ATHENS VISITORS GUIDE VisitAthensGA.com 800.653.0603 LIVE GALLERIES & DINING FESTIVALS 706.357.4430 MUSIC! PUBLIC ART! DISCOVERIES! & EVENTS! A NEW TAKE ON A THE ALL-NEW CLASSIC. APP. Vibrant Downtown Home of the Georgia Bulldogs State-of-the-Art Convention Center Over 600 new hotel rooms connected, adjacent or CLEAN. within a short walk Covered Outdoor Pavilion Sports Arena ENGAGING. Performing Arts Theatre New Artist in Residence, Heidi Hensley Art UP TO THE MINUTE. Download it today at your 300 N Thomas St. • Downtown Athens phone or tablet’s app store 706.208.0900 • ClassicCenter.com INSIDE VISITOR VISITOR INFORMATION 5 INFORMATION LIVE MUSIC CENTRAL 6 CRAFT BEER 8 DINING DISCOVERIES 10 WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOR? 12 48 HOURS IN ATHENS 13 ARTS & CULTURE 14 HOME & GARDEN 16 Herty Field/UGA Campus SPORTS & REC 18 Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau ON THE GO 300 N. Thomas St., Athens, GA 30601 Inside the historic fire hall at The Classic Center AREA MAPS 20 VisitAthensGA.com is your connection to the most comprehensive, most up-to-date information about Athens, 706-357-4430 | VisitAthensGA.com including event listings and insightful blog articles to Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m. FAMILY FUN 23 experience Athens like a local. Downtown Map, D3 ATTRACTIONS GUIDE 24 Athens Welcome Center ONLINE 280 E. Dougherty St., Athens, GA 30601 Inside the Church-Waddel-Brumby house museum @VisitAthensGA IMPORTANT NUMBERS 27 706-353-1820 | AthensWelcomeCenter.com Visit Athens, Georgia Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday noon–5 p.m. FESTIVALS & EVENTS 28 @VisitAthensGA Downtown Map, D2 Visit Athens GA Stop in for expert advice, free brochures & maps, and self-guided tours. Operating from the Athens Welcome Center, Classic City Tours HOTELS, BED & BREAKFAST 29 AthensLifeUnleashed provides guided tours by reservation, as well as podcast and audio tours. See map, p. 21 for coupon and tour schedule! University Of Georgia Visitors Center Four Towers Building, 405 College Station Rd., Athens, GA 30602 706-542-0842 | Visit.UGA.edu Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Select Saturdays 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m. Closed on Sundays, UGA holidays, & home football gamedays. On the cover: Acclaimed tattoo artist David Hale’s The Athens Visitors Guide is produced by the Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau. Although every UGA Map, D6 Birdsong Mural is on the side of Epiphany, effort has been made to ensure accuracy, we cannot guarantee that errors have not occurred or a downtown boutique with a heart for charity. that dates, times, phone numbers, and other information have not changed. Published July 2018. Free guided tours daily; reservations strongly suggested. 4 4 Life Unleashed 706-357-4430 | VisitAthensGA.com 5 Retro Vibes Today’s Hit List Immerse yourself in Athens’ music After a refreshing happy hour at heritage with the Athens Music one of Athens’ breweries and Walking Tour. You’ll discover the delectable local flavors at dinner, Music Festivals story of all the moves of the fabulous you’ll be fortified for an evening Head to Athens for a music 40 Watt Club, where Duke Ellington of live music. Check performance festival, the best time to played in the early 20th century, how calendars at VisitAthensGA.com/ the Last Resort got its name, plus events/live-music or pick up a copy sample the music scene! sites where famous music videos of the weekly Flagpole. JUNE: AthFest were filmed and album photography was shot, like the Murmur Trestle. Start out at the earlier shows at JUNE: Wildwood Revival Download the self-guided tour The Foundry or Hendershots, or a special performance at JULY: Classic City from VisitAthensGA.com/music-tour American Music Festival LIVE or pick up a copy at the Athens The Classic Center or UGA’s Welcome Center or the Athens Performing Arts Center. JULY: Sigh in July Music & Arts Festival Convention & Visitors Bureau (p. 4). Stay out late with a AUGUST: Athens PopFest MUSIC national touring act, Don’t miss the UGA Special JUNE–SEPTEMBER, monthly: regional draw, or local Collections galleries for interac- Sunflower Music Series CENTRAL tive exhibits, including broadcast favorite in Athens’ media and music. acclaimed clubs such as: SEPTEMBER: J&J Music Festival Known worldwide as the • The Georgia Theatre OCTOBER: North Georgia Seek out favorite and hard-to-find birthplace of R.E.M, the B-52s, Folk Festival albums and local band tees • 40 Watt Club Widespread Panic, and the Drive at Wuxtry Records, where • Caledonia Lounge And don’t forget Halloween by Truckers, Athens is still called members of R.E.M. first met and • Nowhere Bar going strong as “One of the and New Year’s Eve for special home by hundreds of bands. You’ll South’s Best Musical Landmarks” • The World Famous bookings and events in the clubs. find plenty of live entertainment (Southern Living, March 2018.) • Little Kings Shuffle Club almost every night of the week, You’ll find more albums and music • Live Wire Athens memorabilia at Lo You Stuff including singer-songwriters, and Atomic Athens. Score some rock, indie sounds, country, jazz, hot new threads along Clayton Get More! Street’s boutiques and more Locate venues and download bluegrass, hip-hop, and rap. vintage shops on Jackson Street. a music history walking tour Moon Taxi, @ The Classic Center @ The Moon Taxi, VisitAthensGA.com/live-music 6 6 Life Unleashed 706-357-4430 | VisitAthensGA.com 7 Terrapin Beer Co., Athens’ first brewery, paved the way for other local Craft Beer Pairings breweries. Terrapin’s original Rye Pale Athens’ Chefs Recommend: Ale is still a best seller, joined by plenty of other year-round offerings such as Hopsecutioner, an IPA with hints of pine Chef Peter Dale, CRAFT and citrus flavors, plus special seasonal The National releases such as Pumpkinfest in the fall, “We love to pair Creature Comforts Moo Hoo Chocolate Stout in winter, and Bibo with most things; it plays well BEER Watermelon Gose in the summer. with food. We especially enjoy it with Athens is becoming known around the our Okra & Chickpeas appetizer. Creature Comforts Brewing This veggie focused starter includes southeast as a beer destination, complete with Company’s Tropicalia has become spiced ground lamb and harissa, both great breweries and pubs. Spend happy hour a sensation, setting off infamous of which are a great match with the more hoppy profile of the Bibo pilsner.” at the source of good times and good beer, shortages in nearby metro Atlanta. The best solution? Buy direct from the with a tour, tastings, and live music. manufacturer by heading to Athens! Chef Mimi Maumus, Known for its superior sours such as home.made Athena, Creature Comforts also brews “Our pepper jelly glazed shoulder ham a full line of year-round and seasonal with pimento cheese and sesame milk releases. The brewery is expanding in rolls has a lot of bold flavors and is 2018 to a second restored, historic super rich, so an easy drinking beer Athens location, adding a serene spot with some zip is the perfect pairing. just outside of downtown to its bustling We couldn’t decide between Creature Comforts’ Bibo or Terrapin’s Golden downtown location. Ale… so we photographed it with both.” Southern Brewing Company joined the party in 2015. Southern has made Chef Scott DeBernardo, a name for itself with its wild yeast program, through a collaboration with The Pine the UGA Microbiology Department, to “The Broad St. Pale Ale, by isolate wild yeast strains to use in its Southern Brewing Co., is a great brews. Fewer than 50 breweries in the pairing with our Daily Lunch Burger. United States are running a similar yeast It’s approachable and enjoyable, with a refreshing blend of citrusy program. This unique yeast program hops that’s perfect in warm weather. allows them to brew novel beers like the Wild Azalea and Cherokee Rose that “taste like home.” Other popular beers on the menu include the Hobnail IPA Classic City Beer Festival, each April, and the Southern Berliner. has been named one of the 25 Best Beer Most recently, Akademia Brewing Company has brought craft beer to Festivals in the World by UpRoxx. Athens’ West Corridor, with an emphasis on food-beer pairings at the brewpub. Even the sauces are beer-based! They specialize in sour beers, as well as Get More! serving traditional German styles with Brewery tour schedules and special events a flavorful twist. VisitAthensGA.com/craftbeer 8 8 Life Unleashed 706-357-4430 | VisitAthensGA.com 9 Breakfast Athenians take their coffee seriously, and you can head to the source by visiting Jittery Joe’s Coffee Roaster on Barber Street or its several coffee shops around town. 1000 Faces Coffee in downtown Athens also roasts its own beans on-site and supplies many of Athens’ top restaurants. For those who like hearty fare to start the day, Athens delivers. Super-sized biscuits at Mama’s Boy and omelet specials at The Grit are local favorites. Prefer a continental breakfast? Stop by Independent Baking Company in Five Points for hearth-baked breads and pastries, from scratch daily, or Ike & Jane in Normaltown for crazy-good donuts. Lunch Athens insiders know to venture off the beaten path and into historic neighborhoods for lunch. Pulaski Heights BBQ smokes meats daily and prepares inventive sides from scratch including squash casserole, smoked cauliflower, and kimchi. Chef-owner Chuck Ramsey provides plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten- free options. Pulaski Heights BBQ is part of the regional Brews ‘n Qs Trail, as are several Athens breweries, so grab a brochure on the way in and start collecting passport stamps as you make your way around town.