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The First Peaches of Summer

By Sydney SevdalisFew foods still announce the arrival of summer as clearly as a Georgia peach. A roadside stand suddenly appears along the highway. Farmers market tables begin filling with soft shades of orange and red. Restaurants rush cobblers, hand pies, ice creams, and peach salads onto their menus almost overnight. And despite Georgia’s reputation…
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Southeast Atlanta’s Weekend Farmers Markets

By Sydney Sevdalis Southeast Atlanta has developed a weekend ritual around its farmers markets. Long before most restaurants are fully awake, neighbors walk beneath tree canopies with coffee in hand, scanning tables of strawberries, herbs, mushrooms, flowers, and bread still warm from the oven. Children weave between folding tents while dogs pause patiently beside bins…
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Regular Home Maintenance: A Checklist

By Adam Laverack With the seasons changing from spring to summer, the time to start thinking about some basic preventative maintenance tasks is at hand. If you have not gotten to this relatively short list yet, worry not, there is no time like the present. As spring turns to summer, life gets busy and sometimes even hectic, what with…
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World Cup Party Hosting Hacks

By Carlen Ruth Hultgren Soccer, called futbol by most, is the world’s game, and the parties that come with it are just as global. As the world’s largest soccer tournament kicks off at various locations around the U.S.—and soon in Atlanta—now is the perfect time to celebrate with globally inspired flavors and events. This summer, bring a…
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Pack 688 Invites Families to Explore Cub Scouting at August Open House

By Katie Roberts Cub Scout Pack 688 will kick off a new scouting year on Sunday, August 2, with an open house from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the third-floor gymnasium at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Grant Park. Families interested in learning more about Scouting are invited to stop by to meet…
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Fulton Commission District 4 Special Election

By Paul Bolster Four candidates qualified to run for the open District 4 seat on the Fulton County Commission. The election will be part of the November 3 General Election ballot. The seat became vacant when Mo Ivory left her unexpired term in order to run for the Chair of the Commission. Four candidates are…
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SAND Meeting Minutes – Thursday, May 14, 2026

Opening remarks: The meeting was called to order at 7:33 p.m. Voting rules and SAND membership eligibility were reviewed. One voting item on the agenda: alcohol license. Approval of meeting notes: The April meeting notes–the first produced using AI–were approved without objection. City/State/School/Other Elected Officials Lt. Andrew Smith (APD, Zone 6): City-wide crime is down 16.01%…
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EACA Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, May 12, 2026

The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. (NO VIRTUAL OPTION); started the meeting recording. April 14, 2026, meeting minutes – APPROVED. April 2026 treasurer’s report – APPROVED. Elected Officials’ Reports Council Member Bakhtiari’s Office – Jacob Pierce (he/him), District Director, Atlanta City Council District 5, 470-543-6221, jpierce@atlantaga.gov. Jacob heard public comments and reminded everyone of…
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GPNA Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Time: 7:30 p.m. – 8:55 p.m. Location: In person at the Oakland Cemetery Visitor Center (2nd floor) & virtual via Zoom. Call to Order and Welcome: President Robert Selby called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and thanked the Oakland Cemetery Visitor Center for hosting the association in their new facility. Approval of Minutes: A motion was made…
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Best of Enemies Uses East Atlanta Location

By Henry Bryant This 2019 release is now available on Netflix. It tells a story similar to ones that happened locally, The Best of Enemies tells the story of the racial desegregation tale of 1971 Durham North Carolina. The movie stars Taraji P. Henson as Civil Rights activist Ann Atwater and Sam Rockwell as Carolina Ku Klux…
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Public Lands Are Homes for Animal Friends

By Jeremy Varner I made friends with a great blue heron while fishing on a Florida beach during Spring Break. It wasn’t the most meaningful of relationships because the heron was just using me for food, and I was maybe partially using it for aura farming. By the end of the week, we both moved…
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Primary Results

By Paul Bolster Democrats have picked their contender for governor in the November General Election, while two Republican candidates will head for a run-off on June 16. Statewide, Keisha Lance Bottoms took 56% of the Democratic vote on May 19. She bested Jason Esteves (19%), Michael Thurmond (13%) and Geoff Duncan (7%). The precincts within…
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In the Kitchen with Unearthing Farm & Market

By Sydney Sevdalis At Unearthing Farm & Market on Memorial Drive, the conversation usually starts with what gets left at the stand. Not what just came in, but what didn’t quite make it into the spotlight. A green tomato gets picked up. It’s firm, has a few blemishes, and doesn’t meet the standard definition of…
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Slow Food Atlanta Award Winners

By Sydney Sevdalis On Monday night at Gunshow, the people behind this year’s Snail of Approval gathered around a potluck table. Not the casual kind, but the kind where some of the best restaurants in Atlanta show up with a dish. This year’s winners, along with past recipients and the full Slow Food Atlanta board,…
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The Ormewood School Celebrates 20 Years of Community

By Rania Mirza The Ormewood School, a nonprofit early childhood education center in the Ormewood Park community, is preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary this September. As a nonprofit school, its mission has always focused on providing a nurturing, community-based learning environment for young children and their families. For many families, students, and staff, this…
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BATL Anniversary Presentation July 18

By Henry Bryant The Battle of Atlanta began with Confederate forces moving in from the south along the area that is now Bouldercrest Drive, Flat Shoals Road, and Fayetteville Road. They moved into the rural area that is today part of the East Atlanta neighborhood, with some troops first splitting up at the Fayetteville and…
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Tom Welander

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Grant Park Pool Opens for Summer 2026

July 4, 2026

By Tom Welander

Photos courtesy of Friends of Grant Park Pool
The Grant Park pool is open for the 2026 season.

Photos courtesy of Friends of Grant Park Pool
The Grant Park pool is open for the 2026 season.

The Grant Park Pool is open for the 2026 summer season!

Both the 50-meter pool and the zero-entry pool are in great condition thanks to last year’s resurfacing and pump upgrades. The water sparkles in the sun.

Pool open days and hours are the same as in recent years:

June and July

Wednesday through Sunday, 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Always closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Holiday closures: Friday, June 19 for Juneteenth and Saturday, July 4 for Independence Day.

August

Weekends only, 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Last open days will be August 29 and August 30.

Patrons enter the facility through a metal detector. Bags must be clear or mesh to allow visual inspection of their contents.

Manager Karla Chapman has returned this year which is terrific news. In recent years, Chapman’s strong leadership has demonstrated the positive impact of qualified adult management in creating a safe swimming environment. Even better, she’s shared that the pool will have a second adult manager this summer.

Lap swimmers dismayed to find the pool’s lane ropes have disappeared will be glad to hear that new lane ropes are on order according to City of Atlanta Aquatics Director Marcus Byams. The pool will have six or eight short course lanes instead of the two long course lanes installed in recent years. The new lane ropes will arrive by June 27^th when the pool hosts a competitive meet for the City of Atlanta Dolphins youth swim team.

The Dolphins’ swim meet represents an exciting return to form for Atlanta’s legendary intown public youth competitive swimming program headed by the Bashir family coaching dynasty – the same team that produced NCAA Division I National Champion swimmer Sabir Mohommad.

The Grant Park Pool’s hosting of this important meet bolsters our hopes for the return of expanded lap swim hours which have been curtailed in part by limited lifeguard staff. Kudos to the Aquatics staff for aggressively recruiting and training the lifeguards needed to solve immediate staffing shortages and for filling the future lifeguard pipeline by developing young competitive swimmers.

Email friendsofgrantparkpool@gmail.com for more information. See you at the pool!

Tom Welander

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