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ATL Insider Blog

ATL Insider Blog

Get Your Freak On!

Located in East Atlanta, Decatur is widely known for its unique
shops and restaurants. Host to many family-friendly and creative festivities,
it's easily to overlook the historic significance of this 187-year- old town.
From the Civil War to Civil Rights, Decatur, GA has been home to triumph and
tragedy, victory and vice.

That whisper in the trees. That chill along your spine. Could it
be the fleeting echos of winter weather – or perhaps a paranormal plea? The
ghosts of this eclectic community are feisty and always thrilled to share their
stories! Discover Decatur's deadly sins as you walk through the remnants of a
shady past.

Decatur Ghost Tour
Fridays and Saturdays at 8p.m.
$15 adult admission, $10 child admission

Beginning at the bandstand behind the old courthouse, this
walking tour travels throughout the town, revealing history's mysteries every
step of the way. First, visit one of the oldest houses on the square. Here,
spirits literally climb the walls, eager to traipse about the grounds. Next, a
stop at the historic train depot – the site of the last breath for many Civil
War soldiers.  End your evening
with a visit to Old Decatur Cemetery, the final resting place for family
fortunes and grave secrets!

Photography is greatly encouraged as many of the spirits are as
much divas as they are devious! While this haint hunt is open to all ages,
tragic tales and all-too-real apparitions are deliberately included -
discretion is advised for the young. As this is a walking tour, comfy shoes and
clothing, and perhaps a light snack is recommended. One last word of warning:
there are no restrooms along the way!

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ATL Insider Blog

Conquering Childhood Obesity, One Neighborhood At A Time

ING Georgia
Marathon and Half-Marathon

Sunday, March 21st
Registration
fees discounted until Wednesday March 17th

Think you know Atlanta like the back of your hand? Here's your
chance to discover often-overlooked, beauty-filled nuances of the city -
the
ING Georgia Marathon showcases an urban course designed to be as
rewarding as
it is challenging!

This 26-mile feat begins at the Marietta Street tip of Centennial
Olympic Park. Dashing past the historic site of the Martin Luther King
birth
house, the race then continues through the eclectic community of Little
Five
Points. Runners then jog through the beautiful Agnes Scott campus and
the
urban-chic downtown Decatur. Heading north past Emory University then
east
through Virginia-Highlands, runners are continually treated to the
scenic views
of Atlanta's diverse neighborhoods. Darting south through Midtown, the
finish
line is found at the center of Centennial Olympic Park, where
participants and
onlookers are treated to celebratory music, food and drinks!

Benefiting the ING Run For Something Better endeavor, proceeds
from the 2010 marathon and half-marathon help fund research and programs
to
eradicate childhood obesity! As if you needed any other motivation,
Ticket
Master and Philips Arena have teamed up to provide a great incentive to
all ING
Marathon Runners – $25 upper seat tickets and $50 lower seat tickets for
the
Hawks and Thrashers! Catch the Hawks on March 19th and 21st
or the Thrashers on March 20th, and as an added bonus, print
your
tickets at home with no additional fees.

A special note to readers: Entire segments of major roads will be
shut down for runners, so plan accordingly. Affected most will be
Piedmont
Avenue near Edgewood, North Avenue prior to North Highland Drive, and
South
Ponce de Leon after Clifton Road. Detour guides will be utilized for
commuters'
convenience.

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ATL Insider Blog

The Drama of Daughters and a Lust for Land

King
Lear

The Shakespeare Tavern
Through April 4th
Adult
admission starts at $24

Presented by the nation's one and only Shakespeare Tavern – King
Lear
is the latest endeavor of this
Original Practice concept. Part playhouse and part pub, every inch is
swathed
in the rustic, European charm which adds that final layer of finesse
onto
Shakespeare's works. Grab your favorite brew, a scrumptious snack, and
join the
fun as the Tavern players demolish the ‘fourth wall' practice,
delivering their
lines as they roam about the room.

"First and foremost a professional theatre", the Tavern offers
audiences of all ages a truly unique and pleasurable experience. An
alcoholic
menu is available, but dinner nor drinks purchases are required to
attend the
show. Seating is first come, first served, so plan accordingly. Shows
are
performed every Thursday through Sunday, and tickets start at $24. It is
strongly recommended that you purchase tickets in advance,
otherwise your
only option is the last-minute waiting list.

Widely accepted as
one of Shakespeare's finest achievements, King
Lear
explores the derisive, devious acts
often provoked in family members of the elderly. While lechery and
treachery
are certainly no laughing matters, the silver-tongued wordsmith casts
the
severity of grief and greed into comedic relief with well-placed quips
and
boggling character disguises. Hold fast to your sanity as you traipse
through
the minds and hearts of King Lear and his brood!

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ATL Insider Blog

Home Sweet Home

With the winter weather finally relenting to the lush Spring
textures we've so dearly missed, your thoughts may first jump to revising your
wardrobe. A necessary effort to be sure, but have you considered redressing
your house as well? As the materialistic embodiment of your personality and
comfort zone, your home should reflect the changing seasons just as much as
your closet! While home décor shopping can be a daunting task, fear not!
Boutique Blondie has searched the city once again, and found the trendy, chic
Westside of Midtown to be a haven for the hottest pieces and coolest lighting,
without the high-pressure, commission-driven drama.

For contemporary and modern furnishings, check out:

Bungalow
Classic
– this vast selection of upholstery, antiques, case goods
and more brings a fresh and comfortable yet stylish twist to your home.

Eco
Emporium
– the city's premier eco-friendly home goods store proves
that green is the new black! Providing only top-quality, "organic, recycled,
and fair trade" products, your eco-lifestyle just got a little more stylish.

No Más Productions – combining authentic
artisan pieces with a knack for modern color and patterns, this shop offers a
delightful mix of Old World sensibilities and enticing, contemporary textures.

Owen Lawrence – from leather and linens to art
and accessories, this gallery-inspired store offers luxury pieces for home and
office.

Verde
Home
– this unique, green-chic concept store focuses not only on
preservation, but also embraces the raw beauty of the natural environment with
the pieces available.

Yes
Home
– this lifestyle store focuses on comfort, quality and
affordability. A great solution for gift registries or a quick
house-warming
present, these pieces help you create an atmosphere of relaxed
sophistication.

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ATL Insider Blog

Atlanta Opera Hosts Family Day

Photo by Tim Wilkerson What: Atlanta Opera’s Family Day Where: The Atlanta Opera Center, 1575 Northside Dr. NW, Bldg. 300, Suite 350, Atlanta, GA 30318 When: Saturday, March 27 from 10 am… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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Atlanta Home Show Features Clifford the Big Red Dog

Image by Getty Images via Daylife Who: Clifford the Big Red Dog When: March 20, 1 – 4 pm Where: 32nd Annual Spring Atlanta Home Show, Cobb Galleria Ctr. Cost: Children 12 and younger and seniors… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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BOGO Offer from Fernbank Museum of Natural History

What: Buy One Value Pass, Get One FREE Where: Fernbank Museum of Natural History When: Offer Expires April 4, 2010 and is not valid on group tickets Cost: Value passes are $23 for adults, $21 for… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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Weekly Spotlight: St. Paddy’s Day at Murphy’s

 We’re all beer-swillin’, erin go brach-ing, Irish folk on St. Patrick’s
Day, right? Hey, I love a holiday that requires no more of me than
donning some green clothing, downing a beer or two and handling the
flock of frisky leprechaun  who follow me home. You do see them
too, right?

If it’s St. Patrick’s Day, it’s Murphy’s
restaurant
for us. 

 For the rest of this post, please click here.

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National Wildlife Week: Get Out There and Bird Watch

Image via Wikipedia This week, March 15 – 21, is National Wildlife Week, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation. As one activity to get you outside, NWF suggests birdwatching. There are… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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ATL Insider Blog

Hot Hotel Happy Hours

Are the workweek woes getting you a bit frustrated? Us, too -
which is why we've dug up a few events to put a tasty, trendy spin on your
happy hour standby!

Paces 88 at The
St. Regis Hotel Atlanta

Monday March 8 – Sunday
March 14
$25 3-course dinners

First up is Paces 88 – a featured participant in the Buckhead
restaurant week. For just $25 per person, enjoy a three course meal in one of
the city's most-sought after atmospheres! A master mixologist is always on hand
to provide the perfect pairing for your plate.


Park 75 at Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta

Every Wednesday and
Thursday in March
No-cover live Jazz and
complimentary parking

What could possibly complement the delicious fare and drinks menu
of Park 75? Live Jazz and Blues, performed by none other than guitarist Eric
Essix. An atmosphere of relaxation mixes with the raw romance of soulful sounds,
providing the perfect spot to lose yourself in delicious cuisine and
conversation.


Spice
Market at W Hotel Midtown

Every Thursday in March
$5 drink specials and
complimentary appetizers

Spice Market invites you to add a little Southwest Asian flair to
your workweek. Featuring $5 drink specials – choose from two cocktails, one red
and white wine, and one beer – each paired perfectly with the week's
Asian-infused, complimentary appetizer! For entertainment, you're treated to a
new DJ each week.

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ATL Insider Blog

Girls, Guts and Glory!

Atlanta
Rollergirls: Dirty South Derby

Saturday, March 13th
Tickets start at $15

Originally
created as a mostly for entertainment, women-only sport, Roller Derby has
provided onlookers with a unique spectacle for over 85 years. Consisting of 5
skaters on a closed circuit, the packs have four laps to score as many points
as possible, most of which are earned by passing – or body-blocking at high
speeds – the nearest opponent. To ensure prime amusement for paying crowds, the
stunts were rehearsed, resulting an intriguing, if not entirely honest,
exhibition.

What began
in 2004 as a sort of workweek catharsis has since become a citywide phenomenon.
By day, these ladies are Atlanta's finest mothers, students, lawyers and
writers – but by night, it's all girls, all guts, all glory! Acting as the
founding members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, the Atlanta
Rollergirls have rejuvenated the 88-year-old sport of Roller Derby. For the
first time since the sport's creation, the thrills and spills are unscripted.

Join the
ladies for their first home bout this Saturday, March 13th, at the
Yaarab Shrine Center on Ponce. Our Dirty South Derby girls compete in a knock-‘em-dead
competition with the St. Louis ladies at 5p.m. Beginning at 7:30p.m. the Home
Team Game features your Apocalypstix against The Sake Tuyas for the home turf
battle!

All bouts
are BYOB, and cans are suggested as no glass is allowed inside the arena.
Additional drinks and concessions can be purchased, with combos starting at
only $5 each.

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ATL Insider Blog

2010 Squeals, Thrills and Spills

Six Flags Over Georgia 2010 Season
March through October
Tickets start at $29.99
10a.m. – 7p.m. Weekends only through
mid-May

Six Flags
over Georgia, the second of the chain, opened in 1967 and featured nine rides.
Over the last 43 years, the chain has expanded to include parks in Spain,
France and The U.K., along with multiple other American sites.

Now open
for the 2010 season, the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park is ready for a whole
new year of squeals, thrills and spills! This 100-acre park just west of the
city features 40 rides, including thrillers, family fun adventures and a
bustling for-kids-only section. From the spine-chilling Goliath, to the
overflowing banks of Thunder River, you won't be able to pick just one
favorite!

For a
limited time only, everyone gets the kid's price – which means all tickets are
just $29.99 per person. Grab a group and hit the rides for only $25 per person,
or check out the Season Pass – just $49.99 for an all-access, all-season pass
to your favorite events and attractions!

Open daily
from April 2nd – April 11th, Six Flags is a great option for your
Spring Break Staycation. Featuring exclusive concerts and events, this
fun-for-the-whole-family amusement park is your remedy for a week's worth of
freedom from homework!

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ATL Insider Blog

Cheers and Tears for ‘Spring Awakening’

Spring
Awakening musical

March 9th – 14th
The Fabulous Fox Theatre
Tickets start at $18

Renowned for keeping audiences on the edge of their seats, The
Fabulous Fox Theatre has once again outdone themselves. For one week only,
Broadway Across America presents Spring
Awakening
– an exhilarating, coming of age musical with an absolutely
stellar score!

At once hilarious and evocative, Spring Awakening is a brilliant cohesion of late 19th
century Germany and pop-culture music. Begging such questions as "Do they
ignore the longing of their loins until we grant them a marriage license?",
this romp through desire, confusion and tragedy transcends the generations.

Adapted from an 1891 German play, Spring Awakening is a pop/rock musical which explores the sexual
revelations rollicking around teenage minds. Much like the desires and exploits
it portrays, the original play has a decades-long streak of oppressive ridicule
and outright banishment. Fulfilling nearly every Mature Content specification
to a most ingenious and elegant degree, this can't-miss piece of theatre is
appropriate for mature minds only.

You can catch Spring
Awakening
all this week, with nightly shows and double performances on
Saturday and Sunday. While tickets
start at $18
each and climb as high as $50, at the Fabulous Fox, there
truly is no bad seat in the house.

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“Ireland ‘Til Doomsday!”

As the home of one of the biggest St. Patrick's Day festivals in
the nation, you're sure to hear "Éireann go Brách"
muttered, uttered and outright shrieked in the coming days. This fidelity
phrase translates into "Ireland Forever" (or my personal favorite: "Ireland
‘Til Doomsday!"). Continuing the authentic celebration, many
locally-loved spots are offering spectacular deals. Turn your friends green
with envy courtesy of these delectable deals, or save some green with these
delicious drink specials!

Terrace On
Peachtree at Ellis Hotel

Saturday, March 13th
10a.m. – 4p.m.

Taste your pot of gold when you order up a serving of Terrace's
exclusive Guinness Beef Stew!

Wednesday, March 17th
11a.m. – 10p.m.

For a dinner so good you'll want to pinch yourself, try Terrace's
$30, 3-course feast from Atlanta's only farm-to-table Irish chef! Choose from
authentic dishes including Potato & Leek Soup and Seared Smoke Salmon, Irish
Boiled Bacon and Cabbage, and a White Chocolate and Baileys Bread Pudding.


Max Lager's
Wood-Fired Grill & Brewery

Saturday, March 13th
Beginning at 12:30p.m.

Tap into a bit of Irish luck with a fresh pour of Max's IMOS
(Imperial Mocha Oatmeal Stout). This tasty brew is paired to perfection with
Southern-infused Irish fare – Cottage Pie and Smoked Beef Brisket, Green Tomato
Chow Chow and Sweet Potato Hash (with Pearl onions and house cured bacon).

Murphy's
Wednesday, March 17th

Drop by Atlanta's Best St. Patrick's Day Celebration (30 years
and running) for authentic Irish dishes, drinks and dancers! Grab a plate of
Murphy's Corn Beef Cabbage, Guinness Braised Beef Short Ribs and Irish Whiskey
Bread Pudding and enjoy the leaping leprechaun spectacle.


TAP
Wednesday, March 17th

Featuring authentic cocktails and a live session band, Irish
sprits have never tasted so good! Specials include $3 Numbers Ale and $5
Guinness, $5 Irish Coffees and Irish Eyes Cocktails, as well as $8 Irish
Boilermakers – a pint of Smithwicks with shots of Jameson.

Terrace
On Peachtree at Ellis Hotel

Saturday, March 13th
10a.m. – 4p.m.

Enjoy the St. Patrick's Day parade the Irish way with $4 Harp and
Guinness specials and $4 Irish Coffees.

STATS
Saturday, March 13th

The lucky libations at STATS leave you seeing green (in your
wallet at least). Indulge your inner leprechaun with $2 pints all day long.

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ATL Insider Blog

Atlanta Is Seeing Green!

St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 13th,
12p.m.
Free

Join the 7th largest "Irish City" in North America for
one of the South's biggest St. Patty's Day parties! Fun for the entire family,
the parade features over 200 participants, including clowns, floats, Bagpipe
& Drum Corps, antique cars, and dignitaries from Ireland.

The shenanigans kick off at high noon on the corner of Ralph
McGill Boulevard and Peachtree Street. From there, the mile-long route winds
through the heart of the city – drop by a few on of your favorite dining and
drink spots for delicious specials and a street-side view! Continuing South on
Peachtree Street past Harris, Ellis and JW Dobbs streets, the parade then
passes through the newly-restored Woodruff Park. The parade ends at Underground
Atlanta, where live entertainment, food and dancing continue the festivities.

If the Spring weather is calling your name, head over to Piedmont
Park and get your fill of green after the parade. Pack a picnic of all your
Irish favorites and enjoy the lush lawns. Looking for something a bit more
high-energy? Visit Ri Ra Irish Pub and Restaurant, Fado's Irish Pub, or
Murphy's for some authentic Irish entertainment, exclusive menu items and much
more!

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Augusta, Ga. | Things to Do Beyond the Masters

In a few short weeks, the world will be watching as the best golfers descend on Augusta, Georgia for The Masters golf tournament. If you’ve never been, it’s an experience worth the trip,… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Parade This Weekend

What: Atlanta’s 128th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Where: Downtown Atlanta When: Saturday, March 13 at 12 noon Cost: Free, but you’ll have to park in a pay lot around the parade route St…. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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Weekly Spotlight: 160 Free Events

Sometimes the best things in life are free. This month  the Atlanta Preservation Center is offering 160 free events that are not only fun, but a great way to learn more about your city.

The event is called Phoenix Flies, a Citywide Celebration of Living Landmarks.
This is its 7th year, but I didn’t know anything about it until my
friend Melissa asked me if I wanted to join her for a tour of Harmony
Grove cemetery on Saturday. You have probably driven by it hundreds of
times and never knew it. It’s right at the corner of West Paces Ferry
and Chatham roads.

 For the rest of the post, please click here. 

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It’s a Laughing Pizza Weekend | Meet and Greet and Shows

What: Musical Group for Kids Laughing Pizza Where and When: Saturday, March 13, Towne Center Mall, Meet and Greet and Performance, 12 – 3 pm Sunday, March 14, GPB TV, 3 pm Cost: The Towne… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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Winner: Tickets to Spring Awakening at the Fox Theatre

Image via Wikipedia I know I said we’d announce the winner of the Spring Awakening tickets last Friday, but I was out of town and had some technology issues, so we’re announcing it… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]…(read more)

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