Feb. 23, 2004

The Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association (ADNA) and Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) are joining forces to co-produce a combined event crafted from their individual past successes.

For eight years, CAP has hosted one of the region’s most popular home tours, The Downtown Tour of Lofts and Lifestyles. In 2002 the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association launched a festival on the streets of the historic Fairlie-Poplar district held on the same weekend as the loft tour

Now the two organizations are teaming up to produce a combined event, the Atlanta Downtown Festival and Tour of Lofts on Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13.

“We feel this is a natural evolution of an event that was created to help draw a residential base to Downtown. Now that the residents are here and so involved with all aspects of Downtown life, it is only natural that the Tour change to celebrate, not just the potential for a ‘downtown lifestyle’ but the reality, too. The Festival is that celebration,” states A.J Robinson, President of CAP/ADID.

The Downtown Festival is a resident-led event held on Walton and Broad Streets in the heart of Fairlie-Poplar. In its first year, it won recognition as the “Best New Festival in the State of Georgia” from Georgia Festivals and Events Association and has grown to be a major event for Downtown Atlanta. The festival is produced and managed by Downtown residents who volunteer their time.

This year’s co-produced tour of lofts and festival will feature 20 lofts or condos on a walking tour in and around Fairlie-Poplar and Centennial Olympic Park. Many lofts on the tour will feature cooking demonstrations by area chefs.

Fun at a prior festival

The festival site in the heart of the district will include live entertainment on two stages, an artist market, children’s area, a beer garden and other activities designed to showcase the vibrancy of downtown living. Some of the Southeast’s finest visual artists will display their work at the Artists’ Market, along Walton and Broad Street. The children’s area, which will let young artists create their own masterpieces and enjoy a series of hands-on activities, will also include its own stage for acoustic music and storytelling.

On Saturday afternoon, the event will also feature Atlanta's first "green" parade showcasing alternative transportation vehicles and environmental organizations from across the region.

Applications for artists, vendors and entertainers wishing to participate in the festival are available at the ADNA we bsite www.atlantadna.org.

Sponsors for the Festival include

• ING
• AMC America's Mart
• NewFields
• GE Consumer Finance
• Fulton County Arts Council
• The Coca-Cola Company; and
• Sweetwater Brewing Co.

Media Sponsors:

• Atlanta Magazine
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• WMAX 105.7
• 94.9 the Lite FM

For more information or the latest updates, visit this web site regularly.