After taking a bruising outside their usual home at Piedmont Park, three of the city's largest outdoor events are once again pleading with Atlanta officials to let them back into the drought-starved park next year.

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On Tuesday, Atlanta Dogwood Festival Brian Hill went before the city council's community development committee and asked for a guarantee his and other festivals could move back to the park next year.

Council members asked Dianne Harnell Cohen, commissioner of the city's parks, recreation and cultural affairs department, to make a recommendation by Oct. 15 about whether the park could handle major festival traffic next year.

By then, "we'll be able to tell where are we with ability to irrigate [using a well] and whether or not there is still a drought," Cohen said.

In January, the city announced that all Class A festivals - those that attract 50,000 people or more - were being moved out of Piedmont Park because of the stress on the park's rain-starved lawn. The move affected the city-run Atlanta Jazz Festival and the private Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, Atlanta Dogwood Festival and Atlanta Pride.

• The Atlanta Dogwood Festival moved to Lenox Square mall April 4-6 and saw a huge drop in attendance and donations, Hill said.

• The Atlanta Pride Committee held its event over the July Fourth weekend at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center.

Although final numbers are not yet available, attendance was "down pretty significantly" based on beverage and merchandise sales as well as donations, Pride executive director Donna Narducci said Thursday.

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Roadrace ended at Ponce de Leon Avenue and Juniper Street, instead of the park, on July Fourth. Track Club officials said the race attracted its usual 55,000 runners, but they hoped to end the race in the park next July Fourth.

• A scaled-down Atlanta Jazz Festival was held May 24-26 at downtown Atlanta's Woodruff Park. The Jazz Fest is run by the city.