Modern Style Showhouses
June 2-24
Atlanta Magazine’s HOME teamed up with Intown Builders and Xmetrical architecture firm on a pair of cutting-edge contemporary homes in the Old Fourth Ward. Get inspired by the city’s top designers—both established and emerging—and cool, layered furnishings that signal what modern design means now in Atlanta. atlantamagazine.com/modernstyle
Roswell Lavender Festival
June 9
Fragrant lavender blooms all over the Barrington Hall estate thanks to Evelyn Simpson, a descendant of Roswell founder Barrington King. The festival honors her legacy and the herb with demos on the varieties, folk remedies, and lavender-infused food. Also check out children’s crafts and storytelling, yoga and meditation, food trucks, fairy house building, 75 craft vendors, and local folk musicians Davin McCoy and Michael Zaib. roswellgov.com
Virginia-Highland Summerfest
June 9-10
Celebrate summer with a Peachtree Road Race qualifier 5K, food trucks, live bands, and a juried art fair featuring more than 250 artists specializing in a wide variety of media, in one of Atlanta’s original streetcar suburbs. vahi.org
Historic West End Tour of Homes
June 23
With the opening of the Atlanta BeltLine Westside Trail, this 19th-century neighborhood is hotter than ever. Tour 10 restored dwellings; wander the former home of writer Joel Chandler Harris, the Wren’s Nest; and visit African American art museum Hammonds House during this evening event. Historians are on site at some locations to tell the district’s storied past. wendevents.ticketleap.com
Photograph courtesy of Chattahoochee Nature Center
Butterfly Festival
August 18
Butterflies pack three tents at the Dunwoody Nature Center. But they aren’t the only winged creatures on display; also enjoy the birds of prey show. dunwoodynature.org
Photograph by Fabian Fernandez
Grant Park Summer Shade Festival
August 25-26
Say goodbye to the summer at the 16th year of this event, the annual fundraiser for the Grant Park Conservancy in Atlanta’s oldest park. Start the day with a 5K, check out a 200-plus artists market in the afternoons, and hear live music from the likes of Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics and Blair Crimmins. Little ones can hit up the kids zone to enjoy performances, crafts, and storytelling throughout the weekend. summershadefestival.org
Photograph courtesy of Jim Lockhart/Atlanta History Center
Seeking Eden: A Collection of Georgia’s Historic Gardens
Through December 31
Garden design in Atlanta has been blossoming since the late 19th century. A new book and exhibition of the same name explore the legacy of the past centuries’ landscaping through 12 properties, including Buckhead’s Swan House and LaGrange’s Ferrell Gardens. See garden postcards, photos, manuscripts, and landscape plans at the Atlanta History Center. atlantahistorycenter.com
