Atlanta Pride, Savannah St. Patrick's Day, music festivals: Plan for these 2023 events in Georgia
If you haven’t already started, it’s time to begin planning your time off for 2023.
Follow music and cultural festivals on social media as they begin announcing official dates for their signature events in the coming months.
Whether you’re into music, sports or culture, here are some popular events in Georgia to plan for this year:
Festivals
Atlanta Pride
Atlanta is home to one of the biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations in the U.S.
This year, Atlanta Pride is set for Oct. 14 and 15.
Yellow Daisy Festival
This year will be the 55th edition of the arts festival at Stone Mountain Park. More than 300 artists and crafters display and sell their work at the Yellow Daisy Festival.
The festival begins Sept. 7 through Sept. 10.
Atlanta Dogwood Festival
The longtime, annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival is a sign of spring and celebrates arts and music.
The festival begins April 14 and continues through April 16 at Piedmont Park.
Savannah St. Patrick’s Day
No city in Georgia, or perhaps this side of the Atlantic Ocean, does St. Patrick’s Day quite like Savannah.
The celebration centers around the parade but the revelry goes on through the night with the bar crawl on River Street.
This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday, March 17, so expect a weekend of celebrating in Savannah.
Helen Oktoberfest
The quaint north Georgia town hosts thousands of visitors for a parade, music, food and varieties of beer to celebrate, Oktoberfest, the annual festival in Munich, Germany.
There aren’t official dates for the 2023 festival, but it usually begins in mid-to-late September.
Music Festivals
Shaky Knees
The Killer, Muse and The Lumineers are the three headliners for the three-day festival at Central Park.
This year, the festival is May 5 through May 7. Tickets are already on sale.
AthFest
The three-day music and arts festival is set for June 23 to June 25 in the "Classic City" of Athens.
Athfest is free and all about local bands, acts and crafters.
Imagine Music Festival
Kingston Downs in Rome becomes one of the largest electronic bass and dance music festivals for one weekend each year.
There’s no official lineup, but tickets are already on sale for the 2023 festival from Sept. 15 to Sept. 17.
Music Midtown
The festival was canceled in 2022, and the festival still hasn’t announced official 2023 dates.
If Music Midtown returns, expect the festival to happen in mid-September in Piedmont Park. The festival could announce the lineup in May or early June.
Sweetwater 420 Fest
Sweetwater Brewing’s music festival takes over Centennial Olympic Park in spring for four days of music and beer.
There’s still no official lineup or festival dates.
Sports
Atlanta United
Atlanta Untied led Major League Soccer in average attendance per game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2022. The atmosphere at home games in iconic.
You can watch the club’s rising stars play for United Soccer League affiliate Atlanta United 2 at Kennesaw State University’s Fifth-Third Bank Stadium.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves drew the fourth most fans per game in Major League Baseball. Truist Park drew more than 3 million fans after the Braves won the 2021 World Series. You can also watch future Braves stars at three Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates in Augusta, Rome and Lawrenceville.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are in the midst of their regular season. There are still 22 games left this season at State Farm Arena. The Hawks would be the last team in the play-in tournament if the season ended now. If the Hawks make the playoffs, those series would begin in April.
The Hawks' NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, play home games at Gateway Center Arena into March.
Atlanta Falcons
The final game of the Falcons regular season is Jan. 7 against the Buccaneers.
It'll be a few months before fans can see the Falcons again in person, but training camp in Flowery Branch will be open for fans in July.
Preseason games begin in August and the first regular season games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Savannah Bananas
For a completely different kind of baseball experience, try the Savannah Bananas. The team gained fame on social media for preforming viral dance moves in the field, trick pitches and carrying flaming bats to the plate. Plus, tickets include all-you-can-eat concessions.
Atlanta Gladiators
Hockey lives in Atlanta! The Atlanta Gladiators play at Gas South Arena in Duluth through April in the ECHL.
Fans of the former Atlanta Thrashers will appreciate the Glads’ throwback jerseys with the iconic blue and gold combination.
Georgia Swarm
Also at Gas South Arena, the Georgia Swarm claim to be the fastest game on two feet. The National Lacrosse League club provides a one-of-a-kind, faced-pace indoor lacrosse experience.
Games feature plenty of offense and there are no worries about weather making the experience miserable.