What a phenomenal Halloween weekend celebrating spooky spirit and Atlanta culture! The Little 5 Points Halloween Festival + Parade returns as the Southeast's biggest celebration with 100+ vendors, live music, and wrestling, while Oakland Cemetery offers haunted tours through October 26. Add in Stone Mountain Highland Games, Atlanta Horror Film Festival, Boo at the Zoo, and Cherokee Heights Arts Festival—there's incredible entertainment across our metro alongside Atlanta United facing D.C. United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Falcons taking on San Francisco Sunday night.

Major developments continue reshaping Atlanta with North DeKalb Mall's demolition making way for Lulah Hills' $850-million lifestyle center opening in 2027, Skyline Apartments' affordable housing tower welcoming residents in Peoplestown with studios at $1,062, and Star Metals developer securing approval for a 350-unit Reynoldstown BeltLine project. Our dining scene shines with Chef Fuyuhiko Ito's Celestia and ISHIN rooftop restaurants opening in Midtown, Glide Pizza heading to South Downtown with DJ booth and vinyl turntables, plus five Halloween pop-up bars from Alta Toro's fire shows to Rreal Tacos' blue corn birria tacos.

From Atlanta ranking #2 for Gen Z livability to Atlanta United captain Brad Guzan's retirement announcement after winning the 2018 MLS Cup, this weekend captures our city's momentum. Whether you're exploring horror films, participating in No Kings protests October 18, tackling the PNC Atlanta 10 Miler, or joining us rain or shine for our Fall Festival on October 19 at El Tesoro (no RSVP needed!), Atlanta proves why our blend of culture and community attracts people worldwide. Ready to explore the ATL?

Capturing the Spirit of Oakland | After-hours Halloween tours and themed events
📍 Oakland Cemetery | 📅 Thu, October 16 - Sun, October 26

Atlanta Horror Film Festival | Festival showcasing independent horror films
📍 Limelight Theater | 📅 Thu, October 17 - Sat, October 19

Stone Mountain Highland Games and Scottish Festival | Traditional Scottish sports, music, dancing, and food
📍 Stone Mountain Park | 📅 Fri, October 17 - Sat, October 19

Cherokee Heights Arts Festival | Art vendors, live music, children's activities, and local food
📍 Marietta | 📅 Sat, October 18

Boo at the Zoo | Halloween-themed family festival with trick-or-treating, crafts, and performances
📍 Zoo Atlanta | 📅 Fri, October 18 - Sat, October 19, Fri, October 25 - Sat, October 26

Little 5 Points Halloween Festival + Parade | Top 10 rated Halloween event with 100+ vendors, live music, wrestling, skate ramps, and Sunday parade—the Southeast's biggest celebration
📍 Little Five Points | 📅 Sat, October 18 - Sun, October 19

Vesta Fall Festival | Professional family photos, pumpkin patch, tacos, margaritas, and sunshine
📍 El Tesoro, 1374 Arkwright Place | 📅 Sat, October 19

Fortune Feimster📍 Atlanta Symphony Hall | 📅 Thu, October 17
Noah Cyrus📍 The Tabernacle | 📅 Fri, October 17
Dermot Kennedy📍 The Tabernacle | 📅 Sat, October 18

🏈 Georgia Tech vs. Duke Blue Devils – Saturday, October 18 (away)
⚽ Atlanta United vs. D.C. United – Saturday, October 18 (home)
🏈 Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers – Sunday, October 19 (away)

🏘️ Star Metals District developer Allen Morris Company secured 60% neighborhood approval for a transformative Reynoldstown project along the BeltLine. The two-block development at 205 Holtzclaw St. and 930 Mauldin St. will bring roughly 350 multifamily units with retail along the Southeast Trail, with groundbreaking expected in late 2026 or early 2027 and completion forecasted 22 months later.

🏗️ North DeKalb Mall has been almost fully demolished, making way for Lulah Hills, a $850-million lifestyle center featuring nearly 2,000 housing units, a Publix-anchored retail district, a 150-key hotel, and a new PATH trail connecting to Emory University. The 73-acre redevelopment by Edens is targeting a Publix opening in early 2027 with full completion by 2028, transforming the vacant 1960s mall into 2.5 million square feet of mixed-use development.

🏢 Skyline Apartments, an 11-story affordable housing tower with 250 units, officially opened in Peoplestown after three years of construction overlooking the BeltLine's Southside Trail. The $94-million project reserves all units for residents earning 60% of Area Median Income or less, with rents ranging from $1,062 for studios to $1,322 for two-bedrooms, plus 6,300 square feet of retail space and a healthcare center at MARTA's future Rapid A-Line doorstep.

🏢 East Lake's Hosea + 2nd project is welcoming four new tenants by spring, filling all remaining commercial space. Eastwood Veterinary Clinic opens in February, Huckleberry's corner market debuts by late October with grab-and-go lunches and ice cream, Kirkwood Pediatrics launches this month upstairs with nine exam rooms, and Chef Hudson Rouse's all-day café Babygirl targets April opening with health-conscious, vegetable-heavy breakfast and lunch offerings alongside Poor Hendrix, Perc Coffee, La Fonda, and Gene's barbecue.

🍣 Spring Quarter welcomed its first two rooftop restaurants on the 8th floor of Ten Twenty Spring in Midtown. Chef Fuyuhiko Ito opened Celestia, a cocktail bar and lounge featuring contemporary international cuisine like wagyu ravioli and lobster, alongside ISHIN, a 16-seat omakase counter offering chef's choice nigiri, crudo, and grilled fish with sake, wine, and cocktails at both venues, with his more casual flagship restaurant Sozou planned for early 2026 on the ground floor.

🍕 Glide Pizza is opening its second full-service location in South Downtown on Mitchell Street ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches. Owner Rob Birdsong's new 50-seat pizzeria will feature a DJ booth with turntables for vinyl records, nostalgic design, New York-style pizzas and slices, plus a shared 40-seat courtyard with chefs Todd Ginsberg and Josh Kim's upcoming restaurant, aiming to create a neighborhood spot and party atmosphere beyond just game days at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

🎃 Atlanta's Halloween pop-up bar scene is in full swing with haunted hideaways across the metro:

🏆 Atlanta ranked #2 among large U.S. cities in Commercial Cafe's "Best Cities for Gen Z in 2025," leading the South and finishing behind only Minneapolis. The city topped all metros with 7.3 parks per 10,000 residents, ranked fourth for its 9% population of 20-24 year olds, sixth for post-secondary enrollment at 48.7%, and offers nearly 30% entry-level jobs, though the ranking represents a slip from Atlanta's #1 position last year.

✊ No Kings protests return to Metro Atlanta on October 18 with over 30 gatherings across Georgia opposing the current presidential administration's actions. Atlanta's main stationary rally begins at 10 a.m. in the Atlanta Civic Center parking lot hosted by Human Rights Campaign and ACLU of Georgia, with additional events scheduled in Tucker, Smyrna, Marietta, Peachtree City, Fayetteville, and Suwanee, following the movement's June debut that drew over five million participants across 2,000 cities nationwide.

⚽ Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan announced his retirement after this season, ending an eight-year tenure with a club-record 304 appearances and 547 total across all competitions. The 41-year-old captain helped the team win the 2018 MLS Cup and 2019 U.S. Open Cup, earned 64 caps for the U.S. national team with three Gold Cup wins, and showed remarkable resilience by recovering from a torn Achilles in 2022 to continue leading the club.

🚗 ATLDOT installed "No Left Turn" signs at the intersection of Krog Street NE and DeKalb Avenue NE to improve safety and reduce traffic delays. Northbound motorists on Krog Street NE can no longer turn left westbound onto DeKalb Avenue NE.

🍂If you didn’t RSVP or your plans changed, we hope you will still join us!
Yes, we are rain or shine!

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