Atlanta Events

I am a big fan of supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs. Especially in this economy, people who strike out on their own and are putting out quality products and services really inspires me.

Some friends of mine are really, really into cheese. I was more of a cheddar or provolone on a sandwich kind of gal before being exposed to the wide world of artisan cheeses. Enter Tim The Cheeseman! Tim works in the cheese area of Star Provisions on Howell Mill and is an expert on the stuff. He recently hosted ‘Cheese Week’ and it was fantastic. Be sure to follow Tim on Twitter for all the latest on cheese and offerings from Star Provisions!

I visited Star Provisions on two occasions during Cheese Week and got to meet the lovely Angie from Phickles Pickles out of Athens, GA. I didn’t realize all the things you could pickle and had never had a picked carrot before! (Yes, I’m not from around here).

Picked up some of her pickled okra for my friend Charlie, which I hear is amazing in bloody mary’s and that is Charlie’s drink of choice at brunch. They also offer pickled green tomatoes, which was their first product on the market, carrots, green beans, and celery. I’m learning more and more about the south and apparently pickling is a big tradition! Follow Phickles Pickles on Twitter!

Next up at Cheese Week was Rogue Creamery from Central Point, Oregon! As I’ve dipped my toe in the cheese world, I’d heard awesome things about the company and got to meet David, their cheesemaker and try their blue and cheddar cheeses.

I’ll be upfront and say I’m not a huge fan of blue cheeses, but their Rogue River Blue is a work of art, award-winning (2nd Place - American Cheese Society 2010) and was one of the mildest blues I’ve ever tasted. The cheese is handmade and wrapped in grape leaves which have been macerated in pear brandy. Doesn’t that sound amazing? I loved their chocolate stout cheddar cheese and took some to a dinner party recently and it was a big hit!

So you may be wondering, this blog post is titled ‘Buy Local’ and it has two featured companies not even in Atlanta! Well, that’s because in my opinion, buying local isn’t just about sticking to your town, but supporting all local businesses - whether it’s in GA or Oregon. Support courageous people who have big dreams and great products and the world will be that much more awesome for it!

Earlier this year we started to see the beginning of a movement, which has been established and thriving in cities like Seattle and Los Angeles for some time now…..the introduction of food trucks/street food!

Now we’re not talking the hot dog guy on the corner in New York, but high end, delicious, gourmet foods that just happen to come out of a truck or pop stand!

This week, we have three great opps for you to sample all the best of Atlanta’s new Street Food craze!

Tonight 6-9pm - Souper Jenny’s Super Secret Underground Food Truck Extravaganza!

Location: 56 East Andrews Drive, Buckhead. Andrews Square Shopping Center.

Souper Jenny, who has a storefront restaurant in Buckhead, has been making the rounds in her cool truck the last couple months and is hosting some top mobile eateries outside her place tonight. Look for my favorites - The King of Pops and Westside Creamery (try their salted caramel butter ice cream…sooo good!) as well as savory vendors Souper Jenny’s Flying Soup Mobile,Yumbii, Sol Catering, The Pickle, and Black Tie BBQ.

Friday there are two cool events downtown!

The monthly Urban Picnic is from 11am-2pm. The picnic is hosted by the last Friday of each month by the Atlanta Street Food Coalition and has a ton of great food trucks and vendors inside the market.

Location: Sweet Auburn Curb Market - 209 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta

Later that night Atlanta Streets Alive! takes over from 6:30-9pm and features great food vendors, but also live music and performances, shopping and more!

Both events are free, you just pay for your food!

To keep up with all the news on the Street Food movement and where your favorite trucks are around town, be sure to follow @ATLStreetFood on Twitter!

Another great event happening this weekend in Atlanta is the first annual Midtown Festival of the Arts. We have so many fantastic fests here in Atlanta, I hope this one continues to be a must-attend event in years to come!

The event is this Saturday/Sunday in the heart of Midtown on Peachtree between 5th and 10th streets. GA Tech students past and present know this area well!

This event is perfect for both families and urbanites alike:

- Kids Zone full of activities

- Art Auction

- Live music

- Artist markets

- Free screening of Driving Miss Daisy on Sat night

- Beer garden for the adults

- ‘Plates on Peachtree’, which features tastings from 15 local restaurant

Admission to the event is free, but access to the ‘Plates on Peachtree’ is $30 per person/per day in advance, $40 at the door. Restaurants participating include TAP, Baccanalia, ECCO, La Tavola, Noon Midtown, Bakeshop, and newcomer Empire State South.

Want to win 2 Tickets to Plates on Peachtree? Watch my Twitter account tomorrow for your chance to win!

If you are looking for a good time with great music, food and family activities, why not check out The Great Miller Lite Chili Cook-Off this Sat at Stone Mountain?

Around 300 teams from across the country will compete and provide free chili samples to attendees and 100% of the proceeds will go to Camp Twin Lakes. You couldn’t pay me to be in the jalapeno eating contest! TOO HOT!

Event Details:

Saturday 9/25 10am-7pm. $10 Adults/Kids under 12 are FREE!

Stone Mountain Park - Coliseum Meadow (Events Area)

For more info, music line up (including great cover bands), and tix, go to the official site.

Can’t believe we are nearing the end of September already! I’ve been looking forward to JAZZOO for months now and thrilled so many friends will be there Saturday night.

Event Details:

Saturday 9/25 6-11pm. $100 per person (some discounts are floating around)

20+ bars and 20+ restaurants will be pouring and serving for guests, as live music plays through the night at this amazing annual benefit for the Atlanta Zoo.

You can follow both the Zoo and the event on Twitter: @JAZOOAtlanta and @ZooATL

Not sure what exactly I’ll be wearing for the ‘creative cocktail attire’ requirement, but apparently anything goes at JAZZOO! Hope to see you there!

There are seriously so many awesome events happening in October it will probably take more than two posts to get all my faves in.

While some events happen every year, some are brand new this year and somehow all seem to involve delicious food and beer!

The Saturday of Awesome - 10/2

Battle of the Burgers - 12-2pm in John Howell Park. $23 gets you in to this new event which features some of the top burger places in Atlanta, including Grindhouse Killer Burgers, Farm Burger, TAP,Cypress Street, and West Egg Cafe. Two awards - People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice - will be given out.

HOTober Fest - 1-6pm in Glenwood Park. $30+ for access to the beer garten, etc. A beer drinker’s dream, they have a fantastic list of local and international brews featured at the event. Faves include New Belgium, Delirium, Magic Hat, Sweetwater, and Southampton. Also, live music, food, and family friendly activities.

What is really incredible is that 100% of event proceeds will go to Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Trees Atlanta, and Dialogue Start
One. Fantastic! So drink up, have fun and know it’s all for a good cause.

Stone Mountain Pumpkin Fest starts on Friday 10/1 and happens every weekend in October. $21-$27, $10 parking pass. Great activities for the family, including a pumpkin parade, costume contests, pumpkin patch party and more!

So many events, so little time!

Now that it’s finally cooling off, I’m really excited to get into all the Fall activities around town. Faves include Oktoberfest and Halloween!

Luckily we have a very famous and historical cemetery in town, so be sure to check out these two upcoming events at Oakland Cemetery!

Sunday 10/3 - 31st Annual Sunday in the Park (12-6pm). $5 suggested donation.

Live music, costumes, kids activities and more!

Friday 10/22 - Sunday 10/25 - Halloween Tours! $10+. These go fast, so be sure to reserve your spot asap!

Twitter peeps can follow @OaklandCemetery for all the latest updates and event postings!

Center for Puppetry Arts hosts The Ghastly Dreadfuls! This ‘adult’ puppet show and performance is a must see each Halloween.

October 13-31st. $25.

You can also find the Center on Twitter @CtrPuppetryArts!

Oktoberfest!

5 Seasons Prado and Westside - Sat 9/25 (12pm-2am) - $35-$55 for all you can eat/drink and a souvenir stein to take home!

There are many more events happening in October, so be sure to watch this space for all the updates!

Really excited to announce that I’ll be co-hosting a Tweet Up in October with Reid Ramsey, aka @ATLBeerMaster!

Reid has had the honor of working with 5 Seasons Brewmaster Crawford Moran over the last couple months to craft a unique saison and now it’s time to tap it!

We hope you can join us for some really amazing beer, food, and socializing!

Details:

Thursday, October 7th

6:30pm-8:30pm

5 Seasons Westside SkyBar

Deals:

$3.00 Reid’s saison
$5.00 svedka vodka cocktails
$5.00 house red and white wine

2 for 1 app specials!

We hope you can join us!

RSVP via Facebook!

Two fashion adventures this weekend, with more to come!! First Fashion Night Out and then an appointment with destiny….also known as the Nordstrom Personal Shopper!

First, had a great time meeting Angelique and the team at Fab’rik Midtown last Friday for ‘Fashion Night Out’ and checking out all the new trends for Fall.

I’m really excited about the cool military and motorcycle jackets, lots of pairing of the soft and hard looks as the weather gets cooler. Can’t wait to bust out my boots, tights and scarves again! It just isn’t winter without a sassy knitted beret either.

My other fashion adventure over the weekend was to Nordstrom to meet with a personal shopper/stylist named Shirley. I’ve never done this before and have been in need of a style update for a while now - so the change to fall was the perfect time to make it happen. Did you know that the personal shopper/stylist service at Nordstrom is free? I had been checking into other freelance consultants/stylists and the pricing was upwards to $500 to have someone check out your wardrobe, go shopping with you and give you an overall review. A bit pricey for me just getting started, so decided Nordstrom was the way to go.

Arrived at 1:30pm at the Perimeter store, the personal stylist section is on the 2nd floor right in the middle of the women’s fashion section. Shirley had emailed me some questions asking me about my personal style, favorite colors, why I was coming in and what I hoped to get out of the experience. Based on my answers she was able to start pulling clothes and accessories to greet me when I arrived.

Being total strangers, it did take a couple pulls from the floor before I started finding pieces I really loved. The ‘want it’ vs the ‘not so much’ pile started to grow. Love the Halogen line, picked up some ‘Not Your Daughter’s Jeans’ which I’d read about in several fashion mags (and fit amazingly), and some JAG khakis. A couple cute tops were a must for all the socializing I’ve been doing lately and I found an amazing dress from Classiques Entier that I can’t wait to wear to a work event.

Overall, it started a little rocky, but once we got to know eachother ‘style-wise’ it was a match made in heaven. Now that I’m armed with tips from Shirley, I can apply them to shopping everywhere. Also, Nordstrom is probably the best store when it comes to customer service, so if you suddenly discover you don’t look as good in that motorcycle jacket at home as you did in the personal stylist suite - they will take it back no questions asked!

I’d been hearing buzz about Shaun’s in Inman Park for months and with ScoutMob serving as my social coordinator of late - grabbed a friend who also appreciates discovering new restaurants and enjoying fantastic food.

Charlie, my dining partner, is decidedly OTP, but from time to time I can get him to cross the border with the lure of experiencing something new. The ITP sell is always easier if it involves great food or the arts. Shaun’s is conveniently located directly across from the MARTA station, and when I say directly - I mean literally a crosswalk away! No need to deal with downtown traffic.

After gathering some recommendations from friends on Twitter, we started with the steamed pork buns. Thanks Jon Macklin! What a fantastic dish. It really set the tone for the entire meal, we knew we were somewhere special.

Shaun’s also has a great special - if you have a reservation between 5-7pm, they offer a $29 prix fixe menu. Charlie took advantage of this and enjoyed the chilled beet soup, heritage pork schnitzel with a grilled vidalia onion salad, peanuts, parsley, and we shared his sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

I ordered off the regular menu for my entree and really enjoyed the Carolina Trout. It was delicious with a mustard mash and swiss chard, which you can’t really see in this picture since the chard and mash are both under the perfectly cooked trout.

We ended the evening with another Twitter recommendation from Sarah-Ann, the (now famous) Sticky Toffee Pudding. There is no picture, because we descended on it like wolves. One of the best desserts I’ve ever had - bar none.

Other great things about Shaun’s - great service, our server was attentive, but didn’t hover and had a great personality. The menu changes every day based on fresh seasonal ingredients. The ambiance was fantastic, love the colors, lighting and overall aesthetic. We will definitely be coming back to Shaun’s!

I’m really excited about tonight’s Fashion Night Out, where cool stores all around Atlanta are giving advice on Fall fashions, helping you pick the perfect pair of jeans, treating you to drinks and eats, as well as entering you to win must have items for the season.

Fab’rik Boutique (Twitter/Facebook)

Buckhead 7-9pm - Pick out the perfect date night outfit with TLC’s Chilli!

Citywalk ALL DAY - Their fit expert will help you find the perfect jeans!

Midtown ALL DAY - Explore all the new trends for the Fall.

Forum 6-9pm - Join Real Housewife Lisa to find the perfect haute outfit.

Sage Clothing (Twitter/Facebook)

Tonight from 5-8pm visit their Buckhead store for a soecial Tulle Trunk show and cool new Fall fashions. First 25 people to arrive get a free t-shirt and you can enter to win a vintage wool Tulle coat ($85 value).

Location:Buckhead Market Place
37D West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305

I’ll be hitting the Midtown Fab’rik event after work, hopefully I’ll find some cool new items to spice up my wardrobe!

If you’ve found me here, chances are you have been following my Twitter account @ATL_Events!

This is my attempt to go beyond 140 characters and extend the experiences I’ve been enjoying all over Atlanta and the world in general. I’m not a listings service, so not every event happening in the city will be posted here, but I will definitely include the ones I’m personally interested in. What can you expect to see here? Glad you asked, I’m a fan of:

Sports: Thrashers and Braves games, as well as watching NCAA football with my fellow University of Texas Alumni.

Food: Atlanta has such a great food and restaurant scene, I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of all the fantastic restaurants to experience here. I’m also trying to cook more and by no means do I consider myself a ‘foodie’, but more a person who loves food. I am also a fan of local Farmer’s Markets and cool chefs.

Local: I love supporting local businesses, especially entrepreneurs!

Film/Entertainment: I’m a huge movie geek and love movies of all kinds - from foreign to crazy summer blockbusters, so you may see some posts about movies I can’t wait to see or really loved. I also enjoy performing arts like shows at the Alliance, Dad’s Garage, Horizon Theatre, Actor’s Express, Center for Puppetry Arts and more.

Arts/Music: Love seeing new exhibits at the High and new art gallery openings, as well as checking out the local music scene at places like Smith’s Olde Bar.

I also love posting live updates as I’m at events, so be on the look out for those too!