Decatur, GA — Downtown Decatur will be bustling with people this weekend as the AJC Decatur Book Festival, Amplify Decatur Music Festival and the Decatur Artists Market takeover the city Oct. 1-3.

Amplify Decatur Music Festival 

Amplify Decatur Music Festival is coming to the Square on Friday, Oct. 1, and Saturday, Oct. 2. A free concert will be held on Friday 6 p.m. featuring Shawn Mullins band, Ghoststories and Desmond Champion. The show is general admission only and attendance is capped at 1,999 attendees, according to the Amplify Decatur website.

The Saturday festival will be headlined by the Indigo Girls and will feature John Paul White, Rodney Crowell and Blind Boys of Alabama, The Cactus Blossoms Duo, and Michelle Malone. Indigo Girls will headline the event. The festival will be from 3:30-11 p.m. Tickets are $60 for general admission, $150 for VIP, and $250 for premium VIP.

To purchase tickets, click here.

Amplify Decatur is presented by Lenz and produced in partnership with Eddie’s Attic. All proceeds will be directed to Decatur Cooperative Ministry to help their efforts to prevent and alleviate homelessness in Decatur and DeKalb County.

For the Friday concert, Amplify Decatur is requiring all on-site vendors and volunteers to be vaccinated. Organizers are also requiring all attendees, vendors and volunteers to wear masks. Social distancing will be encouraged, and hand-washing stations will be set up throughout the festival.

For the ticketed festival on Saturday, all attendees must provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of the event. Amplify is partnering with Viral Solutions to offer on-site testing at no charge to ticket holders.

AJC Decatur Book Festival 

This year the AJC Decatur Book Festival will be held all day on Saturday, Oct. 2, at First Baptist Church of Decatur with events beginning at 10 a.m. The theme is “Diverse Voices Building Community” and the festival is presented by Emory University. Events will be held in person and virtually, according to the festival website.

The events include:

– Five adult and young adult events in the church sanctuary;

– One picture book panel in a tent on the church lawn; and

– Bookseller and food vendor pop-ups on the church lawn.

The festival is making a permanent switch to the first weekend of October, rather than Labor Day weekend. The book festival is presented by Emory University and will be a limited, one-day event with five author events. The program will honor the festival’s commitment to showcasing a variety of voices, connecting readers and writers and encouraging empathy through reading and creative expression.

Participants are encouraged to register for the events in advance and follow strict safety protocols, which includes showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination for indoor events or providing a negative COVID-19 test taken Sept. 29 or later. Guests should also be prepared to sign a vaccine verification statement.

Masks are also required at all times and attendance is limited to at least 50% capacity at the church.

Decatur Artists Market 

The Decatur Arts Alliance’s annual artists market is known for its high quality of artwork. The market will be held on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Decatur Square. The market attracts artists from all over the Southeast and beyond. The works of several accomplished area artist guilds will be featured, according to the festival website. Collections will be from Metal Arts Guild of Georgia and Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.

Food and drink vendors will be set up on the Square. Attendees can dine inside or on the patios at local restaurants on Ponce de Leon Avenue. The festival is located in the city’s open container entertainment zone, so guests can take their cocktail or beer to go as they go through the market.

Festival attendees are encouraged to wear masks, and masks are required inside Decatur businesses that are opting-in to the city’s face mask ordinance. Artist booths will be spread out to enable room for social distancing, and sanitation stations will be dispersed throughout the festival.

Assistant City Manager Linda Harris previously told Decaturish that the artists market is requiring all artists and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and will be required to wear masks.

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