North Atlanta Weekend Guide: Festivals, Dogs, Live Music and the First Feel of Fall

The third weekend of September arrives with one of the busiest local calendars of the early fall season. From Suwanee’s signature festival and a 60-year Roswell tradition to a dog-centered afternoon in Johns Creek, live music in Alpharetta and a full Saturday at Cumming City Center, Sept. 19 and 20 offer plenty of reasons to stay close to home.

Suwanee Fest Takes Over Town Center Park

Suwanee Fest is the largest destination on this weekend’s calendar, returning to Town Center Park for two days. The festival begins Saturday at 9 a.m. with its traditional parade and continues with more than 100 vendors and exhibitors, food, live entertainment, rides, inflatables and a family fun zone. Saturday runs until 7 p.m.; the festival returns Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Suwanee

This year’s “Once Upon a Suwanee Fest” theme gives the parade and children’s activities a storybook flavor. For families coming from Johns Creek, Duluth or Sugar Hill, this is the kind of event that can easily fill most of a day rather than serving as a quick stop.

Johns Creek Gives the Afternoon to the Dogs

Newtown Park will belong partly to four-legged residents Saturday as Johns Creek hosts Pup-A-Palooza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, and the event includes pet-related vendors, music, dog treats and contests for best dressed dog and best dog trick.

Johns Creek

The event is held around the Mark Burkhalter Amphitheater at 3150 Old Alabama Road, making it an easy choice for Johns Creek families looking for something casual that does not require committing the entire day.

Cumming City Center Packs Saturday From Morning to Night

South Forsyth residents could spend nearly all of Saturday at Cumming City Center without running out of things to do. The Cumming Farmers Market opens at 8 a.m., followed by the City Center’s fifth annual Fall Market from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The free market is expected to bring more than 100 local vendors along with food trucks, live entertainment and a kids zone.

The evening then shifts to music. Excitable, an Atlanta-based Def Leppard tribute band, takes the Lou Sobh Amphitheater stage from 8 to 10 p.m.

Families with younger children have another City Center option Sunday. Slide into Sundays runs from noon to 5 p.m. with bounce houses, water slides, games and activities. Unlimited bouncing is listed at $10.

Cumming City Center

Alpharetta Starts With the Market and Ends Under the Stars

Downtown Alpharetta’s Saturday begins with the Alpharetta Farmers Market from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Town Green, putting produce, baked goods and local vendors in the middle of a downtown already built for lingering over lunch or coffee afterward.

Saturday night brings several music choices. Under the Stars at Brooke Street Park opens its gates at 6 p.m., with music beginning at 8. The season finale features Head Games, a Foreigner tribute band. The event is ticketed and table reservations are required.

The Alpharetta Arts Center also hosts an Eclectic Lawn Concert Saturday evening, while NEEDTOBREATHE brings its Long Surrender Tour to Ameris Bank Amphitheatre at 7 p.m.

Awesome Alpharetta

College football will also be easy to find. Avalon plans complimentary outdoor screenings Saturday, including Georgia-Arkansas at noon, Alabama-Florida State at 4 p.m. and Notre Dame-Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s schedule shifts to the NFL, with Falcons-Panthers at 1 p.m. and Commanders-Cowboys at 4 p.m. Seating in the Plaza is first come, first served.

Experience Avalon

Roswell Marks 60 Years of Its Arts Festival

Roswell has one of the weekend’s longest-running traditions. The Roswell Arts Festival celebrates its 60th year Saturday and Sunday at Roswell City Hall, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Roswell365.com

Sunday also brings a decidedly autumnal alternative at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Back to Your Roots Farm Fair runs from noon to 4 p.m. with live farm animals, hands-on activities, games, crafts, Unity Garden activities and programs connecting food, farming and nature. The event is included with general admission and free for members, with advance registration recommended.

Chattahoochee Nature Center

For a quieter close to the weekend, Roswell’s Sundays in the Park concert begins at Town Square at 5:30 p.m. and runs until 7 p.m.

A Weekend That Already Feels Like Fall

The calendar still says September, and North Atlanta is not quite into peak pumpkin-and-jacket season. But this weekend looks like the unofficial beginning of the fall event stretch: outdoor markets in Cumming and Alpharetta, arts in Roswell, a major community festival in Suwanee and an afternoon built around dogs in Johns Creek.

That also means some of the most popular destinations will be busier than on an ordinary Saturday. Suwanee Fest, downtown Alpharetta and the Roswell Arts Festival are the places where arriving earlier rather than later may make the day easier.