Hey, everyone!
Our beloved Atlanta Dogwood Festival is in trouble — and we all need to pitch in to save it.
Can you donate even $5 or $10 to help?
Here’s what’s going on:
According to organizers, rising production costs and shifts in corporate giving and event sponsorship priorities have created a $250,000 budget shortfall.
Unless they raise this amount by November 1, 2025, the festival will not return for its 90th anniversary in April, 2026.
Each year, Atlanta on the Cheap touts the Dogwood Festival as a major highlight in spring festival season. For nearly 90 years, this festival has brought our city to life with fine art, live concerts, cultural performances, children’s activities, and so much more. It’s always been FREE to attend.
Our readers know the importance of this event to metro Atlanta’s creative and cultural community.
Please help us keep this tradition alive by:
- Donating what you can at https://dogwood.org
- Sharing this message with your friends, family, followers, and networks.
- Contacting local corporations, foundations, and community partners to urge them to support the arts.
Together, we can keep this Atlanta tradition alive.
Some additional info
From the media alert:
Although it continues to draw impressive crowds and earn national awards for its programming, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is now at grave risk of not reaching its 90th anniversary in April 2026.
Since 2020, the nonprofit that produces the festival has had to cope with ongoing serious financial losses due to the impact of COVID-19, reduced sponsorship, and increased costs.
As with other major festivals and events throughout the country, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival’s Board of Directors has confronted significant budget challenges.
Production costs have risen by 25% to 30% over the past few years.
This increase is primarily due to heightened expenses in areas like security, equipment rental, and the support services necessary to produce such a complex event.
In addition to rising production costs, event sponsorship of live events has evolved, and now many companies have prioritized other marketing initiatives rather than sponsorships.
The Board is in conversation with the Mayor’s Office to gain support from the City of Atlanta, which is experiencing its own budget challenges.
Sustaining the festival will ultimately depend on support from multiple sectors of the community.
Behind the scenes
The Atlanta Dogwood Festival was founded in 1936 by Walter Rich, founder of Rich’s department store. It was an an effort to bring cheer to residents in the midst of the Depression — and to highlight the blooming of the dogwood trees.
Since then, it has continued each year (with breaks during World War II and one year during the COVID-19 pandemic), celebrating the beginning of spring, the beauty of the dogwoods, and the gorgeous Atlanta weather.
As the city’s largest and longest-running fine arts festival, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival regularly:
- welcomes 250+ fine artists from across the country
- supports youth art with the Atlanta High School Art Exhibition
- hosts the International Stage with hundreds of performers representing Atlanta’s global communities
- offers a platform for local and nationally recognized bands
- features creative activities for children
All of this is provided to festival visitors for FREE!
But what you may not realize is that the Atlanta Dogwood Festival has always been a self-supporting, nonprofit organization led by a volunteer board of directors and a staff of just two.
To offset rising costs, the organization has added fundraising efforts, such as the Mimosa 5K Run, a VIP ticketed event, midway rides, and merchandise and dogwood saplings sales. In recent year,s it’s collected voluntary donations at the entrance gates
There is still time to save the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, but time is running out.
The 90th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival is scheduled to take place April 10th to 12th in 2026, in Piedmont Park.
Let’s make that happen!
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