Things to Do in Carrollton

For nearly seven decades, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has bridged musical gaps with an extensive catalog of Grammy-winning recordings that include symphonies, operas, and gospel and classical choral works. Once helmed by the chorale superstar Robert Shaw, the orchestra has produced six Grammy-winning releases in its 12 years under current director Robert Spano. Its allied institution, the Atlanta School of Composers provides training, support, and ear massages for hardworking contemporary artists.

The National Museum of Commercial Aviation sends visitors into the friendly skies without ever leaving the ground. Inside the 6,000-square-foot facility rests a collection of more than 35,000 artifacts from airlines and facilities dating as far back as the 1930s. Glass cases house a variety of dishes and flatware from mile-high kitchens, as well as timetables and ticket jackets. Meanwhile, mannequins display 200 vintage uniforms for pilots and attendants alike. Visitors can take a seat inside a Delta Airlines 727 familiarization trainer, replete with switches, gauges, and buttons. Inside they can attempt realistic take-offs and landings while navigating the Microsoft Flight Simulator housed within. The museum is also home to one of the first tug tractors, a Gate Gourmet catering truck, and the cockpit of the Eastern Airlines Martin 404 once used by singer and musician Ray Charles to travel from gig to gig along with his three million baby grand pianos.

Since banding together in 1979, the historians at Atlanta Preservation Center have helped ward off packs of angry bulldozers from more than 175 endangered buildings. Working alongside local government, businesses, and community leaders, the preservation team has saved elaborate structures including the Peters House and Winecoff Hotel. In addition, its headquarters—the 1856 Grant Mansion in Grant Park—is one of just two antebellum houses left in Atlanta and the team is currently working to restore the building to its architecturally accurate origins. When it isn’t keeping delicate treasures from crumbling, the Atlanta Preservation Center leads walking tours of historic districts and tells embarrassing stories from the days when the city’s buildings were just a bunch of baby bricks.

During live filmings in Metroplex Theater of Fine Arts' enormous dining room, the actors of Saturday Nite Live in Atlanta put a local spin on sketch comedy. The show invites guests to sit back and snack on a four-course Italian meal and, if they choose, jump on stage to join in on the comedic antics. The two-hour tapings intersperse comedic performances with the delivery of meal courses, filling plates with chicken encrusted with roma tomatoes and mozzarella, spaghetti and meatballs, or vegetarian and gluten-free entrees. Additionally, a souvenir DVD—replete with a backstage feature revealing the secrets behind the curtain's tightly sealed lips—lends clients a permanent record of the production.

MatzoBall has been helping single Jewish people (age 21–49) matchmake, babymake, and network for 23 years at its annual parties in 11 cities. Its sponsor, the Society of Young Jewish Professionals (SYJP), has sparked more than 1,000 marriages, thousands of friendships, and even a few bar mitzvahs. This year's Atlanta event will take place at Halo, a cavernous 3,000-square-foot lounge that can comfortably accommodate the entire ATL diaspora and then some.

When the Center for Puppetry Arts opened its doors in 1978, Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog were on hand to cut the ribbon. Fittingly, one of its first major exhibitions, The Art of the Muppets in 1981, attracted more than 50,000 attendees. Since then, the center has matured into a multifaceted complex equal parts museum, performance center, and hub for working artists.