Atlanta Parks Get a Report Card

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Poppin’ Bottles Pool Side

In what will certainly become Atlanta’s most popular music video filming location, a rooftop poolside restaurant will be opening in Midtown. The Interlock which is a massive several 100,000ft mixed-use development in West Midtown will be the site of Leave of Absence (L.O.A.). L.O.A. wants to provide a resort-like experience in the heart of Atlanta. The restaurant will have 300 seats, poolside will offer full-service drinks and food, several private cabanas, and bottle service. No need to worry about a bunch of 12-year-olds playing Marco Polo ruining your vibe as L.O.A. will be 21 and over only. L.O.A. plans to open this fall, which gives you plenty of time to put together your perfect music video extra cosplay outfit.

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Atlanta Parks Get a Report Card

One thing that is striking about Atlanta is the number of trees and green spaces. That’s why I was surprised to see Atlanta ranked only 49th out of 100th in a list produced by The Trust of Public Land, which measures cities' accessibilities to parks and public outdoor spaces. Although 72% of Atlantans are within a 10-minute walk to a park, which is much better than the national average of 55%, Atlanta’s parks are lagging amenities and equitable access. Neighborhoods that are predominantly of persons of color have 49% less accessible than majority-white neighborhoods. Atlanta is also in the 6th percentile when it comes to bathroom access in parks. Mayor Bottoms has committed to the goal of having every Atlantan living 10 minutes from a park, but this is not binding and there are no concrete plans to meet this goal. There are worries that as budget cuts are hitting cities that funding for parks and recreation will be heavily affected. But, here’s hoping that after a year showing the virtual importance of outdoor public spaces officials take a more forward-looking approach. Want to be more involved with helping the city improve its parks? Check out the Atlanta Parks & Rec Activate ATL initiative.

Live Local Theatre at Home

It appears the renaissance for staying at home and having the world come to your sofa is coming to an end. The Atlanta Fringe Festival, running June 1-13, maybe one of your last chances to get live, local, unique culture in your sweat pants with the click of a button. Fringe Festivals spotlight “theater, dance, puppetry, music, visual arts, and spoken word.” Atlanta’s Fringe festival has been around since 2010. This year there are three virtual ways to check out shows. There are pre-recorded shows that you can buy a ticket and watch at any time, live watch parties where you’ll view the show with other virtual audience members and be able to participate in a Q&A with the artists, and live virtual theatre performances, which will be live theatre and the only performances of those shows. Keep on your sweat pants and head over to the Fringe Festival site to find out more about the artists and the shows.

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More Big Chicken Coming to Georgia

News surely to produce a resounding “Why? I mean, really?” far and wide, the town of Fitzgerald, GA population of 9,000 is in the middle of constructing a 62-foot tall chicken. The chicken will be a petty 6-feet higher than the “Big Chicken” in Marietta. The funding for the chicken is coming from a 1 cent sales tax that is earmarked for tourism. Which I get cause if there’s ever been a reason to make me want to drive two and a half hours south on 75 and then 30 minutes off my exit it’s to see a chicken that is 6 feet taller than the “Big Chicken”. Once you get there you’ll obviously need a place to stay because one couldn’t dream of seeing Fitzgerald all in one day, that’s why they are building a room in the bottom of the chicken that will be for rent. The mayor says he’s already heard from honeymooners interested in renting out the room.


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