beverage options throughout the festival, an upgraded culinary experience is on tap at Party in the Park. This ticketed VIP area welcomes attendees to an exclusive festival experience with food tastings, beer and wine samplings, a private bar, seating and access to real bathrooms.

For energetic attendees, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival Mimosa 5K welcomes participants on Saturday morning to hit the pavement and follow a scenic course through Midtown’s historic streets. The finish line brings runners back to Piedmont Park to toast their success with a chilled mimosa (participants 21+ only).

With so many options for celebrating springtime, it’s no wonder the Atlanta Dogwood Festival has remained one of the city’s not-to-miss events since 1936. Best of all, the festival is free to attend, as it has been for nearly nine decades. While you’ll find limited parking in surrounding lots and garages, you can easily get to the festival by taking MARTA to the Arts Center or Midtown station and walking a few blocks to Piedmont Park. See you there!