The Decatur Minute

Here are a few things going on right now that will get you ready for Halloween next week…

*5th annual Commissioner’s Cauldron- Residents and businesses are invited to decorate for Halloween and submit a photo to specialevents@decaturga.com by noon on Monday, October 27th.  Please include your name and address. Judges will make their decision Monday evening and the winners will be posted on the City of Decatur website, the Downtown Decatur Facebook page, and on www.thedecaturminute.com blog.  Winners will receive a special yard sign to display throughout the week and one stand-out location will win the coveted Commissioner’s Cauldron trophy to keep on display for the entire year.

*Salon Red Kids Halloween Costume Contest-Here is what they say: “Don’t forget about wearing your Halloween costume when you come to visit us this month. You could win a $25 gift card & a FREE haircut if you win this months costume contest at either location! ”

*This Sunday is the Homegrown Halloween Haints & Saints Parade in downtown Decatur. Parade begins at 4pm, more details here

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The 17th Annual Oakhurst Arts & Music Festival is Saturday, October 11 from 10 am until 7 pm in historic Oakhurst Village in the City of Decatur, Georgia. Events and highlights include:

• The 5K Arts Run/Walk
• Local artists, 10 am-7 pm
• Live musical performances, ongoing with a special concert at 5 pm
• Community area, featuring Decatur-based nonprofit groups, 10 am-7 pm
• Free activity area for children, 10 am-4 pm
• Good ol’ fashioned parade, 3 pm
• Food and beverages at Oakhurst’s many restaurants

This event is presented by the Decatur Arts Alliance. For more information visit www.oakhurstartsandmusicfestival.com.

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The Atlanta  Maker Faire in downtown Decatur is this Saturday and Sunday on McDonough Street and in the Callaway parking lot. Preparations for the two-day event begin today at 5pm-starting with the closure of McDonough Street between Trinity and Maple Streets. For access to businesses on McDonough, drivers will need to turn down Church Street, then turn right on Maple Street, and left on to McDonough Street.

The street and county parking lots will remain closed until the event is over on Sunday evening.

We are very excited for Decatur to be hosting this new event and we hope to see everyone out and about around the Square this weekend!

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I know it is only Wednesday but I can’t help thinking about the weekend ahead. The weather forecast is sunny and cool and we a bunch of awesome stuff happening in Decatur this weekend. First, have you heard of the Maker Faire? It is an event created to “celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset”.  Decatur is hosting the event for the first time this Saturday and Sunday and you won’t want to miss it. You can find this event on McDonough Street, in front of Decatur High School and in the Callaway parking lot across from the DeKalb County parking deck. And speaking of parking-that deck offers free parking on the weekends and we will have crossing guards out to help people make it over to the events safely.  This event is free, but you do need to sign up for your free tickets here.

While you are downtown on Saturday, make sure to stop by The Square Pub for their annual Chile Roast! Offereing Green Chile Food Menu, 7 green chile beers including casks, Mariachi, Tequila, chile roasting on the square, green chile – chile cook off, prizes, raffles, giveaways, madness, etc!  The event starts at about noon on Saturday so make your plans now to stop by

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After you’ve been inspired by the craftiness at the Yea! Festival, cheered on the neighborhood kiddos at the Soapbox Derby, purchased a charming vintage side table at The Revival, enjoyed a picnic of wine and pimento cheese at the Concert on the Square, and perfected your ollie at SkaterAid, head on over to one (or more) of the 16 Decatur restaurants participating in the first ever Decatur Restaurant Week.

Decatur Restaurant Week runs from Sunday, September 28 through Thursday, October 2. Participating restaurants will be offering prix fixe menus ranging from $15 to $35 and include brunch, lunch and/or dinner options.

Restaurants: Big Tex Decatur, Brick Store Pub, Cafe Lily, Cakes & Ale, Chai Pani, Harbor House Pub, The Iberian Pig, Kimball House, Leon’s Full Service, Makan, Parker’s on Ponce, Paper Plane, The Pinewood, Siam, Wahoo! Grill and No. 246.

Visit www.decaturrestaurantweek.com for more details.

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The weather is getting cooler and our calendars are full…it must be Fall y’all!  You won’t be able to throw a rock and not hit something cool in Decatur this weekend-just check out our round up of events

• YEA! (Young Emerging Artists) Event on the Decatur Square  12-4pm, Saturday
• Madison Avenue Soap Box Derby, Saturday   Info here
• Skateraid  Saturday 2-7pm, East Decatur Station
• Concert on the Square featuring the wildly popular Michelle Malone Band, Community Bandstand  7-9:30pm  Presented by the Decatur Business Association
• The Revival- A Vintage Marketplace   Saturday and Sunday, 10am-5pm    on  McDonough Street, in front of Chick-fil-a

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Please join us on the Community Bandstand tomorrow for the final Blue Sky Concert of the month featuring the Blake Music Group. 

Alan and Lita Blake have toured and recorded with the late Grover Washington Jr., the late George Howard, Jean Carne, Kevin Eubanks, and Rachelle Ferrell. Lita studied under Dr. Donald Byrd at Howard University and performed with jazz pianist Billy Taylor and bassist Ron Carter during Settlement Music School events in Philadelphia.

Also, join Decatur Active Living and the City of Decatur as we celebrate Car Free Day at the concert.
Car Free Days aim to be fun, free events encouraging people to get out of their cars and run, walk, cycle or take public transit. The central vision of Car Free Day is urban mobility that is not dependent on the private automobile. International Car Free Day is celebrated every September 22 (Decatur celebrates on Wednesday) first started in Europe in the 1990s and is a growing global movement celebrated in over two thousand towns and cities in over thirty countries. CFD is not anti-car, but promotes awareness of alternative forms of transportation and the public health benefits of more active lifestyles within reach to us all.

The City of Decatur celebrates on Wednesday to be part of the Blue Sky Concert. Walk, bike or ride transit to the concert and receive a special Car Free Day sticker and/or tattoo! For more information contact cheryl.burnette@decaturga.com

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Returning for its fourth year, the Madison Avenue Soap Box Derby is back again! Here’s a little bit about the event and the super cool group behind it…

Hello Neighbors! We would like to formally introduce you to the Madison Ave Community Fund! The Madison Ave Community Fund (MACF) is a non-profit organization started by us, your neighbors, to help us direct the funds raised from the Madison Ave Soapbox Derby and other future events. For those new to the neighborhood or who haven’t experienced the Madison Ave Soapbox Derby for some crazy reason, it is an amazing event started by a group of neighbors in 2011. We got together and came up with the zany idea of bringing together our families to have fun while raising money for a local charity benefiting the children of our community. Thanks to all the support of our awesome neighbors and neighborhood businesses, the event has grown from about 20 drivers in 2011 to 100 drivers in last year’s rain soaked derby. We are proud to announce that we have now donated over $30,000 to local children’s charities!

More information about the event and the organization can be found here on the website

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