Things To Do In Alpharetta

On this week’s agenda: cocktails at the zoo, art in the park, Atlanta’s best meatballs, Wabi Sabi ballet, and jazz singer Taryn Newborne. As always, check Groupon for even more great things to do in Atlanta. Jazzoo Creative Cocktail Event at Zoo Atlanta Grant Park | Saturday, September 13, 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Presented by Groupon, Zoo Atlanta’s creative cocktail event features food from 30 local restaurants, full bars all evening long, and live music on four stages. A VIP ticket gets you champagne toasts, exclusive restaurant access, private jazz performers, and a special experience with the animals. Speaking of animals, ''creative cocktail'' attire applies here—let your inner beast loose to win the costume contest for best animal-inspired look of the night. (800 Cherokee Ave. SE; $100–$175; buy tickets here) Atlanta Arts Festival Piedmont Park | Saturday, September 13, and Sunday, September 14, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Festival season is slowly winding down, but one of its most anticipated events arrives this weekend with the 8th annual Atlanta Arts Festival. This outdoor festival is free, open to all ages, and features an Artist Market with more than 200 painters, photographers, sculptors, and craftspeople from around the country. Look for the entrance on the west side of the park; the festival runs from the 12th Street and 14th Street entrances in toward the Bath House. (10th St. and Piedmont Ave.; free) The Atlanta Meatball Festival Sandy Springs | Sunday, September 14, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Beef, pork, lamb, or chicken—whichever way you meatball, you'll find a mouthwatering home at the Atlanta Meatball Festival. A Taste of Atlanta offshoot that does away with all pleasantries and vegetables, this celebration is highlighted by the Battle of the Balls challenge, during which judges and attendees vote to determine Atlanta's mightiest meatball. (4967 Roswell Rd.; $40–$45; buy tickets here) Atlanta Ballet Presents: Wabi Sabi in the Garden Midtown | Thursday, September 18, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Atlanta Botanical Garden becomes a ballet stage during this special edition of Cocktails in the Garden, which features boundary-pushing choreography and beautiful outdoor views. Taking its name from a Japanese worldview that finds beauty in the simplicity of the natural world, Wabi Sabi engages with its surroundings to create a ballet performance unlike any other. (1345 Piedmont Ave. NE; $18.95; buy tickets here) Canton Jazz and Jokes Featuring Taryn Newborne Canton | Friday, September 19, 7:30 p.m. This music and comedy night at the Cherokee Arts Center spotlights tunes from jazz singer Taryn Newborne. ''Jazz'' is actually a bit of a misnomer, as Newborne infuses her set with a little bit of Motown, courtesy of her soulful, powerhouse voice. She'll be joined by two up-and-coming comedians who play it clean and keep the swear jar empty. (94 North St.; $9; buy tickets here)

Atlanta is a relatively new city in the sense that it hit its stride in the late 90s after the Olympics. It’s known for Coca-Cola and CNN, but there are so many other things that should be celebrated and known about Atlanta. I’ve lived in the city for just over ten years and feel the most like I can pass as a native when I discover new quirks about the city. Here are my top ten quirks that make Atlanta crazy, but great. 1. Many of downtown Atlanta’s streets are two stories above ground. Downtown Atlanta used to be a giant train hub. Later on in the 20th century when more streets were added, they were built above the train lines. A lot of the already existing buildings just moved their front entrance up to levels to open out on the streets. While some of the train lines are still in use, a lot of the “underground” lower levels are now parking garages for Georgia State University and the World Congress Center complex. To learn more about it, join one of Jeff Morrison’s Unseen Underground Walking Tours. 2. You’ll want to hang out in a cemetery. Oakland Cemetery, to be specific. This historic cemetery located two MARTA stops from the heart of downtown Atlanta is so pretty you’ll want to have a picnic there. Even with all of the gothic mausoleums that dot the landscape and, you know, all the dead buried there, Oakland is the opposite of creepy. It also hosts a number of events throughout the year, which will make you want to visit at least every month. 3. You can eat popcorn while enjoying a dance performance. The Fox Theater is a historic movie theater with lavish interiors. Today it’s one of the downtown Atlanta’s main performance venues for concerts, operas, dance performances, and film festivals. It has a concession stand that’s open during shows, which means you can get a bag of buttery popcorn while attended a performance of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. You can’t do that at Lincoln Center in New York! 4. You can experience The Walking Dead any day in Atlanta. Many scenes from the first episodes were shot in downtown Atlanta (think south of Five Points). That area has yet to be rejuvenated and the creators of the show found that the vacant storefronts and forgotten buildings provided the perfect background for a post-apocalyptic story. The old, abandoned Atlanta Journal Constitution building on Forsyth Street has been left alone for so long that it has trees growing out of it. 5. Gone With the Wind fandom is still going strong here. If you’re a GWTW fan, you have a seemingly endless amount of sites to visit. Of course there’s the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum in midtown. There’s the Georgian Terrace hotel where Clark Gable stayed during the premier of the film. You can visit Mitchell’s grave in Oakland Cemetery. If you’re willing to venture out to the ‘burbs, you can visit Stately Oaks in Jonesboro, which is as close to the fictional Tara plantation as you’ll get. North of Atlanta in Marietta, you can explore the Gone With The Wind Museum. 6. You can visit a hidden gallery. Mint Gallery is located in a back room behind Young Blood Boutique in Poncey Highlands. The gallery is only a single room, but has great rotating shows and frequently partners with local non-profit arts organizations. Most people get confused about the location on their first visit because their GPS leads them to the front door of Young Blood. Enter the boutique without trepidation, take a look at all the fun, locally made crafts at the store, and then head to the back wall where you’ll find the entrance to Mint. 7. There’s always a festival going on. Atlanta loves its festivals, especially music and arts festivals. Between the months of April and October there is never a week or a weekend when there isn’t something going on. Some of the more popular festivals include Music Midtown, the Dogwood Festival, The Decatur Book Festival and the Inman Park Festival. 8. The second best beer pub in the world is only a MARTA ride away. The Brick Store Pub in downtown Decatur was given that title a few years ago by Beer Advocate. Not only does it have an enormous selection of craft beers, it has a friendly staff that’s well versed in beer, and the interior, wood-heavy decor makes it an incredibly inviting bar. 9. The Globe Theater is located downtown - kind of. So it might not be THE Globe Theater, but The New American Shakespeare Tavern is located just a few blocks south of Ponce de Leon Avenue on Peachtree Street. You can’t miss it because the two story facade has been designed to look like The Globe, nestled between two 20th century commercial buildings. The tavern has a full season of Shakespearean plays and some of the best shepherd's pie in town. 10. You can see where Robert Burns lived. That’s right, the famous Scottish poet’s home is in Atlanta - or at least an exact replica is. The Burns Cottage is located in the Ormewood Park neighborhood is owned by Burns Club of Atlanta, which is essentially a gentlemens club. Once in a while the club will open up the cottage for tours, but it’s a rare occurrence. Check out our deals for even more crazy great things to do in Atlanta.

The work week can be pretty hectic and one of the best ways to slow down and reconnect with a loved one is to relax and plan a date night. A bit of shopping, a drink or two, a nice meal and a sweet ending can be just what the doctor ordered. In a car-centric city such as Atlanta, it can be easy to forget that the city has an abundance of neighborhoods that can be explored by foot, and the Virginia Highland neighborhood has been attracting visitors since the early 1900s. The epicenter of the neighborhood, located at the corner of Virginia and Highland Avenues near Midtown, hosts a number of restaurants, bars, and shops perfect for a night on the town. After parking your car, you won’t be needing it for the rest of the evening, take a stroll through the shops that line North Highland Avenue. Half Moon Outfitters offers a wide range of outdoor clothing and gear in an intimate environment and personal attention not found at your typical big box store. Stanton Home Furnishings, in its new location in the former Bella Cucina space, carries a selection of housewares, furniture and books. If you’re looking for gifts made by local artisans, boutiques Festivity and Urban Cottage have you covered. Following your shopping excursion, step into La Tavola Trattoria on Virginia Avenue, a neighborhood Italian restaurant with a small dining room and just a couple of seats at the bar( less than 10 seats) . The kitchen is partially open so you're able to see in - especially from the bar area. It’s likely that you’ll be greeted at the bar by long time barkeep Alli Royce Soble who would be happy to guide you through the restaurant’s wine list or create a cocktail to start off your evening on the right foot. In addition to being a master mixologist, she’s also a talented photographer and has exhibited work in Atlanta’s galleries. She can also help guide you to an appetizer or two, perhaps selected choices from their house cured meats, bruschetta, grilled calamari or feel free to choose an appetizer portion of any of their pastas. Just a few doors away, check out Genki Noodles & Sushi for the main event. You’ll certainly find hot sake on the menu, however I’d recommend the selection of premium sakes available that are served cold & are perfect for sharing on a date night. Try the Zipang, a fun sparkling sake from Japan, or the Rock Sake, a surprisingly refreshing sake from Oregon. Genki serves a variety of sashimi & sushi, noodle bowls and tuna dishes on their expansive menu. Start off with miso soup or salad, and then dive right into the Yokohama lobster, made with tempura fried Maine lobster tail with a tomato ginger sauce. Large enough to share, one of the best items on the menu is their chirashi don bowl. The dish includes an assortment of sashimi including tuna, salmon, yellowtail, red snapper, escolar, shrimp, squid, egg cake and octopus over a bed of sushi rice. Finish off your Virginia Highland excursion with a nightcap at chocolate emporium Cacao Atlanta. Take your pick of coffee with beans by local roaster Batdorf & Bronson or try their own sipping chocolate in their gleaming white café or outside on the sidewalk patio. Owner Kristen Hard often makes trips to source the best chocolate used in her creations. A visit wouldn’t be complete without their acclaimed house made truffles. For more date night ideas, explore other things to do in Atlanta