NINETY YEARS IN BLOOM: ATLANTA’S OLDEST FESTIVAL RETURNS TO THE SOUTH’S MOST STORIED URBAN PARK

NINETY YEARS IN BLOOM: ATLANTA’S OLDEST FESTIVAL RETURNS TO

THE SOUTH’S MOST STORIED URBAN PARK

The 90th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival, April 10–12 in Piedmont Park, marks a century of culture — and a

Midtown neighborhood whose median home value has rewritten what “intown living” means in the American

South

ATLANTA — March 29, 2026 — Every spring, Atlanta does something that no press release can adequately

capture: it blooms. The dogwood trees — native, white, and stubbornly timed to the first warm weeks of April

— ignite all at once across Midtown’s streets, and Piedmont Park transforms into the most beautiful outdoor

gallery in the South. This spring, that transformation comes with a milestone. The Atlanta Dogwood Festival

celebrates its 90th year, returning to Piedmont Park April 10–12, 2026, and bringing with it over 260 nationally

juried artists, live music, international performers, the beloved Kids Village, and more than 200,000 Atlantans

ready to call spring official.

For Shawn Morgan, Seven-Time Top Producer and Intown Atlanta Specialist with Compass Atlanta, the festival

is more than a weekend on the calendar. It is a lens through which to understand what makes Midtown one of

the most compelling real estate markets in the country — and why the ground beneath Piedmont Park is worth

knowing.

A Festival Born From Vision — and a Department Store Legend

Most Atlantans don’t know that the Atlanta Dogwood Festival was not created by a city department or a civic

association. It was created in 1936 by Walter Rich — the founder of Rich’s Department Store, the man behind

the legendary Pink Pig Christmas tradition, and one of Atlanta’s most visionary civic leaders. Rich looked at

the tens of thousands of dogwood trees that garden clubs had planted across Atlanta’s neighborhoods and saw

what no one else did: a brand. He wanted the dogwood to mean Atlanta the way cherry blossoms mean

Washington, D.C. He wanted the world to come here for it.

The first festival opened April 19, 1936, and ran for an entire week. It grew over the decades to include

everything from hot air balloon races and regattas at Lake Lanier to Grammy-winning artists performing in the

Piedmont Park meadow. Today, the juried Artist Market draws more than 750 applicants competing for 260

spots — making it one of the most selective fine arts festivals in the country. The festival’s annual economic

impact on Atlanta exceeds $50 million. It paused during World War II and again during the pandemic, but it

always returned. Because this is Atlanta, and Atlanta always returns.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | April 10–12, 2026 | Piedmont Park, Atlanta

Shawn Morgan • Compass Atlanta • 404-844-9086 • shawnmorgan@compass.com

This year’s 90th anniversary makes it official: the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is the oldest annual event in the

city and the third-oldest fine arts festival in the nation. Ninety years of art, music, community, and bloom.