From Memorial Day to Labor Day, summers in Atlanta offer up a treasure trove of ideas for people who are either trying to beat, or at least cope with, the heat.
That's why we dedicate this year's Summer Guide to the treasures of Atlanta in the summertime. In these pages and online you'll find the best bets of summer movies, concerts, outdoors and recreation, sports, fairs and festivals, food and drink, and even the memories – from the words and voices of our editorial staff, our columnists and the people who make the summer happen.
And to get everyone in the mood, we also include our very own treasure hunt – complete with clues on where to find fun under the sun and in CL's very own pages – and Web links and your own prize package.
Start digging for summer gold. Here's how ...
2007 Summer Guide
Digging for Atlanta's treasures
Let's play the Treasure Hunt Game!
You may have noticed that around here at Creative Loafing, we like to call our readers "Urban Explorers," and there's no better time to explore Atlanta than during the summer. Which is why we're presenting not only this Summer Guide, but also the theme-friendly Treasure Hunt Game. All you need to do is search around Atlanta and CL's print and...
By David Lee Simmons
The best 10 for the best summer
GEORGIA SHAKESPEARE -- THROUGH AUG. 19 The 22nd season of the mostly Shakespeare-based theater company features a staggering quantity of programming between May and August. Following the Shake at the Lake production of Twelfth Night in early May, the company begins its summer season at Oglethorpe University's Conant Performing Arts Center with a remounting of last year's luminous hit show,...
By David Lee Simmons
Voices of Summer: John Feigert
Voices of Summer (as told to David Lee Simmons) "You know, I never went to college to sell firecrackers." That's a joke I often make working in the world of the professional fireworks. Most people probably think that a week or so before the Fourth of July, a few guys round up some rockets, throw 'em in a box and head...
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Third time's the charm ...
It's the Summer of the Sequel! No, strike that, it's the Summer of the Three-quel! This year's movie season is seemingly dedicated to the final chapter of trilogies you may not have known existed. Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third already have stormed the cinemas, and this Friday, May 26, any remaining movie screens will be occupied by Pirates of...
By Felicia Feaster
The movies of summer
Here's a list of the films and their scheduled Atlanta release dates. All dates subject to change: MAY 25 Bug Offside Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End The Valet JUNE 1 Day Night Day Night Gracie Jindabyne Knocked Up Mr. Brooks Provoked Snowcake JUNE 8 Hostel II Ocean's Thirteen Once Red Road Severance Surf's Up JUNE 15 Chalk Crazy...
By Curt Holman
Voices of Summer: Daniel May
(as told to Curt Holman) New father Daniel May will be performing in several shows of Georgia Shakespeare's summer season, including A Servant of Two Masters and Joe Orton's Loot. An avid movie buff, May estimates his DVD collection is more than 1,200 strong. I grew up in Snellville in the suburbs of Atlanta. My parents wouldn't let me see...
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Phantom of the Starlight
Shane Morton estimates that 20 percent of his flesh is wrapped in tattoo odes to classic movies: Creature From the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, silent-movie fetish object Lon Chaney. Morton has a living room full of monster-movie fright masks and is probably the only guy on his street of wood-frame bungalows in Scottdale with a freak show in his backyard. He...
By Felicia Feaster
The high notes
ATLANTA FEST -- JUNE 14-16 The Christian rock scene functions much like the gospel music world did in the 20th century. Religious-minded acts from Creed to Evanescence often emerge from that community to find success in the secular world. But Atlanta Fest, held at Six Flags Over Georgia, isn't just a music festival. "It is the perfect opportunity for a...
By Mosi Reeves
Voices of Summer: Parker Gispert
(as told to Mosi Reeves) Parker Gispert recalls his first gig, during the 2003 edition of Open Mic Madness (held this summer Aug. 13-18), hosted by Josh Rifkind. The Whigs won the competition that year, beginning a string of success that led to signing a major-label contract with ATO Records in 2006. We had been together for about a year,...
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Ride and shine
As he steers the 20-inch rims of his silver 2006 Chevy Impala from Linden Avenue onto downtown Peachtree Street on a recent warm Saturday night, 25-year-old Kris Truitt suddenly finds himself cruising down memory lane. "It used to be an art to riding this shit, man. You know what I'm talkin' 'bout?" says Truitt, pointing out his preferred starting point...
By Rodney Carmichael
One night at Chastain
I once almost killed Emmylou Harris. Not that I meant to. In fact, I am, like, totally in love with Emmylou Harris. Not the "Wow, I really love your music" kind of love. It's more like the "Oh my God, can I drink your bathwater?" kind of love that, you know, can be kind of scary. So I really and...
By Scott Freeman
The great(est) outdoors
With a million outdoor options this summer (see the listings), we offer the 10 outdoor options for a summer in and around Atlanta. HIKING -- With 48 miles of parkland, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area has a trail for hikers at any level. The 3-mile Cochran Fitness Trail is popular and easy enough for beginners; more experienced hikers should...
By Casey McIntyre
Voices of Summer: Peter Jenkins
(as told to Mara Shalhoup)In 1983, about three years into my profession as an arborist, people kept commenting about how much fun I was having, because I was always laughing and joking and was just pleased as punch that I could be climbing for a living. So they started asking if I would take them up in the trees. I...
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Toss up
Besides being the hottest cult sport in Atlanta, ultimate – better known as ultimate Frisbee – appears to be the only one with a sense of humor. "It really is like one big party," says Mira Walker, one of the few women who attend the weekly pickup games Wednesdays on the Georgia Tech turf fields. The Atlanta Flying Disc Club,...
By Casey McIntyre
The summer of glove
By all rights, the best year ever for an Atlanta Braves fan should be 1995. The Braves -- the Atlanta Braves, fer chrissakes -- won the World Series. And back then, no other team, not even the hated New York Yankees, intimidated opposing teams more than the Braves. That was the year of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz; of the Crime...
By Scott Freeman
Out and about
GEORGIA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL -- TO JUNE 3 The highest royalty essentially serves as court jester at the Georgia Renaissance Festival, which started up last month, and where every employee from the king to the turkey-leg peddler is there to entertain. The authentic time-traveling experience begins at the gate, after which point "Lord" and "Lady" replace "hey you" as the standard...
By Laura McMillan
Voices of Summer: Sarah Petermann
(as told to Laura McMillan) The first year I worked RenFair, I got bit by it. I just thought this is great entertainment; it's improvisational and it's one-on-one with the audience. In my former role as an out-of-work director, Isabella Tearsheet, I would walk around the fair asking people to act a scene with me and then petition the king...
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Picnic with a beat
When you hear a DJ spin music in an Atlanta public park on a summer afternoon, it could come from a variety of efforts. Could be a group of enterprising kids who obtained a noise permit from their neighborhood parks organization – or didn't get a permit and decided to set up their sound system anyway. Could be a party...
By Mosi Reeves
