Are you looking for ways to celebrate the last holiday of the summer? The city of Atlanta has a multitude of family-friendly events occurring this Labor Day weekend to keep everyone entertained.

• AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race is an Atlanta Labor Day tradition, with weekend festivities culminating in Sunday night’s race. Held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, there are plenty of pre-race events to keep you entertained, including the Friday night Sprint Car Shootout, Saturday’s Great Clips Grit Chips 300 and the pre-race concert on Sunday featuring Billy Currington. There are still tickets available to see the green flag start on Sunday night at 7:30, with ticket prices starting at $19 for students and $39 for adults.
• 15^th Annual Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival is held in Pine Mountain at Callaway Gardens from August 30 through September 1. Festivities begin with a Friday Night Balloon Glow, where you can watch beautiful balloons in flight or hop in a basket for your own tethered balloon ride. There will be morning and evening balloon flights on Saturday and Sunday, with plenty of activities to keep you entertained between flights. Events range from miniature golf, beach activities and food trucks to a classic car show, Kids Zone and a 5K race and triathlon, all before the final balloon glow Sunday night on Robin Lake Beach. There is no better or more picturesque way to say farewell to summer.
• Art in the Park takes place at the Historic Marietta Square and Glover Park Saturday through Monday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. A Labor Day tradition since 1986, Art in the Park is a popular festival that celebrates the arts and features local and national artists from around the country. Weekend events include an artist’s market with art from 175 of the country’s finest artists, children’s art alley, Marietta ChalkFest and the famous Painted Pots. Not only do visitors to the Square have a chance to take part in the Art in the Park festivities, they also have the opportunity to visit the unique shops, boutiques, restaurants, museums and galleries located in downtown Marietta and they can even take a walking tour. Free parking for the event can be found on the street and in the Cobb County Parking Decks on Waddell Street at Lawrence Street.
• Powers’ Crossroads Country Fair and Art Festival features juried artists and craftsmen from all over the United States. Held in Newnan from August 31 through September 2, the event has continuous weekend entertainment that includes country, gospel, folk and contemporary music, food highlighting local country cooking and demonstrations of plantation skills such as blacksmithing, sorghum syrup mill, caning chairs and the original Powers’ Plantation grist mill.
• The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is one of Atlanta’s newer Labor Day staples that features an SEC versus ACC college football match-up. Hailed as the official beginning of college football season, this year’s game will have the Alabama Crimson Tide taking on the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, August 31 with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m. Fans in Atlanta can attend the FanZone that will feature pre-game fun and games from 11:30 until 4:30 and tailgating will be allowed indoor and outdoor all day prior to the game.
• Dragon Con, the nation’s leading multi-media and pop-culture convention, is being held in downtown Atlanta from August 30 through September 7. The festival, in its 27^th year, highlights the latest in science-fiction and fantasy gaming, comics, literature, art, music and film. The event is so large, it takes place in five host hotels throughout downtown, including the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Hilton, Sheraton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis and the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.
• The Celebrate Freedom Atlanta concert is the largest, free one-day concert in Atlanta that is held at Jim. R. Miller Park in Marietta every Labor Day weekend. This year’s event will feature popular Christian artists such as Switchfoot, Third Day, Family Force 5, Capital Kings, Jason Gray and Lindsay McCaul. FREE tickets for the event can be picked up at all Goodwill of North Georgia locations or all Atlanta-area Family Christian stores and there will be a $5 charge for parking. Held on Saturday, August 31, the gates open at 7 a.m. with the concert starting at 8 .m. and lasts until the night concludes with fireworks at 11 p.m.

This is just a sampling of the many events that are happening over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. Whether you own a piece of Atlanta real estate in the northern arc or on the city’s Southside, there are always a multitude of events and festivities going on nearby, which is just one more reason why Atlanta is a great place to call home.