News & Opinion

When Susie Grant went to the National Christmas Tree Association convention in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1986, she was one of the few female farmers there. She ran a small farm in Mississippi at the time. In the exhibit hall, she met a father and son from Stockbridge, who were demonstrating a revolutionary tree trimmer they had invented. “I just walked by and started talking about the trimmer,” says Susie. She and the son, Allen Grant, have been together ever since. Today they own Yule Forest in Stockbridge, and Christmas trees remain an inextricable part of their lives.

The former U.S. and Georgia First Lady died Sunday at age 96 in Plains, just a few days after entering home hospice care. Shortly after her death was announced on Sunday, tributes to Carter poured in from across the globe.

As you plan your Thanksgiving gathering, consider helping others in your community by supporting these Atlanta organizations, either through direct food donations, financial contributions, or volunteering.

Known as the “Festival of Lights,” Diwali is a time when worshippers light clay lamps to celebrate the inner glow that repels spiritual darkness. Celebrations are rooted in traditions of oral storytelling and joyful revelry, including mounds of decadent treats, festive finery, and fireworks. For many, it represents their faith in the goodness of humanity.

Wedged between Monroe Drive and Piedmont Park, Amsterdam Walk is a quirky commercial area populated by about two-dozen small businesses. The BeltLine-adjacent shopping center is slated for a major overhaul by Atlanta developer Portman Holdings. Here are renderings for the project and what we know so far.

The 90-minute feature film, directed by Ryon and Tyson Horne and written by AJC journalists Ernie Suggs and DeAsia Paige, had its world premiere Thursday night at Center Stage theater in Midtown and began streaming on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s website on Friday. The doc features exclusive interviews with T.I.; Jermaine Dupri; Arrested Development; Goodie Mob; DMC of Run DMC; Lil Yachty; Atlanta mayors Andrew Young, Kasim Reed, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Andre Dickens; Sleepy Brown; DJ Toomp; and many others.

Movie theaters have famously struggled to get a streaming-obsessed audience out of their Cloud sofas and back into the multiplex—with the exception of Atlanta’s historic Plaza Theatre. Working alongside another bastion of Atlanta film culture, Videodrome, the Plaza has become a buzzing nexus of cinema since owner Chris Escobar took over in 2017. With the launch of “Plazadrome” collaborations in 2018, the film synergy has been off the charts.

Cam Kirk has been working out of Cam Kirk Studios on Forsyth Street for six years, using it as his personal photography studio for shooting celebrities like Lil Baby, Gucci Mane, and Latto, to name a few. But from day one, it’s always been more than just “his” space. The goal of his studio was always to be collaborative. “Anyone can come here and work and use these resources,” he says.

When the MJ: the Musical tour stops at the Fox Theatre on October 24 through 29, it will be a homecoming celebration for actor Roman Banks, who grew up in Stone Mountain and Lilburn.

The Atlanta University Center has shaped generations of leaders—for the nation and for their home city. Atlanta would be nothing like it is today without it.