Except for the COVID-19 protocols in effect, the first weekend in October will resemble a pre-pandemic return to normal when throngs of people are expected to gather in downtown Decatur for the convergence of three festivals: Amplify Decatur Music Festival, Decatur Arts Festival and AJC Decatur Book Festival presented by Emory University.
The event is billed as Festival Weekend, and it came about when the book festival was prompted by the pandemic to scale back to a single venue this year. Since organizers had already reserved the Decatur Square and the intersection of Ponce de Leon and Clairmont avenues, the music and arts festivals saw an opportunity to stage do-overs after having to cancel their 2020 events.
In addition to music, artists and authors, Festival Weekend will feature food vendors onsite, including The Iberian Pig, Trackside Tavern, Go Dog! and Mellow Mushroom, and beer will be provided by Creature Comforts Brewing Co. and Three Taverns Craft Brewery.
There are many safety measures in place. To attend indoor events at the book festival, proof of vaccination is required. The music festival is requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours. Viral Solutions will be onsite to provide free tests for those who need one. In addition, masks are required and capacity has been reduced so attendees can social distance.
Amplify Decatur Music Festival
The only Festival Weekend event to expand in 2021 instead of scale back, the Amplify Decatur Music Festival boasts three components this year. It kicks off Oct. 1 with a free concert featuring Shawn Mullins, Ghoststories and Desmond Champion. This is a first-come, first-served show with limited capacity, so early arrival is recommended. The gate opens at 6 p.m., and music starts at 7 p.m.
On Oct. 2, the Indigo Girls headline a ticketed show that includes John Paul White from the Civil Wars, Rodney Crowell, Blind Boys of Alabama, Cactus Blossoms and Michelle Malone. Ticket options range from lawn or standing-room-only general admission to VIP seats featuring perks like complimentary beverages and seat-side service.
And in partnership with Brick Store Pub, there will a second stage of free music in the beer garden behind the restaurant. Mark Miller and Reverend Hylton perform starting at 3 p.m. Oct. 1, and Kristen Englenz, Georgia Mountain Stringband and Jason C. Waller play starting at noon on Oct. 2.
Getting the Indigo Girls to headline the event has been a longtime goal of Mike Killeen, vice present of marketing for Lenz and founder of Amplify My Community, the nonprofit organization that presents the festival.
“This is a mountaintop for us,” he said. “We’re just humbled and honored to have them play. They were supposed to play in 2020, but it was canceled for COVID.”
As excited as he is about the music, though, he wants to remind people that the concert is for a good cause.
“We’ve been working with Decatur Cooperative Ministry since the beginning,” he said. “They do incredible work. They do all the things you would expect from an organization that is designed to help the impoverished, but they also do a lot more. They do emergency funding for homelessness prevention. So, they’re not just helping the homeless, but they’re also working with people to prevent homelessness, and they rehabilitate people so that they’re self-sufficient within six months. We’re very proud to support them.”
Amplify My Community has raised more than $265,000 to date for Decatur Cooperative Ministry, and Killeen thinks this year may be its best one yet.
7-9 p.m. Oct. 1, free. 4-10:30 p.m. Oct. 2. $60-$250. Decatur Square, 101 E. Court Square. Brick Store Pub, 125 E. Court Square. www.amplifydecatur.org, eventbrite.com.
Decatur Arts Festival
Instead of presenting the full array of festivities that typically comprise this popular annual event, the Decatur Arts Alliance will just showcase the festival’s main attraction: the juried artist market.
On Oct. 2-3, Ponce de Leon and Clairmont avenues will be closed to vehicular traffic and 90 artisans from Atlanta, the Southeast and beyond will line the streets selling a wide array of paintings, pottery, jewelry and more. In addition, several artist guilds will be present, including the Callanwolde Clay Guild, Metal Artists of Georgia and Peace of Thread fiber artists from Clarkston.
“We really wanted an opportunity for these artists to show their work because the pandemic has been devastating to artists in general,” said Angie Macon, executive director of the Decatur Arts Alliance. “We worked with the city and Amplify and the book festival to have this artist market so we can safely have artists back downtown and hopefully they can start selling work again.”
The artist market will be located within Decatur’s open container zone, so attendees are welcome to purchase beer and wine and take it along with them as they browse and shop.
To facilitate social distancing, booths will be placed 10 feet apart, and masks are encouraged.
“We’ve really worked hard to make it airy and open so people will feel safe,” said Macon. “That’s our priority.”
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 2, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 3. Free. Ponce de Leon and Clairmont avenues. 404-371-9583, decaturartsfestival.com
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
AJC Decatur Book Festival presented by Emory University
Instead of sprawling throughout downtown Decatur, the book festival will be contained at the First Baptist Church of Decatur this year.
Festivalgoers can expect “many of the same things they’ve experienced in the past, although on a more concise scale,” said 2021 Festival Director Rosemary Magee.
Inside the sanctuary, there will be five author panels and talks. The lineup includes Carol Anderson, author of “The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America”; Pulitzer-Prize winner Robert Olen Butler, author of the novel “Late City”; and YA authors Kim Jones and Gilley Segal, co-authors of the novel “Why We Fly.”
Admission is free but advance registration is required, as is proof of vaccination and masks. The author sessions also will be streamed live online.
Outdoors on the church grounds will be booksellers, food vendors and a children’s tent, where a picture book panel with Carmen Agra Deedy, author of “The Children’s Moon,” and Laura Freeman, illustrator of “Standing on Her Shoulders: A Celebration of Women,” will be held at 11:30 a.m.
10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Oct. 2. Free, registration required online and in person. Proof of vaccination required at indoor events; masks required on church property. First Baptist Church of Decatur, 308 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. 678-570-2041, decaturbookfestival.com.
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