Updated March 13th, 2025

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Spring is one of the best times of year to visit Atlanta, Georgia. It’s the season to head outdoors and enjoy the blooming flowers and the vibrant greenery beneath the beautiful blue skies.

One of the best things to do in March through May is attend the many spring festivals in Atlanta. The weather is perfect for the outdoor food, neighborhood, and music festivals that take place this time of year. Don’t miss my favorite spring festivals in Atlanta this year.

I have made a big dent in the Atlanta spring festival scene, but I haven’t attended all the spring festivals in Atlanta yet. Scroll to the end of the post for a full list of Atlanta festivals this spring ITP (in the perimeter).

You don’t want to miss these spring festivals in Atlanta, but make sure to save the date for all of Atlanta’s top festivals and events year-round. Click below for more information about:

All of Atlanta’s festivals

Fall Festivals in Atlanta

Christmas Events & Activities in Atlanta

Spring Festivals in Atlanta That Belong on Your Calendar

Phoenix Flies: March 3rd – 28th, 2025

If you are looking for things to do in Atlanta in March you don’t want to miss Phoenix Flies. Every March the Atlanta Preservation Society hosts a packed schedule of free events. Most of the events are guided neighborhood walking tours, guided tours of historic buildings, museum admissions, and presentations on topics related to Atlanta’s history and culture.

The guided tours take place in the top neighborhoods and historical sites around the city. It’s a great opportunity to learn about the city and visit some historic buildings.

One of my favorite tours was the Historic Fulton Bag & Cotton Mills Tour. The guide, Jacob, provided a fascinating history of the former factory that is now apartments and condos. It’s one of the countless places in Atlanta that you may have walked by but never knew the interesting history behind the buildings.

Phoenix Flies has been an annual event for more than 20 years. With over 90 different events you’ll be sure to find several that pique your interest. While I am always shocked at the number of native Atlantans that haven’t heard of Phoenix Flies, events do fill up quickly so make sure to reserve your spot. Reservations become available on Eventbrite in the middle to end of February. It’s not only one of the best spring festivals in Atlanta, but also one of my absolute favorite things about Atlanta!

St Patrick’s Day Parade: March 15th, 2025

Not only is the St. Patrick’s Day parade one of the best Atlanta events in March, but it is also one of the oldest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country! Started by the Hibernian Benevolent Society in 1858, the parade has been taking place almost every year since.

In the late 1990s it began to grow and include various Irish groups. While the parade is still full of Irish dance, music, and cultural groups, there are plenty of non-Irish groups as well. Anyone is welcome to apply to participate as long as their group is family friendly. You’ll see everything from local high school bands to llamas! Overall there are a lot of dance groups and dog groups!

Of course all the floats, people, and four legged critters are decked out in all shades of green. It’s a family friendly parade where, as the event organizers say, “everyone is Irish for the day”!

The parade runs down Peachtree St NE in Midtown. It lasts for about an hour and 15 minutes. It’s best to walk or take MARTA to avoid traffic in the area and parking fees.

Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival: March 29th – 30th, 2025

The list of Atlanta March events also includes the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival. The free festival includes everything you could want from a spring festival in Atlanta with food, music, an artist market, a classic car show, and a kids zone area. Of course the beautiful park setting with cherry blossoms at peak bloom is lovely as well.

I was particularly pleased with the artist market as there was a diverse range of artwork represented, but also lots of vendors selling food products. There were a lot of samples!

There is no parking at the festival. Park at the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station and ride the free shuttles to the festival. You can also easily take the MARTA gold line to the station from downtown or midtown.

The festival takes place the last weekend of the month, but there is also a 5k race on March 22nd. The race benefits Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and serves as a qualifier for the Peachtree Road Race.

Atlanta Dogwood Festival: April 11th – 13th, 2025

One of the most popular spring festivals in Atlanta is the Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park.

I’m always impressed by the artist markets in Atlanta, but I felt like the art was a level above at the Dogwood Festival. There are artists from all over the country represented so the art is truly the best of the best. The booths were organized well with different types of art one after the other. You see a mix of art from jewelry to mixed media to sculptures to paintings. At first I thought it would be nice to group similar styles together, but this is a great way to be exposed to different types of art that you may not have sought out on your own.

The International performances also set the festival apart. Performances include a variety of dancing and music from different regions, such as Caribbean musicians, Pakistani dancers, and Salsa dancers with a mini lesson.

Food trucks are scattered around the park and are similar to those at other Atlanta spring festivals.

Georgia Renaissance Festival: April 12th – June 1st, 2025

The Georgia Renaissance faire isn’t located in Atlanta, but in the metro area. Located outside of Fairburn, it’s about a 30 minute drive from downtown Atlanta. You can actually reach Fairburn in about 1 hr & 15 mins on MARTA from downtown Atlanta. Then you will need to take a taxi or walk for about 30 minutes to reach the fair. Without sidewalks it isn’t an ideal place to walk, but with the amount of traffic outside of the festival, you might almost be faster walking!

Although the festival is outside of the perimeter (OTP), this huge multi weekend faire is one of the best Atlanta spring festivals. You can find Renaissance Festivals around the country. Georgia’s is on par with the other big ones around the country. As a traveler I love exploring new worlds. While I am able to visit a lot of different places, it’s a unique experience to travel back in time! You’ll be transported to the medieval ages as soon as you step through the entrance and enter the 16th century village!

One of my favorite parts is all of the shows (which are included in the price of admission). There are a lot of hilarious and impressive acts that perform several times a day. The food is really good, but pricey and cash only. Bring your own water bottle with you. A variety of shops and artisans are located in the wooden buildings. Other activities and games can be found throughout the grounds. While many can be watched for free, you need to pay extra to participate.

Every weekend is a different theme. Dress up for that weekend’s theme or wear a classic Renaissance outfit. So many people dress up that you stand out more if you don’t dress up! There’s so much to see and do at the festival, but people watching is a great activity by itself.

There’s no wifi and cell service is very spotty. I personally love how this forces people to be present and enjoy the experience. Make sure to take a screenshot of your digital ticket beforehand.

Inman Park Festival: April 25th – 27th, 2025

There are so many things to do in Atlanta in April. The Inman Park Festival is a highlight. I look forward to the home tours every year. It is so exciting to finally go inside the homes I pass on my walks in the neighborhood. Every year different homes are included on the tour, but they always include some of the historic Victorian style homes.

The festival has so much going on throughout the weekend. The parade has to be the longest, quirkiest, and best in Atlanta. Multiple stages have a packed music schedule. The dance shows in the Trolley Barn showcase the best of the local dance community. The streets are filled with food vendors and local artist booths.

Inman Park Festival is definitely one of the best spring festivals in Atlanta. If you want to see, do, and eat it all you’ll want to spend the whole weekend in Inman Park. Everything except the tour of homes and your personal purchases are free.

Druid Hills Home & Garden Tour: May 2nd – 4th,, 2025

The Druid Hills festival is primarily a tour of homes. While there are typically a few food vendors and art vendors in Olmsted Linear Park, there isn’t the extent of activities that you’ll find at other Atlanta spring festivals.

The main focus is touring the homes, which is honestly a dream come true for me! I love all the walkable neighborhoods in Atlanta with beautiful homes. I can’t count the number of times I tell someone or say to myself that I would sure like to go inside of them.

Druid Hills isn’t quite as walkable as other in-town neighborhoods and the houses are set back from the streets more. It was a little more difficult to visit the houses on foot, but it also added to the surprise when visiting each house. The houses are gigantic. Who knew there were so many backyard pools!?

Jane’s Walk: May 2nd – 4th, 2025

Most of the Atlanta spring festivals are unique to the city. Jane Walks is a global festival that takes place in cities across the world. The festival began in 2006 in honor of Jane Jacobs. Although the author and journalist was not a formally trained city planner she is most known for her urban activism. Her ideas on city planning, communities, and walkable neighborhoods are at the heart of her most famous book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

The first weekend of May is when Jane Walks take place. Citizens in many cities lead free walks on a variety of topics in connection to Jane’s ideas. While this festival isn’t specific to Atlanta, Atlanta is one of the best cities to go on Jane Walks. During college I took a class that involved urban planning and reading Jane’s book. As an education major it wasn’t connected to my post college career of a teacher, but now as a travel blogger it is something I think about a lot as I travel around the world. In Atlanta especially I’m often appreciating the mixed-use development. At the same time I’m loving the walkable neighborhoods, but pondering why people don’t walk here more.

Atlanta’s Jane Walks are different every year, but they are a great way to learn more about the city’s planning, history, neighborhoods, and art. The tours put so much into perspective that I think about as I walk around the city. For example the transformation of corner stores to big box grocery stores which hinders the walkability of the city. Pictured above is one of the few remaining corner stores. This one in Summerhill is and has been some sort of grocery store for decades.

BeltLine Lantern Parade: May 3rd, 2025

If you know me, you know I hate being asked “what’s your favorite……”. I find I can have a good time almost anywhere. I was expecting to enjoy the lantern parade, but it exceeded my expectations. From the first year in 2010 with 400 participants to recent years with tens of thousands of participants and viewers, it’s such a cool event!

The annual lantern parade takes place on the Westside BeltLine trail. The parade begins with the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons and their huge puppet lanterns. Several live bands also kick off the start of the parade. Then anyone with their own lantern can join the fun.

If you want to walk in the parade you need to have a lantern. In the weeks leading up to the parade there are lantern workshops available. I made one with the free, provided materials at the BeltLine Marketplace before the parade. You do need to bring your own light to put inside the lantern. I was so proud of my lantern with it’s strips and dots in a pattern. Little did I know that people go all out with their homemade or workshop lanterns. People are so creative! There were some amazing family and group lantern themes. A family dressed as Alice in Wonderland and each had their own themed lantern. Another group of friends each held a leg of a giant octopus.

The parade draws a large crowd, both for walking in the parade and spectating. The route is less than a mile, but it takes over an hour with the amount of people. It was a lot of fun being in the parade. While it’s amusing to watch the viewers exclaim over all the lanterns in the parade, you don’t see all the lanterns like you would if you were watching from the sidelines.

Luckily the evening ends with a big party of music and giant puppets which provides an opportunity to see more people’s creations!

Kirkwood Spring Fling: May 17th, 2025

One of the best things to do in Atlanta in May is attend the Kirkwood Spring Fling. This annual festival takes place in and around Bessie Branham Park.

My favorite part was the tour of homes. There are around 7 homes on tour. The homes are scattered around the neighborhood. You are required to start at the first home and then can go in any order. It wasn’t ideal as the first home was in the middle of the neighborhood. I put in over 12 miles visiting all of the homes in one afternoon! With all the back and forth the locations and set-up weren’t ideal, but visiting the houses was great. Many of the homes on tour are historic homes that are now renovated. Compared to other neighborhood tour of homes, most of the owners were present in their homes and very welcoming. Some even provided drinks and snacks! Not to mention the one house that hired a drag queen for the event!

The festival isn’t as big as other springs festivals in Atlanta. With a 5k, food vendors, live music, arts vendors, and kids activities there still is plenty to do. It’s nice that it isn’t quite as crowded too.

Old Fourth Ward Spring Arts Festival: May 31st – June 1st, 2025

The Old Forth Ward Springs Arts Festival is much smaller than many of the other spring festivals in Atlanta. Smaller doesn’t always mean not as good though. The other festivals like Dogwood Festival and Inman Park have a lot more art, but they also are quite crowded affairs. It can be very slow going from one art booth to another. At the Old Fourth Ward Spring Arts Festival you can really check out the art up close at your own pace.

In 2024 there were only two food trucks, a snow cone truck, and a bar tent. The festival takes place in Old Fourth Ward Historic Park just south of Ponce City Market so there are plenty of other places to eat nearby. Music was playing when I was there both times, but not any live music or live entertainment.

If you’re visiting Atlanta, it’s not a festival to plan your trip around, but if you are in the area it’s nice to take a stroll through the park.

More Spring Festivals in Atlanta

Spring festivals in Atlanta will keep you very busy! Here’s some more to add to your calendar this year. Check the full Atlanta festival guide for more information about the following festivals.

Atlanta Brunch Fest: March 1st, 2nd & 8th, 2025
Atlanta Science Festival: March 8th – 22nd, 2025
Spring Festival on Ponce: April 5th – 6th, 2025
Ilumine at Oakland Cemetery: April 17th – 20th & 24th – 27th, 2025
Sweetwater 420 Festival: April 18th – 20th, 2025
Atlanta Film Festival: April 24th – May 4th, 2025
Atlanta Oyster Festival: April 26th, 2025
Decatur Arts Festival: May 2nd – 4th, 2025
Georgia State Fair: May 9th – 18th, 2025
Sweet Auburn SpringFest: May 10th – 11th, 2025
Chastain Park Spring Arts Festival: May 10th – 11th, 2025
Virginia Highland Porchfest: May 17th, 2025
MoMoCon: May 22nd – 25th, 2025
Atlanta Caribbean Carnival: May 24th, 2025
Atlanta Jazz Festival: May 25th – 27th, 2025

I hope you enjoy the spring festivals in Atlanta as much as I do! If this post helped you plan your time in Atlanta please consider showing your thanks by Buying Me a Coffee!

Spring Festivals in Atlanta That Belong on Your Calendar