Full moon Friday!
July 23—Busy week at HQ - Chad Radford here, and there's a full moon tonight, so let's get you up to speed.
⛅ Today will be partly cloudy with a high of 90°. It's hot again! 🥵 What summer in Atlanta is usually all about. Almost no rain this weekend.
😷 Like the temperature (and the humidity), the Delta variant is on the rise. On Thursday, Atlanta Public Schools announced a mask mandate for all students and employees for the upcoming school year, which begins on Aug. 5.
APS said they will continue to offer weekly COVID-19 surveillance testing and COVID-19 vaccines to students and staff. Read the full statement as well as how other metro area schools are dealing. It's kinda all over the place.
💉 Yesterday, Slate published "The New COVID Panic," which spells out that "we’re not as close to the 'end' of the pandemic as it seemed. COVID cases are spiking in many parts of the U.S., especially places like Missouri and Arkansas, which are lagging behind in vaccination rates and experiencing severe outbreaks fueled by the Delta variant."
🇫🇷 And then there's France.
❤️ In more uplifting news, we have told you before about Brandon P. Fleming and the work he does with the Harvard Diversity Project, helping Atlanta-area students use debate to overcome challenges.
This week, the program made more history when Jayla Jackson (Holy Innocents' Episcopal School) and Emani Stanton (North Atlanta High School) became the first ever Black girl duo to win the Harvard international debate competition.
🚇 Today, from noon-2 p.m. at King Memorial station, MARTA’s public art program, Artbound, and experimental art company Dashboard are celebrating the transformation of the Grant Street tunnel. Reflection Tunnel features a 20,000-piece art activation by Adam Bostic and interactive oral histories of the surrounding neighborhoods by Scott Morris from Historic Atlanta.
🚴 As reported in Urbanize Atlanta, the Eastside BeltLine will soon widen high-traffic areas of the trail by four feet between Krog Street Market and Piedmont Park. A two-foot-wide shoulder will be added to both sides of the trail. The Eastside trail is also getting a new access point at Ponce de Leon Avenue. An ADA-accessible ramp will be installed on the north side of Ponce, connecting the Midtown Place shopping center and the trail.
🎩 At an Atlanta mayoral forum on Wednesday, five leading candidates for spoke out against Buckhead breaking off from Atlanta. They also addressed affordable housing and, of course, how to combat crime.
🕖 Today's Draft is six stories. We check in on the Banksy exhibit coming to Underground, visit with Kirk Mellish for our acclaimed "My Top 5 Something," and we take you to East Point. Plus, our Friday Sports Section looks at the Olympics which are starting today.
Have a great weekend! See you Monday.
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1. Exit thru Underground
💣 “The Art of Banksy: Without Limits,” an exhibit featuring more than 150 certificated original works, reproductions of Banksy’s famed graffiti, photos, sculptures, murals, installations, and a video mapping show created specifically for this run is coming to Underground Atlanta Sept. 3 to Jan. 9.
Originally slated for the Westside Cultural Arts Center, promoters changed venues due to overwhelming interest. Promoter Martin Biallas says that more than 20,000 tickets have already sold. He expects 100,000 people to see the show before it closes.
“Without Limits” has already generated controversy, some by the anonymous British street artist himself.
Banksy has disavowed similar shows, but Biallas says he is working with Pest Control, the only authorized authenticator of Banksy’s work, to ensure the exhibition doesn’t fall afoul with the artist.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Banksy’s work is that his identity has remained a secret for 30 years. Some speculate that he is artist Robin Gunningham. Others suspect he is Robert Del Naja of the band Massive Attack.
The anonymity only heightens the mystique.
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2. My Top 5 Something: Kirk Mellish
🌤 After 30+ years on Atlanta’s News & Talk 95.5 WSB, Kirk Mellish’s last day on the air is next Friday, July 30.
For three decades, Mellish has been Atlanta’s only full-time radio meteorologist, known for his “Mellish Meter,” and for training listeners that “when the weather is hellish, depend on Mellish.”
The Chicago native and North Cobb resident will continue weather blogging for WSB and posting timely highlights on Twitter.
In honor of his retirement, we asked Mellish for his Top 5 Something, and he wanted to tell us about the live music scene in Atlanta’s northwest suburbs, which he says has exploded.
Here are Kirk Mellish’s Top 5 Favorite OTP Places to See Live Local Music:
5. SuBourbon Bar and Social Club, Kennesaw: This place has an off-beat decor and the clientele matches with a dive bar/biker bar vibe at times. The food choices are minimal with a raw oyster bar and pizza, but free peanuts (with shells thrown to the ground) are a fun throwback. The bar scene is strong for beer and cocktail selections.
4. Center Street Tavern, Acworth: This long-time staple of the area in an historic old hardware store is a fun and relaxed place with solid food choices, a nice bar, an outdoor deck area, and good bands and acoustic acts on the weekends. Brunch on Sundays.
3. Dixie Tavern, Marietta: Old school music and beer joint. Small cover charge some nights. Large stage and large space for customers.
2. (TIE) Rootstock and Vine, and Pure Taqueria, Woodstock: When the music is good, the rooftop views and fine people watching make for a lovely evening. Rootstock has mostly small plates and specialty desserts, but has upped its game lately. It's a low-key place for wine and whiskey lovers to unwind. Pure has a younger crowd and louder bands, but gets crowded quickly.
1. MadLife Stage and Studios, Woodstock: This music venue is also a working music studio. There are two stages, including a larger, professional arena style stage indoors with dining tables while you watch. Tickets are required for the Main Stage which is often cover bands or acts drawn from Nashville. The free outdoor patio stage features talent from all around Georgia with music all-day Tues.-Sun.
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"My Top 5 Something" is a Friday feature. Know somebody who has an interesting Top 5 Something? Email us and you may see them in an upcoming Friday Rough Draft! Read previous posts here.
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3. The Sports Section
Friday is the day we do sports.
🇯🇵 There will be no shortage of awkward moments in Tokyo as the Olympics sputter to the starting line a year late, desperately trying to avoid being "Lost in Translation."
There has been a decathlon of problems with everything from spectators being barred, athletes getting COVID-19, cardboard beds, and most of the Japanese population wanting them to be canceled.
Nevertheless, the Opening Ceremonies begin today at 7 a.m. ET. Since that's also the time we send this email, you can go watch on NBC now (like, now now) or you can watch in prime time tonight.
Spoiler Alert: the stadium will be empty, and who knows how the show will go since the director got fired this week because of a Holocaust controversy. 🤦
🇬🇷 Atlanta sports fans are MVPs at finding new ways to rationalize our disappointment in order to salve our collective dashed hopes.
This year, Hawks fans can take heart that we lost to the eventual NBA champions, as the Milwaukee Bucks captured their first championship in 50 years on Tuesday night.
In 1971, the Bucks had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lou Alcindor) and Oscar Robertson. This year, they were carried on the broad shoulders of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
His remarkable story is captured in this segment from the PBS Newshour.
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4. Stream this Immediately
Our colleague Collin Kelley checked in on Slack with some streaming recommendations. And when we say recommendations, those are really Numbers 2 and 3 below. Number 1 is more of an order.
1. "Summer of Soul" is a stirring documentary about the nearly forgotten 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which featured a stellar lineup including Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Sly & The Family Stone, 5th Dimension, the Staple Singers, and Mahalia Jackson.
The footage sat in a basement for 50 years until The Roots’ Questlove got this doc together. Mavis Staples and Mahalia duetting on “Take My Hand Precious Lord” is a religious experience, and Nina singing a then brand-new “Young, Gifted, and Black” and "Are You Ready" is worth it alone.
Watch it on Hulu or get thee to a cinema. Preview it w/ Questlove and Terry Gross.
2. And then there’s… "Maude," which is now streaming on Amazon Prime in partnership with IMDb TV, along with other Norman Lear classic sitcoms “All In the Family,” “Good Times,” “One Day at a Time,” “227,” and “Diff’rent Strokes.”
Later this year, “Sanford & Son” and “The Jeffersons” will also be available for your 1970s/’80s nostalgia binge.
3. If you’re a "Star Wars" fan and haven’t been watching “The Bad Batch” on Disney+, you’re missing out on some of the franchise’s best storytelling.
The animated series follows a group of rogue clone troopers and falls into the timeline between "The Clone Wars" and "A New Hope." With appearances by favorite characters like bounty hunters Cad Bane and Fennec Shand, and a young Hera Syndulla, this is prime geek out time.
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5. Your next home may be in East Point
🏠 East Point is a 15-minute (or less) drive from Downtown Atlanta. Or better yet, take the train to the East Point MARTA station, which drops you off right in the heart of the city—two stops away from the airport. It's also in the spotlight of Atlanta Intown's latest Real Estate section.
Downtown Commons is the central gathering spot, playing host to festivals, a farmer's market, live music, and the monthly Wednesday Wind Down block party. More on that below.
Soccer in the Streets created a soccer field across from the MARTA station. Sumner Park is home to the Dick Lane Velodrome—Georgia’s only velodrome—which was used as a training facility during the '96 Olympics. Sykes Park is home to tennis courts and a wooded bike trail, while Georgia Sports Park has pro-quality soccer fields across 100 acres of green space.
Currently, homes range in price from a cute bungalow for around $160,000, to new construction at $300,000+.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that East Point would soon become home to one of its new data centers, which will bring hundreds of new tech jobs to the city.
Catch up on more of the who, what, and why your next home may be in East Point.
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6. Your next concert should be in East Point
🎤 On July 28, Big Gipp, Khujo, CeeLo Green, and T-Mo— better known as Goodie Mob—headline East Point's free, monthly Wednesday Wind Down.
This citywide third Wednesday block party brings a lineup stacked with Southern hip-hop royalty. Pastor Troy, Kilo Ali, and Youngbloodz round out what's sure to be a day for the history books. Goodie Mob is still reeling from the arrival of their sixth album, last year's Survival Kit.
And with so many superstars on the stage, there are bound to be a few surprise guest appearances.
Coastguard the Band gets the party started, playing songs by Tears for Fears, Toto, Boz Scaggs, and more hits from the '70s through the '90s.
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