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Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2023

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

Atlanta Dogwood Festival - Piedmont Park in the Spring

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2023

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 2023 Festivals

Friday April 14, 2023 10:46 AM EDT 04/14/2023 10:46 AM

April 14-16, 2023 at Piedmont Park | 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

03/22/2023

🎉 We are excited to welcome more than 250 fine artists to this year's festival. Since the festival is still a few weeks away, we'll highlight some of this year's artists. 📸 Photographer and master printer Andrew...
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03/17/2023

☘️ Happy St. Patrick's Day! #stpatricksday #stpatricks #stpatricksday2023 #lucky #luckoftheirish
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03/15/2023

🎟 Tickets on sale NOW for this year's VIP Experience! Prices go up April 1, so save some $$$ and buy now! 🎟 Several levels of tickets are available including reserved tables, upgraded and platinum tix that also...
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03/14/2023

Check out this spot created by our friends at atlcw! Won't be long now!
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03/03/2023

🎨We can’t wait to see all of the beautiful pieces from this year’s pool of talented high school artists in the Atlanta High School Art Exhibition (AHSAE)!
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02/27/2023

👟Thanks to everyone who braved the cold for our Run for the Arts 5K. Congrats to all of the top finishers. 🍾Was it too cold for you? No problem, you can still support the Atlanta High School Art Exhibition (AHSAE)...
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02/17/2023

🎉 Save the date for this year's 87th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park ATL, April 14-16, 2023! Link in bio for more info. #dogwoodfestival #atlantadogwoodfestival #atlanta #weloveatlanta #atl...
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02/16/2023

Run for the Arts 5K THIS Saturday! dogwood.org
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02/15/2023

☀️ Saturday's weather looks perfect for our Run for the Arts 5K in piedmontpark. This AJC Peachtree Road Race Qualifier (atlantatrackclub) is the first in a Run for the Arts Race Series that we're hosting this year....
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02/14/2023

❤️ Happy Valentine's Day!
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02/09/2023

🌟 We can hardly wait for our newest event, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival Run for the Arts 5K. Have you registered yet!? Sign up link in bio. #dogwoodfestival #atlantadogwoodfestival #weloveatl #atlanta...
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02/09/2023

dogwood.org
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Past Coverage

Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2023

04/14/2023 10:46 AM

April 14-16, 2023 at Piedmont Park