Like the fluttering autumn leaves, fall festival season continues. The following is a collection of eclectic encounters of the festival kind.
10th Annual Indian Festival and Pow Wow
The scoop: This celebration of Native American culture takes place in a virtual tepee village at Stone Mountain Park's antebellum plantation and farmyard. More than 50 tribes represent with arts and activities spread across four days. Dancers and drummers keep tradition alive as they compete for prizes by stomping and pounding away. Others showcase old-school skills like bow making, fire starting and open fire cooking. Food samples will be available, too. Cruise the marketplace where Native American artisans sell wares. If your moccasins start barking, kick back to entertainment like traditional musical performances, and an appearance by snake wrangler, musician and wildlife educator Okefenokee Joe.
Don't miss: On both Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., competitors participate in the grand entry and show off their tribal best. Dancing follows throughout the day.
411: 9 a.m.-2 p.m Nov. 5-6; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 7; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 8. $10; $10 parking per vehicle. Stone Mountain Park, U.S. Highway 78 East, Exit 8, Stone Mountain. 770-498-5690, www.stonemountainpark.com.
10th Annual Buford Ace Classic Cruise-In and Car Show
The scoop: It's a gear head's paradise as approximately 300 vehicles gather in the parking lot of the S&S Ace Hardware & Mower in Buford. A variety of rides from dragsters to motorcycles line up in all directions. "Look, a street rod!" "Dad, take a picture of that real NASCAR car!" The overall theme is a glance back at yesteryear. Hot dogs are free and sodas are 25 cents. DJ Mark Joseph spins classics from the '50s and '60s. Some will enter the raffle for prizes including restaurant gift certificates. Mom and dad can troll the silent auction for bargains like floor tile, and kids can shoot targets with a paintball gun.
Don't miss: Expect rarities of all kinds including a vintage British roadster owned by a gent who's taking it around the world from one contest to another. It's free to show your own car, but $15 to enter the competition. Proceeds benefit the North Gwinnett Cooperative.
411: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 7. Free. S&S Ace Hardware & Mower, 4300 Buford Drive, Buford. 770-932-1458, www.ssacehardware.com.
9th Annual Afternoon in the Country at Serenbe
The scoop: Serenbe, a rustic-meets-posh sustainable community and retreat in Palmetto, sets the stage for this bash. The Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d' Escoffier International, a group of women in the service and hospitality industries, host a fundraiser. Organizers bring in more than 40 chefs from Atlanta restaurants like Rathbun's, Restaurant Eugene and Serenbe's own eateries. They, along with area retailers, and wine and micro-brew representatives, set up tasting stations underneath massive tents. Guests mingle with organic farmers and soak up a soundtrack of bluegrass fusion by the band Drivetrain. A one-of-a-kind cake raffle, a silent auction, hayrides and more pack the day.
Don't miss: Contemplating silent auction items like a private concert by Francine Reed.
411: 1-4 p.m. Nov. 8. $95; $35 ages 12-20; free ages 11 and younger. The Inn at Serenbe, 10950 Hutcheson Ferry Road, Palmetto. 770-463-2610, www.ldeiatlanta.org.
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