The Sandy Springs Festival is celebrating its 33rd anniversary this year and is doing so with a mixture of tradition and originality, which is reflected in all aspects of the event, even the entertainment.
This is how Sarah Poland, spokeswoman for Heritage Sandy Springs, the nonprofit hosting the festival, views this event, scheduled for Sept. 22 and 23 at Heritage Green.
The Sept. 22 hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a special post-festival concert from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and Sept. 23 hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. followed by a city-hosted music event called Home by Dark.
In addition, the festival has a new look this year as it will feature, for the first time, two entertainment stages.
Poland said the festival has expanded its live music offerings this year “with a strong Southern rock feel on our main stage while the new second stage, in the Cultural Corner, will feature a variety of international performances.”
In addition, Heritage will also feature a free post-festival concert Sept. 22 on the main stage from 7 to 8:30 p.m. with Saved by the Band, a high-energy party group which plays a variety of songs from the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s.
Andrea Settles, who has attended the festival for the past 14 years and is now a volunteer at the Cultural Corner, said the festival presents one of the greatest opportunities for the Sandy Springs community to get together in an outdoor setting.
“This is a free event for our community, and for us to add a Cultural Corner this year will help us celebrate the diversity in our community,” she said.
In addition, the event will again feature one of its favorite segments, a Battle of the Bands showdown Sept. 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will feature a number of amateur groups, from Johns Creek and Buckhead to east Cobb.
In another area of the festival, the Ladybug Events team will present ongoing entertainment in the children’s park, with such acts as Lucy the Juggler and Mr. Greenthumbs, as well as the Garden Variety Shoe Show, which features numerous comedic and educational skits to highlight environmental lessons.
In another area, the duo of David and Jenny, who were featured on the television show, “America’s Got Talent,” will present family friendly comedy, juggling and stunt shows throughout the weekend. The festival will also include a pet parade and the Doug Kessler Lightning 5K and 10K races.
Catherine Ealick, who co-chairs the children’s area for the festival committee, said Heritage “is the heart of Sandy Springs.”
“With all the entertainment and educational activities and opportunities Heritage Sandy Springs offers, I look upon the festival as being the Valentine gift it gives back to our citizens,” she said. “The children’s area, our business and civic areas and our fabulous entertainment, plus the new Cultural Corner area, are traditions we have all grown to love.”
After the festival ends Sept. 23, City Springs will present Home by Dark on the City Green. According to a news release, it’s described as a “Nashville meets New York meets LA meets Atlanta storytelling, romantic, pierce-your-heart, laugh-till-it-hurts evening that you will never forget.”
For more information on the festival, visit www.sandyspringsfestival.com.
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