Banner Image
Blog
Section Branding
Header Content
The Atlanta Dogwood Festival Turns 89! An Interview With Brian Hill, Executive Director
Hero Image
Primary Content
When art, music, dance, and trees blooming with white petals all coincide at the same time, it can only mean one thing: The Atlanta Dogwood Festival is here!
A spring staple of the city for decades, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival returns April 11 through 13 in Piedmont Park, offering three days of celebrating the arts, culture, food, and more, all with the backdrop of blooming Dogwood trees and the Midtown skyline. It’s also a must-attend event for Georgia Public Broadcasting: since 2014, GPB has had a booth at the festival, sharing with attendees the many ways we inform, entertain, and uplift Georgians with local stories as well as programs and initiatives across the country and around the world.
Now in its 89th year, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is back and better than ever. But with 88 festivals worth of experiences in the books, I was curious as to how the festival started, how it’s transformed and adapted over the years, and what the future holds for one of Atlanta’s most beloved springtime events. I reached out to Brian Hill, Executive Director of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, to share a bit of festival history and what to expect this year.
Georgia Public Broadcasting: Could you tell us a bit about the history of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival? How has it changed and transformed over the years?
Brian Hill: It was founded in 1936 by Walter Rich of Rich’s department stores, founded to get the people out of the doldrums of the great depression copying the cherry blossoms in DC. So they planted dogwoods around Atlanta, and since then the festival has had parades, music recitals, and other things outside the festivals.
During COVID, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival did two back-to-back festivals six months apart, one in August and the other in April. The Dogwood Festival has the best team in Atlanta!
GPB: What can attendees expect when they visit the 89th Atlanta Dogwood Festival?
BH: One of the big things that changed a number of years ago is the makeup of Atlanta and all of the different cultures in the city. They’re part of the fabric of the city: there’s no place where they all come together. There’s a Greek festival, a French-American festival, but no one place to get everyone together.
Now, there’s 20 different cultures that perform on the Dogwood Festival’s International Stage. Our performers may not have had exposure to that type of music that follows behind them and right before them, and they have the same beats.
We’re more alike than we are different: it’s been a highlight since it started. The International Stage makes people feel more like a part of Atlanta if they are more intertwined in Atlanta.
GPB: What is your favorite part of the Dogwood Festival?
BH: I like, and this sounds funny, but I like walking through the festival itself and seeing people so happy to be there. Artists always have incredible artwork.
The Atlanta High school Art Exhibition is always a major highlight, over by 12th Street. You can’t believe there are high schoolers who have done this work! The Atlanta Dogwood Festival reaches out to 80 schools in the area as well as sponsoring and funding this work. Now the schools are wanting to put this initiative into their curriculums. There are so many kids competing to be in the show: we make them compete to be in the show just like the professional artists. It changes their life when selected for this and/or winning an award.
GPB: If someone has never attended the Dogwood Festival before, what would you recommend they see and do in order to have a wonderful experience?
BH: If they’re really into art, they should come on Friday when the crowds aren’t as big to be able to talk to the artists and ask about what they do. There is good music throughout the weekend. Saturday is a big party with the Mimosa 5K on Saturday morning: people dress up and wear themed t-shirts! It’s a Peachtree Road Race qualifier with a line of 1500 mimosas and the runners who devour them.
GPB: The Dogwood Festival celebrates its 90th Festival next year! How would you like to see the Festival grow in year 90 and beyond?
BH: I hope it continues to evolve with society and what young people want. I hope it draws younger people into the arts. Sometimes people think art is for old people, but there is always something to see and the inspiration it gives to people of all ages. Music is also drawing in younger attendees with the variety performed: the festival has everything from soul and blues, a student showcase, party bands, singer-songwriters, just a host of music that appeals to a lot of people. The diversity of music and art represents the makeup of Atlanta more than any other festival.
Of course, GPB will be on hand to celebrate the festival’s 89th year with our booth and sponsoring the Main Stage on Saturday, August 12 at 4:40 p.m. with the Peach Jam Podcast introducing The Jesse Williams Band. And at our booth, we can’t wait to introduce you to our new look as well as reintroduce you to some of our hosts and reporters from GPB-TV, GPB Radio, and GPB Podcasts. Check out the schedule for our booth’s full lineup. We can’t wait to meet you at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival!
For more about the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, please visit their website.
For more about Peach Jam, we invite you to check out our website.
Secondary Content
Author
Bottom Content
