Spring blooms at annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival

ATLANTA - The last time the Atlanta Dogwood Festival took over Piedmont Park, the famed dogwood trees weren’t actually blooming. That’s because last year, the festival was moved to August due to the ongoing pandemic. But for the festival’s 86th year, organizers have put it back in the season for which it was created to celebrate.

The 86th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival returns to Piedmont Park Friday through Sunday, continuing a tradition that began way back in 1936 — making it the city’s longest-running festival and the nation’s third-oldest fine arts festival. The three-day event fills the park with a vibrant artist market (featuring more than 250 hand-selected artists), live music and entertainment, and family-friendly activities; there’s plenty of food available throughout the festival, of course, and even a 5K race (the Atlanta Dogwood Festival Mimosa 5K) on Saturday morning.

A main attraction of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is always the Atlanta High School Art Exhibition, featuring incredible artwork created by area high school students. A panel of professional judges selects the pieces on display, choosing from hundreds of submissions. And Saturday, teams of high school artists will go toe-to-toe (or should we say pencil-to-pencil) in the Art Throwdown, a timed art competition.

Festival organizers are asking attendees to make a $5 donation, something they also requested last year due to the financial hit from the pandemic. For more information on the 86th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival and to donate online, click here. And click the video player in this article to check out our morning getting a preview of this year’s big event!