It’s Atlanta Festival Season — Tips for Survival

With spring in Atlanta comes the pollen and unpredictable weather. Knock on wood that the amazing sunny weather we’ve been having as of late stays (no more cold please!). Since moving to Atlanta, I have been grateful for the number of outdoor events and spaces around the city: from farmers markets to having a safe place to walk/bike/skate around town along the Beltline and all the food and music festivals!

I have yet to make my way to all the great food festivals around town, but my favorite so far is Atlanta Food & Wine Festival (AFWF), which takes place around September every year at Historic Fourth Ward Park across the street from Ponce City Market. Speaking of which, tickets go on sale pretty soon in mid May! I cannot wait to see which restaurants/vendors, and brands will be participating this year.

The food festivals are typically all-inclusive (ticketed entry that gives you access to all food and drinks in the festival), free to attend and you pay your own way at vendor booths, or a combination of the two with a nominal ticket fee and you pay your way at vendor booths. Tickets for AFWF will cost you a pretty penny, but it’s all-inclusive — ALL food and alcohol is included! The festival is 21+ only, and because of the free flowing alcohol, it’s best to grab a rideshare to the festival.

Some tips for survival:

Read the FAQs for the festival to get details on any bag size restrictions, parking, and other event logistics. I always look up the parking situation for large events like this knowing traffic and parking will be tough. For AFWF, I arrived early knowing a lot of cars would be backed up at the traffic light to enter the area for drop-offs or to enter the PCM parking deck. It’s also nice to queue early so can enjoy the festival while the crowds are lighter.
Even if there aren’t bag size guidelines, use an appropriate bag. AFWF has a security line to check bags for weapons. I suggest packing a crossbody or tote to keep valuables safe and to also keep your hands free as you walk around eating and drinking. There are some freebies and samples you can take home at some booths, so you’ll want a little room to stash those away.
Check the weather the morning-of and dress appropriately. Depending on the time of day for the festival, consider dressing in layers to account for heat, wind, and cooling temperatures once the sun goes down.
Historic Fourth Ward Park offers little shade, so you’ll definitely want to bring/wear a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses. There were some spots by a small number of vendor booths that offered a little tree shade; as you can imagine, these were popular spots to congregate as a reprieve from the sun.
Other things to bring: hand sanitizer. It’ll save you trips to the bathroom to wash your hands. Bring your own water bottle if the festival allows it and/or if they have refill stations.
Check in with your body periodically; the alcohol may be free flowing at a festival, but pace yourself! The heat and not hydrating well can catch up to you really quick. AFWF places bottled water (Deer Park has been a sponsor the last two years) around the festival; grab one to sip water between your food tastings and glasses of booze. Non-alcoholic beverage companies like LaCroix are typically at AFWF too.
It helps to familiarize yourself with the festival layout if it’s made available in advance. I like to note the vendors I really want to visit so I have an idea of how I might want to walk the festival. Note the restrooms, water locations, and demo/show times. At AFWF, the Publix demo stage is the perfect spot to take a break from the sun and watch chefs do a cooking demo (there’s usually a tasting associated with it too). The Coca-Cola activation was also really nice last year; their booth had an open-air second story, and there were a couple of tables in their area. They also had some really cool swag!
This past year, I attended on Sunday and some of the vendors ran out of samples/freebies compared to attending on a Saturday the prior year. Just something to think about if you’re deciding between two dates. This may not be the case, but you may want to visit your favorite brands/vendors early on day two to grab merch or samples/freebies.