Things To Do in Atlanta This Weekend

By Discover Atlanta Editorial Team

Published March 15, 2024
Last Updated April 30, 2024

Here’s what’s going on in Atlanta this weekend, May 3, 4 and 5.

Around Town

Buckhead Village Shows Off Bodacious Blooms

The Bodacious Blooms Flower Festival returns to Buckhead Village Thursday through Saturday. The community-wide event invites visitors to the see larger-than-life floral installations, participate in hands-on floral workshops from master floral designers, enjoy colorful in-store activations and take advantage of exclusive promotions and endless photo opportunities. There also is a Buckhead Run 5K on Saturday.

It’s Time for the Shaky Knees Music Festival

The Shaky Knees Music Festival brings the tunes to Atlanta this weekend, Friday through Sunday at Central Park. More than 60 bands, ranging from world-renowned acts to up-and-coming artists, will perform. Food trucks will serve everything from barbecue to vegetarian-friendly corn dogs. There will be photo booths, official festival merchandise and artist merchandise plus cell phone charging stations and free water refilling stations.

Stone Mountain Park Presents Latino Festival

The second annual Latino Family Festival take place the first three weekends in May at Stone Mountain Park. Enjoy a celebration of Latino music, dance and culture, featuring live international talent including dancers, musicians, a marching band, all-new festive parade and a massive drone and light show. Join in the fun Saturdays and Sundays May 4 — 19.

Callanwolde Closes Out Spring Concert Series

Friday night brings Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics to the spring concert series at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. Bring your food and drinks to the amphitheater. Show time: 7:30 p.m.

Georgia Aquarium Entertains with Sound Waves Music Series

The Sound Waves Music Series happens every Friday night in May at Georgia Aquarium. The series celebrates the arts, diversity and local talent. Enjoy live music with enhanced lighting and atmospheric elements in the atrium to complement the artists. You will have access to the aquarium’s galleries, included with general admission. Sound Waves occurs from 5 until 8 p.m.

Atlanta Opera Performs ‘Die Walküre’

Enjoy Richard Wagner’s “Die Walküre” this weekend at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.” The Ring Cycle, Wagner’s magnum opus, continues with “Die Walküre,” the second installment in the series. The daughters of Wotan, ruler of the gods, serve as Valkyries tasked with guiding the souls of fallen warriors to Valhalla. Greer Grimsley returns as the definitive Wotan in The Atlanta Opera’s new production of one of opera’s greatest triumphs. It is sung in German with English supertitles. Performances are Friday and Sunday. Join The Atlanta Opera and Jay Hunter Morris, operatic tenor, for a short, informative pre-opera talk about the history and music of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” one hour before curtain. This event is free with your ticket.

Atlanta Film Festival Continues at Plaza Theatre and Tara Theatre

The 48th annual Atlanta Film Festival + Creative Conference continues through Sunday at Plaza Theatre, Tara Theatre and virtually. While 118 countries are represented in the selections, more than 24% of films have ties to Georgia filmmakers. Eleven marquee screenings combine Hollywood star power with the best of independent film. “Attendees will enjoy 10 days of in-person screenings, many with filmmakers in attendance, and then a whole virtual week to be able to catch some at home, too,“ said Christopher Escobar, executive director of the Atlanta Film Festival. “We’re excited to be welcoming audiences back to the Plaza Theatre, but for the first time in our 48-year history, we’ll be screening at the Tara Theatre, too.”

See ‘Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts,’ Boston at High Museum of Art

The exhibit “Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” is open at the High Museum of Art. The exhibition includes more than 60 paintings — still lifes, portraits, seascapes, landscapes, architectural views and genre scenes — by the period’s leading Dutch artists, including Rembrandt, Jacob van Ruisdael, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Willem Kalf and Rachel Ruysch. Also on display are prints, maps and decorative objects in silver, porcelain and more from the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries. See the exhibit through July 14.

The first Saturday of each month brings First Saturday to the High Museum of Art. Activities include: a family tour from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.; Toddler Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon; drop-in art making from 1 until 3 p.m.; Teen Art Afternoon from 2 until 4 p.m.; and Drawing from Experience from 1 until 3 p.m.

The Weekend Brings Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby

If you are celebrating Cinco de Mayo this weekend, take a look at Where to Enjoy Authentic Mexican Food in Atlanta. If you are into horse racing, then know that both the Willow Bar and Hartley Kitchen & Cocktails at the Kimpton Shane Hotel are celebrating the Kentucky Derby.

MODA Cooks Up Pasta Exhibit

MODA (Museum of Design Atlanta) has opened the exhibit “Al Dente: The Design of Pasta.” Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the design of pasta shapes, mechanical and technical advancements in pasta making, pasta advertising, designer pasta and the future of pasta. Learn all about pasta through Sept. 1.

Atlanta History Center Opens Hank Aaron Exhibit

“More Than Brave: The Life of Henry Aaron” is open at Atlanta History Center. The exhibition features images and artifacts from the collections of the Aaron family, Atlanta History Center, the Atlanta Braves, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Emory University, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and personal collections from throughout the United States. Just about every Atlantan knows that on April 8, 1974, Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record right here in Atlanta. See the exhibit through September.

Back to the 16th century: Georgia Renaissance Festival

The Georgia Renaissance Festival, a trek back to the 16th century, runs weekends through June 2. See jugglers, jesters and jousters, visit the artisan market, enjoy music, comedy and shows. Refresh with a roasted giant turkey leg. Find the festival in Fairburn, Ga.

Flora, Fauna & Flight Returns to Fernbank Museum of Natural History

The popular exhibit Flora, Fauna & Flight has returned to Fernbank Museum of Natural History and is on display through June 23. Among the things to do are (1) explore the difference between gliding and flying; (2) pose for photos in front of features including butterflies and bats; (3) discover the physics of flight; and (4) see plant and animal sculptures among the trees, grasses, plants and flowers of WildWoods.

Balloon Museum Pops into Pullman Yards

The Balloon Museum at Pullman Yards is flying high through June 9. The Let’s Fly exhibition features inflatable installations created by 17 international artists. Among the exhibitions is “A Quiet Storm” by Quiet Ensemble. The audience passes through an environment that awakens childlike wonder and the magic of small things. One more of the 15 exhibitions is “Floating Giants” by Max Streicher. The giant’s bodies are held in a state of perpetual flight, transcending from the earth to reach a state of serenity.

CDC Museum Presents Exhibit about Segregation

Atlanta’s CDC Museum has opened the exhibit, “Ghosts of Segregation: Photographs of Rich Frishman.” The exhibit explores the lingering presence of segregation, slavery and institutional racism hidden in everyday American architecture. From segregated schools to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama to a recent church firebombing in Louisiana, Frishman’s photographs show how our surroundings bear witness to history. See it through May 24.

Family

‘Stellaluna’ Playing at Center for Puppetry Arts

“Stellaluna‘ is playing at Center for Puppetry Arts through May 19. Accidentally dropped by her mother, the helpless baby fruit bat, Stellaluna, falls into a nest of bird fledglings. The baby birds graciously accept her as one of the family — as long as she acts like a bird and doesn’t confuse her adoptive siblings. See it through May 19. Guests who are deaf or hard of hearing will enjoy a performance accompanied by live American Sign Language interpretation. This organized visual language (“ASL”) will be used in tandem with spoken dialogue.

‘Outside the Box’ Open at Children’s Museum of Atlanta

The Children’s Museum of Atlanta has opened the exhibit, “Outside the Box.” The exhibit runs through Sunday. “Outside the Box” aims to fuel children’s imaginations by unleashing a world of timeless fun. Simple cardboard boxes are transformed into bridges; ordinary cylinders become futuristic rockers; and basic blocks create obstacle courses. “Outside the Box” ignites the creative spark in adults and children alike, encouraging innovative thinking while uncovering the foundational elements of math, engineering and technology. The featured programs change monthly.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History Showcases Spiders

“Spiders — From Fear to Fascination” is on view at Fernbank Museum of Natural History through Sunday. You will learn about spider anatomy, reproduction and growth, webs and silk, and spider senses. You will see what it’s like to walk through hundreds of scattering spiders along a glowing forest floor and compete in a mating dance-off with a jumping peacock spider. Live spiders are displayed throughout the exhibition.

Theater and Film

Dad’s Garage Presents ‘To Peach Their Own’

Dad’s Garage presents “To Peach Their Own,” Saturday through Saturday. Scenes, songs and characters take a look at Atlanta in a way that only Dad’s Garage can. “To Peach Their Own” is a new and original comedy revue that will leave you peach-less.

Sports

Atlanta United Plays Minnesota United at Home Saturday

Atlanta United and Minnesota United face off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta United is ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference; Minnesota is ranked fourth in the Western Conference.

This article updates weekly with brand new things to do in Atlanta for the weekend. Feel free to bookmark it for next weekend. For more weekend events, check our calendar.