An image from the claymation film "Mary and Max," which is in this year's Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Twitter account, @atljewishfilm, is a countdown, really. Not so much the days left till it starts, but more the number of shows with tickets left.

From Dec. 31: “ Camera Obscura on 1/23 is all sold out, and we’ve already sold about 4k more tix than this time last year.”

From Jan. 6: “6 sellouts yesterday. A few close to sold out: Protektor (1/23), Seven Days (1/19) and Within the Whirlwind (1/16)”

Ten years in, Atlanta’s is the second-largest Jewish film festival out of about 115 worldwide. Organizers expect to sell more than 20,000 tickets this year. I wrote about some of the highlights in this post from last month.

AJCer Rosalind Bentley wrote in “Atlanta Jewish Film Festival turns 10” about how the festival grew so quickly, and how it decides the selections:

Early on, the Atlanta office of the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy …

Continue reading 10th annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival starts Jan. 13 »

Audrey Maloof, 12, a member of The Lockouts and 500, played the Girls Rock Camp showcase at the East Atlanta Strut earlier this year. There's a new program for adult women, run by Girls Rock Camp organizers. AJC file photo

From the folks that brought us Girls Rock Camp-Atlanta, there’s a new gig in town: Ladies Rock Camp.

It will be a weekend for women ages 19 and older who know they want to rock, but need a little encouragement. The 25 campers don’t have the equipment or experience, but they’ll experience the same model as Girls Rock campers: forming bands, writing songs, learning the basics of an instrument and the music business and performing before an audience. The weekend ends with a performance at The Five Spot in Little Five Points on the weekend of Feb. 21 March 12-14.

The $350 Ladies Rock Camp tuition is a fund-raiser for Girls Rock Camp-Atlanta, which I wrote about here and here. There are more

Continue reading Wanna rock? Try ladies’ camp or all-ages ’school of rock’ »

The Georgia Theatre in Athens on Jan. 2. Owner Wilmot Greene says construction will begin March 1, once permits and financing are finalized, but he's still actively seeking donations. AJC photos by Jamie Gumbrecht

Six months after a fire gutted the Georgia Theatre, the Athens building is almost empty inside, barricaded by fence and supported by steel girders. The hull of tje landmark is the most visible reminder of a tragic year for Athens music, one that marked that death of UGA music teachers, musicians, scene regulars and most recently, singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt.

Georgia Theatre owner Wilmot Greene minces no words about it: “I’m glad 2009 is over.”

Already, 2010 is shaping up to be something better. The theater will be rebuilt, the design is set, and the last construction permits were expected to come through this week. The new plans would capture the same feel — a big stage, a sloped floor — but add a few amenities, like an elevator, clean bathroms and a snack bar to …

Continue reading Owner: Georgia Theatre reconstruction could start March 1 »

Jeff Crawford, of McDonough, played basketball with his sons, Jeff Jr. and Justin during a snow day in 2009. Crawford took the day off work because his kids were out of school. AJC file photo

This forecast to …

Continue reading Seeking suggestions for snow day fun in metro Atlanta »

Out of the Blue performed at Congregation Etz Chaim in Marietta, and at Woodward Academy tonight. AJC/Elissa Eubanks

Straight-up, there’s an awful lot of a cappella going on lately. I can’t explain this, but I like it. I’ve been a bit entranced by it since hearing a UGA group, With Someone Else’s Money, do their version of a Ben Folds/Regina Spektor duet.

Aside from Folds’ recent University A Cappella album, there’s NBC’s “The Sing-Off,” and more shows coming up locally. Two Yale University a cappella groups perform in Atlanta this week, and you’ll see yet more singers performing before “Avenue X” shows at Alliance Theatre this month.

AJCer Lynn Peiser wrote a bit about the local shows in “Guided by voices: A cappella music grows beyond campus borders“:

Yale, being a breeding ground for collegiate all-vocal groups, is home to the oldest group, The Whiffenpoofs, who first sang their now-famous ode to Louis Linder, the owner of Mory’s Temple Bar in New Haven, Conn., in January …

Continue reading A lot of a cappella: Yale, Alliance performances coming up »

Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong surrounded by onlookers during the Tour de Georgia in 2005. AJC file photo

The 2010 Tour de Georgia is off, canceled late last month after bike race organizers failed to find a big-time sponsor in this rough economy. This is the second year without the race, upping the risk that it will never come back.

A story by AJCer Jim Tharpe, “Can Tour de Georgia bike race be saved?” goes into more detail about its economic impact here ($30 million per year) and what the race needs to make a comeback ($3.5 million from sponsors.)

Suwanee 2nd graders cheer on the pack of competitors during the 2008 Tour de Georgia. AJC file photo

For six years, the race was a blockbuster. It had a great reputation as a precursor to the Tour de France and hundreds of thousands of spectators watched. It went on hiatus last year, and organizers announced in December that they’d cancel the 2010 race, too, because of the economy.

When the race is on, it gets money flowing, …

Continue reading What do you miss about the Tour de Georgia bike race? »

It's Snow Mountain! AJC photos by Jamie Gumbrecht

Were you able to identify the image in this week’s Access Points photo game? Indeed, commenter Tony was correct — it was a snow tube at Stone Mountain Park’s Snow Mountain attraction.

This is Stone Mountain Park’s second year of Snow Mountain playtime. It planned to open the attraction for the first time in 2007, but caught criticism for using more than 1 million gallons of tap water during a drought and watering ban. The park brought the plan back last year, using water from its own lake.

And I’m glad it worked, because snow is far more fun to play in than to drive in. By 9 a.m., there were hundreds of kids and parents dressing snow people, throwing balls at the Snowball Shooting Gallery and carving icy angels into the ground. I underestimated how much fun there is to be had with a bucket and a fresh layer of white on the ground.

There’s no time limit to how long you can stay in the play areas, and I could tell some children …

Continue reading Access Points 20: Snow tubes at Stone Mountain Park »

As a regular purveyor of blog-friendly lists, I couldn’t leave you without these as we move into the thick of holiday vacations and last-minute gift-purchasing.

1) 12 kid-friendly ideas for Christmas break: You’ll recognize a few of these suggestions from our daily to-do lists, mostly because I sent some to my fellow AJCer Howard Pousner

2) Top 20 events to while away the winter in 2010: We’ll go into detail on some of these events now, but this handy round-up from the Arts and Culture blog offers a preview. You might want to reserve tickets — for yourself or others — now.

For those needing more ways to keep everyone busy, I’ll publish a list of Christmas weekend activities on Tuesday!

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading What to do this Christmas break? Try some of these ideas. »

The Planetarium at Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum got its 100,000 visitor this week. AJC/Jamie Gumbrecht

It’s been a busy year for the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum in Cartersville. It opened in January, announced its Smithsonian Affiliate status in September and has already surpassed expectations for first-year attendance.

Museum officials said this week they expect the 120,000-square foot museum to hit the 200,000-visitor mark for the year — 50,000 more than expected. Just this week, a 7 year-old visiting with his family became the 100,000 visitor to the 120-seat planetarium inside the museum.

I’ve written before about the museum before, but never given the planetarium the attention it deserves: it offers four different shows throughout the day, with topics ranging from space travel, to the sun, to an animated children’s show, to “Mystery of the Christmas Star,” a show that will run through the holidays. New shows debut every few months.

Now that holiday …

Continue reading Tellus Museum and planetarium a hit with visitors »

Stone Mountain Park becomes Snow Mountain Park! AJC/John Spink

Here’s something to cheer you up on this decidedly gray, rainy day: there’s snow on the way. Don’t you feel better already?

What I’m talking about, though, is the best kind of snow — fluffy stuff that will never back up traffic, but happens to be perfect for tubing. As of Dec. 26, Stone Mountain Park becomes Snow Mountain Park, complete with tubing on the laser lawn, snow play areas for building igloos and snowmen, special spots for little kids and areas to take it all in or warm your feet by the fire.

Like in past years, Snow Mountain uses a closed-loop system that chills snow from Stone Mountain Lake. They’ll take several weeks to pile on layers, creating a nice slick for the daredevils who arrive on opening day. Here are some photos of Snow Mountain construction, shot yesterday by AJCer John Spink. The attraction opens a little earlier this year, catching that post-Christmas crowd that so badly needs to get …

Continue reading Stone Mountain becomes Snow Mountain Dec. 26-March 7 »