Things To Do in Atlanta This Weekend
Published March 15, 2024
Last Updated May 9, 2024
Here’s what’s going on in Atlanta this weekend, May 10, 11 and 12. Just ahead of the weekend, on Wednesday, the World of Coca-Cola is making a special offer on Have a Coke Day. The popular Atlanta attraction is celebrating Have a Coke Day and the 138th anniversary of Coca-Cola by offering Atlantans and visitors the biggest ticket discount of the year. On Wednesday, you can purchase general admission tickets for $13.80. The one-day-only offer is valid all day and applies to tickets purchased on that date for visits through June.
Around Town
Celebrate Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is Sunday. Celebrate with brunch and gifts.
Alice in Wonderland Returns to Atlanta Botanical Garden
The Atlanta Botanical Garden presents “Alice’s Wonderland Returns” Saturday 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.
Chastain Park Arts Festival Happens this Weekend
The Chastain Park Arts Festival is this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, in Chastain Park along Park Drive. Browse the works of nearly 200 artists and artisans, grab a bite at one of the food trucks and let the youngsters visit the children’s area.
Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade Lights the Night
BYO lantern (or just enjoy lanterns that others bring) to the Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade at 7:45 p.m. Saturday in Adair Park.
Stone Mountain Park Presents Latino Festival
The second annual Latino Family Festival takes place this weekend and next 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.
Sweet Auburn Springfest: Saturday and Sunday
Head Downtown for the Sweet Auburn Springfest this weekend. Go for the music, shop the vendors and grab a bite or three. It’s time to celebrate the neighborhood.
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.
Friday night brings Oasis to the High Museum. It is an after-hours event centered on art, presence and mindfulness. From 6 until 9 p.m., tour the galleries without the crowds, drop in for a yoga class or enjoy a glass of wine and a quiet conversation.
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 May 19. 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 United Plays D.C. United Saturday
Game time for a match between Atlanta United and D.C. United is 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta is ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference, D.C. is ranked ninth.
Run for a Cause
The Georgia Brain Tumor Walk & Race is Saturday at The Battery. Registration opens at 7 a.m. The opening ceremony opens at 8:30 a.m. with the 5K to follow.
The Midtown Assistance Center (MAC) plans its 10th annual Midtown Race for MAC 5K at Piedmont Park on Saturday. Since its inaugural race in 2014, the Midtown Race for MAC has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide essential emergency assistance to low-income working Atlantans. The race begins at 8:30 a.m. near Park Tavern and Midtown High School.
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.
Discover More
Get to know Atlanta, and discover the best things to do around the city.