Anniversary 5th Decatur’s Issue Music Scene ROCKS late SUMMER 2011 BEST EVER Decatur Book Festival Check It Out Plus: Erbert and Gerbert Ballet, Bikes, Babies Decatur Pets and more For the communities of Decatur, Druid Hills, Candler Park, Lake Claire, Avondale Estates and Oak Grove Late Summer 2011 Features 14 Local Music Scene Nationally acclaimed Eddie’s Attic is teaming with Agnes Scott College to present the Eddie and Agnes concert series, and the break-out duo Civil War is slated for Presser Hall in October. 16 Restaurant Spotlight Soup and sandwich fare are art forms at this local restaurant where the bread and soups are freshly made, the signature sauces are savory, and you have a drink fountain that dispenses 150 flavor options. 36 Summer Vacation The beaches of Alabama’s Gulf Coast are known for their beauty, but there’s so much more to do at the coast than sitting by the surf. Departments 6 Publisher’s Letter Decatur Living Turns 5! 12 Your Child DeKalb County’s oldest ballet school trains some of the county’s youngest dancers on Monday mornings at Decatur School of Ballet. 18 Shop Decatur A new one-stop bike store has rolled into town that offers everything bikers and tri- athletes need to enjoy the ride, including custom fits and repair services. 20 Your Health DeKalb Medical Women’s Center is the preferred birthing facility for 6,000 women a 11 Cover Story year. Read about what makes this Center special. Decatur takes summer reading to a whole new level on Labor Day weekend when book lovers converge for one of the country’s largest book festivals, the Sixth 24 Home Improvement Annual Decatur Book Festival. Is your home energy efficient and comfortable? Find out what you can do to make your home more energy efficient. 27 Decatur Pets Our team of professionals weigh in on coping with the loss of a pet, getting rid of pesky fleas and more. 40 Your Money Can an FHA Mortgage Loan Help You? 12 16 36 41 Calendar of Events Decatur Living is now on Facebook. CHECK OUT THIS ISSUE ONLINE @ WWW.decatURLIVING.COM 4 DECATUR LIVING Late Summer 2011 2009 LOABA People’s Choice Award Winner For Best New Home We Listen 1.855.337.3323 | 678.954.5763 | FICHTEL© 2011 OF SIMMONS | FOUTS COPYRIGHT [email protected] 160 Clairemont Avenue, Suite 200, Decatur, Georgia 30030 publisher’s letter DECATUR LiviNG, LLC P.O. BOX 2589 DECATUR, GA 30031 PUBlisher Natalie Gregory ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, Decatur Living MARKETING Vicki Sarris EDITOR Lorayne Bryan ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Natalie Gregory Turns 5! Theresa Woodgeard Vicki Sarris ART DIRECTOR Brent Cashman ilestones should be recognized, celebrated and appreciated, and we PhoTOGRAphy Jamie Rosenthal Holly Jones just hit our first big one. Five years M Guy Keir ago we published our first Decatur Living maga- Josh Lamkin zine, and despite challenging economic times, Chris Lewis the demise of countless wonderful magazines, and the fierce competition for advertiser dollars, WRITERS Juliette Apicella we are still here and enjoying our commitment Rhiannon Clark to producing a community focused publication. Treasure Dreher Amanda Irish, DVM Thank you, sponsors, for your invest- Peter Michelson ment in our community and your continuing Philip Roman support of this venture. Our readers tell us Debbie Saulsberry they love the business, restaurant and physi- Mary Swint cian spotlights, previews of local events, and Jennifer Wadsworth Theresa Woodgeard glimpses behind the curtain. And they also appreciate the relevant and timely advice about pets, money and health. Thank you, staff, for your diligence and Decatur Living passion for this project—you clearly love what Natalie Gregory you do—Vicki Sarris, associate publisher; Brent Cashman, art director; Lorrie Bryan, Telephone: 404.373.4262 editor. Thanks also to our frequent contributors: Theresa Woodgeard, Mary Swint, [email protected] Sherry Baker, Dr. Will Draper, Treasure Dreher, and Jennifer Wadsworth; and to our lead Decatur Living is published bi-monthly by Natalie Gregory. photographer, Jamie Rosenthal. Distribution is a minimum of 14,000 with up to 11,000 And a special thank you to you, our readers, for your encouraging words and for patron- being mailed to households in Decatur, Druid Hills, Avondale Estates, Candler Park and Lake Claire and Oak izing our sponsors. We appreciate the enthusiasm with which you embrace life in Decatur Grove. Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced and it is our pleasure to enrich that experience for you in each issue—that is our mission. without written permission from the publisher. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for content of all This, our fifth anniversary issue, is especially full of enriching content and more reasons advertisements. The publisher does not necessarily share the to celebrate life in Decatur—the sixth annual Decatur Book Festival, the local music editorial opinions expressed in Decatur Living Magazine. Personal decisions regarding health, finance, and other scene, an innovative new sandwich shop, a full service bike shop, and more. matters should be made after consultation with the reader’s professional advisors. Anniversary 5th Decatur’s Issue Wishing you all the best, Music Scene ROCKS LATE SUMMER 2011 Natalie Gregory BEST EVER Publisher, Decatur Living Decatur Book Festival In the Summer issue, in the article called “Raising a Proper Pup,” the photography was Check It Out Plus: provided by Holly Brown of H. Browns Photography. Check out some of her other works at Erbert and Gerbert Ballet, Bikes, Babies www.hbrownsphotography.com Decatur Pets and more For the communities of Decatur, Druid Hills, Candler Park, Lake Claire, Avondale Estates and Oak Grove 6 DECATUR LIVING Late Summer 2011 ON The cover: Decatur Book Festival 2011 Late Summer 2011 DECATUR LIVING 7 !"#$%"& !'()'(*!+ A M A R R T E E R T Caring ForYou Naturally www.terramatersalon.com ,-./01/23456/76/&634/"861//9/765"#$%//9/:;:<,==<=;,> 8 DECATUR LIVING Late Summer 2011 by Lorrie Bryan COVER STORY Sixth Annual Decatur Book Festival (a Prologue) Caroline Herring espite the competition from readily available entertain- try’s most popular ment options like movies, Internet and video games, the book festivals. On Jeffrey Fasano by photo Dpower of books to inform, enlighten, educate and enter- Labor Day weekend, tain remains strong—books aren’t going away, but the industry Sept. 2-4, 2011, the historic Decatur Square will be the epicenter is being transformed. of the book world as more than 300 authors and 70,000 book In recent months, the story of the book publishing industry enthusiasts converge to explore and celebrate books with a variety reads like a page-turning adventure novel. E-book technology is of engaging events—book signings, author readings, panel discus- mounting an attack on the staid ivory tower that has dominated sions, an interactive children’s area, live music, parades, cooking the book publishing domain for more than a century, long-time demonstrations, poetry slams, writing workshops, and more. brick and mortar bookstores are crumbling, self-publishing is “We truly have something for everyone—a great combination gaining momentum, and digital printing has changed the entire of established, much-loved festival traditions as well as exciting, book publishing financial equation. new offerings,” says Terra Elan McVoy, program director for Meanwhile...here in Decatur…local leaders, literary luminaries, the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) Decatur Book Festival bibliophiles and an army of 500+ volunteers are eagerly preparing (DBF) presented by DeKalb Medical. “We’re enjoying our grow- to host the sixth annual Decatur Book Festival, one of the coun- ing success and national reputation and are able to attract even Late Summer 2011 DECATUR LIVING 9 more renown authors from across the country McVoy notes that several cross-disciplin- as well as a strong pool of local talent.” ary events are slated for this year’s festival, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and “…It’s a great including a presentation by famed South- celebrated artist/illustrator Carson Ellis, the ern writer Clyde Edgerton. Celebrating his nationally renowned pair behind a new fam- reminder of newest book, The Night Train, Edgerton will ily-friendly book, Wildwood, will keynote share not only his writing skills, but also the AJC Decatur Book Festival. Wildwood, a some singing and guitar playing as well. fantasy novel of magic, wonder and danger, how vibrant Decatur-based singer/songwriter Caroline is the first in what will become a three-book Herring, featured in 2010 on A Prairie Home series set in a world reviewers compare to writing can Companion with Garrison Keillor, will share C.S. Lewis’ Narnia. Best known for his inven- her songs inspired by children’s books on the tive and timeless melodies and lilting vocals, be, even in Children’s Stage. The Atlanta Opera will also Meloy is the lead singer of indie band The present a special preview of their upcoming Decemberists. Ellis is known for her illustra- this ever- children’s opera based on the tales of Brer tions of books such as The Mysterious Benedict Rabbit, popularized by Atlanta’s own Joel Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and The Com- distracting Chandler Harris. poser Is Dead by Lemony Snicket, as well as The Theatrical Outfit, one of Atlanta’s album covers for The Decemberists. world of oldest professional theater companies, will “Innovation has always been a big part of present two separate stage offerings, includ- the AJC Decatur Book Festival, and bringing ing Calvin Alexander Ramsey’s world in one of the country’s best-known musicians tweets and premiere drama The Green Book, and a first to launch his first novel will help us fulfill our ever workshop of Tom Key’s stage adaptation mission of creating excitement about books e-mails.” of Eudora Welty’s Pulitzer Prize-winning among all age groups,” AJC DBF Executive novel, The Optimist’s Daughter.