August 2026
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Features
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The secret wedding that made Cumberland Island famous—and the history it overshadowed
Thirty years ago, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy exchanged vows on Cumberland Island. Much has been lost since that time. And yet some things still stand, including First African Baptist Church—with a history few have known.
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Love Story star Noah Fearnley shares the southern destinations that keep calling him back
Noah Fearnley, who just wrapped a shoot in Atlanta, played Carolyn Bessette’s boyfriend Michael Bergin in the hit FX anthology series Love Story. Here, he shares the Southern cities he enjoys visiting.
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Inside the Four Seasons Resort that disappears into Costa Rica’s wild beauty
The Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica, was designed to complement its wild surroundings. Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher Gurdián opted for a nature-hued design that blends in with its surroundings to the point of being invisible: From afar, the entire resort seems to disappear into the peninsula’s thick greenery.
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Disconnect from the world and reconnect with your better half at Little Palm Island
A trip to Little Palm Island feels like a step toward intimacy—the very opposite of isolation. It’s a place to look the person we love in the eyes, talk to each other, and give each other the best gift any of us has: time. As we live our lives in this hectic world, going somewhere remote as a couple isn’t a mere luxury; it’s a way to protect what binds us.
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The Connector
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By the numbers: quirky facts from colleges around Georgia
This month, nearly 300,000 college students will file back into classrooms across Atlanta. The metro area is home to more than 70 colleges and universities. Here are a few fun facts about Atlanta’s collegiate life.
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The radio station Ludacris helped build
Hot 97.5—now called Hot 107.9—celebrated its legendary First Birthday Bash 30 years ago, with The Notorious B.I.G. and Outkast in attendance. It changed the music scene in Atlanta and helped put the city on the map as a hip-hop proving ground—and in its early days, it was powered largely by young people.
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At Atlanta’s new welding school, women wield the torch
Women make up 16 percent of the student body at the new Tulsa Welding School in Decatur, which opened in March. Nationwide, the school’s campuses combined saw an almost 20 percent rise in female enrollment from 2024 to 2025. Why? The school’s president Tamekia Morris explains.
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The debate program that’s sending underserved Atlanta students to Harvard
The Veritas Schools, an extracurricular academy in Dunwoody, gives students from underserved communities a classical education in the art of debate, rhetoric and philosophy. The program provides a full scholarship to either Harvard’s debate course or a study abroad program at Oxford.
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Where Atlanta’s pen lovers find their point: The Southeast Pen Collectors’ Club
The Norcross-based Southeast Pen Collectors’ Club is nearing 30 years old. At its monthly gatherings, the collectors show off their stylos, share nib knowledge, and help each other fix irritable instruments. Sometimes they even take field trips.
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The Bite
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Virginia Willis shares her four go-to tomato recipes for peak summer
Garden-ripe tomatoes are one of summer’s greatest pleasures. Whether you have gone overboard at the farmers market or have an abundant home garden surplus, these four recipes put tomatoes in the spotlight.
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New La Grotta executive chef Drew Van Leuvan builds on the restaurant’s long-standing legacy
Nearly five decades in, La Grotta Ristorante Italiano remains one of Atlanta’s most enduring restaurants, serving Northern Italian staples from Buckhead. In January, chef Drew Van Leuvan stepped into the kitchen, taking up the task of sharpening the restaurant’s reputation without disrupting what’s made it last.
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The verdict on 2 new Atlanta restaurants: Bottle Rocket and Weepa Puerto Rico
Longtime Castleberry Hill tavern Bottle Rocket has moved to the historic Hotel Row in South Downtown. Plus: chef Emanuel Jiménez swept through downtown Hapeville like a Caribbean trade wind, opening Weepa Puerto Rico in the former Mami’s La Cubana space on Central Avenue.
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At Que-riosity, Todd Richards gives barbecue a fine dining remix
Launched by Chef Todd Richards, a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist, Que-riosity in McDonough is less of a barbecue joint, and more of a refined grill room, where smoky flavors provide a theme instead of an entire menu.
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The Goods
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Atlanta painter Vanna Black’s first solo exhibition arrives this month at Cat Eye Creative
Vanna Black’s first solo exhibition, Grace for Ebb, runs from August 8 to September 13 at Cat Eye Creative in Decatur. The title indicates the exhibition’s central message. Black says that in her mind, every aspect of life is shaped by periods of ebb and flow. While the word ebb may connote withdrawing, Black sees it as a time of reflection before moving in a new direction.
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The front porch is Atlanta’s original social network
Porches serve as an entryway into Atlanta’s culture and history. Aesthetically, front porches reflect Atlanta’s architectural eras. Socially, they are quiet participants in Atlanta’s most significant moments. Now, front porches have become more desirable for both old and new homes.
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An Atlanta day out with ‘Love Is Blind’ star Lauren Speed-Hamilton
Lauren Speed-Hamilton first captured hearts on the inaugural season of Netflix’s Love Is Blind, during which she met and married Cameron Hamilton in 2018. Lauren and Cameron now live in Smyrna with their almost one-year-old son, Ezra, and two pups. Here, she shares a day in her life in Atlanta.
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Miscellaneous
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Editor’s Journal: Cumberland Island holds one of America’s most treasured love stories
I was 16 years old when John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married on Cumberland Island in 1996. They could have been married anywhere on earth, and they chose a remote Georgia island where all the roads are dirt and speckled with the “marks” of wild horses.
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A love letter to Manuel’s Tavern
Manuel’s Tavern is a political watering hole, attracting politicians such as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. During big political events, Manuel’s is one of the hottest spots in town. Customers fill tables inside and out to wait for election results and cheer or jeer at debates. There’s no music playing, ever—just a couple of muted TVs.
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