3rd Annual Piedmont Park Arts Festival (Huge Giveaway!)

It's back to school time again here in Atlanta, but that doesn't mean the summer fun has to come to an end! This month the Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces will be putting on the third annual Piedmont Park Arts Festival, a family friendly event full of fun activities that you won't want to miss!

Piedmont Park is Atlanta's largest park, spanning 189 acres, and has an amazing history that dates back to the 1800s. The park, which was originally a privately owned property, was sold in 1887 and hosted the famous Piedmont Exposition that same year. That event took place over 12 days and had over 200,000 attendees, even President Grover Cleveland made an appearance with his wife Frances! Seven years later in 1895, the 100 day Cotton States and International Exposition took place at the park and attracted over 800,000 visitors from the U.S. and 13 countries. Fast forward to 2013, the park is still one of the most famous spaces in Atlanta, and the perfect home for Piedmont Park Arts Festival!



Piedmont Park is a great place to picnic with the family![/caption] This free two day event taking place August 17th and 18th will feature over 250 painters, photographers, sculptors, leather and metalworkers, glass blowers, jewelers and crafters. The Festival will also offer artist demonstrations, live acoustic music, a Street Market, children's inflatable play area plus a variety of local food trucks and even craft beer! The Noguchi Playscape at the park is one of the coolest playgrounds in Atlanta (photo courtesy of Piedmont Park Conservancy)

Piedmont Park Arts Festival

When: Saturday, August 17th 10-6; Sunday, August 18th 11-6
Where: Piedmont Park, 1215 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30309
Food trucks: 10+ local food trucks and vendors (food truck line up)
Live music: Over 10 local bands and artists (entertainment schedule)
Local artists: 250 booths (participating artist list)
Cost: Free admission
Parking: There is limited free parking available around the park. Festival attendees are strongly encouraged to take MARTA. Paid parking is available at the SAGE parking facility
Children's Entertainment: Inflatables, sand art and face painting (activity tickets are required)
Pets: Dogs are welcome to join in the fun too, just be sure to bring a leash and pick up behind them! For more information visit www.piedmontparkartsfestival.com

Such a beautiful place! (photo courtesy of city-data.com)

 This is always an awesome festival and great way to spend the afternoon with your family. You can spend the whole day strolling through the artist booths, munching on local food, listening to music and letting the kiddos play on the playground. Be sure to bring a blanket for lounging on the grass, a frisbee to toss around, sunscreen (because no one likes sunburn!) and towels if you plan to let the kiddos splash around in Legacy Fountain. Don't forget to share all your fun festival pictures online using hashtag #PiedmontParkArtsFestival! But wait, there's more awesome stuff going on! Is that even possible?! This year, the Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces is partnering with three different organizations to bring even more fun to the festival. Check out these special events going on that weekend below:

Piedmont Summer Sprint 5k

Come run or walk through Piedmont Park with your friends and family at 9:30 on Saturday morning before the festival. Discounts are available for groups and families, and registration is available on Active.com. If you'd like to volunteer with packet pick up and race day activities, you can sign up here. They are also accepting donations of art supplies if you want to bring some along!

Guinness Book of World Records Attempt

 Want to make history? Join AFFPS and Hoop Essence for the Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the longest human chain to pass a hula-hoop! The record breaking attempt is taking place on Saturday at 4:00 at the Active Oval at the park. Anyone 8 years or older can participate, you'll just need to register at the HoopEssence booth (blue & white striped tent) between 11:00 and 3:30. Participants are asked to provide a small donation ($2 suggested), and all proceeds will benefit Embraced Atlanta, an organization that provides assistive mobility and prosthetic devices to those in need. They need 400 people to break the record, so spread the word and bring along a crowd! Click here for more info about the event and sponsor HoopEssence.

Sunday Funday Cornhole Tournament

Monday Night Brewing is hosting this fun adult event in the park meadow on Sunday from 2:00 to 6:00. Teams of two will compete in a first round eliminate style cornhole tournament for the chance to win one of three great prizes: $250 for 1st place, $1oo for 2nd place, and and Monday Night Brewing prize pack for 3rd place. Participants must be 21 and older and will need to present valid ID when they check in. Teams can register online for $15 through Friday, August 16th, or for $20 on site at the Monday Night Brewing tent. All the info you need to join in the fun can be found on the festival website. Proceeds will go to benefit CURE Childhood Cancer, a non-profit cancer research foundation in Atlanta.

***Giveaway Alert***

The folks over at the festival have even given me and several other awesome Atlanta bloggers a $110 Festival Prize Pack to give away to one of our readers! It includes $50 in Artist Bucks, 2 lunch vouchers (meal and drink), and up to 4 children's bracelets for unlimited inflatable play! The giveaway ends at midnight on Thursday 8/15, use the form below to enter.

(If the form isn't showing up, click on the text below that says "a Rafflecopter giveaway" sometimes it's a little wonky!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway Want more chances to win? Be sure to follow the Piedmont Park Arts Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as they'll be giving away $50 in Artist Bucks to spend at the festival every day! Disclosure - I was compensated for promoting the festival and giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own.