Things To Do in Atlanta This Weekend

By Discover Atlanta Editorial Team

Published February 17, 2025

Here’s what’s going on in Atlanta this weekend, Feb. 21, 22 and 23.

Weekend Festivals

Grab your Popcorn: Time for Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival begins on Wednesday and runs through March 16. The festival will feature 50 films including 22 documentaries and 28 narrative works that celebrate the diversity of the Jewish experience around the globe. The festival begins with the Atlanta premiere of “Bad Shabbos” on opening night at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Theaters that will screen the films include Cobb Energy Center, The Springs Cinema & Taphouse, Plaza Theatre, Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center, Georgia Theatre Company at Merchants Walk and Tara Theatre.

Head to Atlantic Station for Beer, Bourbon and BBQ

Atlantic Station is the site for Saturday’s Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival. Enjoy this pork-o-rama from 2 until 6 p.m.

Visit Georgia Aquarium for Atlanta Jewish Life Festival

Georgia Aquarium is the site Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., for the annual Atlanta Jewish Life Festival. The 1920s’-themed event features casino games, a costume contest, live music and plenty more. 

Westside Food, Booze & Brews Fest

Chattahoochee Food Works is hosting the Westside Food, Booze & Brews Fest from 2 until 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets include beer, liquor and food samples plus a rocks class, a VIP lanyard and music from a DJ.

Happenings

John Lewis Film

See a free screening of “John Lewis: Good Trouble” at the Rialto Center for the Arts Friday at 7 p.m. Arrive at 6 to participate in activities courtesy of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. The first 200 people to arrive will receive a free treat in honor of what would have been the congressman’s 85th birthday.

Art in the Park

Woodruff Park is the site of an exhibit, “Stem by Stem: Alien Boy Gives Me Flowers by Eness.” Meet inflatable creatures with digital doe eyes carrying armloads of flowers. See it through March 14.

Mardi Gras Streetcar Adventure

Join the Mardi Gras Streetcar Adventure from noon until 6 p.m. Saturday at Margaritaville Downtown. Wear a costume to add to the fun when you are paraded around Downtown and the Old Fourth Ward riding the Atlanta Streetcar. Featuring 35 participating bars, restaurants and attractions, the adventure includes food and drink specials. There will be a New Orleans street band, beads and who knows what else.

Family

See ‘Doctor DeSoto’ at Alliance Theatre

Alliance Theatre presents “Doctor De Soto” on the Hertz Stage through March 2. The 45-minute play for audiences ages 4 to 10 includes live-action, puppetry, music and rhyme. The De Soto family dentist practice takes pity on a suffering fox with a rotten tooth. But once he opens his jaws and they must step inside, they begin to rethink their decision

Celebrate Black History All Month at Children’s Museum of Atlanta

The Children’s Museum of Atlanta invites kids to celebrate Black history all month long with various aspects of the museum focusing on Black leaders, innovators and artists.

Theatre

‘Romeo and Juliet’ on Stage at Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse

Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse presents “Romeo and Juliet,” through March 2. If you missed high school English class and have been on another planet since graduation, here’s the story: Romeo, Montague’s heir, masked at a Capulet dance, becomes infatuated with Capulet’s daughter, Juliet. From the garden he overhears her avowal as she stands on her balcony and their love scene follows. Next afternoon Friar Lawrence marries them in secret. The ending isn’t so happy.

Horizon Theatre Brings Back ‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’

Following popular runs in 2024, “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” returns to Horizon Theatre through Sunday. Natasha is a beautiful ingenue visiting Moscow while she waits for her beloved fiancé, Andrey, to return from the war. In a moment of indiscretion, she is seduced by the dashing (but already married) Anatole and her position in society is ruined. Her only hope lies with Pierre, the lonely outsider whose love and compassion for Natasha may be the key to her redemption — and to the renewal of her soul.

Sports

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks play the Detroit Pistons at 6 p.m. Sunday at State Farm Arena. Celebrate Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) when State Farm Arena and the Hawks host the seventh annual HBCU Night presented by Chase. Check for a special ticket offer. The Hawks are ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference; the Pistons are ranked sixth.

MLS Season Begins

Atlanta United plays CF Montréal at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Earlier this month, the club announced the addition of Emmanuel Latte Lath, the fast forward from Middlesbrough FC of the English Football League Championship. He will fill a designated player spot for Atlanta United.

College Sports

The Georgia State Panthers women’s basketball team plays the Marshall University Thundering Herd at 2 p.m. Saturday at the GSU Convocation Center. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women’s basketball team plays the Florida State Seminoles at McCamish Pavilion at 2 p.m. Sunday. Over at Atlanta University Center, the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers face off with the Clark Atlanta University Panthers at 6 p.m. Saturday at Forbes Arena.

Atlanta Motor Speedway Brings NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 to Atlanta

NASCAR’s Ambetter Health 400 comes to Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) on Sunday. Ahead of the race, the speedway presents the first-ever NASCAR Dance Battle at AMS. The race weekend also features the 11th year of Atlanta’s same-day NASCAR doubleheader on Saturday. The thrills of the Fr8 208 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race and the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race all happen in that one action-packed day.

Ongoing Events

Orchid Daze Blooms at Atlanta Botanical Garden

Orchid Daze, the annual feast of beautiful flowers, is open at Atlanta Botanical Garden through April 13.

Meet Ultimate Dinosaurs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History

The “Ultimate Dinosaurs” exhibit is open at Fernbank Museum of Natural History. See these prehistoric creatures come to life in the 21st century. From the tiny Eoraptor to the massive Giganotosaurus, encounter 14 life-sized casts, genuine dinosaur fossils and hands-on dinosaur specimens that reveal some of the most important evolutionary discoveries of dinosaurs from the Southern Hemisphere over the past 20+ years. The exhibit runs through May 4.

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Exhibits Mixed Media and Watercolor

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art is exhibiting the mixed media and watercolors of MacArthur Award-winning artist Amanda Williams through May 24. The exhibit, “We Say What Black This Is,” challenges reductive definitions of Blackness, instead celebrating its diversity, resilience and depth.

See ‘Threads of Change’ Exhibit at MODA

MODA (Museum of Design Atlanta) explores climate and environmental data via large-scale textile installations in the exhibit “Threads of Change: Design & Data” through May 25. The works tell stories about our planet, weaving together art and science to illuminate Earth’s beauty, fragility and our role in its future.

Hats Off to New Atlanta History Center Exhibit

An exhibit at Atlanta History Center pays tribute to Atlanta’s King Family. The “Hats of the King Family Women” exhibit, open all year, invites you to step into a world of faith, resilience and style through the inspiring stories of the King family women and their exquisite headpieces. As the exhibit notes, “From Sunday services to special occasions, these stunning headpieces were more than just accessories – they were symbols of identity, status and the enduring power of matriarchy.”

Hammonds House Exhibits ‘Sacred Space‘

Hammonds House opened the Brandywine Workshop and Archives with the exhibition “Sacred Space,” featuring the artwork of printmakers. The exhibit encourages a personal exploration of spiritual connection and invites viewers to reflect on the ancestral wisdom and memory passed down through generations. The exhibition serves as a portal into the interconnected realms of spirituality, time, space, memory and culture. See it through June 22.

Center for Puppetry Arts Showcases Works of Raymond Carr

Atlanta’s own Raymond Carr, filmmaker, puppeteer and creator of imaginative characters, enters the spotlight as the featured artist in the Puppetry NOW showcase at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Starting as an intern and resident puppeteer at the center, Carr’s collaborations span industry giants like The Jim Henson Company, Nick Jr., Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and the BBC. His work is also seen with the iconic Aflac Duck. Known for blending puppetry with cinematic flair and an absurdist touch, Carr has earned accolades for his innovative approach to storytelling. See the exhibit through March 16.

High Museum Features Drawings

High Museum of Art is featuring an exhibit of drawings belonging to artist and Georgia State University professor Medford Johnston and his wife, Loraine. It is considered one of the finest collections of postwar American drawings and related objects. This exhibition features works by artists including Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Elizabeth Murray, Martin Puryear and Stanley Whitney. View it through May 25.

See Fish Inside Out at Fernbank Museum of Natural History

On exhibit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, “X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out” features a chance to to peek beneath the scales to explore the intricate bony skeletons of fish, stingrays, eels and seahorses through black-and-white X -rays. Discover the secrets of fish evolution, anatomy and the impact of environmental changes on aquatic species in a level of detail reminiscent of fine engraving.

WildWoods: Aglow Invites Visitors to a Nighttime Experience

Fernbank Museum of Natural History once again brings WildWoods: Aglow to Atlanta. It is on exhibit through Sunday. The multi-sensory experience immerses visitors in the wonders of nature through a blend of the real environment and glowing displays curated to highlight the native flora and fauna within WildWoods. WildWoods: AGLOW uses glowing scenes and original music compositions to immerse guests into a nighttime wonderland of biodiversity. Highlights include an interactive tulip poplar pod, projections of nocturnal wildlife, glowing native plant species, larger-than-life incandescent mushrooms and more. New this year, guests will discover large dandelions, fluttering dragonflies, swarming bat displays and glowing garden towers.

This article updates weekly with brand new things to do in Atlanta for the weekend. Feel free to bookmark it for next weekend. For more weekend events, check our calendar.