Atlanta’s 142nd St. Patrick’s Parade returns to Midtown

Atlanta’s 142nd St. Patrick’s Parade steps off at noon Saturday, March 14, along a mile-long route on Peachtree Street from 15th Street to 5th Street in Midtown. The event is the longest-running public event in Atlanta history.

More than 100 units are expected to participate, including floats, marching bands, bagpipe and drum corps, Irish dancers and community organizations. This year’s parade will also feature Patrick O’Donovan, Ireland’s minister for culture, communications and sport.

Irish Network Atlanta has organized the parade since 2018, when it took over from the Hibernian Benevolent Society of Atlanta, which founded the event in 1858. The organization cites the economic relationship between Ireland and Georgia as part of the parade’s broader significance, noting that more than 20 Irish companies operate roughly 80 facilities across the state, employing approximately 6,800 Georgians.

A 5K run/walk through Midtown precedes the parade, beginning at 9:45 a.m. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation will also host a head-shaving fundraiser for childhood cancer awareness immediately before the parade steps off. Colony Square’s Luck of the Square festival begins at 1 p.m.

— Derek Prall

Georgia Trust announces 2026 Spring Ramble in Marietta, Smyrna 

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation announced its annual Spring Ramble will take place on Apr. 24-26 at some of Marietta and Smyrna’s “finest private residences” and historic landmarks. 

So-called “ramblers” will be able to take tours and explore private homes and historic sites that aren’t always open to the public. On Friday, the ramble will head to five National Register Historic Districts in Marietta. 

Saturday will take ramblers to the Kennesaw Avenue Historic District, with late 19th and early 20th century architecture including 1883 Victorian home Turnbull Manor, built for the Brumby family. 

Then, Sunday will make a first for the ramble as it ventures into Smyrna. For the city’s inaugural ramble, visitors will be able to visit homes in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District, including the private Miller’s House rarely open to the public. 

Ramblers will also be able to dine among history, with dinner and cocktails at Whitlock Inn, breakfast at the Strand Theater, a meal at Fair Oaks and a Sunday Brunch at historic Reed House to end the weekend. 

Registration and tickets are available now. 

— Delaney Tarr

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta raises nearly $500,000 at annual gala, honors three with leadership awards

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta raised close to $500,000 at its Night of a Million Dreams gala, held March 8 at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta. Proceeds are designated to support programming for girls across economic backgrounds, including camp attendance, career exploration and badge-based skills development.

The event included presentation of the organization’s Dream Forward Award to three recipients. Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was recognized for her decades of public service and civic leadership, including receipt of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. NBC correspondent Blayne Alexander, a four-time Emmy Award-nominated journalist, was honored for her coverage of public health, racial justice and politics, as well as volunteer work with youth affected by poverty. Amy Vassey, a Girl Scout volunteer for more than 60 years, was recognized for her role as a Service Unit Director in Fayette County, Ga., where she has overseen recruitment, training and program delivery reaching an estimated 10,000 girls.

GSGATL cited national data indicating funding for women’s and girls’ organizations represents less than 3 percent of total philanthropic giving, and noted that about 800,000 girls in the metro Atlanta area are affected by poverty.

— Derek Prall

Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation names Sterling Johnson senior program officer for Atlanta’s Westside

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has named Sterling Johnson as senior program officer for Atlanta’s Westside, effective March 9. Johnson succeeds Tolton Pace in the role.

In his new position, Johnson will oversee the foundation’s active Westside grants, develop new grants for the area and serve as the foundation’s primary liaison to Westside partners and organizations.

Johnson previously served as director of Just Opportunity at Partnership for Southern Equity, where he focused on economic inclusion across the Southeast, including Atlanta. His connection to the Blank Foundation spans more than two decades — in 2002, he participated in the foundation’s High School Summer Youth Intern program, where he was assigned to the Morehouse College National Youth Sports Program.

— Derek Prall

Georgia Rivers announces slate of spring paddling and fishing trips across the state

Georgia Rivers, a statewide river advocacy organization, has announced a series of spring canoe, kayak and fishing excursions at locations across Georgia, with trips running from mid-March through early May.

The schedule opens March 13-15 with a weekend of creek paddling on Ebenezer Creek and Brier Creek in the Savannah River basin. The outing includes stops at the oldest church in Georgia at New Ebenezer and the Revolutionary War Brier Creek Battlefield Site. An April 10-12 trip takes participants through portions of the Okefenokee Swamp and the St. Marys River, with camping at Traders Hill Campground in Folkston. On April 24-26, the organization returns to coastal Georgia for a trip on the Ogeechee River near the historic Savannah-Ogeechee Canal. A May 1-3 outing on the Chattahoochee River south of Atlanta will use newly completed paddle-in campsites in Chattahoochee Hills.

The organization is also offering kayak fishing classes, beginning March 28 at Lake Allatoona near Cartersville, followed by an April 18 session on the Chestatee River near Dahlonega.

Registration fees range from $75 to $390. Scholarships are available for women, people of color, recent immigrants and low-income individuals and families. Most trips are open to beginners.

Registration is also open for Paddle Georgia 2026, a seven-day, 95-mile journey June 14-20 on the Cartecay, Coosawattee and Oostanaula rivers. Details are available here.

— Derek Prall

Berkmar High School to represent Georgia at national culinary competition in Baltimore

Berkmar High School won both the culinary and foodservice management divisions at the 2026 Georgia ProStart Invitational, held March 4 in Duluth, and will represent the state at the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, April 24-26.

Seven Georgia high school teams competed in the statewide event, which is supported by the Georgia Restaurant Association. Meadowcreek High School placed second in both divisions. Berkmar’s Team B finished third in each category.

The Berkmar culinary team included students Joseph Boi, Miranda Castillo, Marisol Gutierrez, Vanessa Martinez and Paola Silverio, with Preston Gouge serving as chef and culinary instructor and Karen Brenker as culinary school specialist. The management team included Perla Avalos, Ayla Hall, Mikeala Heard, Jesse Silva and Eivan Tamez, with Brenker also serving in an advisory role.

Christopher Webber of Alpharetta High School was named the 2026 Georgia ProStart Teacher of the Year. Noah Butler of Meadowcreek High School received the 2026 ProStart Student of the Year award, presented by Coca-Cola, along with a scholarship to the college of his choice.

At the national competition, Berkmar will join more than 400 students from across the country competing for nearly $200,000 in scholarships. Culinary teams prepare a three-course meal in 60 minutes, while management teams present an original restaurant concept to industry judges.

— Derek Prall

Dad’s Garage opens season 27 of improv serial ‘Scandal!’ with restaurant-themed storyline

Dad’s Garage Theatre in Atlanta has launched the 27th season of its long-running improvised serial drama, “Scandal!,” with a new installment titled “The Bare,” a comedic take on the world of professional kitchens inspired by FX’s drama “The Bear.”

The show follows a head chef who leaves a corporate chain restaurant called WTFridays to open a fine-dining concept in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Each weekly episode unfolds through unscripted performance, with the ensemble cast navigating kitchen conflicts, staff dysfunction and the pressures of running an independent restaurant.

Kevin Gillese, who plays the head chef, also serves as a driving creative force behind the production. “This show is a love letter to ‘The Bear,’ and a hate letter to working in a kitchen,” Gillese said.

“Scandal!” is a signature format at Dad’s Garage, in which a cast of improvisers builds a continuing narrative over the course of a season, with characters, storylines and running jokes developing from week to week. The format has drawn a dedicated following over its nearly three decades at the theater.

— Derek Prall

YMCA of Metro Atlanta installs historical marker at birthplace of U.S. youth soccer

The YMCA of Metro Atlanta has unveiled a historical marker at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, designating the site as the origin of organized YMCA youth soccer in the United States.

Installed on the Seminary’s soccer fields, the marker commemorates a 1967 partnership between the YMCA of Metro Atlanta and the Atlanta Chiefs, the city’s first professional sports team, which introduced structured youth soccer clinics and leagues at the site. What began as informal sessions between Chiefs players and local children grew within a few years to thousands of participants and is credited with helping spread organized youth soccer across the YMCA Movement nationwide. Decatur Family YMCA leagues continue to play on the Seminary fields today.

A ceremony marking the installation brought together YMCA leaders, community members and young athletes. Attendees included YMCA of Metro Atlanta President and CEO Lauren Koontz, Gas South CEO Kevin Greiner and Columbia Seminary President Victor Aloyo.

“Organized youth soccer in the United States started right here with the YMCA,” Koontz said, noting that clinics at the Decatur site grew into a national movement.

— Derek Prall

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