Fountain pen: a publication of Centennial Olympic Park, Vol. 7, no. 3 (Summer 2003)

Fountain Pen

A Publication of Centennial Olympic Park

Volume 7 No. 3 Fall 2003

Businesses Grow Around
CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC PARK

CCentennial Olympic Park's lavish greenery and attractive water features have made it a must-see tourist attraction

since it re-opened to the

public in 1998. In recent

years, the Park has spawned

economic development in

downtown Atlanta as more

and more businesses and

attractions move to the

neighborhood surrounding the Park.

Just on the heels of the grand opening of "Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta," construction has begun just north of the Park for the Georgia Aquarium slated to open in 2005. The $200 million development will hold 5 million gallons of freshwater and saltwater, making it the largest of its kind. Architectural renderings recently released envision the aquarium as a modern-day Noah's Ark. The new World

Continued on back

Walk Through a Real

Winter Wonderland

It's almost that time of year again! Time to get into the spirit of the season with Centennial Olympic Park's Holiday in Lights. From Nov. 21 to Jan. 5, Centennial Olympic Park will be glowing with thousands of lights. Holiday in Lights has become one of Atlanta's fastest growing traditions. Be sure to check out this year's display.
Continued on page four

Summer Concerts Bring
CROSS SPECTRUM OF MUSIC
to Centennial Olympic Park

rom soul to rock, you heard it all at Centennial Olympic Park this summer. From the third annual
On the Bricks to the ever-popular Wednesday WindDown, people of all ages gathered at the Park to listen to their favorite tunes.
Centennial Olympic Park became the
place to be on Summer Friday nights. For 12 weeks, thousands of music lovers attended Aquafina's On the Bricks. This year's concerts featured chart-topping talent including Uncle Kracker, Nickel Creek, Blues Traveler, Shaggy, George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic and more. Each week, four top bands hit the stage to a Great Lawn full of fans.
Music at Noon brought an ensemble of talented jazz, R&B

and reggae artists to Centennial Olympic Park. The concerts grew in popularity with tourists and Atlantans on their lunch breaks. This year's Music at Noon had such acts as Chimere, Gwen Hughes and Lola Gulley.
New to the park this year, the NuSoul concert series brought a soulful blend of hip-hop, rap and R&B music to downtown Atlanta. The concerts were held the first Tuesday of every month during the summer and record crowds attended each event. Artists included Floertry, Kindred and Vivian Green.
From April through September, the Park's air was filled with jazz, blues and reggae every Wednesday night from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. during Wednesday WindDown, a free concert series. Music fans looking to get over the midweek hump came to the Park to hear national and local acts perform live. On the first Wednesday of each month, the "Got Jazz" series brought artists such as Waymon Tisdale, Kirk Whalum and Michael Philips to the Park.
Summer may be over, but Park programming is not! For upcoming events at Centennial Olympic Park, please call 404.222.PARK. You can also find information on the Web at www.centennialpark.com.

Fountain Pen Goes Digital
WITH E-NEWSLETTER
In upcoming months, you will be seeing a lot more Park news. The Fountain Pen will transition into monthly e-newsletter updates. Fountain Pen Update will include feature stories on Centennial Olympic Park as well as the latest news on upcoming events and other Park related information.
If you are not currently receiving Fountain Pen Update, we need your email address to add it to our list. Please send an email to kshaw@gwcc.com and we will include you in our next monthly email blast. Or, call Kristen Shaw @ (404) 223-4200.
2

Centennial Olympic Park
Takes Award
for Favorite Area Park

Centennial Olympic Park tied for the top spot as the "Favorite Area Park" of the readers and staff of Atlanta's Our Kids magazine, a magazine devoted to Atlanta's parents and children. Laurel Park in Marietta shared the honors.
The award honors the businesses and attractions that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to families, through products, services and just plain fun. "We are here for family entertainment, and it's great to be recognized for it," said Brian Hill, assistant general manager, Centennial Olympic Park.
The Park was a shoe-in with its many fun, free, familyoriented activities such as Fourth Saturday Family Fun Day, a mini-festival with a mission to educate, interact and entertain; the Fourth of July Celebration, a day-long event starting off with a parade and topping off Independence Day with a spectacular fireworks display; the Fountain of

Rings, a fun place for children to cool off, highlighted by a dancing water show synchronized to popular music, sound effects and lights and Holiday in Lights, a winter celebration featuring ice skating and a dazzling display of lights throughout the Park.
The Park has won several awards including last year's "Best Community Involvement" award from the Georgia Festival and Events Association for its Fourth Saturday Family Fun Day program. The Park's 4th of July Celebration was voted "Best Fireworks" by Access Atlanta after only it's fifth year commemorating Independence Day.
For upcoming events at Centennial Olympic Park, please call 404.222.PARK. You can also find information on the Web at www.centennialpark.com.

3

Continued from page one
Walk Through a Real Winter Wonderland
Also back this year is the ever-popular Centennial Olympic Park Ice Skating Rink. Now in its fourth season, the ice skating rink can skate more than 100 people at any one time at its Southern Company Amphitheater location. Imagine the atmosphere. . .theme music, theatrical lighting and colorful holiday lights surrounding the rink. For $5, you can skate for 90 minutes. If you don't have skates, you can rent them for just $2.

SKATING RINK HOURS

Nov. 22 to Dec. 18

Monday Thursday

4:30 p.m. 10 p.m.

Friday

4:30 p.m. 11 p.m.

Saturday

10 a.m. 11 p.m.

Sunday

10 a.m. 10 p.m.

Dec. 19 to Jan. 5

Sunday Thursday 10 a.m. 10 p.m.

Friday Saturday

10 a.m. 11 p.m.

The C.O.P. ice skating rink makes the perfect place for corporate parties and group outings. Call (404) 223-4412 for special offers and other promotional opportunities.

Georgia GOLD MEDAL GARDEN to Add a NATIVE TOUCH

Centennial Olympic Park has partnered with the Fulton County Central Master Gardeners (FCCMG ) to bring the Georgia Gold Medal Plant program to the Park's visitors. The garden has been designed by FCCMG landscape architects along with input from the Park.
The Gold Medal Garden will showcase plants and trees that thrive in Atlanta's horticultural zone. All plants selected for the garden will be winners of the "Georgia Gold Medal Award."
FCCMG is a subgroup of the Georgia Master

Gardeners Volunteer Program, an educational program offered through county offices of the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. Through this program, individuals are trained and certified in horticulture and related areas. Master Gardeners volunteer its expertise and services, under the direction of the County Extension Agent, to help others through horticultural projects that benefit the community.
Planting begins this fall near the Children's Playground in North Park.

4

Volunteers

WORLD Make a

of Difference

Centennial Olympic Park's volunteers are one of its greatest assets. They're the ones helping the staff keep the Park looking its best, greeting guests warmly and making it an enjoyable place for the world's visitors. This summer, individuals, groups and organizations all participated in planting and weeding projects, staffing the Visitors Center Information Desk and setting up and cleaning up of events.

During the Park's busiest season, a variety of volunteers came to help out the staff with several projects. In August, 30 incoming freshman from Georgia Tech volunteered to help with set up of Fourth Saturday Family Fun Day. The Park hosted 12 youth from the Department of Juvenile Justice for a landscaping project in September. Office Depot employees pitched in at the Park to help keep it looking its best during the 13th annual Hands On Atlanta Day on Oct. 4.
To show the Park's volunteers just how much we appreciate them, on Sept. 17, a Volunteer Appreciation Social was held in the Visitor Center, where volunteers enjoyed food from Honey Baked Ham Co., while they met and mingled with each other and the Park staff.

Centennial Olympic Park is always looking for good volunteers because there is so much that needs to be done to keep the world's gathering place clean and welcoming. For more information about volunteer projects, contact the Park's Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Tinker, by phone at 404.223.4412, or e-mail at jtinker@centennialpark.com.

5

Continued from page one
Businesses Grow Around Centennial Olympic Park

of Coca-Cola museum is slated to open next door to the Georgia Aquarium in 2006.
New restaurants are popping up around Centennial Olympic Park's borders. Chin-Chin offers sit-down Chinese fare on Marietta Street. Park Avenue Deli serves tasty sandwiches and other treats on Park Avenue West. Ted's Montana Grill on Luckie Street is a new theme

restaurant owned by Atlanta media mogul Ted Turner.
In addition to condos and apartments surrounding the Park, the Omni Tower is set to open this fall adding 600
new hotel rooms for conventioneers and out-oftowners. With new places to stay, eat and play, Centennial Olympic Park has become a leading economic generator for downtown Atlanta.

For the most up-to-date information on all of these events and performers, please visit the Park's Web site at
www.centennialpark.com
You can also find information by calling the Park's event hotline at
404.222.PARK.
Activities and Information Hotline 404.222.PARK www.centennialpark.com
For more information, contact: Katy Pando 404.223.4208
kpando@gwcc.com 285 Andrew Young International Blvd., N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30313-1591

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