Football, baseball, races and DragonCon highlight weekend events
If you can’t find anything to do in Atlanta this Labor Day weekend, you’re just not trying.
From football, baseball and racing to parading stormtroopers and a big book festival, there’s something for everyone on a weekend chock full of major events.
Here’s what you need to know to enjoy the last big weekend of summer:
College football season kicks off: The weekend schedule of events includes football action Saturday with a second Chick-fil-A Kickoff game between Alabama and West Virginia at 3:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome. Other Saturday afternoon football games include Georgia Tech-Wofford at 12:30 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium and Georgia-Clemson at 5:30 p.m. at Sanford Stadium in Athens.
Braves return home: The Braves play the Marlins this weekend at Turner Field, with first pitches scheduled for 7:35 p.m. Friday, 7:10 p.m. Saturday and 5:10 p.m. Sunday.
On Monday, the Braves play the Phillies at 1:10 p.m. at Turner Field.
Race weekend at AMS: A full slate of NASCAR action at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton will be highlighted by Saturday's 7:30 p.m. Great Clips 300 and Sunday's 7:30 p.m. Oral-B USA 500.
DragonCon returns to Atlanta: The annual DragonCon science fiction, fantasy and pop culture festival takes over most of the large downtown hotels Friday through Monday. One of the highlights is the DragonCon Parade, which marches down Peachtree Street at 10 a.m. Saturday. Read the AJC story on DragonCon here.
Still more things to do: Other weekend events include the AJC Decatur Book Festival on Friday through Sunday in downtown Decatur and the Atlanta Black Gay Pride festival all weekend at the Georgian Terrace Hotel. Click here for a full list of weekend events.
Good news on the road construction front: The Georgia Department of Transportation has suspended all construction-related lane closures across the state beginning at noon Friday and continuing through 5 a.m. Tuesday.
More good news on gas prices: Motorists hitting the roads this weekend will find the lowest Labor Day gas prices in several years.
Atlanta's average price for a gallon of regular unleaded early Thursday was $3.35. Last year's Labor Day prices averaged $3.51, while two years ago, the average was $3.94, according to atlantagasprices.com, a website that charts how much we pay to fill our gas tanks.
Bad news from the weather desk: Pack an umbrella for those outdoor events, because there's a chance of rain, particularly on Saturday.
Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton is predicting a 60 percent chance of rain Saturday, diminishing a little to 30 percent Sunday and 40 percent on Labor Day. Highs will be a degree or two on either side of 90, with lows in the low 70s. Check the full weekend weather report and track changes.
