What an absolutely incredible weekend celebrating pride, music, and Atlanta's vibrant culture! Atlanta Pride Festival takes over Piedmont Park with over 350,000 people enjoying concerts, dance parties, the city's largest parade, and Starlight Cabaret—the country's largest outdoor drag show. Add in Oakhurst Porchfest featuring nearly 200 bands across seven hours, the World of Tacos Festival in Lawrenceville with free tacos and tequila, Elevate's 50 Years of Culture in Grant Park, and Atlanta Loves Art bringing 50+ artists to the BeltLine—there's world-class entertainment and celebration happening across every corner of our metro.

Atlanta continues evolving with exciting developments like Serenbe's wellness hub featuring Scandinavian-inspired design with 88 residences and retail space, fresh renderings for a retail district between Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Georgia World Congress Center targeting the 2028 Super Bowl, and the BeltLine's Northwest Trail-Segment 5 opening October 30 with groundbreaking for Segment 4. Our dining scene reflects both celebration and transition with Nakato's grand reopening October 15 after renovations, Terminal 26 bringing Thai floating market energy to Ponce City Market in 2026, plus Barrel Proof opening in Westside Provisions District and the bittersweet closure of 33-year institution Eats on Ponce October 18.

From Mayor Dickens' $5.1 billion Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative facing transit advocate pushback to MARTA's advance fare payment system speeding up BRT service, this weekend captures Atlanta's momentum balancing growth with meaningful community investment. Whether you're celebrating Pride, exploring the Scott Antique Market, supporting LGBTQ+ organizations year-round, discovering the new Lostintheletters writing studio in Candler Park, or joining us for our 5th Annual Fall Festival on October 19 (last chance to RSVP by October 10 at www.vestaconsultinggroup.com/fall-fest), Atlanta proves why our blend of diversity, innovation, and community attracts people worldwide. Ready to explore what's happening in the ATL?

Scott Antique Market | Large antiques market with vendors from across the country
📍 Atlanta Expo Center | 📅 Wed, October 9 - Sat, October 12

Fall Festival on Ponce | Arts and crafts, children's area, local food and beverages
📍 Olmsted Linear Park | 📅 Thu, October 10 - Fri, October 11

Oakhurst Porchfest 2025 | Grassroots neighborhood music event featuring nearly 200 bands across seven hours with more than 30 bands performing every hour, free and open to all
📍 Oakhurst Neighborhood, Decatur | 📅 Sat, October 11

Atlanta Pride Festival | Georgia's largest LGBTQ+ event hosting over 350,000 people with concerts, dance parties, Atlanta's largest parade, and Starlight Cabaret—the largest outdoor drag show in the country
📍 Piedmont Park | 📅 Sat, October 11 - Sun, October 12

World of Tacos Festival | Ultimate fiesta featuring mouthwatering tacos and tequila with free tacos and tequila shots from 2-4 p.m., plus bring your own blankets, chairs, and tents
📍 Cool Ray Field, 2500 Buford Drive, Lawrenceville | 📅 Sat, October 11

Elevate: 50 Years of Culture | Public arts festival with weekend performances and events celebrating Atlanta's cultural heritage
📍 Grant Park | 📅 Sat, October 11

Atlanta Loves Art - Art Show on the Beltline | Free art show with 50+ artists, food, drinks, and live performances
📍 116 Krog St NE | 📅 Sat, October 11

Steven Wilson📍 The Tabernacle | 📅 Thu, October 9
Freddie Gibbs w/ The Alchemist📍 The Tabernacle | 📅 Sat, October 11
Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen📍 The Tabernacle | 📅 Mon, October 13

🏈 Georgia Tech vs. Boston College – Friday, October 11 (home)
⚽ Inter Miami CF vs. Atlanta United – Saturday, October 11 (away)
🏈 Atlanta Falcons vs. Buffalo Bills – Monday, October 13 (home)

🏘️ Serenbe's new wellness and community hub is coming into clearer focus with fresh renderings showing a mixed-use section featuring Scandinavian influence. The project includes a three-story building with 40 apartments, 48 independent or courtyard residences, plus 16,000 square feet of retail, a 5,000-square-foot medical building, and a 2,500-square-foot social club, with a construction timeline expected to be finalized in early 2026 as part of the community's $1.7 billion expansion goal.

🏗️ Fresh renderings reveal how a new retail district could transform International Plaza between Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Georgia World Congress Center. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority is studying feasibility for a low-rise hub featuring restaurants, entertainment, and greenspace on the 110,000-square-foot plaza, with proposed completion before Atlanta's 2028 Super Bowl, though officials stress all plans remain preliminary.

🚴 The Atlanta BeltLine is celebrating an eventful autumn with Northwest Trail-Segment 5 officially opening October 30 in Blandtown, adding .7 miles of connectivity from Huff Road to English and Culpepper streets. The ribbon-cutting will double as a groundbreaking for Segment 4, a .9-mile piece crossing Howell Mill Road to connect with Monday Night Brewing's The Grove, as the complex 4.3-mile Northwest Trail continues linking the Westside to Buckhead across 12 neighborhoods.

📚 Lostintheletters, a writing studio and bookstore, opened its permanent Candler Park location on McLendon Avenue across from Gigi's. Founded by Scott Daughtridge DeMer and Stephanie Dowda DeMer, the 501(c)3 offers Saturday studio hours, pay-what-you-want workshops, quarterly readings, and a public reading room, having previously hosted soon-to-be-famous authors like Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and Justin Torres at their annual Letters Festival.

🥃 Barrel Proof, a new upscale bourbon bar from the team behind Pour Taproom, is opening this fall in Westside Provisions District. The intimate lounge will offer curated whiskey, bourbon, and cocktail selections with elevated bar bites, plus tastings and private events, aiming to become a destination for Atlanta's bourbon-loving crowd.

🥩 Kinship Butcher & Sundry is set to expand with a new location at the Beacon in Grant Park, opening in fall 2026. This new venue will offer a full-service cafe, a seafood butchery program, and a larger selection of local goods, all while maintaining a commitment to sustainability and community engagement.

🍜 Terminal 26, a new Thai concept from sisters Niki and Tanya Pattharakositkul of 26 Thai, is opening in 2026 on the ground floor of the Food Hall at Ponce City Market. The restaurant will bring the energy of Thailand's floating markets with traditional and reimagined Thai dishes alongside craft cocktails.

🍱 Nakato is celebrating its grand re-opening on October 15 with a brand new design and features after renovations. Reservations are now available at the reimagined Japanese restaurant welcoming guests back to its refreshed space.

🍽️ Eats on Ponce de Leon Avenue is closing after 33 years, serving its last meal on October 18. Owner Bob Hatcher, 73, says the longtime Atlanta institution known for affordable comfort food, famous jerk chicken, and meat-and-three plates has been losing money since the pandemic, joining other local favorites like Java Jive and Bookhouse Pub that have closed as Ponce de Leon Avenue undergoes major development.

💰 Mayor Andre Dickens' $5.1 billion Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative faces pushback from transit advocates demanding rail access for south and west Atlanta communities. The plan uses Tax Allocation District extensions beyond 2050 to fund $1.9 billion in transit, $1.5 billion in trails, and $1.3 billion in affordable housing, but Beltline Rail Now argues that without connecting light rail, the investment risks displacing the very residents it aims to help, calling for immediate funding of the Eastside streetcar extension and commitment to the entire 22-mile loop.

🚌 MARTA's Bus Rapid Transit riders will pay fares in advance before boarding to speed up service and reduce wait times at stations. Interim CEO Jonathan Hunt announced the GA 400 BRT line will run between Alpharetta and North Springs MARTA Station by 2031, with passengers boarding through all doors after pre-purchasing tickets, while MARTA's new automated fare collection system launches spring 2026 with updated Breeze Cards, apps, and faregates.

🏳️‍🌈 Atlanta Pride is urging support for eight LGBTQ+ organizations doing year-round advocacy work. Featured organizations include Georgia Equality leading legislative efforts, Lambda Legal representing 83 active civil rights cases, Latino LinQ serving the Latinx LGBTQ+ community, PALS Atlanta supporting pets of those with critical illness, and the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights advancing equity through youth programming and the Ignyte Conference.

🎃 Last Chance to RSVP! We’ve extended registration for our 5th Annual Fall Festival — but only until October 10th!

Join us on October 19 for a fun-filled day with professional family photos, pumpkins, tacos, live music, and more!

👉 RSVP here: www.vestaconsultinggroup.com/fall-fest

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