The National Black Arts Festival continues through this weekend. Check back every morning to see some highlights from the day’s events.

Events for Friday, July 31

Books: An E. Lynn Harris tribute will use stories and poems to celebrate the author, who died recently as a result of heart disease. 6:30 p.m. July 31. Woodruff Arts Center. FREE.

Dance: Atlanta African Dance and Drum Festival will teach classes for children and adults, featuring music and dance from Guinea, Mali and Ivory Coast. 6 p.m. July 31, 10 am. Aug. 1-2. Morehouse College Archer Hall Gym, 894 Fair St. in Atlanta. $12 per class for adults, $10 for groups, $5 for children.

Music: “To Sing The Truth: A Tribute to Nina Simone” includes performances by Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright, Joi Gilliam and Lisa Simone Kelly. 8 p.m. July 31. Woodruff Arts Center’s Symphony Hall. $20-55. STORY.

Storytelling: The Literary Salon opens for a day of workshops featuring storytelling through quilting, filmmaker Jonee Ansa and …

Continue reading National Black Arts Festival highlights: July 31 »

Books: Author Stephen L. Carter discusses “Jericho’s Fall,” 7:15 p.m., Decatur Library Auditorium, Decatur. FREE.

Dance: “Incarnation” by Dance 101 opens, Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff, Atlanta.

For families: American Idols Live! performance, 7 p.m., Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth. BLOG.

Music: Peachtree Soul Club with Hermon Hitson and George Hughley perform, 9 p.m., Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge, Atlanta.

Music: Rascal Flatts performs with guest Darius Rucker, Lakewood Ampitheatre, 8 p.m., Atlanta.

Sports: Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers series begins, 7:30 p.m., Turner Field, Atlanta.

Visual art: Final weekend for “Neoteny” by artist Sam Parker, 12-6 p.m., Beep Beep Gallery, Atlanta. FREE.

Got an event, venue, restaurant or performance in and around Atlanta? Add it to the AccessAtlanta.com calendar.

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading To do list: July 31 »

Were you able to guess what was in this photo and where you could find it?

Alas, it does not draw lottery numbers, nor does it make margaritas, as some of you suggested for our first Access Points game. But it took parents reading the blog about two seconds to identify the images correctly: it’s the ball machine at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, also known as the “Tools for Solutions” exhibit. The first reader to correctly identify both in the comments was Liviangel! Thanks to all who played!

"Tools for Solutions" at Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta. Jamie Gumbrecht/AJC.

I visited the children’s museum last week to check out their Imaginator theater troupe — story coming soon! — but it’s impossible to keep your eyes off the machines sending an endless supply of rainbowed balls through the air. (Fun fact: stray pieces of plastic fruit from the museum’s “Fundamentally Food” exhibit have attempted to make the journey through the tools. They …

Continue reading Access Points: Ball machine at Atlanta’s Children’s Museum »

The National Black Arts Festival continues through this weekend. Check back every morning to see some highlights from the day’s events.

Events for Thursday, July 30

Film: “A Keeping of Records: The Art and Life of Alice Walker” exhibit continues at Emory University’s Woodruff Library, but a series of films and discussions about the author will run on Thursday. Noon-5:15 p.m. July 30, White Hall, 480 Kilgo St. in Atlanta. FREE.

Stage: “Black Voices: The Hidden Bruises,” a work by Clark Atlanta University Professor Willie L. Todd Jr., features a performance by original “Dreamgirl” Jennifer Holliday. 7:30 p.m. July 30-Aug. 2, Clark Atlanta University’s Haven-Warren Hall,  223 James P. Brawley Drive, S.W.in Atlanta.

Film: “In Retrospect: Robert Townshend,” will feature a reception and discussion with the filmmaker. The Pan African Film Festival opening night reception begins at 7 p.m. July 30, and a film begins after. Woodruff Arts Center’s Rich Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St., N.E. …

Continue reading National Black Arts Festival highlights: July 30 »

Comedy: Wanda Sykes performs, 8 p.m., Uptown Comedy Corner, Atlanta. CANCELED.

For kids: “Hotel for Dogs” shows as part of Movies & The Market, 8:45 p.m., Atlantic Station’s Central Park, Atlanta. FREE.

Music: Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson perform, 5:30 p.m., Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta. STORY.

Music: Krysta Nick and Anna Harwood perform for Duluth Brown Bag Lunch Series concerts, noon-1:30 p.m., Town Green, Duluth. FREE.

Outdoors: Walk on the Wild Side Twilight Hike, 7 p.m., Panola Mountain State Park, Stockbridge.

Sports: Atlanta Dream vs. Phoenix Mercury, 7:30 p.m., Philips Arena, Atlanta.

Visual Art: Spalding Nix lectures on “The Art of the Steal,” 6:30 p.m., Tew Galleries, Atlanta.

Got an event, venue, restaurant or performance in and around Atlanta? Add it to the AccessAtlanta.com calendar.

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading To do list: July 30 »

Do you know what and where this is around Atlanta? AJC/Jamie Gumbrecht

A city our size in a region so colorful never gets dull if you keep exploring. I lucked into a job that lets me do that sometimes, and I’m constantly wandering into places and artifacts I should know, but don’t.

No more! I’ve got access, so I’m asking questions, and you’re coming with me. We’ll make it a game.

Every Wednesday, I’ll post an image of something from around the metro area and ask you to identify what and where this mystery photo was taken. It’s just one point in our region, perhaps well-known but under-appreciated, or tough to spot without context.

I’ll reveal the answer at 4 p.m. Thursday, then share the story behind it. We’ll learn something, and get a little background about a new place to explore.

It’s our first week, so I’m posting a bonus image, too. We’ll talk later about whether it was too much detail, not enough or just the right amount to keep you curious.

For now, what is it and …

Continue reading Access Points: Can you guess what and where this is? »

Spelman College Associate Professor R. Paul Thomason, 55, works structure for the National Black Arts Festival. It begins today as a much different festival than before. Elissa Eubanks/AJC

No doubt, the National Black Arts Festival has changed. Fewer huge names on the schedule. New leadership. Events central to Woodruff Arts Center, instead of a citywide celebration. Employees laid off, artists paid less. Not 10 days of activities, but five. (An AJC story, “Economy forces creators to ‘re-imagine’ Black Arts Festival,” details it all.)

But those are five busy days — hours filled with free concerts, author talks, ongoing art exhibitions and lively markets. The AJC has already detailed some NBAF highlights by category, but for the next few days, I’ll do a daily breakout of a few events. Want more? Here’s the full NBAF list of events.

Events for Wednesday, July 29:

Film: The Pan African Film Festival opens with a series of shorts, then longer films from the United States, …

Continue reading National Black Arts Festival highlights: July 29 »

Food: Gwinnett Restaurant Week continues at 17 Gwinnett restaurants.

For kids: “Now You See It” visual arts storytime, 3:30 p.m., Cobb County Public Library, Kennesaw. FREE.

Opera: “Met Summer Encore: Il Barbiere Di Siviglia,” 7 p.m., area movie theaters.

Outdoor education: “Plan Before You Plant” lecture by landscape designer Tres Fromme, 7:30 p.m., Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta. FREE.

Stage: Shakespeare Crashers happy hour and Georgia Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus,” 6:30 p.m. reception and 8 p.m. performance, Conant Performing Arts Center, Atlanta.

Got an event, venue, restaurant or performance in and around Atlanta? Add it to the AccessAtlanta.com calendar.

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading To do list: July 29 »

A tax-free holiday line in 2003. Doesn't mean you have can't have fun. AJC file photo.

I have seen those lines, those crowds, those frantic grabbers of computers and kids shoes. Surely I’m not the only one exhausted and a little scared at the thought of shopping during Georgia’s tax-free holiday July 30 through August 2.

But if you absolutely must — Maybe you love it? The tax-free price is too enticing? You proooooommmmmmiiiisssed! a certain someone? — at least try to have some fun.

Here are some events going on around Atlanta area shopping centers during the tax-free weekend: movies to see, music to hear, good to give. Some are kid-perfect, some are better for adults who need to escape the clutches of back-to-school shoppers. (Plenty of malls have giveaways and special discounts going during the tax-free holidays, but this list generally shares fun thing to do, not fun things to buy. If you’re all about the take home and the good deals, check out Rana Cash’s Atlanta …

Continue reading Enjoy the crowds: fun tax-free shopping days events »

Books: Sarah Dunant discusses and signs “Sacred Hearts,” 7 p.m., Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta.

Stage: “42nd Street” opens, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre, Atlanta. STORY.

Film: “The Trip” presented by Movie Lounge (21+), 10 p.m., Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge, Atlanta. FREE.

For families: “Mirandy and Brother Wind” opens as part of the National Black Arts Festival, 3 p.m., 14th Street Playhouse, Atlanta.

For families: “Zathura: A Space Adventure” shows, 7 p.m., Clayton County Public Library, Riverdale. FREE.

Sports: Gwinnett Braves vs. Rochester Red Wings series begins, 7 p.m., Gwinnett Braves Stadium, Lawrenceville.

Got an event, venue, restaurant or performance in and around Atlanta? Add it to the AccessAtlanta.com calendar.

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading To do list: July 28 »