Things to Do

See the green-dyed fountain: Smyrna readies for St. Patrick's Day fest

From left, Jennifer Mendez, William Zapata and Amanda Onate drink a toast during Smyrna St. Patrick's Day Festival at Smyrna Market Village in this 2010 file photo.
From left, Jennifer Mendez, William Zapata and Amanda Onate drink a toast during Smyrna St. Patrick's Day Festival at Smyrna Market Village in this 2010 file photo.
By Ben Brasch
March 13, 2017

In a city of yellow jonquil flowers, green will be the color of choice this weekend.

And the place to be for St. Patrick's Day in Smyrna is Market Village — just as it has been the last 13 years.

The St. Patrick's Day Festival will be Friday and Saturday. If you can get a babysitter or don't need one, Friday is for you. If you're bringing the kids along and want a more family-friendly vibe, Saturday is what you're looking for.

Expect live music, TVs playing March Madness games, Guinness, cornhole and children’s activities.

The party starts at 2 p.m. Friday and moves inside at 10:30 p.m. The event runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Roads near the fountain (dyed green in celebration) will be shut down, so beware.

A crowd of children ogle Smyrna's Market Village fountain dyed green for the annual Smyrna St. Patrick’s Day Festival in 2010.
A crowd of children ogle Smyrna's Market Village fountain dyed green for the annual Smyrna St. Patrick’s Day Festival in 2010.

Shannon Drawe, general manager at Atkins Park assured there'd be plenty of parking.

Atkins Park (the Smyrna location) is sponsoring the event along with Zucca Bar & Pizzeria.

Drawe estimates 3,000 people attended during the two days last year. Demand from customers forced the event to grow into a two-day shindig about a decade ago.

Ahead of time, get tickets for $5 a day. At the gate, that price doubles.

All proceeds benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

About the Author

Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.

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