On Friday, Sept. 17 the Lenox Square parking lot will become a wooded wonderland, complete with a patchwork of pop-up parks flanked by 100 trees brought in specifically for this event, one of the Southeast’s largest PARK(ing) Day celebrations. This is the sixth year that Livable Buckhead has hosted a local PARK(ing) Day event, joining a global project to temporarily convert parking spaces into creative places for art, play and activism.
The theme for Buckhead’s PARK(ing) Day 2021 celebration is “Where We Play,” and more than two dozen local businesses and organizations will construct mini-parks with features ranging from a Zen garden to flower walls and beehives to a collaborative mural installation. Parks will also feature interactive elements for the public, including Spin e-scooter safety training sessions, e-bike demonstrations and a putting green. Visitors will be asked to vote for their favorite mini-parks.
A new feature of this year’s PARK(ing) Day are the 100 trees that will be scattered among the mini-parks and arranged to create a tree-lined, curving path. Thematically this underscores the value of Atlanta’s tree canopy and the importance of protecting it. From a practical standpoint, the trees creates space for physical distancing, one of several COVID-related safety protocols that will be in place during the event.
Description automatically generated“Of all the events we had to cancel in 2020, PARK(ing) Day is the one that we missed the most,” said Denise Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead. “PARK(ing) Day’s central purpose – to have fun and creatively celebrate what parks bring to our lives – is something we need now more than ever.”
PARK(ing) Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lenox Square parking lot along Peachtree Rd. In addition to the mini-parks, the event also includes food trucks for the Buckhead lunchtime crowd.
PARK(ing) Day is sponsored by Audi Atlanta, Simon Properies/Lenox Square, The Beck Group, Legacy Parking, Spin Scooters, Urban Enterprises, Tower Wine & Spirits. For more information on PARK(ing) Day, visit http://www.livablebuckhead.org/parkingday.
