Things To Do in Atlanta This Weekend

By Discover Atlanta Editorial Team

Published March 15, 2024
Last Updated May 13, 2024

Here’s what’s going on in Atlanta this weekend, May 17, 18 and 19. 

Around Town

Hammonds House Opens New Exhibit

Hammonds House Museum opens a new exhibit on Friday. “Rhythm of Resilience: The Artistry of Sam Middleton” runs through Aug. 18. A master of collage, Middleton’s compositions weave together musical scores, photographs and graphic elements in a dance of color and form. His art is a testament to the enduring influence of jazz.

Georgia Craft Brewers Festival Celebrates on Saturday

The Georgia Craft Brewers Festival pours a few on Saturday at Westside Paper. In addition to the brews, there will be music, local food, social meet-ups and a maker’s market. The festival will feature 50 participating breweries from across Georgia. The festival occurs from 1 until 5 p.m.

See Global Flower Show at Phipps Plaza this Weekend

Fleurs de Villes ARTISTE is on display at Phipps Plaza Saturday through May 22. You will see a curated collection of 12 one-of-a-kind fresh floral mannequins. On Saturday, you can watch free floral demonstrations, shop for fresh blooms from local florists at a pop-up flower market and have the opportunity to meet the 12 floral teams behind Fleurs de Villes ARTISTE.

Stroll Midtown Gardens on Sunday

The 11th annual Midtown Garden Stroll, a free event, is Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. in the Historic Midtown Garden District on Penn Avenue. The stroll is an outdoor self-guided tour. You can expect to see formal gardens, casual gardens, fountains, espalier, backyard beekeeping, intricate brickwork and inspiring ideas for family yards. You may also visit the Garden Stroll Market where local artisans will showcase their creations, live musicians will play and a Midtown artist will complete a live painting. Tasty bites and drinks are also offered by Atlanta-based restauranteurs. 

Visit Indie Craft Experience on Sunday

Sunday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., visit the Indie Craft Experience at Monday Night Garage. Shop 60 local craft, vintage and food vendors and snag a free tote bag if you are among the first 100 people in line.

Alice in Wonderland Returns to Atlanta Botanical Garden

The Atlanta Botanical Garden presents “Alice’s Wonderland Returns” through Sept. 15. The exhibit features seven installations of 22 of the topiary-like mosaiculture pieces throughout the garden. The garden first introduced the sculptures in 2013 when it presented the United States’ first major exhibition of mosaiculture produced by International Mosaiculture Montreal.

Alice and company first debuted at the Garden in 2019’s “Imaginary Worlds: Alice’s Wonderland.” The exhibition returned in 2020 along with several new sculptures for a revival called “Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined.”

The sculptures are created through the centuries-old art of mosaiculture in which steel forms are covered in fabric, filled with soil and planted with thousands of living plants to form a colorful carpet.

For this new show, look for a towering Alice to twirl in Howell Fountain, the giant White Rabbit to hold court in the Skyline Garden pond and a colorful chess set to marvel at in the Skyline Garden’s event Lawn. The enormous Red Queen will dominate one edge of the Great Lawn, three giant Storybooks will greet you after you pass through the Visitor Center and the Cheshire Cat will keep an eye on it all from its perch in Alston Overlook. New this spring will be the addition of Singing Flowers along the Flower Walk, blooming to recorded music as you pass by.

Stone Mountain Park Presents Latino Festival

The second annual Latino Family Festival takes place this weekend at Stone Mountain Park. Enjoy a celebration of Latino music, dance and culture, featuring live international talent including dancers, musicians, a marching band, a festive parade, and a drone and light show. Triny, La Leyenda performs on Sunday.

Georgia Aquarium Entertains with Sound Waves Music Series

The Sound Waves Music Series happens every Friday night in May at Georgia Aquarium. The series celebrates the arts, diversity and local talent. Enjoy live music with enhanced lighting and atmospheric elements in the atrium to complement the artists. You will have access to the aquarium’s galleries, included with general admission. Sound Waves occurs from 5 until 8 p.m.

See ‘Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’ at High Museum of Art

The exhibit “Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” is open at the High Museum of Art. The exhibition includes more than 60 paintings — still lifes, portraits, seascapes, landscapes, architectural views and genre scenes — by the period’s leading Dutch artists, including Rembrandt, Jacob van Ruisdael, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Willem Kalf and Rachel Ruysch. Also on display are prints, maps and decorative objects in silver, porcelain and more from the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries. See the exhibit through July 14.

MODA Cooks Up Pasta Exhibit

MODA (Museum of Design Atlanta) has opened the exhibit “Al Dente: The Design of Pasta.” Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the design of pasta shapes, mechanical and technical advancements in pasta making, pasta advertising, designer pasta and the future of pasta. Learn all about pasta through Sept. 1.

Atlanta History Center Opens Hank Aaron Exhibit

“More Than Brave: The Life of Henry Aaron” is open at Atlanta History Center. The exhibition features images and artifacts from the collections of the Aaron family, Atlanta History Center, the Atlanta Braves, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Emory University, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and personal collections from throughout the United States. Just about every Atlantan knows that on April 8, 1974, Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record right here in Atlanta. See the exhibit through September 2025.

Back to the 16th century: Georgia Renaissance Festival

The Georgia Renaissance Festival, a trek back to the 16th century, runs weekends through June 2. See jugglers, jesters and jousters, visit the artisan market, enjoy music, comedy and shows. Refresh with a roasted giant turkey leg. Find the festival in Fairburn, Ga.

Flora, Fauna & Flight Returns to Fernbank Museum of Natural History

The popular exhibit Flora, Fauna & Flight has returned to Fernbank Museum of Natural History and is on display through June 23. Among the things to do are (1) explore the difference between gliding and flying; (2) pose for photos in front of features including butterflies and bats; (3) discover the physics of flight; and (4) see plant and animal sculptures among the trees, grasses, plants and flowers of WildWoods.

Balloon Museum Pops into Pullman Yards

The Balloon Museum at Pullman Yards is flying high through June 9. The Let’s Fly exhibition features inflatable installations created by 17 international artists. Among the exhibitions is “A Quiet Storm” by Quiet Ensemble. The audience passes through an environment that awakens childlike wonder and the magic of small things. One more of the 15 exhibitions is “Floating Giants” by Max Streicher. The giant’s bodies are held in a state of perpetual flight, transcending from the earth to reach a state of serenity.

CDC Museum Presents Exhibit about Segregation

Atlanta’s CDC Museum has opened the exhibit, “Ghosts of Segregation: Photographs of Rich Frishman.” The exhibit explores the lingering presence of segregation, slavery and institutional racism hidden in everyday American architecture. From segregated schools to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama to a church firebombing in Louisiana, Frishman’s photographs show how our surroundings bear witness to history. See it through May 24.

Family

‘Stellaluna’ Playing at Center for Puppetry Arts

“Stellaluna‘ is playing at Center for Puppetry Arts through Sunday. Accidentally dropped by her mother, the helpless baby fruit bat, Stellaluna, falls into a nest of bird fledglings. The baby birds graciously accept her as one of the family — as long as she acts like a bird and doesn’t confuse her adoptive siblings. See it through May 19. Guests who are deaf or hard of hearing will enjoy a performance accompanied by live American Sign Language interpretation. This organized visual language (“ASL”) will be used in tandem with spoken dialogue.

Sports

Atlanta Braves Host San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are in town this weekend for a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. First pitch on Friday is at 7:20 p.m. Friday Night Fireworks follows the last out. On Saturday, Military Appreciation Day, the game begins at 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Kids Run the Bases day, starts at 7:10 p.m. and the Monday match begins at 12:20 p.m. The Braves are in second place in the NL East; the Padres are in second place in the NL West.

This article updates weekly with brand new things to do in Atlanta for the weekend. Feel free to bookmark it for next weekend. For more weekend events, check our calendar.