Atlanta Dogwood Festival

Photo Credit: Explore Georgia. Photo by Kimie Yates, @kimieyates

Atlanta Dogwood Festival - Piedmont Park in the Spring

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival

Every spring, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park honors the warmer weather with performances, art booths, kiddie rides, snacks from local restaurants, and thousands upon thousands upon thousands of cabin-fevered Atlantans.

Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2021 Arts Agenda, Festivals

Friday April 9, 2021 12:00 pm EDT 04/09/2021 12:00 pm

The Dogwood Festival will take place April 9-11, 2021 | more...

About the Dogwood Festival

The first Dogwood Festival took place April 19, 1936. The founder of Rich's department store, Walter Rich, was the visionary behind the week-long event.

Atlanta Dogwood Festival Postcard From 1936 (400)

Largely due to the popularity of the festival, the Dogwood Tree is connected to the City of Atlanta in a similar way that the Cherry Blossom is identified with Washington DC. The Dogwood grows mainly in the Southeast US, the Atlantic Seaboard and the MidWest.

Is the Dogwood Worthy of Its Own Festival?

Creative Loafing's Jeff Slate asks residents:

Street Talk 2009 Ric: "Definitely. When something can bring attention to nature, it’s a good thing. And they are beautiful, they’re beautiful trees. They’re kind of like the cherry blossoms in Japan. They only come a certain time of year, so you might as well enjoy them. The white blossom is different and really stands out in the midst of everyday green, pink and yellow. I’m not a botanist, but a beautiful flower is a beautiful flower. I’m new to Georgia and I’ve never seen a dogwood until I came here. It is a gorgeous tree and flower."

Street Talk 2009 Gina: If there was an impressive display of them at Piedmont Park, then yes. But I’m from D.C, and the cherry blossoms are always so breathtaking and beautiful. The park here is lacking dogwood trees. It’s kind of silly to name it the Dogwood Festival when you only have five dogwood trees. In D.C. people go to see the cherry blossoms. It’s impressive. There are cherry blossoms! But here, call it a spring festival or something, so you don’t have any expectations of seeing beautiful dogwoods. Or plant some more dogwood trees.

Street Talk 2009 Rosalyn: Yes. It’s a initial sign of spring. It’s symbolic of Christianity. It was the tree that was used for Jesus to be nailed to the cross, and the flower heavily resembles the cross. My parents and grandparents would always show them to us and explained to us what they meant. It’s the first tree I learned about. There’s a lot of sentimental value, especially for this area because it's the Bible Belt. The white is a symbol of purity. Most people, if they know their history, know what the dogwood symbolizes. And when you see them, they are just so beautiful.

Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2018 Video

News About the Dogwood Festival

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Past Coverage

Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2021 Article

Friday April 9, 2021 12:00 pm EDT 04/09/2021 12:00 pm

The Dogwood Festival will take place April 9-11, 2021 | more...

Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2020 Article

Friday August 7, 2020 12:06 pm EDT 08/07/2020 12:06 pm

This year's Atlanta Dogwood festival has been postponed to August 7 – August 9, 2020 and then cancelled. We'll publish the festival schedule, recommendations and events next Spring when it returns.

| more...

Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2019 Article

Friday April 12, 2019 12:10 pm EDT 04/12/2019 12:10 pm

Atlanta Dogwood Festival Annual Event | more...

SEE & DO: Atlanta Dogwood Festival - Issue Date April 04 2017 Article

Tuesday April 4, 2017 03:09 pm EDT 04/04/2017 3:09 pm

The popular festival is back for its 81st year | more...

Dogwood Festival returns this weekend Article

Tuesday April 13, 2010 08:10 pm EDT 04/13/2010 8:10 pm

Atlanta party-funk crew Noot d' Noot will perform, along with local psych-surf dudes the Jaguars, Soulphonics & Ruby Velle and the Forty-Fives | more...

See & Do - Special event: Atlanta Dogwood Festival April 12 2010 Article

Monday April 12, 2010 04:00 am EDT 04/12/2010 4:00 am

Fri.-Sun., April 16-18 | more...

Photo Galleries - Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park Article

Tuesday April 21, 2009 02:15 pm EDT 04/21/2009 2:15 pm

Photos from this year's Festival | more...

Streetalk: Is a dogwood worthy of its own festival? Article

Sunday April 12, 2009 12:22 pm EDT 04/12/2009 12:22 pm

image-1Ric: Definitely. When something can bring attention to nature, its a good thing. And they are beautiful, theyre beautiful trees. Theyre kind of like the cherry blossoms in Japan. They only come a certain time of year, so you might as well enjoy them. The white blossom is different and really stands out in the midst of everyday green, pink and yellow. Im not a... | more...