Wednesday once more
March 12 — Georgia’s hemp industry faces new challenges due to two bills passed by the Georgia Senate and under consideration by the House. One bill would completely ban THC-infused beverages in the state, while another would cap the amount of various THC allowed in products sold in the state.
🌞 Sunny and 71° today.
🗳️ Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens officially launched his reelection campaign on Tuesday with a focus on public safety, infrastructure, housing, and education.
🏫 The DeKalb County Board of Education approved $148 million to modernize Cross Keys High School in Brookhaven.
🛍️ Real estate investment firm Jamestown has acquired a minority interest in Inman Quarter, the mixed-use residential and retail development in Inman Park.
🏡 The Tucker City Council is considering an application to rezone three lots on Chamblee-Tucker Road and Westwood Drive to develop four single-family homes.
🎗️ Dennis Dean Catering founder Dennis Retzleff has died at 63 after a battle with cancer.
🗝️ The Sandy Springs Society’s annual fundraiser, Tossed Out Treasures, returns to Parkside Shopping Center this weekend.
ELSEWHERE
🏗️ President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect overnight, prompting the EU to announce counter-tariffs on $28.33 billion worth of U.S. goods.
➡ House Republicans narrowly passed a bill to fund the government through Sept. 30. It now heads to the Senate, where it needs at least eight Democrats to pass.
🏛️ The Department of Education will cut over 1,300 employees this week. After these cuts, the agency’s workforce will have been reduced by half since January 20.
🇺🇦 Ukraine said it was ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire in its war with Russia.
PICTURE THIS: After 18 years of planning and two years of construction, Oakland Cemetery‘s new visitor center is now open. The new space, designed by Smith Dalia Architects, features an atrium, store, and courtyard garden – plus staff offices and a versatile event space. An official grand opening is coming in April.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Perspectives in Architecture
• ‘Immediate Family’ director interview
• Meet Your Bartender: The Deer and the Dove
AND
• Concert Picks
Have a good day,
Collin & Sammie
✨ Step into a world of wonder at Dunwoody Nature Center’s Folktale Festival on March 22! Let your family’s imagination soar with captivating storytellers, hands-on crafts, a charming interactive farmyard, and delicious local eats – all in the beauty of nature. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Perspectives in Architecture: Woodruff Arts Center transforms Atlanta arts scene
🎭 Woodruff Arts Center has embodied the transformative power of the arts since its inception. The tragic death of 130 Atlanta arts leaders and crew during a 1962 airplane crash in Paris catalyzed an Atlanta campaign to build a visual and performing arts center as a tribute to these victims.
Atlanta leaders selected Joseph Amisano to design the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center. The modernist concrete building framed with columns changed the city’s cultural landscape by accommodating visual and performance arts organizations under one roof.
Now, the Woodruff is undergoing a massive renovation, which includes the new Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families, play spaces, and a new look for the Peachtree Street facade (pictured).
🏗️ To learn more, click here.
Data Meets Art at the High Museum!
SPONSORED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM
✨ Ryoji Ikeda: data-verse is now on view at the High Museum! Don’t miss this exhibition that shows how art, science, and data collide in an exploration of the digital age and the universe. Get ready for a mind-bending experience— Ikeda’s immersive light and sound installations are a must-see! Get Tickets Now!
2. Director Thandiwe DeShazor talks ‘Immediate Family’ and meeting people where they are
📖 James Baldwin. Malcolm X. Nikki Giovanni. These are just some of the authors, poets, and thinkers you can find represented on a shrine that the cast of “Immediate Family” has created at Out Front Theatre.
The play, written by Paul Oakley Stovall and running at Out Front from March 13-29, is about a family wedding that goes awry when son Jesse decides to bring his new boyfriend along. To help get the relatively small cast into character and feeling like a family, Thandiwe DeShazor asked them to bring in books, baby pictures, and other items that represent some transformative part of their lives to put on the shrine.
The director hoped the shrine would help the cast feel as connected to the show as he did.
💒 To learn more about DeShazor’s connection to the play, click here.
3. Meet Your Bartender: Matt Watkins of The Deer and the Dove
🦌 Meet Matt Watkins, bartender and bar manager at Decatur restaurant The Deer and the Dove!
Watkins is about to open a sister spot, Fawn, a wine and amaro bar, with James Beard award-winning chef Terry Koval. Rough Draft Atlanta recently interviewed Watkins about how he became a bartender, his favorite types of cocktails, and what he loves about Atlanta’s cocktail scene.
🍸 Check out the full interview here.
✨ Step into a world of wonder at Dunwoody Nature Center’s Folktale Festival on March 22! Let your family’s imagination soar with captivating storytellers, hands-on crafts, a charming interactive farmyard, and delicious local eats – all in the beauty of nature. SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Concert Picks
VIA HOW DO YOU ATLANTA?
Wed., March 12
🕶️ Il Volo @ Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
🌴 Coyote Island @ Vinyl
🎶 DERVISH @ City Winery Atlanta
Thurs., March 13
🌱 TRIBAL SEEDS @ Terminal West
💛 J. Brown @ City Winery Atlanta
🌾 Alex Wilkerson & Them, Lashing, Kid Fears, and Equal Creatures @ Boggs Social Supply
Fri., March 14
🌿 Ron Pope (pictured) @ Terminal West
🦋 Ganja White Night @ The Eastern (also Sat.)
🏴☠️ Pirates of the Caribbean @ Atlanta Symphony Hall (also Sat.)
🎹 Matthew Kaminski Quartet @ All Saints’ Episcopal Church
Sat., March 15
🎸 Josh Joplin + Nanseera @ Eddie’s Attic
🍀 Shamrock Fest @ Park Tavern
🐸 corook @ Terminal West
👁️ Rayland Baxter @ City Winery Atlanta
📻 The Georgia Players Guild @ Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre
Sun., March 16
🤵 Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain @ Spivey Hall
🎤 Jackie Collison @ Roswell River Landing
💃 Dancing With The Celts @ City Winery Atlanta
Mon., March 17
🎙️ Matteo Bocelli @ Atlanta Symphony Hall
🎵 Jane Monheit @ City Winery Atlanta
Tues., March 18
🍻 The Irish Tenors @ City Winery Atlanta (also Wed.)
🤘 Deftones @ State Farm Arena
🔥 Ashes To Amber @ Vinyl
🛀 Baths + Fashion Club @ Aisle 5
Wed., March 19
🎛️ Ben Böhmer @ The Eastern
📺 NARUTO: The Symphonic Experience @ Fox Theatre
🥾 K. Flay + Vienna Vienna @ Variety Playhouse
👺 Andy Grammer @ Buckhead TheatreTUNE IN
🎙️ Don’t miss Sammie with the AJC’s Mike Jordan every Thursday at 9:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. as they preview the top events in town on WABE.
✨ Step into a world of wonder at Dunwoody Nature Center’s Folktale Festival on March 22! Let your family’s imagination soar with captivating storytellers, hands-on crafts, a charming interactive farmyard, and delicious local eats – all in the beauty of nature. SPONSOR MESSAGE
📧 Today’s newsletter was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
🔤 Don’t miss News Word Atlanta, our new, daily word game – Presented by Oglethorpe University, Atlanta’s premiere undergraduate learning experience.
🦋 Connect with us on Bluesky.
