East Cobb Arts & Entertainment Archives

East Cobb Labor Day weekend events: Noshfest, Holy Smoke Festival return

August 30, 2018 by Wendy Parker

Noshfest, East Cobb Labor Day weekend events — *It wouldn’t be Noshfest without “Hava Nagila.” The Jewish food and culture festival returns at Temple Kol Emeth Sunday and Monday. (East Cobb News file photos)*

Just a few days remain until two signature East Cobb Labor Day weekend events make their festive returns.

Here’s the latest info we have on the Noshfest, which takes place from 11-5 Sunday and 11-4 Monday at at Temple Kol Emeth (1415 Old Canton Road):

Admission is free, but each attendee is asked to bring two canned food items to be donated to MUST Ministries.

Once inside, you’ll purchase food and drink tickets as you please, and either with cash or by credit card. Craft items for sale can be bought with cash, credit card or debit card, depending on vendor availabilty.

Noshfest

The Highlights: Entertainment from the blues-and-folk Alex Guthrie Band (he’s a local musician and recording artist) returns to the Noshfest stage at 3 p.m. Sunday. Before that, starting at noon, is a cooking demonstration from Chef Wilson Gourley of the famed General Muir deli in Dectatur, and the festival’s 3rd annual bagel-eating contest (sponsored by Bagelicious in East Cobb) is at 2 p.m.

The winning contestant will win a cash prize of $500 for eating the most bagels in five-minutes.

On Monday, live music will abound, including the Dixie Saints, who will perform Dixieland and klezmer specialties at 2 p.m.

Temple tours of the synagogue will take place Sunday at 1, 2:30 and 4 and on Monday at 12, 1:30 and 3.

Holy Smoke Festival

Admission is also free on Monday to the Holy Smoke Festival, held from 10-3 at the ball fields and south parking lot at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (955 Johnson Ferry Road).

Food tickets for the Williamson BBQ-catered meals are $6.50 (and if they run out, other food vendors will be on hand), and the events include live music, Christian illusionist Shane Wilbanks (above), kids’s inflatables, a silent auction and a classic car show.

Holy Smoke Festival

The Highlights: Local musician Jay Memory will perform in the Big Tent between 11-2 (that’s where and for how long the food will be served). Wilbanks’ shows are at 11:15, 12:45 and 1:45.

At 12:15, the Fort Benning Silver Wings aerial show takes place.

At 2, the silent auction closes, with the grand prize winner announced, as well as the car show awards.

Holy Smoke proceeds will benefit the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, East Cobb chapter.

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‘Harper Lee: From Mockingbird to Watchman’ to be screened Tuesday at Sewell Mill Library

August 27, 2018 by Wendy Parker

Calling all “To Kill a Mockingbird” fans, and especially devotees of the woman who wrote the novel and what came after all that: You’re invited to a special film screening Tuesday at the Sewell Mill Library (2051 Lower Roswell Road). Harper Lee From Mockingbird to Watchman

It’s not the actual 1962 movie, starring Gregory Peck and Mary Badham, but rather a more recent movie about the book, movie and the woman who made it all possible, “Harper Lee: From Mockingbird to Watchman.”

To be more precise, it’s a documentary film about the novelist and her work, not only the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, but also her “Go Set a Watchman,” published in 2015, the year before Lee’s death. That novel is regarded as a sequel, portraying Atticus Finch in a very unflattering light, and set off something of a controversy.

The film to be screened Tuesday was made for the Public Broadcasting System‘s “American Masters” series.

Lee’s older sister is among those interviewed, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, legal thriller novelist Scott Turow and others who knew the novelist.

The screening, which takes place from 6:30-8:30 p.m., is part of Georgia Public Broadcasting‘s “Great American Read” series. The event in the library’s black box theater is free, and will be followed by a book-style discussion, but you’re encouraged to make a reservation here.

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As Splendid Pieces exhibit closes at Sewell Mill Library, mosaics classes begin

August 25, 2018 by Wendy Parker

Splendid Pieces exhibit, Mazzoni Mosaics

For the last month, the Splendid Pieces exhibit at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road) has shown the work of Georgia mosaics artist Julie Mazzoni (her website here).

There will be a closing reception in the library’s art gallery Thursday, Aug. 30, from 6-8 p.m., the day before the exhibit closes. She’ll be offering a demo and a talk about her work.

A Kennesaw State grad, Julie began doing mosaics in 2009 after working in children’s murals, watercolors and acrylics. She specializes in 3-D bas-relief mixed media concept works and realism in stained glass.

If you’re interested in learning how to do mosaics, you can get a start earlier in the week.

The library is offering two related classes starting next Tuesday.

A Mosaic Rock Garden Class takes place over four sessions, through Sept. 18, as you’ll learn how to personalize your own backyard garden. The cost is $47, and the class meets every Tuesday from 10-11:30 a.m. Here’s how to sign up.

Mazzoni will be teaching Beginner Mosaics, an eight-session class, through Oct. 30. Here’s more on signing up for that course. The fee is $170, and the class meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. every Tuesday, except for Sept. 25.

She’s also teaching the same class, from Aug. 28 to Oct. 2, at The Art Place (3320 Sandy Plains Road), with sessions from 5:30-8 p.m. Here’s signup information for that.

The Art Place is also where she’s teaching an Open Mosaics Studio class from Oct. 9 to Nov. 13 (details and signup here). Julie’s also had her work exhibited there.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Mountain View Arts Alliance to hold Pete Borden memorial event in October

August 7, 2018 by Wendy Parker

In October the Mountain View Arts Alliance will be honoring the memory of Pete Borden, a longtime East Cobb resident who was actively involved in community theater. Pete Borden, Mountain View Arts Alliance

The memorial event will take place Oct. 10 from 7-9 p.m. at The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road), and will include the unveiling of a memorial stone hand crafted by local artist Julie Mazzoni.

Borden died in March at the age of 81 from lung cancer.

Born in Texas and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Borden was a brick mason by profession and active in Cobb theater organizations, including The Art Place, as a playwright, director and actor. He also was a member of the Catholic Church of St. Ann in East Cobb.

Borden also wrote a regular column for many years in The Marietta Daily Journal and advocated for local arts and theater organizations in that space.

Shortly after his death, the MDJ reprinted one of Borden’s columns from 2012, as he recalled an early 1990s flap on the Cobb Board of Commissioners over arts funding and an anti-gay resolution that cost Cobb County its official 1996 Olympics participation.

In a message on its Facebook page about the memorial event, the MVAA said:

If you would like to perform a scene or song or skit or even a roast tributing Pete, please advise and we will put together a program.

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EAST COBB WEEKEND EVENTS: East Cobb Rotary Dog Days Run; Lutzie 43 Road Race; Wasted Potential concert; football events; and more

August 3, 2018 by Wendy Parker

East Cobb Rotary Dog Days Run, East Cobb Weekend Events

As we’re typing these words, the sun has come out! It’s expected to stay out, at least partially, as this weekend’s sports-heavy lineup leads off Saturday with the 13 annual East Cobb Rotary Dog Days Run.

It gets underway at 7:30 a.m. at the East Cobb-McCleskey Family YMCA (1055 E. Piedmont Road). Race-day registration is $30, and the proceeds benefit a number of East Cobb charities, including School Mates Literacy Project, Canine Assistance, Aids Awareness, The Center for Family Resources, Cobb County Public Safety and Kids2Leaders Inc.

At the same time, the Lutzie 43 Foundation Road Race is taking place at Lutzie Field at Lassiter High School (2601 Shallowford Road), with proceeds going to the non-profit set up in the memory of Phil Lutzenkirchen, the former Trojans football star. It helps teach young people leadership skills and how to make good decisions. There’s a 1-mile fun run for kids in addition to the 5K. Race-day registration is $30 for students and $43 for adults.

Not far away, another school community is celebrating its upcoming football season. The Pope Football Pancake Breakfast goes from 9-11 in the cafeteria at the school (3001 Hembree Road), and is a Pope Touchdown Club fundraiser. For $11 a person or $26 a family (players eat free!), you’ll get pancakes, sausage, bagels, fruit and juices; stick around for the team picture day to follow.

*The Wasted Potential Brass Band returns to The Art Place Saturday.*

Saturday also is Sandy Plains Softball Fun Day from 11-1 at Field 1 at Sandy Plains Park (2977 Gordy Parkway), and it includes walk-up registration for the fall season.

On Saturday evening, bring your blankets and lawn chairs to The Art Place (3320 Sandy Plains Road) and enjoy the sounds of the Wasted Potential Brass Band. The popular Atlanta group is appearing as part of the Mountain View Arts Alliance’s Summer Stars Concert Series. Concessions are in exchange for a donation to MVAA, or you can bring your own food (but no alcohol is allowed).

More prep football on Sunday takes place 2-4. It’s Walton Raider Day at the Raider Valley stadium (1590 Bill Murdock Road). Admission is free, and the jamboree-style event includes kids games, a coaches dunk tank, face-painting, trampoline-jumping and a meet-and-greet with all the Raiders teams. Wear your Walton Spirit gear, since there will be drone group photo taken during the day.

Also on Sunday, the Good Mews Cat Shelter (3805 Robinson Road) is having another microchip and vaccination clinic from 10-3. Additional services include nail clippings, and appointments are encouraged but not required. Dogs are welcome too, and all pets must be in a carrier or on a leash when they arrive.

Check our full calendar listings for more things to do in East Cobb this weekend, and beyond.

Did we miss anything? Do you have a calendar item you’d like to share with the community? Send it to us, and we’ll spread the word! E-mail: calendar@eastcobbnews.com, and you can include a photo or flyer if you like.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, make it a great one! Enjoy!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

PHOTOS: Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center Mini Con debuts

July 21, 2018 by Wendy Parker

Geeks of all ages showed up Saturday for the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center Mini Con, which included a broad range of activities in the comic and digital arts.

The event included workshops and demonstrations, live music, food and vendors using most of the new facility’s creative arts space.

Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center Mini Con

The highlight of the afternoon was a costume contest, with winners and runners-up in children and adult divisions. While Star Wars characters were popular, so were the likes of Elvis Presley and Monty Python characters.

Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center Mini Con

Among the many activities for children were demonstrations from members of the Giga-Bites Cafe tabletop gaming store in East Cobb.

Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center Mini Con

James Mitchell of the Sewell Mill Library organized the event and said around 1,000 attended in all, including many who had not been to the library before.

Like other events at the library since it opened last December, Mini Con was designed to attract not only new faces, but to demonstrate the unifying forces of the creative arts, across many platforms and genres.

Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center Mini Con

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Sewell Mill Library Summer Concert Series begins Friday

July 11, 2018 by Wendy Parker

Sewell Mill Library Summer Concert Series

The Sewell Mill Summer Concert series begins Friday with a pop performance by Kienan Dietrich from Sarah & the Safe Word, the Wildfire Orchestra, Chasing Lovely, and The Good Graces

It’s the first of three free monthly concerts presented by the Cobb Library Foundation in the outdoor amphitheater of the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road). You can bring a picnic, blankets or set up lawn chairs. Doors open at 6 p.m, and the music starts at 7.

Here’s more about what you’ll be hearing, and at the bottom of the post there’s more about future concerts:

Kienan Dietrich (from Sarah & the Safe Word) featuring the Wildfire Orchestra “Baby, I’m the best kind of wrong,” croons vocalist Sarah Rose on Sarah and the Safe Word’s latest album, Strange Doings in the Night. Exploring sounds reminiscent of cabaret, vaudeville, southern gothicism, swing, and – of course – rock and roll, the band urges enthusiastic victi- er, listeners – to step inside, get strapped in, and prepare for one very, very, peculiar evening.

Chasing Lovely: Folk-pop duo Chasing Lovely combine haunting harmonies, powerful melodies, and insightful lyrics to create a truly captivating acoustic performance. Chasing Lovely’s mission is to provoke thought, promote understanding, and capture both glimmers of light and darkness as they share the deeply moving human experience through song.

The Good Graces: the Good Graces is an indie-folk/Americana collective fronted by singer-songwriter Kim Ware and based in Atlanta, GA. In 2015, Kim’s song “Cold in California” caught the attention of the Indigo Girls, and the band was invited by the renowned duo to support some midwest and southeast shows during their summer tour.

The concert series continues on Aug. 17 with the jazz sounds of Will Scruggs and Masterpeace, and concludes on Sept. 21 with a classical show featuring the Wheeler Quartet and a quartet from the Georgia Symphony Orchestra.

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East Cobb in Photos: On display at the Sewell Mill Library art gallery

July 1, 2018 by Wendy Parker

Sewell Mill Library art gallery

A sampling of what’s on display currently at the Sewell Mill Library art gallery, which is named after longtime Cobb library supporters Carol and Jim Ney.

Sewell Mill Library art gallery

The gallery is open during regular library hours: M-W 10-8; Th-F 11-6; Sat 1-6, and you literally cannot miss if it you’re headed into the main library area.

The rotation of artwork is curated by Roxane Thompson, who is the library’s cultural affairs art specialist.

A couple of formal exhibits already have taken place in the art gallery space this spring, and last week there was a gallery reception for Jon McNaughton, the owner of a “patriotic” art company.

There are ongoing art classes, and right now in the summer they’re aimed at kids 10 and older.

The Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center is located at 2051 Lower Roswell Road. Phone: 770-509-2711.

Sewell Mill Library art gallery

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EAST COBB WEEKEND EVENTS: Marietta Greek Festival; Cobb Wind Symphony Young Person’s Concert; more

May 18, 2018 by Wendy Parker

Marietta Greek Festival

We may be dancing around some raindrops all weekend, but the dancing—as well as eating and shopping and so much more—will go on rain or shine at the Marietta Greek Festival. It leads off a festive slate of East Cobb Weekend Events, as another school year comes to a close and summer activities will be coming soon.

The 28th annual Marietta Greek Festival is a three-day extravaganza of food, shopping, fun and a celebration of Greek culture, kicking off at 3 on Friday and lasting until sundown on Sunday at Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Catholic Church (3431 Trickum Road).

A $5 admission ticket is charged for adults, while kids 12 and under get in for free. If you can’t park onsite, a free shuttle will be provided at the following locations, and parking is also free:

Simpson Middle School – 3340 Trickum Road;
Church of Latter-Day Saints – 3195 Trickum Road;
Lassiter High School – 2601 Shallowford Road.

The hours are from 3-11 Friday, 10-11 on Saturday and 11-6 on Sunday.

There’s a main food tent, a selection of street food options, desserts and beverages, all representing the rich culinary range of Greece.

The entertainment schedule covers the span of the festival, and there are vendors, cooking demonstrations, children’s activities and church tours.

Proceeds from the festival benefit Northwest Atlanta Metro Habitat, The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, Inc., a Greek Orthodox women’s ministry that works with other Christian philanthrophies.

Friday and Saturday are the last curtain calls for “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” a comedy musical revue that starts at 8 both nights at The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road). It’s the last presentation for CenterStage North until August, when “On Golden Pond” will be featured;

If cooking at home, and making throw-back dishes is more to your taste, a new spring-and-summer series gets underway Saturday at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road).

It’s called Retro Recipes, and from 12-1 Saturday, you’re invited to bring an old family appetizer recipe as participants make and share dishes. The series runs through August;

Stick around at Sewell Mill for its monthly Local Lens feature from 4-5. This month’s film professional is Ashley Nichole Smith Carlson, an Atlanta filmmaker who will share her thoughts about her favorite films, and cinematic storytelling.

As the weekend winds down, and the last couple days of school approach, local musicians will be taking the stage Sunday at the Lassiter Concert Hall (2601 Shallowford Road). It’s the Cobb Wind Symphony Young Person’s Concert, and pre-concert kids’ activities start at 2, with face-painting, an instrument petting zoo and other activities. The music starts at 3. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

Did we miss anything? Do you have a calendar listing to share with the community? Send is to us, and we’ll post it! E-mail your information to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com. Check out our full Events Calendar, for the weekend and beyond, for more things to do.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, enjoy!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

CenterStage North production of ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!’ starts Friday

May 10, 2018 by Wendy Parker

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, CenterStage North, The Art Place-Mountain View

The last CenterStage North production of the spring and summer starts a week-long run on Friday The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road). It’s Joe DiPietro’s “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!” and six performances will take place through next Friday, May 19.

It’s billed as “a witty musical revue that tackles modern love in all its forms: from the perils and pitfalls of the first date to marriage, children, and the twilight years of life.”

The story is told in a series of vignettes and songs, and “traces the overall arc of relationships throughout the course of a life.”

The shows this weekend are at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee, as well as 8 p.m. next Thursday-Saturday, May 17-19.

Tickets are $20 each and can be ordered online.

Check out our calendar listings for more things to do in East this weekend and beyond.

Auditions for CenterStage North’s August production of “On Golden Pond” will take place next week, May 15-16 at The Art Place, and include cold readings from the script (here are some of the available “sides” that will be read.).

Those auditions also will be at The Art Place from 7-9 each night. Here’s more about what they will include, as well as what roles will be filled, what the rehearsals will be like over the summer, and how to get in touch if you’re interested:

Production runs from August 10-18 for two weekends. Rehearsals will be in Marietta and will start the first week of June and most likely will be on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. No rehearsals the week of July 4th. For more information please contact the director, Karen Worrall at karen@worrall.org

Roles available:
Norman, 79, tart-tongued and observant and very direct
Ethel, 69, energetic, sweet and upbeat
Chelsea, late 30’s -early 40’s, pretty, smart and confident, except around Norman
Bill, a dentist and Chelsea’s fiancé, 45, attempts to charm Norman
Billy, a typical 13-year-old with a bit of an attitude who winds up bonding with Norman and Ethel.
Charlie, the postman, 40ish, affable and simple

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May book group discussions scheduled at libraries in East Cobb

May 6, 2018 by Wendy Parker

All four public library branches in East Cobb have ongoing book group discussions, and here’s a sampling of what’s on tap in May, with information courtesy the Cobb County Public Library System:

Gritters Tuesday Afternoon Book Club at Gritters Library on Tuesday, May 8 from 2 pm – 3 pm. We will be discussing Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. 770-528-2524;

Men’s Book Club at East Cobb Library on Saturday, May 12 from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm. Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink. Women interested in military, horror, and sci-fi are welcome to join. 770-509-2730;

Mountain View Evening Book Discussion at Mountain View Regional Library on Tuesday, May 15 from 7 pm – 8:30 pm. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. 770-509-2725;

Read, Think, Talk at Sewell Mill Library & Cultural Center on Wednesday, May 16 from 10:30 am – noon. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. 770-509-4988;

Book to Movie Club at Sewell Mill Library & Cultural Center on Wednesday, May 16 from 6 pm – 8:30 pm. Share your thoughts about Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella and then watch the book’s film counterpart. 770-509-4988;

On Thursday May 17, East Cobb Morning Book Discussion meets 11 am – 12:30 and the East Cobb Afternoon Book Discussion is at 2 pm at East Cobb Library. The May selection is The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See. 770-509-2730.

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No East Cobb screenings at Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in 2018

January 22, 2018 by Wendy Parker

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival begins this week and continues into mid-February, but a familiar venue will not having any showings.

That’s the GTE Merchants Walk Cinema on Johnson Ferry Road in East Cobb. We’re seeking further information, but festival organizers have said previously that renovations and reduced theater size prompted the venue change.

On a recent post on its Facebook page, the festival responded that “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Georgia Theatre Company, and returning to this theater for future AJFF programs.”

East Cobb is the home of three synagogues and festival screenings at Merchants Walk typically have sold out and been in high demand. Wednesday’s opening and the Feb. 15 closing for the festival, now in its 18th year, will be at the Cobb Energy Centre.

The opening festivities include a tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. and a screening of “I’ve Gotta Be Me” and a Q & A with Emmy and Peabody award-winning director Sam Pollard.

The other venues for the festival this year will be the Regal Perimeter Pointe in Sandy Springs; Regal Atlantic Station; Regal Hollywood 24 in Chamblee; The Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Buckhead; Tara Cinemas in Midtown Atlanta; and the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is the largest Jewish film festival in the country, and this year will screen 75 films. Last year the festival had an attendance of more than 38,000.

More information and ticket purchases are available at the AJFF website. Tickets also can be purchased by calling the festival box office at 678-228-8872.

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The Art Place issues call for auditions for ‘Murder at Cafe Noir’

January 20, 2018 by Wendy Parker

If you’re feeling the itch to reprise some of the best lines, scenes and style of Humphrey Bogart films, The Art Place is seeking a few good local actors for its forthcoming presentation of the play “Murder at Cafe Noir,” inspired by the David Landau book.

The auditions are this coming Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road), with callbacks on Wednesday.

Landau’s work is a comic tribute to Bogart’s 1940s detectives roles. After the owner of the Cafe Noir is murdered, a private investigator is called in, and you probably have a good idea about the rest of the story.

There’s more on The Art Place Facebook page about the characters, but there’s a good variety of roles to audition for, including the protagonist PI Rick Archer.

They include Madam Tourreau, the cafe manager, a black market dealer-turned-bouncer, a fortune teller, a gun runner and a disgraced lawyer.

If you’re chosen for the callbacks, they’ll also be at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, with the cast read-through on Feb. 11 and rehearsals starting Feb. 14.

Performances are March 23-24.

For more information, please email: meryl.manfre@cobbcounty.org.

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The Art Place-Mountain View art classes for winter open for registration

January 3, 2018 by Wendy Parker

The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road) has reopened after the Christmas and New Year’s holiday break, and today opened registration for winter art classes that begin later this month.

Classes are divided in to youth (ages 5-18) and adult divisions, with classes beginning as early as Jan. 16.

Classes include pottery, sculpture, raku, drawing, illustration, digital photography, metals and jewelry, mosaics, knitting, painting, felting, drama and more.

There’s a new registration system that’s also kicked into effect starting today, called CivicRec (more info about that here). Participants who’ve been in the previous system for the last two years have had their accounts automatically transferred.

The Cobb PARKS site has general information about programs, but for more information about The Art Place registration, and to sign up online, click here.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Start of horror flick series closes 2017 events at East Cobb-area libraries

December 29, 2017 by Wendy Parker

The last day that East Cobb-area libraries will be open for 2017 is Saturday, and the newest branch will be kicking off a new film series in the final event of the year.

The new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road) keeps adding to its film screenings with the showing of “Videodrome,” a 1983 Canadian science fiction film starring James Woods and Deborah Harry (of “Blondie” fame).

Woods plays a television executive who chases down the source of a broadcast signal that shows violence, and who loses touch with reality in what’s dubbed a “techno-surrealist” film.

It’s the first of a “Horror Movie Saturday” series that continues every other week through Feb. 24. Saturday’s flick, and all the others in this series, run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and you’re free to bring your own food and drink.

Please keep in mind that this series is for adults only (and “Videodrome” certainly is loaded with adult material), and some films are rated R.

All Cobb library branches will be closed Sunday and Monday, and will reopen Tuesday, Jan. 2 at regular hours and with several events scheduled. Among them is an orientation of the new programs and services offered at Sewell Mill from 7-8 p.m., including the chance to register for classes and programs.

The library opened on Dec. 4, with a formal ribbon-cutting taking place Jan. 9.

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PHOTOS: Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center opens its doors

December 4, 2017 by Wendy Parker

Sewell Mill Library opens — *The main browsing area of the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center. (East Cobb News photos and slideshow by Wendy Parker)*

With a whiff of asphalt greeting patrons—the parking lot isn’t quite finished—the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center opened to the public on Monday, and quite a few people were waiting to have a look around.

Adult patrons, as well as toddlers, babies and home-schooled students and their parents, were the first to get a public tour of the 28,000-square-foot facility at 2051 Lower Roswell Road. It replaces the East Marietta Library, which was demolished last month after 50 years in service.

Related Coverage:

Built at a cost of $10.6 million, the facility is a joint project of the Cobb County Public Library System and the Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department.

In addition to a large adult browsing room, there’s also a roomy children’s section. The first event at the new library was a pre-school storytime session, and it was well-attended.

One of the parents watching her children was Kara Sutton, who grew up not far from the old East Marietta Library. She and her family live off Canton Road, and she brings her 4-1/2-year-old twins and a two-year-old to public libraries at least twice a week.

“We live closer to Gritters, and love it there,” she said. “But it’s great to have a newer space to visit.”

But the new branch is much more than a library with traditional library services. The “cultural center” component features visual and digital creative space, including a black box theater and an outdoor amphitheater where concerts and film screenings will be presented.

The opening events reflect that commitment to multi-media, including a photography class on the first evening, a comics workshop, enrichment sessions about classic filmmakers and classical music composers, as well as meetups for filmmakers and writers.

The cultural art space also includes “a digital maker space commons” with small recording rooms, an art gallery and art classrooms, conference and study rooms, a public computer room, a separate room for teenage-themed materials and a cafe.

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There will be a formal ribbon-cutting for the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center at 2 p.m. on Jan. 9. It has the same hours as the former East Marietta Library:

Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.;
Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.;
Saturday, 1-6 p.m.;
Closed Sunday.

Parking is available behind the building, as work crews finish paving the parking lot and complete the new entrance for Sewell Park Drive at the site of the former East Marietta Library.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Studio Movie Grill Marietta location opens on Powers Ferry Road

November 28, 2017 by Wendy Parker

The Studio Movie Grill location at the old Harry’s Plaza shopping center on Powers Ferry Road has opened.

The 49,000-square-foot facility is where a Sports Authority store was located years ago, features 11 dine-in auditoriums and nearly 1,300 luxury seats, a bar and a patio.

This is the third Georgia location for the Dallas-based Studio Movie Grill, which operates 30 theatres in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Construction plans for the Marietta venue were underway before the closure of Harry’s Farmers Market was announced (previous East Cobb News post here).

The movie-and-dinner concept offered first screenings on Nov. 16, and has scheduled a holiday-oriented promotion through Thursday to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

In what’s it’s calling the “Cans Film Festival,” patrons who donate four or more canned goods or non-perishable items will receive a free movie ticket to any film on that day at the Marietta location.

The current slate of movies includes “Coco,” “Justice League,” “Wonder,” “Murder on the Orient Express” and “A Bad Moms Christmas.”

The Studio Movie Grill in Marietta also has a special needs screening each Saturday morning for families with special needs children, who receive matinee pricing.

Through Dec. 6, online-only tickets cost $3 with the code SMGMARIETTA. Box-office prices are $9 for adults, $6 for children and $7 for matinees.

The Studio Movie Grill is located at 40 Powers Ferry Road. The phone number is 678-273-3558.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

St. Nick’s Cafe leads off holiday events at The Art Place

November 25, 2017 by Wendy Parker

This coming Saturday, Dec. 2, the St. Nick’s Cafe family holiday show returns as The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road) unveils its seasonal schedule.

This year, the St. Nick’s Cafe presentation is “What Could Go Wrong the Night Before Christmas?” It’s a retelling of “The Night Before Christmas” in which the narrator, according to to the program description, “must deal with every interruption imaginable.”

The shows, which are presented by The Art Place and the Mountain View Arts Alliance, take place at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online (a $1.75 service charge applies to each ticket). Catered meals from Chick-fil-A will be provided after every program.

On Sunday, Dec. 10, The Art Place will hold its Empty Bowl Brunch to benefit MUST Ministries. Visitors can come from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., purchase a handmade soup bowl and enjoy a hearty meal. Tickets are also $15 each (advance purchase here).

The Artist Attic, which has been underway since Nov. 9, continues through Dec. 14. The Art Place gallery is selling original pieces made by students, teachers and local artists. Gift ideas also include gift certificates and holiday shows.

Sales are available during regular opening hours (Monday-Thursday 10-5); for evening and weekend hours call 770-509-2700.

Opening events scheduled for Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center

November 8, 2017October 31, 2017 by Wendy Parker

The opening of the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road) is still a little more than a month away—Dec. 4—but there’s a full slate of activities for the first month that’s already been scheduled.

James Mitchell of the library staff has passed along a schedule of what’s coming up in December, and it features a wide variety of events: from writers and filmmakers meetups, classic film screenings, a photography class, a music enrichment session with the conductor of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, concerts, a regular Open Mic night and more.

That’s because the $10.6 million Sewell Mill Library goes far beyond books to include study and training rooms, a conference room, dedicated children’s and teen spaces, a community room, an art gallery and classrooms, an outdoor amphitheater and a black box theater.

We’ve posted these events to our full calendar listings; you can click on the links below for the full event information:

Writers Groups: Meeting every Tuesday at 6 p.m., these groups can include any genre or focus. The first meeting is Dec. 5;
Secrets of Better Photography: A seven-week course begins Dec. 7 and registration is required;
What Does An Orchestra Conductor Listen To?: Tim Verville, Music Director of the Marietta-based Georgia Symphony Orchestra, shares his musical tastes, which venture far beyond classical in two sessions on Dec. 8;
The films of French director Jean-Luc Godard will be featured Dec. 9 in the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center’s first Great Directors Series installment.
Great Directors Series: The work of legendary filmmakers will be explored every other Saturday for adults only, starting with Jean-Luc Godard and Akira Kurosawa on Dec. 9 and 23 respectively;
Making Comics Workshop: Local comic artists Carlos Perez and Ananya Vahal will lead adults and teens 14 in a Dec. 9 workshop with limited space. Registration is recommended;
The Private Pageant Concert: Marietta electronica/dance/rock musician Tim Exit performs his mixed-genre show at the library’s Black Box Theater on Dec. 9;
Open Mic Night: Starting Dec. 12, musicians of any genre are welcome in the Black Box Theater;
Classic Movie Thursday: This weekly series starts with an Alfred Hitchcock flick on Dec. 14, followed by John Wayne, John Ford and Michael Curtiz in December. You’re invited to bring food and drink to enjoy with the film;
Filmmaking Meetup: Writers, directors and actors of all kinds are welcome at the first meetup on Dec. 19.

We’ll have more details on the opening of the library when they become available.

This reminder: If you were a patron of the East Marietta Library you can pick up materials ordered on hold at the Switzer Library in downtown Marietta or another branch of your designation.

If you checked out materials at East Marietta branch that are due, those also can be dropped off at any Cobb library system branch.

Relishing a lifetime of memories at the East Marietta Library

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb community piano program expands to Egg Harbor Cafe

November 8, 2017October 23, 2017 by Wendy Parker

Tommy, East Cobb community piano — *“Tommy” will make his debut at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 4 at Egg Harbor Cafe in East Cobb. (Photo provided by Play It Again Pianos)*

Back in July East Cobb Park was the benefactor of a community piano program thanks to Play Me Again Pianos, a local non-profit (previous East Cobb News post here).

“Sunny,” named after East Cobb Park advocate Sunny Walker and located in the upper gazebo, will have some nearby accompaniment of sorts soon, at Egg Harbor Cafe (4719 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 210), on Nov. 4.

That’s when “Tommy” will be unveiled during a ribbon-cutting at 12 p.m. Like “Sunny,” the first tunes played on “Tommy” will be by a young local student musician.

It’s the latest in a community piano program started last year by East Cobb-based Play Me Again Pianos, co-founded by Jason and Kelly Brett. Their aim is to purchase, restore, paint and place 88 pianos throughout the metro Atlanta area, designed for community use.

*Angela Lockman, East Cobb Middle School art teacher.*

“Tommy” is also locally painted, by Angela Decker Lockman, a visual arts teacher at East Cobb Middle School.

“Street pianos and public pianos inspire people to connect with each other in ways that were once common, but seem increasingly rare,” Jason Brett said. ”By adding our pianos to the landscape throughout the metropolitan area, we hope to nurture that connection into an evolution of Atlanta’s culture, community and the arts.”

Here’s Lockman, last year’s Middle School Art Specialist of the Year for the Cobb County School District, on how she went about her work:

“My vision was to translate what we love about our area onto eggs that cover the piano. There are 16 eggs that encompass fun places to visit, our sports teams, and even the lyrics to our state song, ‘Georgia On My Mind.’ Then as a nod to our host, we also incorporated two brightly-colored roosters and the Egg Harbor Cafe logo.”

The Bretts said “Tommy” is named after a member of the family-run Egg Harbor Cafe business. Unlike others in the family who had menu items named after them, there was no mention of Tommy on menus or business literature or logos.

Other Play Me Again Pianos are located in Chastain Park, The Woodruff Arts Center, Colony Square, the Dunwoody Nature Center, the Chamblee Rail Trail, Brookhaven, Ponce City Market, Atlantic Station and Alpharetta.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

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