Fourth of July Parade, Festival, and Fireworks

Marietta Fireworks

Come out and celebrate America’s independence as the City of Marietta hosts the 2011 Fourth in the Park celebration beginning on Monday, July 4, 2011 at 10am. The Independence Day celebration begins with the Marietta Freedom Parade that starts at Roswell Street Baptist Church and ends at North Marietta Parkway (click here for a parade map – PDF). After the parade there will be free live concerts and entertainment, museum tours, food, arts and crafts, carnival games, and of course fireworks.

2011 Schedule:
10am – Marietta Freedom Parade
Noon – Scott Thompson (country) in Concert
2pm – National Bell Ringing
2:15pm – Parade Awards Ceremony
8pm – Thompson Square (country) in Concert
Dark – Fireworks

Rain date:
Tuesday, July 5, 2011

The parade spans a 1.5 mile route beginning at Roswell Street Baptist Church and heads west on Roswell St, then north on East Park Square through Marietta Square, then down Cherokee Street and finishing at North Marietta Parkway. The parade features more than two thousand participants in more than one hundred entries, and there will be an estimated thirty thousand people in attendance. Watch as local businesses, civic organizations, beauty queens, bands, scouts, National Guard, and numerous floats participate and compete for prizes based on design, color, theme, appearance, originality, and riders and costumes.

The Arts and Crafts show features more than eighty different vendors showcasing a wide variety of products. The vendors will be open from 10am to 9pm on July 4th, 2011.

Food will be available from a variety of concessions beginning at 10am. Marietta Square restaurants will also be open for business.

Carnival games are available throughout the park at Marietta Square from 10am-9pm; tickets for games available at booths located throughout the park.

Fireworks light up the sky and patriotic music fills the air at dark.

For more information, please call the Marietta Parks and Recreation department at (770) 794-5601.

Marietta Square Decorated with American Flags

2012 Taste of Marietta

Taste of Marietta Vendors

The 2012 Taste of Marietta takes place on Sunday, April 29 from 11am to 7pm. The 19th annual event takes place in the historic Marietta Square and features over eighty restaurants and caterers showcasing their best food. Tastes range in price from just $0.50 to $4.50. In addition, there are five live music stages and a sunset concert on the Main Stage in Glover Park. The event also features games for the kids in the Kid’s Alley, a sports corner as well as a cooking stage with celebrity cheifs’ cooking demonstrations. The Taste of Marietta takes place rain or shine, and admission is free.

Also, don’t forget to bring some canned goods to help feed the hungry in Marietta. MUST Ministries is having a food drive with a drop off booth to help stock their food pantry.

Date and Time:

Sunday, April 29, 2012 from 11am to 7pm.

Cost:

Admission to the event is free, tastes range from $0.50 to $4.50 each. Unlike other festivals, tickets are not required and it is a cash-based festival. ATM machines are available. Inflatables/moonwalks in the kids corner are also available for a fee.

2011 Schedule (2012 schedule will be added as soon as it is announced)

11am

  • Kicks 101.5 Food Court Opens
  • Kids Alley opens
  • Sports Corner opens

11am-1pm

  • 3 Way Street performs on the Main Stage

Noon-2pm

  • GLOW performs on the South Park Stage

1:00-5:00

  • Men in Blues performs on the West Park Stage

3pm

  • Announcement of Food Awards on the Main Stage

3pm-5pm

  • Hoosier Daddy performs on the South Park Stage
  • Hurricane Wilson performs on the East Park Stage

5pm-7pm

  • Sunset Concert featuring Banks and Shane on the Main Stage in Glover Park

Parking:

The Cobb County Parking Deck (enter from Waddell Street), all county court lots, and the Mill Street lot are available. The county parking deck and the Mill Street lot are free, county court lots are privately owned and parking fees may apply.

Cobb County Parking Deck
Waddell Street entrance
Hansell St NW & Waddell St NE
Marietta, GA 30090

Mill Street Parking Lot
Mill St & Denmead St NE
Marietta, GA 30060

Additional parking is available at Marietta Middle School with free shuttles provided by the Historic Marietta Trolley from 1pm-7:30pm.

Marietta Middle School
121 Winn Street
Marietta, GA 30064-2255

Festival Address:
Taste of Marietta
Historic Marietta Square and Glover Park
50 Park Square
Marietta, GA 30060

More information:

For more information, contact the Marietta Welcome Center & Visitors Bureau at (770) 429-1115.

Restaurant and food vendors can call Rhonda Dixon at (770) 429-1115.

Sponsors, non-food vendors and media can call Maryclaire Andres at (404) 388-6975.

2010 Taste of Marietta in Marietta Square

Taste of Marietta Sports Corner

Taste of Marietta Food

Taste of Marietta Kids Zone

About Taste of Marietta:
Taste of Marietta is an annual food festival that takes place on the last Sunday in April. Attracting over 100,000 people last year, it is the longest running and largest food festival in Cobb County. The event takes place in historic Marietta Square and also includes live entertainment, a kids alley, a sports corner, as well as close proximity to the numerous shops and museums in the surrounding square.

2011 Taste of Marietta is over, see you in 2012!

Strand Auditioning for Motown Tribute


The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is holding auditions on May 3 and 5 by appointment only for a musical revue called “A Tribute to Motown.” Performers must be between the ages of 17 and 35, able to sing, dance, and have the ability to learn quickly, and must attend all show rehearsals which will begin June 13. The show will run July 1 through 4 of 2011.

Those auditioning are asked to bring a resume, a headshot, and come dressed to move. Each participant must prepare a 30 second CD cut of a Motown song or be ready to perform a cappella. No ipods or live accompaniment permitted. Performers that are cast will receive a small stipend.

Call The Strand Box Office at (770) 293-0080 to schedule an audition. The Box Office is open from 9 a.m.-12 noon and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Date:
May 3rd 6-9pm
May 5th 6-9pm

Address:
117 North Park Square
Marietta, GA 30060

For more information, please call (770) 293-0080.

Marietta Bluegrass Festival

The Marietta Bluegrass Festival takes place on November 13 and 14, 2009 at Jim Miller Park.

Show Times
Friday: 6 pm-11 pm
Saturday: Noon-10:30 pm

Band Schedule:
Barbed Wire, The Piatt Family of TN, Miller’s Creek of SC, The J. Max McKee Family of NC, and from GA The Suggins Brothers, Counterpoint, the Jot Em Down Boys, Papa’s Prayer, Bluegrass Five, Dehlia Low of NC, The Horne Family Band, Ramblin Grass and more.

Friday, Nov. 7, 2008
6:00 The Horn Family Band
6:50 J Max McKee
7:40 Millers Creek
8:30 Ramblin Grass
9:20 Suggins Brothers
10:10 Deliah Low

Saturday Nov 8, 2008
12:10 Suzuki Fiddlers
12:30 Papa’s Prayer
1.20 Piatt Family
2:10 Barbed Wire
3:00 Deliah Low
3:50 Bluegrass Five
4:40 Jot Em Down Boys
5:30 Piatt Family
6:20 Barbed Wire
7:10 J Max McKee
8:00 Suggins Brothers
8:50 Counterpoint
9:40 Millers Creek

Tickets:
Friday: $10
Saturday: $12
Weekend: $20
Children under 12 FREE

Address:
Jim Miller Park
2245 Callaway Road
Marietta, GA 30008

For information, call (770) 961-5974

The Elephant Man @ The Strand

Elephant Man PosterThe Earl Smith Strand Theatre and talented local high school actors are teaming up to present the theatre’s first student produced show this July: Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man.

The Elephant Man is based on the life of Joseph Merrick, a man who lived in London during the Victorian era and was known for his severe physical deformities. The play traces Merrick’s emotional struggles through his experiences as a circus sideshow attraction and his attempts to overcome his horrific appearance.

“We are thrilled to be producing The Elephant Man at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre this summer,” says Director Robert Adams. “It won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Play and it remains an important work of theatre and represents an exciting challenge for these young Cobb County actors.”

Dates:
Saturday, July 18 at 2pm
Saturday, July 18 at 8pm
Sunday, July 19 at 2pm
Sunday, July 19 at 9pm

Admission:
$12

Address:
117 North Park Square
Marietta, GA 30060

For more information, please call (770) 293-0080.

Steel Magnolias @ The Strand

Steel Magnolias at the Strand in Marietta

The Mount Paran Players are presenting Steel Magnolias at The Strand as a benefit for MUST Ministries August 14-16. The 1987 play, which went on to become a Broadway success in 2005, revolves around the close friendships of six women in a small Louisiana parish who gather at Truvy’s Beauty Parlor. The ladies discuss everything from men to religion to the serious decision that could result in one friend’s death. The play was made into a movie in 1989 with an all-star cast including Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, and Shirley MacLaine.

Tickets:
$18

VIP Tickets:
A $75 VIP ticket is available for Saturday’s showing and includes heavy hors d’oeuvres in The Strand’s top level event space and roof top terrace at 6:30 PM, the show at 8 PM, and a “Meet The Cast Dessert Reception” after the show.

Date:
Aug 14, 15 @ 8 PM, Aug 16 @ 3 PM

Address:
Earl Smith Strand Theatre
117 North Park Square
Marietta, GA 30060

Parking:
Marietta Square or Cobb County parking garage off of Wadell Street

For more information, call (770) 293-0080.

Secrets of a Soccer Mom

Secrets of a Soccer Mom – Now through March 1, 2009.

Performance Times:
Tuesday – Saturday, 8pm
Sunday, 2:30 and 7pm
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2:30pm
*No Sunday 7 pm show on Sunday, March 1

Ticket Prices:
$22, Tuesday – Thursday 8pm and Sunday 7pm
$27, Friday 8pm and Sunday 2:30pm
$33, Saturday 8pm
$18, Wednesday matinee 2:30pm (Feb. 25)
$11, previews (Jan. 18 – 7 pm & Jan. 20 – 8 pm)

Theatre in the Square
11 Whitlock Avenue
Marietta, GA 30064
(770) 422-8369