PHOTOS: ‘Sunny’ piano ribbon-cutting and dedication at East Cobb Park

A major project for summer ARTSCAPE! students at East Cobb Park was celebrated on Saturday, with a ribbon-cutting and dedication of the “Sunny” piano at the upper pavilion.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The piano, which is part of the Atlanta-based Play Me Again pianos non-profit, was painted by children at this summer’s ARTSCAPE! Program at East Cobb Park. It is named after Sunny Walker, one of the driving forces behind the creation of East Cobb Park and the first board president of Friends for the East Cobb Park.

After the ribbon-cutting, East Cobb youngster Nico Brett, age 12, played the debut music on “Sunny,” Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” along with the theme song from the “Peanuts.”

EAST COBB WEEKEND: Pianos in the park; Campmeeting closes; mushroom gardens and more

The second-from-last weekend before the start of school has several events geared for kids in end-of-summer mode, but there are quite a few slated for youth and adults alike.

The East Cobb News Events Calendar has all the details of every weekend event we’ve got listed (and send yours along if you don’t see it to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com). Here are a few of the highlights:Sunny, East Cobb Park ARTSCAPE!, Play Me Again Pianos

  • At 10 a.m. Saturday, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for “Sunny,” a piano kids at East Cobb Park’s ARTSCAPE! camp have been painting this summer. It’s the latest Play Me Again Piano delivery in metro Atlanta, and “Sunny” will be a permanent fixture at the park’s upper pavilion;
  • Want to learn about mushrooms—how to grow and cook them? The East Cobb Library is holding a mini-fungi fest at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with a “Build A Mushroom Garden” seminar, and reservations are strongly suggested;
  • Another library event, this one starting at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Mountain View Regional branch: A screening of the “We Are Marshall” film, about a college football team that perished in a 1970 airline tragedy, and how those on the freshman team played on in their honor;
  • For grown-ups, the weekend ivory-tinkling continues at Red Sky Tapas Bar, with the 88 Licks Dueling Piano performances Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. to midnight;
  • The 180th Marietta Campmeeting concludes Sunday with an 11 a.m. service, and twice-daily services are scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. The guest sermon for the finale will be delivered by Dr. Charles Sineath, a retired pastor formerly at East Cobb’s Mt. Zion United Methodist Church who’s been designated as this year’s Campmeeting Pastor.

Again, let us know if you have calendar items to share, for this weekend and beyond. We’re working to have the best calendar listings in East Cobb, so have a look around and let us know what you think!

Have a great weekend, and stay in touch!

EAST COBB THIS WEEK: Summer library events; tax millage town hall; blood drive; business luncheons; greenways and trails meeting

It’s not quite back to school—though it is hard to believe that’s exactly two weeks from today, on July 31—and the four branches of the Cobb County Public Library System in East Cobb have plenty of activities scheduled for the next two weeks.

We’ve included a good sampling of them in our East Cobb Events Calendar, and there are plenty more to peruse on the library system website. In addition to regular storytimes, this week’s events include a picnic at the Mountain View Regional branch, monthly adult book discussion groups at East Marietta and East Cobb, the monthly Gritters STEAM team event and so much more!

On Saturday, the East Cobb branch will feature a presentation on how to grow your own mushroom garden, with some expert advice from the Mushroom Club of Georgia.

Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is taking some heat for proposing a tax millage increase, and on Wednesday he is holding a town hall meeting at the East Cobb Senior Center to solicit more input.

The Cobb school board is holding a final public hearing Thursday before voting on setting its tax millage rate for 2017.

The East Cobb Business Association and Northeast Cobb Business Association are holding their monthly luncheons on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. On Wednesday, the Ashley Homestore on Roswell Road is holding a Red Cross blood drive, and the East Cobb Lions Club will be offering free vision screenings.

If you missed last week’s public input meeting on the Cobb Greenways and Trails Master Plan at East Cobb Library, there will be another meeting Tuesday from 5-6:30 at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, Canton Road and Piedmont Road.

Another end-of-summer event for kids takes place Thursday at Terrell Mill Park. The Fairy House Workshop, presented by the Cobb Water System’s Watershed Stewardship Program, includes story-reading before kids ages 3-13 create their own fairy houses.

The Marietta Campmeeting continues every day this week through Saturday, with services at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and an ice cream social after Tuesday’s evening service, starting at 9:30 p.m. The final service takes place at 11 a.m. Sunday.

We’ll come back later this week with a preview of weekend events in East Cobb, including live entertainment and other community activities.

Please feel free to send your items—including photos, flyers, maps and PDFs if you wish—to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com, and we’ll post them promptly.

Have a great week, and please stay in touch!

 

PHOTOS: Bradley’s Bar & Grill Car Show and Summer Fest

Sunday afternoon’s heat didn’t deter vintage car enthusiasts and others who turned out at Bradley’s Bar & Grill on Lower Roswell Road for the restaurant’s Car Show and Summer Fest.  (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

Bradley's Car Show and Summer Fest

The event, which also involved Green Bean Socials, was a fundraiser for the Georgia Make A Wish Foundation (a total of$2,321 was collected), and there was plenty of shade for spectators, along with food—Bradley’s bar favorites including fried green tomatoes—beverages, live music, a water tank and frosty treats.

Bradley's Car Show & Summer Fest

Bradley's Car Show & Summer Fest

Bradley's Car Show & Summer Fest

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

EAST COBB THIS WEEK: Tax millage rate hearings; women’s networking; Marietta Campmeeting; Bradley’s car show

The Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb Board of Education this week are holding required public hearings as they prepare to set their 2017 millage rates.

The commissioners will hold hearings tonight at 6:30, and at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and at 7 p.m. on July 25, the date they’re slated to vote on the millage rate. Those hearings will be in the board’s 2nd floor meeting room at the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St. in downtown Marietta.

The school board is holding hearings Tuesday at 10 a.m., during its monthly work session, and again at 6 p.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District main office, 514 Glover St. in Marietta. East Cobb events calendar

The school board will have final hearings on July 20 at 1:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m., when it’s scheduled to vote on its 2017 millage rate.

State law mandates the hearings if local property tax digests rise and millage rates aren’t rolled back, prompting a tax increase (here’s a year-by-year chart of Cobb tax digest totals dating back to 2012, when the county began rebounding from the recession. Here’s the BOE’s millage rate notice and 5-year history of its property tax levy).

Elsewhere in this week’s East Cobb Events Calendar, there’s a new women’s business networking group meeting Thursday at Red Sky Tapas Bar that pledges a “no compete” atmosphere. Friday marks the 180th renewal of the Marietta Campmeeting, with an opening picnic and service scheduled from 6-9 p.m. The venerable tradition continues through July 23, and if you haven’t been, or even if you’re not religious, it’s a tremendous experience. I covered this years ago during my newspaper days, and I highly recommend it.

On Sunday’s Bradley’s Bar & Grill on Lower Roswell Road is holding a summer fest and car show from 3-7 p.m., and if you want your car to take part, you have until Wednesday to register. It’s all for a very good cause.

We’re just getting our engines revved up here at East Cobb News and want to make our calendar listings are simply the best in the community. Please feel free to send your items—including photos, flyers and PDFs if you wish—to editor/publisher Wendy Parker at: eastcobbnewsnow@gmail.com.

Have a great week, and please stay in touch!

PHOTOS: 3rd annual Skip Wells Memorial Ride

More than 200 riders took off from Sprayberry High School Saturday morning in honor of the late Marine Lance Cpl. Skip Wells and to raise money for the Jr. ROTC and band at his alma mater.

Wells, a 2012 Sprayberry graduate, was one of five military personnel killed in a terrorist attack in 2015 at the Chattanooga Naval Marine Reserve Center. The Lcpl Skip Wells Foundation was formed in the wake of his death, and the funds raised from the ride and other events benefit the Sprayberry JROTC and band, both of which Wells belonged to.

Saturday’s ride was organized by the Cherokee Wingmen Club and traveled along a route to Cartersville, escorted by the Cobb and Bartow sheriff’s departments. After the ride, the participants, who came mostly from Georgia and surrounding states, gathered at the Cherokee Wingmen Clubhouse in Canton.

On Monday, the U.S. Post Office at 2886 Sandy Plains Road, just up the road from Sprayberry, will be dedicated in honor of Skip Wells. That event begins at 11 a.m.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.