South Fulton's Fall Runs Through One Building on New Hope Road
Through November, South Fulton's best plans mostly lead to the same address: the Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road SW. Halloween weekend brings a three-day dance and music festival there. The two free exhibitions now in its galleries close on November 7 and 8. Then the center's calendar goes quiet until a new group show opens on November 20.
That gives this week and next a deadline. The City of South Fulton's Cultural Affairs Department has run the center since 2020. The campus covers 27 acres and opened in 2001. Inside are classrooms, a dance studio, a music suite, a fine-art gallery, an 80-seat Black Box Theater and a 375-seat Performance Theater. This fall, a lot of that space is busy at once, and then it isn't.
Roots to the Future is the seventh annual dance and music festival from Wontanara Institution, an Atlanta nonprofit founded in 2021. Wontanara teaches, heals and builds community through Afro-diasporic arts, culture and education. Its name means "we are together." The festival uses two spaces at the center. The Theater hosts the concert, billed as "The Awakening." Bara, which the organizers call "the heart of the village," hosts "The Gather." The weekend includes classes, panel discussions, business workshops, film, kids' programming and a vendor market called Le Marché, The Vendor Marketplace of the Diaspora. The City of South Fulton Cultural Affairs Department is sponsoring the festival for the second year in a row.
Wontanara's page says Saturday's concert features Morehouse Band, Asase Yaa, Giwayen Mata, Wontanara Entertainment and special youth guest performers. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8. The day before is quieter. Friday's 3 p.m. film is free with an RSVP. On Sunday, doors open at 9:30 a.m. A grant-writing workshop runs from 10 to 11 a.m., and the "Hands of Heritage" panel runs from 11:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Both are free with an RSVP. Sunday's classes include Fete Function, Djembe, Orisa and Liberian dance.
Some event listings label the festival free. Wontanara's own ticket page has a free RSVP option for the reception and mixer, plus paid passes for the classes and the concert:
The ticket page doesn't list a concert-only ticket. If you just want Saturday night, the weekend-plus-concert pass is the option it shows. The City's calendar lists slightly different start and end times for the festival, so use Wontanara's page for times.
Halloween is also the City's Trunk or Treat, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Welcome All Park, 4255 Will Lee Road. The City's listing still says more details are "TBA." Trunk or Treat ends at 5. The festival reception at New Hope Road starts at 6, and the concert doors open at 7. A family can do both: candy in the afternoon at Welcome All Park, then an evening of drums and dance at the arts center.
Clothes Story is presenting the world premiere of "Discovering Jessye Norman: Style. Voice. Legacy." The City calls it an immersive showcase of the opera singer's life, artistry and cultural impact. Admission is free through November 8. Kenneth Green is the show director. The event's fundraising page lists fashion, photography, historical artifacts, multimedia and personal stories, and names the Jessye Norman School of the Arts as the exhibit's partner. The exhibit's companion programs have already happened: an opening night on October 8 honoring Norman's alma mater, Howard University, a panel on Jessye Norman and the Black women of opera on October 15, and an evening of music and dance tributes on October 23. The galleries themselves are still open through November 8.
The Studio Gallery's run is a day shorter. "Masks: The Power of the Ancestors" is a dual exhibition by Dianne Quarles and Marcella Muhammad. It opened September 19, closes November 7, and is free. The artists' own site describes Muhammad as a fine artist and Quarles as a jewelry and polymer-clay artist.
The City hasn't posted daily public gallery hours for either show. Its rental guidelines say the building is available Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., but that's the window for renting the space, and the guidelines tell visitors to contact the center for exact hours. Call before heading over on a weekday.
After the exhibitions close on November 8, the center's November calendar has nothing else until November 20. The City's other November events, before and after that date, are in district parks and community rooms.
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 6, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. | District 6 Veterans Day Breakfast and Brunch | Burdett Community Room, 2945 Burdett Road |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 10 a.m. | District 4 Veterans Day Parade | Wilkerson Mill Park, 8095 Wilkerson Mill Road |
| Tue., Nov. 17 | D5 Carving Memories Thanksgiving Senior Luncheon | Venue TBA |
| Fri., Nov. 20, 6–9 p.m. | Roots & Rising opening, artist talk and pop-up shop | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road |
| Sat., Nov. 21, 1–5 p.m. | District 6 Thanksgiving Community Bingo | Burdett Park, 2945 Burdett Road |
The parade falls on the last day of the Masks exhibition. You can see the parade at Wilkerson Mill Park in the morning and still reach the Studio Gallery that afternoon.
The quiet stretch is also a good time to try Creel Park, 2775 Creel Road. According to an October 15 City press release, its 3,689-square-foot playground has reopened after a renovation. It now has high-contrast colors, elevated decks, wide ramps, cooling elements, green turf, ground-level music, sensory panels and quiet spaces where children can decompress, and it meets ADA guidelines. The $275,000 project was paid for with a federal Community Development Block Grant. In the same release, Mayor Carmalitha Gumbs said:
"This playground represents an investment in our children, our families, and quality of life in our community."
"Roots & Rising," a group art exhibition, opens at the Southwest Arts Center on Friday, November 20. The opening night runs from 6 to 9 p.m. with an artist talk, a reception and a pop-up shop, and the show stays up through December 20. The City's listing doesn't name the artists yet, so opening night is the first chance to see who's in it. So far it's the only December event on the center's calendar.
Before then, mark two dates: the Halloween weekend festival and the November 7 and 8 closings. Opening night for Roots & Rising is November 20 at 6 p.m.
Our team at Platinum Key Realty of Georgia follows South Fulton's event calendar all year, the same way we follow the local market. If you're curious what your place near New Hope Road is worth this season, request a free home valuation and we'll put together a local read for you.
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