Free Georgia Shakespeare Shake at the Lake performances return to Piedmont Park in May with "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Here, a performance of "The Servant of Two Masters" by Goldoni. AJC file photo

After a year off because of funding cuts, Georgia Shakespeare’s popular Shake at the Lake performances will return to Piedmont Park in May.

The troupe will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” beside Lake Clara Meer. Reported AJCer Howard Pousner:

The performances overlooking Lake Clara Meer were popular between 2004 and 2008, but funding cuts shelved them in 2009. Presenting sponsor Bank of America and several other supporters stepped forward this year.

Here are more photos of Shake at the Lake from 2008.

Did you miss Shake at the Lake last year? Will you head back this year? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Want to go? Georgia Shakespeare’s Shake at the Lake stages “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” 7:30 p.m. May 5-9. Free. Tickets distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis …

Continue reading Shake at the Lake returns to Piedmont Park in May »

Will Pearson, president of Mental Floss, quizzed Miriam Sokolo about whether a quote came from Angelina Jolie or Gandhi during the Decatur Book Festival. He's back tonight, at SCAD, up to his same quizzical tricks. AJC/Jamie Gumbrecht

I had many favorite moments at last year’s AJC Decatur Book Festival — books! and people who like them! hooray! — but among the best was a session of good-natured, dry-humored, quiz-show fun courtesy of Will Pearson, co-founder of Mental Floss. Lucky us, he’s back in Atlanta tonight as part of SCAD’s Ivy Hall Writers Series, the very same one that brought Margaret Atwood to town last week, and bring Joel Cohen later this month.

Here’s an interview with Pearson by my colleague Jennifer Brett, who you can follow over at The Buzz. This ran in Tuesday’s print edition of the AJC:

Angelina Jolie. Mahatma Gandhi. Angelina. Gandhi. Who can tell them apart?

Actually, you’d be surprised how often they – or their pronouncements, at least – get …

Continue reading Mental Floss co-founder to speak at SCAD tonight »

Spring is coming! That's Goliath running at Six Flags Over Georgia. The park opens for weekends-only on March 6, just a day before Snow Moutain closes for the season. AJC file photo

Nevermind the Vernal Equinox, Daylight Savings Time, the Braves home opener or whatever date came printed in your 2010 calendar: spring starts in Atlanta next weekend.

What clearer proof do we need that spring is coming to Atlanta than this:

• Six Flags Over Georgia opens on March 6.

• Snow Mountain, Stone Mountain Park’s annual sledding, fort-building, marshmallow-toasting attraction, closes on March 7.

Or maybe it’s just another testament to our crazy weather and seasonal uncertainty. I choose to believe that it means Gen. Beauregard Lee was right.

So what to expect from that first weekend in March?

Six Flags has some new shows and new shops, but it’s big new attraction for the year is actually over at Six Flags White Water in Marietta, where Wiggles Water World will open this summer. Still, to …

Continue reading Is it spring?! Good-bye Snow Mountain, hello Six Flags! »

Jennifer Maciejewski over at Atlanta on the Cheap offers the handy reminder that CityPass prices will go up in Atlanta (and Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and Southern California) on March 1.

Prices are currently $69 for adults or $49 for kids. On March 1, they’ll jump $5 per book, which doesn’t seem like much till it’s spring break and you’re buying tickets for the entire family and a couple visitors. They’re good for nine days once you use a ticket to visit one of the attractions, but you don’t have to use them immediately. Physical ticket booklets are good for one year. An E-tickets must be exchanged for a physical booklet at one of the attractions within 90 days; you’ll have to redeem a ticket and start your nine days at that point, a CityPass customer service agent told me.

For those unfamiliar, Atlanta CityPass includes discounted admission to the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Zoo Atlanta, Inside CNN tour, Fernbank Museum of Natural History or …

Continue reading Atlanta CityPass prices to increase on March 1 »

Did you recognize this week's Access Point? It's an African penguin at Georgia Aquarium — just a little easier to see when it slows down. AJC photos by Jamie Gumbrecht

This is an African penguin, one of 19 that lives at Georgia Aquarium. Commenter Lora was right about the place in this week’s Access Points photo game, but it’s quite a bit smaller than a whale — most African penguins weigh 6 to 7 pounds. (Mallory was the first to guess correctly! Woohoo!)

One of these birds was the star of a recent film, “Love Lost and Found: A Penguin Odyssey.”

It’s so cute, you may have seen me squealing about it on Twitter.

Here it is:

Dodo, a 5-year-old penguin who came to the aquarium from Portugal, is the star. He was young when he arrived in Atlanta — still mostly gray, instead of his mature black-and-white — and a nervous little bird. Over many “enrichment sessions” with “environmental enrichment objects” — husbandry speak for “playtime with toys” — aquarium staffer came to learn this …

Continue reading Access Points 26: African penguin at Georgia Aquarium »

Beethoven (front) and Maris, swimming inside Georgia Aquarium's Cold Water Quest exhibit this week. Returning is Maris, a 15-year-old female, and newcomer Beethoven, an 18-year-old male. They've been at Sea World San Antonio while renovations were done on their habitat in Atlanta. AJC/John Spink

Belugas are back!

Atlanta hasn’t seen them since last October, when female Maris, her mother, Natasha, and Nico, a male, were moved from Georgia Aquarium to Sea World San Antonio while construction was going on in their habitat. Nico died in San Antonio — the cause remains unspecified –  and Natasha will remain there because of a potential mate. Maris and her new pal, Beethoven, are back in Atlanta. Eleven-foot-long, 900-pound Maris and 13-foot, 1,740-pound Beethoven could, indeed, be a mating pair. Here are more photos of the beluga pair at Georgia Aquarium.

There are only 36 belugas on in captivity in North America. If Georgia Aquarium’s pair are responding well to their space, …

Continue reading Georgia Aquarium belugas might be on display today »

Gwinnett Braves Stadium becomes Coolray Field. Chopper stays just as goofy. AJC file photo

So I’m perusing the Gwinnett Braves Web site last night and notice a jokey story about a wayward zebra heading to Coolray Field. Strangely, I get the zebra gag, but where is this Coolray Field?

 Loading …

Turns out I missed the news from late last week that the Atlanta Braves signed a multi-million dollar deal with Marietta’s Coolray Heating and Cooling for naming rights to the Gwinnett ballpark in Lawrenceville.  That means Gwinnett Braves Stadium becomes Coolray Field.

(For the record, last we knew, the zebra was safely under the care of UGA veterinarians in Athens. Maybe there was a stop in Lawrenceville on the way.)

The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but based on the numbers available, it “puts …

Continue reading POLL: Gwinnett Braves Stadium becomes Coolray Field »

Martin Prado goes into first base head first last September against the Marlins. I'm looking forward to baseball — and baseball weather — and lucky us, tickets go on sale next week. AJC file photo

Ahhh, as if to celebrate the return of 50- and 60-degree weather, I just saw that single game tickets for the Atlanta Braves go on sale Feb. 24. Baseball=spring=the end of my sweater-wearing, $200-gas bill, comfort food-binging misery, right?

Anyway, Braves tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. at www.braves.com/tickets, at the Braves Ticket Office at Turner Field, the Braves Clubhouse Store at CNN Center, at Publix Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Opening Day at Turner Field is 4 p.m. April 5 when the Braves play the Chicago Cubs. Friday Night Fireworks will be back this year, along with All Star Sundays, when kids younger than 14 can run the bases after a game and anybody can get Braves alums to sign autographs in the Fan Plaza before the game.

And oh yeah! There will …

Continue reading Atlanta Braves single game tickets go on sale Feb. 24 »

Sisters Evans and Cece Miller solved a puzzle (and some math problems) at the new "Cyberchase" exhibition at Imagine It! The Children's Musuem of Atlanta on Feb. 16, 2010. AJC photos by Jamie Gumbrecht

When I walk up to an exhibition at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, I read the signs, assess how it works, consider what we can learn from it.

A kid walks up to and their hands are immediately all over it. If the balls fit here, they must go here. It’s capable of spinning? Spin, I will! There’s a button? It must be pushed.

Which is why, of course, Imagine It! is a museum for children. A new exhibition there is loaded with things to pedal, push and play with, and somewhere along the way, kids might gain some understanding of fractions, decimals and patterns.

“Cyberchase: The Chase is On!” is inspired by the PBS kiddie series, and skews a little older than many of their exhibitions –  some of the learning concepts might even be better suited for 9 and 10-year-olds. …

Continue reading PHOTOS: ‘Cyberchase’ at Atlanta children’s museum »

Tugaloo State Park could add to its 113 camp sites and 20 cottages on the shores of Lake Hartwell. AJC/Brant Sanderlin

Some Georgia State Parks could get new campsites, cabins and cottages — good news for anybody who has waited for a spot during peak season in spring, summer, fall or on any holiday.

The Department of Natural Resources hopes to float $5 million in bonds for the building projects, and Gov. Sonny Perdue supports the project. As the story, “Lawmakers could put $5 million into campsites, cabins for state parks,” by AJCer Nancy Badertscher explains:

The idea is to make the parks more self-sustaining, says Becky Kelley, the DNR’s director of parks, recreation and historic sites. The system brings in 69 cents for every dollar it spends …

The strategy of investing in more cabins and campsites for the state parks is based on history, she said.

State parks make the most money “when people spend the night with us,” Kelley said.

It explains that the Richard B. …

Continue reading Do Georgia State Parks need more camp sites, cabins? »