The 4oth Inman Park Festival is in full swing this weekend ( April 30 and May 1). And isn’t the artwork that my friend and web design client, Jon Arge, did for the poster and tee-shirts this year absolutely fabulous?.
I’ll never forget my very first Inman Park Festival. We lived in Druid Hills( nearby beautiful but stuffy neighborhood) and came over to walk around the festival when I was a week overdue with my first child, Amanda (turning 25 next week) to be born. It was really hot that day and I hoped that walking around in the heat would send into labor, but the only thing I got was swollen ankles and she took her sweet time to come another whole week later. I can’t believe that was 25 years ago.
When my children were young we would also come to Inman Park to Trick or Treat since it was easier to get from house to house and up the shorter driveways. We always loved the friendly community. In 1998, when I needed a building for the software company I ran at the time, I was thrilled to find the perfect warehouse in Inman Park. It was ideal since we found our place in the industrial corridor that edged a neighborhood of diverse styles and sizes of homes from the Victorian Gingerbread mansions, cozy, welcoming bungalows and restored shotgun shacks. Our warehouse loft area added another layer of interest to this amazing neighborhood.
This is my twelfth festival as a resident. We finished the unit we now live in back in 2000 and that year during festival we were on the Inman Park Tour of Homes with our freshly planted garden. 2,500 people came through that day! What an experience. Our loft looks pretty much the same since then, but the garden sure looks a lot different now. Here are a few before and after examples and you can see more on my Flickr site.
We have had a blast this weekend The Festival kicks things off with the Butterfly Ball on Friday night, an event under the tent that is invitation only for the neighbors to get together for a big shindig. Kingsized played and we always love dancing to their first set of swing and old standards and then the Marching Abominables comes though the tent and gets everyone on their feet. After they go on their way, Kingsized keeps the tempo jumping with lively oldies and everyone is up and dancing with abandon.
Artist booths line the blocked off neighborhood streets and it is fun to stroll around and do some shopping. The best Parade ever, comes through on Saturday afternoon at 2:00. This year we had a full house at the Urban Oasis, as per usual for festival, but our guests coming from London said to expect them at 2:00! Oh No. We left a note for them on the mailbox to come join the festivities, if they did actually arrive on time. It was a good thing we did not wait here for them because they got delayed and did not arrive until 6:00 PM !
For 21 years, Inman Park neighbors have been holding an event called Theatre Night on the Saturday night of Festival. We sell tickets and sponsorships to the event which features acts from four of our local neighborhood Theatres. People bring picnic dinners and sit under the tent and enjoy a great evening of fun and entertainment. We raised 23,000 this year, which is splint between the four theatres and with grants for the Arts being harder to get with the downturn in the economy, it is very welcomed. I am on the committee and do their website and graphics and Duane helps to clean the tent from the days festivities before the event begins.
What a weekend! Be sure to get your reservations in for the Urban Oasis in plenty of time to get a spot for next year’s party! It is also the prettiest time of year for the garden.
Take a deep breath and smell the star jasmine and the roses as you walk up to the front door to the Urban Oasis!
