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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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.
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.
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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 Newspost 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.
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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.
A Cobb County government aerial photo of the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, taken earlier in October. The new branch opens Dec. 4.
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;
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.
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!
“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 Newspost 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.
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:
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.
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The 9th annual Oktoberfest takes place Saturday at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. (East Cobb News file photo)
Fall is officially here, and it’s starting to look—and feel—like it. Fall festivals, homecoming football games and a special rendition of a Broadway classic are all on tap in East Cobb weekend events, and there’s so much more.
Football Friday: It’s homecoming for the Pope Greyhounds and Walton Raiders, who kick off their games at 7:30 p.m. Lassiter is home to Roswell in a big region game, and both schools are observing Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a new program at Lassiter to provide education and support for suicide prevention efforts. Wheeler and Sprayberry are on the road, and Kell has the week off;
Fall School Festivals Get Started: October is a big month for school festivals, which are held by PTAs and foundations to raise funds for a variety of school programs. This Friday, the Sedalia Park Elementary School Fall Festival & Art Show (2230 Lower Roswell Road) runs from 5-8 p.m., and we’ll have more news about other school festivals as the month goes on;
Run for Habitat: Bright and early Saturday (about 7:30 a.m.), Mt. Bethel UMC (4385 Lower Roswell Road) will hold its Habitat Run fundraiser, with proceeds going for the church’s 9th Habitat for Humanity project. There will be award winner trophies, live music, a silent auction and refreshments, and race day registration starts at 6:30 a.m.;
Oompah, Brats and Beer: Oktoberfest is in its 9th year at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (2922 Sandy Plains Road), from 10 a.m to 7 p.m. Saturday, and as Lutherans celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Traditional German food and drink, Polka music, face-painting, horseshoes, a petting zoo and a church tour are all on the schedule once again. Overflow parking is next door at the Skip Wells Post Office;
Take a bow, please: CenterStage North and The Mountain View Arts Alliance are teaming up for another run of a Broadway (and in this case Hollywood) favorite, starting Friday and continuing through Sunday and again next weekend. “The Rainmaker” starts at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road);
Pumpkin Patches in full swing: 3 East Cobb Methodist churches are having their pumpkin patch sales all October, and they’ve got some special events coming up soon. The proceeds from the sales at East Cobb UMC, Mt. Zion UMC and St. Andrew UMC benefit church activities and get the Halloween season off to a festive start. We’ll be posting Halloween events at this link all month; please send your event so we can include it (e-mail address listed below).
Did we miss anything? Do you have anything to add? By all means, let us know, and we’ll post your information. Submit what you’ve got to calendar@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll get it up toute de suite.
Thanks for reading East Cobb News, and have a great weekend!
The Art Place is looking for actors and actresses ages 8-18 years old to be in our annual St. Nick’s Café event! This year’s show is “What Could Go Wrong the Night Before Christmas,” a fun retelling of “The Night Before Christmas” where our narrator must deal with every interruption imaginable.
Auditions: October 17 & 19 from 6:30-8:30 at The Art Place Shows will be at The Art Place on Saturday, December 2, 2017 at 9am, 11am & 1pm. Rehearsals will be once or twice a week and will increase in frequency as the show approaches. Please be ready for improv, a cold reading from the script and to move! Directed by Jeanette Maldonado. Presented by MVAA & The Art Place.
To be added to the audition list, please email meryl.manfre@cobbcounty.org or call 770-509-2700.
Fall is just about here, and not just because of the dropping (and very pleasant!) temperatures we’ve enjoyed in East Cobb this weekend. That in-between summer and fall feeling is also evident in this weekend’s local events calendar:
The finale of the 2017 Summer Stars Concert Series takes place Saturday at The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road), featuring local musician Kip Rogers. “In Season” will feature some of his mellow, lyrical tunes, perfect for-season changing relaxation. Doors open at 7; the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Lawn seating is free, and tables of 8 cost $40;
If you prefer mellow relaxation of another kind, the East Cobb-based Atlanta Parrot Head Club is throwing a Jimmy Buffett tailgate party from 12:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday at Red Hare Brewing (1880 Delk Industrial Blvd.), in part to celebrate the enactment of a new Georgia craft beer law. Admission is free, and there will be live music (albeit not Buffett, brew and BBQ for purchase;
Visit our events calendar for more live music options, including regularly scheduled sessions at selected East Cobb restaurants and taverns;
With hurricane season upon us (and coastal Georgia under evacuation orders), the Cobb Emergency Management Agency is offering certified emergency training for citizens around the county, including at East Cobb’s Catholic Church of St. Ann on Saturday. It’s an all-day commitment, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and continues Sept. 16 and Sept. 23. Call the church at 770-552-6400 ext. 6019 for more information;
Another weekend-ish event that actually takes place on Monday is an author event at The Book Exchange (2932 Canton Road), and featuring Amber Brock, author of “A Fine Imitation.” It begins at 6 p.m. and refreshments follow;
There’s a light schedule on the high school football front, with Lassiter, Walton and Wheeler all enjoying a bye week. Two teams have home games: Sprayberry vs. Campbell and Pope vs. Johns Creek. Kell visits Rome, and all three East Cobb teams in action Friday are trying to bounce back from losses.
Atlanta Parrot Head Club members at the 2016 Jimmy Buffett Tailgate party.
Members of the East Cobb-based Atlanta Parrot Head Club like to say they don’t need a reason to relax at local watering holes and enjoy the sounds of Jimmy Buffett and related musical acts.
But this Saturday, they really have a good reason to throw a public party and that’s just what they’ve decided to do.
They’re staging what they’re calling a Jimmy Buffet tailgating event at Red Hare Brewing (1998 Delk Industrial Blvd.) in part to mark the recent enactment of SB 85, also known as the Georgia craft beer law.
That law, which passed the Georgia legislature earlier this year after several years of industry lobbying, went into effect Sept. 1. It allows establishments that brew their own beer to make limited direct sales to the public.
As the Atlanta Parrot Head Club notes, “nor do [patrons] have to have a wrist band checked off off or exchange tickets for drinks. They will be able to pay for individual drinks—much like going to a bar—and they will be able to buy a limited amount of six packs, growlers, etc. to go.”
According to the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild, Red Hare is one of two Cobb craft breweries, and there are about three dozen across Georgia. The other Cobb craft brew business is Ironmonger Brewery, located just across from Red Hare on Delk Road (2129 Northwest Parkway).
The Atlanta Parrot Head Club event Saturday takes place from 12:30 p.m.—5:30 p.m. and admission is free. The Tiki Brothers Band, whose playlist includes Jimmy Buffett and rock classics, will play from 1-5, and Carne 250 Texas BBQ products will be sold.
The club, which describes itself as “a Jimmy Buffett fan club with a community service problem,” participates in several community service events throughout the year, including next Saturday’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s run at Kennesaw State University.
The next monthly gathering of the Atlanta Parrot Head Club is Sept. 21 on the patio of The Wing Café and Tap House (2145 Roswell Road) where it meets the third Thursday of each month.
Attendees of all ages enjoyed dancing to “Hava Nagila” at Noshfest Sunday. (East Cobb News photos and slideshow by Wendy Parker)
The first of the two-day Temple Kol Emeth Noshfest took place under beautiful skies Sunday, as one of East Cobb’s biggest Labor Day holiday weekend events got underway.
Noshfest continues on Monday, and Labor Day in East Cobb also includes the Holy Smoke BBQ and Festival, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Johnson Ferry Church (955 Johnson Ferry Road). Details here for what’s on tap.
The Noshfest celebration of Jewish food, music and culture included exhibitors, especially local artists, merchants and other businesses.
The festivities included the 2nd annual Noshfest bagel-eating contest.In addition to traditional Jewish folk music, The Alex Guthrie Band was among the featured acts. He’s a Lassiter HS grad whose group sports an acoustic and blues-infused sound.
More sights below from the Noshfest, which continues Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Temple Kol Emeth is located at 1415 Old Canton Road. Parking is available across the street at Eastminster Presbyterian Church.
’50s Chevies and other classic cars will return to the Holy Smoke BBQ Festival on Labor Day at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
The sun’s out, after a couple of rainy (but much-needed) days, just in time for a packed and extended Labor Day holiday weekend calendar of things to do in East Cobb.
Friday’s got the busiest schedule, with all six East Cobb football teams in action, including a couple of backyard rivalry games. Kickoff for all games is 7:30 p.m.:
Walton (2-0) at Pope (0-1): The Raiders are in the Top 10 and face a young Greyhounds test in their first hostile environment. Pope is also aiding victims of Hurricane Harvey by asking those attending the football game to bring water bottles to donate. There will be collection bins located through the stadium;
Kell (0-1) at Lassiter (2-0): Another all-East Cobb battle and a non-region treat pits two teams that reached the state playoffs last season, and look like they have the goods to contend again;
South Cobb (1-1) at Wheeler (1-1): The Wildcats return home after their first win of the season at Centennial; don’t forget the Wildcat Nation Food Truck tailgating event that begins at 5:30 p.m. in the East Cobb Middle School parking lot. The proceeds will benefit the work of the ECMS and Wheeler PTSAs and foundations.
If you’d rather stay indoors while relaxing and dining (or just rockin’) to good music, there’s a good variety to choose from at several East Cobb restaurants and bars:
At Chicago’s Steak and Seafood (4401 Shallowford Road), the Tom Olsen Trio plays jazz favorites tonight, with Retrograde performing from the folk rock and acoustic genre Saturday. Both are from 7-10 p.m. at the SpeakEasy Lounge;
At Suburban Tap (1318 Johnson Ferry Road), the acoustic-Americana sounds of the Poverty Level band rev up at 10 p.m. Friday, after the prep football games are over;
The Wing Cafe & Tap House (2145 Roswell Road) has a high-energy rock lineup planned, with Band Xperforming party style Friday and Saturday, from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. each night;
The traditional weekend fare of dueling pianos is on tap Friday and Saturday at Red Sky (1255 Johnson Ferry Road) starting at 9; and there’s live music also starting at 9 on Friday at the Rose & Crown Tavern (1391 Powers Ferry Road).
The Good Mews Animal Shelter (3805 Robinson Road) is pitching in with Hurricane Harvey relief, serving as a dropping-off point for pet food and litter Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. They say no other items should be donated, and the goods collected are part of a PALS Atlanta effort to help out with dogs and cats affected by the terrible storms and flooding in Texas.
And finally, for the Labor Day weekend festivals. Luckily, they’re scheduled so that you can enjoy them both without missing much at all:
Dancing at last year’s Noshfest. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)
The Noshfest at Temple Kol Emeth (1415 Old Canton Road), takes place Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free with two canned goods to be donated to MUST Ministries, food and drink tickets range from $1-$4 and can be purchased on-site, as you go. The Sunday lineup includes a cooking demonstration from the General Muir restaurant, a bagel-eating contest and live music from The Alex Guthrie Band (named after East Cobb’s own young music sensation) and Israeli dancing; Monday’s finale winds down with the Nu-Grass Americana sounds of The Chip McGuire Band;
On Monday, the Holy Smoke Festival returns to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (955 Johnson Ferry Road) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to BBQ meals served up by Williamson Bros. ($6 a plate), there will be a classic car show, live music, a Skydivers parachute jump team, and before all that gets underway, at 5K run and tot trot starting at 9 a.m. Admission is free.
Check out our full East Cobb Newscalendar listings for more events, this weekend and beyond. Did we miss anything? Do you have an item to share with the public? Contact us, and we’ll post it here! Send an email to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com.
Thanks for getting in touch, and have a terrific Labor Day holiday weekend!
“Let There Be Light: A Photographic Journey,” will be on exhibit from Aug. 10-31, with an opening reception at 7 p.m. on the opening day.
Batley has taught at The Art Place-Mountain View, The Art Place-Big Shanty in Kennesaw and the Peachtree School of Photography in East Marietta, in addition to other venues in metro Atlanta. He is a longtime member of the Cobb Photographic Society.
Registration is also underway for fall art classes at The Art Place-Mountain View (click here for details). Most begin in late August and a number of them have limited space available.
Jonathan W. Jordan of East Cobb, author of several books about American military history, will highlight the Cobb Library Foundation’s seventh annual “Booked for the Evening” gala Sept. 22 at the Hilton Marietta Conference Center.
Jordan’s books include The New York Times’ bestselling books “Brothers Rivals Victors,” about U.S. Army generals Eisenhower, Patton and Bradley during World War II, and most recently, “American Warlords,” about the American military high command under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the same war.
Here’s more from the Cobb Library Foundation on the gala dinner and how to make reservations:
The Booked for the Evening Gala is the primary fundraising event for the Cobb Library Foundation in support of Cobb’s libraries. Fundraising from this event has enabled us to supply valuable equipment and materials for early and adult literacy, computer stations, Summer Reading Programs, GEMS and Teen Technology programs to the 16 branches of the Cobb County Public Library System. That’s all possible thanks to YOU – our attendees, our supporters and our sponsors. For sponsorship opportunities send inquiries to cobblibraryfoundation@cobbcat.org or call (770) 528-2196 for further information. Purchase your tickets/table now! cobblibraryfoundation.org.
