🎈 Youth Day Parade + Spanish Guitar

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What's up, neighbors!

October is here, and Roswell kicks it off the right way. Saturday is the 76th Youth Day Celebration, and the Frances McGahee Parade steps off in Historic Roswell at 10 sharp. Bring a couple of grocery bags, because the candy comes fast. After the parade everybody heads up to City Hall for Cirque performers, a truck zone kids can climb all over, and pumpkin decorating with farm animals at Smith Plantation. It's free, and it's wrapped by 2.

Friday night we're swinging by the Spruill Education Center in Dunwoody for the 24th annual Ceramic Bowl Sale, where you can shop handmade bowls and mugs and get a free bowl of chili from the cookoff with any Friday purchase. I'm not sure there's a better deal in DeKalb County.

Sunday belongs to Brookhaven. Paint the Park is back at Blackburn Park, where the city hands out free canvases and paint, and the winners end up in the city's calendar.

Fair warning: rain is in the forecast Saturday and Sunday. If the parade gets soggy, Red Seal Craft Studio is a few blocks up from Canton Street. Book a spot before you go.

One thing for the grown-ups: Monday, October 5 is the last day to register to vote in the November election, so take a minute to check your registration on Georgia's My Voter Page. Details below, along with a Korean stone bowl in Doraville that's still sizzling when it hits the table, a Roswell lake house to guess the price on, and a calico kitten named Judge Judy.

- Andrew

When was the last time you actually looked at your homeowners policy?

For most folks in Atlanta and the Perimeter area, the honest answer is "when we bought the house." Which would be fine, except home values around here are up $150K to $200K+ since 2020. If your policy hasn't kept up, your dwelling limit is probably short of what it would actually cost to rebuild today. That gap won't show up on your bill. It only shows up when you file a claim, which is the worst time to find out.

Peachy Insurance is Atlanta-based and built to make this kind of check painless. No call center, no upselling, no runaround. Just a licensed local agent who looks at your full picture and gives you a straight answer on where you stand.

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Get a free coverage review or text/call 770-520-7095 (Mon-Fri, closed weekends)

Historic Canton Street and Roswell City Hall
38 Hill St, Roswell, GA
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Parade 10:00 AM, celebration 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
Free

Roswell has thrown this party for its kids 76 years running. In 2007 the city renamed it for Frances McGahee, a Roswell banker who spent more than 50 years on just about every board in town and was named one of Roswell's 15 Most Remarkable Citizens.

The parade starts Saturday, October 3 at 10:00 AM sharp and winds through Historic Roswell. This year's theme is "Tapestry of Generations," tied to the city's America250 celebration. Wear comfortable shoes, bring water, and bring a bag for candy, because the kids will fill it.

Roads close by 9:45 AM. Park at City Hall, which is free, and walk down to the route early.

When the parade clears, the party moves up to the City Hall campus from 11 to 2, and that's where it gets good. Art Block has hands-on art stations and Cirque performers around the Roswell Cultural Arts Center. Truck Zone lets kids climb into the city's trucks and vehicles.

Over at Smith Plantation, Fall Farmyard has farm animals to pet, pumpkin decorating while supplies last, and old-school candle dipping. Food Truck Alley covers lunch.

Rain is in the forecast Saturday, so text ROSWELLEvent to 888777 for live weather and traffic updates that morning.

Three hours, zero dollars, and a parade older than most of the people watching it. Get there by 9:30 and grab a curb.

Korean home cooking in sizzling stone bowls | Listed in the MICHELIN Guide

Once it's cool enough at night to want soup, this is where we end up. Stone Bowl House sits in the Seoul Plaza strip on Buford Highway, and the name tells you the plan. Rice, meat and vegetables come out in a stone bowl hot enough that the bottom layer of rice crisps up while you eat.

The story is a good one. Young Hui Han, known to regulars as Grandma Han, ran a restaurant in Cincinnati, sold it in 2007, and moved to Atlanta to be near her grandkids. She opened Stone Bowl House in 2009, and the kitchen still cooks her recipes even though she's retired.

The MICHELIN Guide lists it, which is a nice thing to be able to say about a strip-mall spot with booths.

Start with the bulgogi stone bowl bibimbap, $17.95 at dinner and $15.95 at lunch. Stir it fast so the egg cooks against the hot stone. My wife gets the soft tofu stew, $14.95, which shows up still bubbling.

If we're sharing, we add the seafood pancake, $18.95. For a bigger night, the galbi is grilled short rib at $39.95, and the beef short rib soup is $24.95.

The banchan, those little free side dishes, get refilled if you ask. Reviewers keep bringing up the potato one.

A couple of heads-ups. It's busy at peak dinner, so expect a wait, and the room is nothing fancy.

A few reviewers say the food runs mild until you add the sauces on the table, so season it yourself. Weekday lunch specials run 11:30 to 2:30 if you'd rather skip the dinner crowd.

Price: $$
Hours:
Mon-Sat 11:30 AM-9 PM
Sun 12-8 PM
Website

Rainy October Saturday, kids climbing the walls, and nobody wants another movie. Red Seal Craft Studio on Alpharetta Street in Roswell is where you take them, or your sister, or your book club.

It's a DIY craft studio, and you go home with the thing you made. Jewelry and soy candle making are always on the menu, plus a few seasonal projects that rotate. You book a crafting session and everybody at the table can make something different, so the 9-year-old does a bracelet while grandma pours a candle.

The workshops are different: everyone makes the same project with an instructor. October's lineup has a Velvet Pumpkin Trio on October 6 for $50, a Floral Dough Bowl Candle for $59, a Handcrafted Leather Journal for $75, and a Chunky Blanket Workshop for $85. There's a beginner mahjong lesson too.

Jeanie Pipitone took over the studio in January 2025 after leaving a corporate job. The previous owner emailed her customer list asking if anyone wanted to take it on, and Jeanie, who had admired it from afar without ever walking in, said yes. She told Appen Media almost nobody comes in alone, and that's the point.

Crafting is by reservation, so book online before you drive over. Birthday parties and girls' nights are a big part of the business too.

Price: $$
Hours:
By reservation, see the online booking calendar

Website: redsealcraftstudio.com

5 Beds
5.5 Baths
8,537 sq ft
4.2 acres

A) $1,450,000

B) $1,749,900

C) $1,925,000

D) $2,150,000

Monday, October 5 is Georgia's deadline to register to vote in the November 3 general election. It's also the first day counties can start mailing absentee ballots.

Early voting runs statewide October 13 through October 30. The ballot has governor, lieutenant governor, a U.S. Senate seat, every congressional and General Assembly seat, and local questions like SPLOST.

DeKalb now has 22 early voting sites. The two closest to us are the Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, Dunwoody, GA, which also has an absentee drop box, and the North DeKalb Senior Center, 3393 Malone Dr, Chamblee, GA.

Fulton has 32 sites, and the Sandy Springs Library and East Roswell Library both have drop boxes. Sandy Springs voters will also see a city charter question on redevelopment powers. Both counties add weekend voting on Saturdays, October 17 and 24, from 9 AM to 6 PM, and Sundays, October 18 and 25, from noon to 6.

Gwinnett, which covers Peachtree Corners, runs 13 sites from 7 AM to 7 PM.

Not sure you're registered? Check your status on Georgia's My Voter Page before Monday.

Source: WSB-TV | Georgia.gov

On September 15, Sandy Springs City Council split 3-3 on Holy Innocents' Episcopal School's appeal for a special event permit to play its October 2 homecoming game as a one-night "Friday Night Lights" event. Mayor Rusty Paul broke the tie and voted to deny it.

The school's use permit bans field lighting. Council allowed a one-time night game last year, the first in school history, and neighbors complained about the noise afterward.

Paul offered a compromise with no amplified sound, and Head of School Paul Barton said he couldn't commit to it. Paul told the school not to come back next year without an agreement from a large group of its neighbors. Mount Vernon School lost a similar vote in early 2025.

Source: Rough Draft Atlanta

Roswell City Council took its final vote on the city tax rate Monday, September 28, and landed at 5.232 mills. Last year's rate was 4.949, so that's about a 6 percent increase. The city first floated 7.732 mills, then moved to 5.9 on September 14.

The city says the operating part of the rate didn't change. The whole increase goes to debt payments. On the city's own example, a $575,000 home, that's about $1,203 in city taxes before exemptions, up about $65 from last year. Bills mail in mid-October.

Also from council: Roswell has until December 15 to close on the old Independence High School campus on Mimosa Boulevard for $9 million. Council set that date September 14, with Mayor Mary Robichaux breaking a 3-3 tie. The city and its Downtown Development Authority are now asking developers to pitch plans for the 5.4-acre site.

Source: Roswell Connections

James Beard winner Linton Hopkins will open Linton's Bar and Grill at Buckhead Center, 2970 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA, in the old Brio Tuscan Grille space. The Buttery bakery-cafe, which closed in 2024 after four years in Morningside, returns next door with its own entrance.

The two will share a patio over Peachtree Road, and the menu runs from weekday sandwiches and salads to martinis and steak dinners. Hopkins' Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch both started in Buckhead.

Don't clear your calendar yet. Opening is late spring 2027, while the landlord renovates the two-building office complex.

Source: Rough Draft Atlanta

Sandy Springs is writing "The Next Chapter," its state-required comprehensive plan and an updated parks plan. At three meetings September 15 and 16, consultants shared what residents told them so far.

The numbers behind it: about 80 percent of the city is zoned as protected neighborhoods, the average detached home sale went from the mid-$600,000s in 2020 to about $975,000 in 2025, and new construction is only 4 to 5 percent of homes for sale. Residents broadly support townhomes and small multiplexes but disagree on where they belong.

Council of Neighborhoods president Ronda Smith suggested aging office parks with big parking lots, like the ones along Powers Ferry. The next public input meeting is Thursday, October 29, 6-8 PM at City Hall, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, GA, and you can weigh in on housing, parks and growth through the city's online activities before then.

Source: Rough Draft Atlanta

You will never have to guess how this kitten feels about something. She'll tell you, loudly, and then tell you again. Her name is Judge Judy, she's a seven-month-old calico at PAWS Atlanta, and the volunteers say she has opinions on everything.

Like the TV judge she's named after, she's sassy and decisive. Every so often she slips a little hiss in with her meows, just to remind you whose courtroom this is. The listing jokes that if she decides you're being disrespectful, she'll call the bailiff.

Here's the part that gets you. Once she's said her piece, she's a secret snuggler. She'll climb into your lap for gentle pets, and PAWS says her ideal day is lying belly up in a sunbeam.

She's small, about 6 pounds and still growing, and she's living at the shelter, not in foster, so you can go meet her in person. The listing doesn't say how she does with kids, dogs or other cats, so ask the adoption counselor. A sassy kitten does best with a patient home that lets her be loud, and that home gets the lap cat underneath.

Kittens at PAWS Atlanta are $150, and every adoption includes spay, vaccines and a microchip. Seniors 65 and up, military and first responders get 15 percent off. Fill out the online cat adoption application first, then stop in any day between 10 and 5. PAWS can't hold pets, so don't sit on this one.

PAWS Atlanta
5287 Covington Hwy, Decatur, GA
(770) 593-1155 | [email protected] | Daily 10 AM-5 PM

🩰 Cinderella, United European Ballet Company - Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center | 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, GA | 7:00 PM | $49.50-$152 | More: citysprings.com
Prokofiev's ballet with hand-painted sets and a European cast that includes principal dancers from Ukraine, billed for all ages with one intermission. The pink seats are the VIP package, which adds a backstage tour and a photo with a ballerina.

🎃 Scarecrows in the Garden - Atlanta Botanical Garden | 1345 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA | 9:00 AM-7:00 PM | Included with Garden admission, $28.95 adults weekday online | More: atlantabg.org
Opening weekend of the scarecrow walk, and for the Garden's 50th anniversary, past winners built supersized ones. Kids can vote for People's Choice through October 18.

🎨 Naturally Artistic: Color Quest - Chattahoochee Nature Center | 9135 Willeo Rd, Roswell, GA | 10:00 AM-5:00 PM | Included with admission: $20 adults, $14 ages 3-12 | More: chattnaturecenter.org
A new exhibit on why flowers are so bright and how animals use color to hide or show off, next to the Double Vision gallery of nature photos paired with paintings. The 1 PM river film in the theater is a 22-minute sit-down for kids 10 and up.

🦋 Flora, Fauna & Flight - Fernbank WildWoods | 767 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA | 10:00 AM-5:00 PM | Included with admission: $25.95 adults, $23.95 ages 3-12 online | More: fernbankmuseum.org
Giant sculptures of bats, dragonflies and flying fish along the forest walkways explain how each one gets off the ground. It closes November 1, so there are only a few weekends left.

🏛️ Bulloch Hall Self-Guided Tour - Roswell Historic House Museums | 180 Bulloch Ave, Roswell, GA | 11:00 AM-4:00 PM | Free | More: roswellgov.com
Teddy Roosevelt's mother grew up in this 1839 house, and you can walk it at your own pace. Walk over to Canton Street after and scope out Saturday's parade route.

🗺️ Explorefest - Williamsburg Shopping Center | Mt. Vernon Rd and Jett Ferry Rd, Dunwoody, GA | 10:00 AM-2:00 PM | Free | More: createdunwoody.org
Create Dunwoody's brand-new festival. Kids collect stamps at shops like School of Rock, Mathnasium and E. 48th Street Market for a prize, a mini train loops the center from 10:30 to 1:30, and local musicians play an open mic showcase.

🥕 Sandy Springs Farmers Market - City Green at City Springs | 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, GA | 8:30 AM-12:00 PM | Free | More: citysprings.com
Lonesome Redwing and Acoustic Honey play on the Green while you shop. Rain or shine, and leashed dogs are fine on the plaza.

🛶 Family Canoe Day - Chattahoochee Nature Center | 9135 Willeo Rd, Roswell, GA | 12:00-1:30 PM | $25 per person, $12.50 members, includes admission | More: chattnaturecenter.org
Guides teach first-timers to paddle on the calm Beaver Pond, all gear included, ages 5 and up. Registration closes Thursday, October 1.

🦉 Creature Feature and Guided Trail Walks - Chattahoochee Nature Center | 9135 Willeo Rd, Roswell, GA | Walks 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM, Creature Feature 2:00 PM | Included with admission: $20 adults, $14 ages 3-12 | More: chattnaturecenter.org
A docent leads a walk through the river habitats, then kids meet one of the ambassador animals up close. The Nature Exchange trading post is open all day if yours collects rocks.

🍂 Fall Family Fun - Atlanta Botanical Garden | 1345 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA | 10:00 AM-12:00 PM | Free with Garden admission, $31.95 adults weekend online | More: atlantabg.org
The first weekend of the Garden's October kids' activities, running alongside the Scarecrows walk. The Garden hasn't posted the full activity list yet, so go for the scarecrows and count the rest as a bonus.

🦎 Sunday Creature Feature and Trail Walks - Chattahoochee Nature Center | 9135 Willeo Rd, Roswell, GA | Opens noon; walks 1:00 and 3:00 PM, Creature Feature 2:00 PM | Included with admission: $20 adults, $14 ages 3-12 | More: chattnaturecenter.org
CNC doesn't open until noon on Sundays, so this works after church or brunch. Catch the 2 PM animal, then the 3 PM docent walk.

🦴 Teen Forest Lab: Owl Pellet Shadowboxes - Fernbank Museum, Kendeda Pavilion | 767 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA | 10:00 AM-12:00 PM | $30, $15 members, includes museum admission | More: fernbankmuseum.org
Ages 13 to 17 only. Teens dissect owl pellets, identify the tiny bones and take home a shadowbox made from them, with 20 spots and reservations required.

🧒 Goizueta Children's Experience - Atlanta History Center | 130 W Paces Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta, GA | 9:00 AM-4:00 PM | $35 adults, $31 ages 4-12 weekend online, free 3 and under | More: atlantahistorycenter.com
A 5,000-square-foot hands-on gallery built for kids 8 and under, plus the Smith Farm sheep and goats outside. Buy online, it's cheaper than the door.

🍲 24th Annual Ceramic Bowl Sale & Chili Cookoff - Spruill Event Studio | 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, Dunwoody, GA | Friday 5:00-9:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM-5:00 PM | Free to browse; free bowl of chili with any Friday purchase | More: spruillarts.org
Bowls, mugs and other pottery made by Spruill's own students and instructors. Friday night doubles as a chili cookoff, and anything you buy comes with a bowl of chili, so come hungry.

💃 BENISE: 25 Years of Passion - Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center | 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, GA | 7:00 PM | Tickets $17.50-$59.50 | More: citysprings.com
"The Prince of Spanish Guitar" brings a stage full of musicians and dancers through flamenco, salsa, samba and a Parisian waltz. Park once in the City Springs deck and grab dinner on Blue Stone Road first.

🍅 Peachtree Road Farmers Market - Cathedral of St. Philip | 2744 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta, GA | 8:30 AM-12:00 PM | Free | More: peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
Seventy-plus farmers and makers every Saturday, with a chef pop-up tent and live music. Parking is free and it runs rain or shine.

🥾 Morning Hike in Fernbank Forest - Fernbank Museum | 767 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA | 7:00-9:00 AM | $20, $10 members | More:fernbankmuseum.org
A two-hour guided hike through Fernbank's old-growth forest, with birding and tree ID along the way. The trails are steep, so wear real shoes.

🧶 Crafternoon - Spruill Event Studio | 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, Dunwoody, GA | 12:00-4:00 PM | Free, register online | More: spruillarts.org
A free open studio for any medium. Bring the knitting, the sketchbook or the half-finished painting and work next to other local artists, then shop the Bowl Sale down the hall until 5.

🏛️ Sunday Hours at Roswell's Historic House Museums - Bulloch Hall | 180 Bulloch Ave, Roswell, GA | 1:00-4:00 PM | Free | More: roswellgov.com
Bulloch Hall, Barrington Hall and Smith Plantation are all free and a short drive apart, with docents on hand. Finish with a late lunch on Canton Street.

If you want one thing Sunday that costs nothing and could end with your kid's painting in a city calendar, drive to Blackburn Park. Brookhaven sets up Paint the Park at the north pavilion from 11 to 2, hands out free canvases and supplies, and lets everybody paint whatever they want.

It's a contest too, split by age: 7 and under, 8 to 13, and 14 and up. So yes, the grown-ups can enter, and the winners get printed in the city's Paint the Park calendar.

King of Pops will be there, and there's face painting for the kids who'd rather be the canvas. Supplies are first come, first served, so the 11 o'clock crowd gets the good brushes.

Bring an old towel for the car. Wet canvas and minivan seats don't mix.

🚗 Click here to get directions on Google Maps

Fire Prevention Week starts Sunday, October 4, right when the first cool nights have a lot of us lighting the fireplace or dragging the space heater out of the closet. Fire damage is often covered under a standard homeowners policy, up to your limits. A dated video of what you owned helps you document a claim if you ever have to file one. Walk every room with your phone, open the closets and drawers, and say out loud what things are and roughly what they cost, then save the video somewhere outside the house, like cloud storage. While you're at it, get the chimney swept, test the smoke detectors, and keep space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn.

Not sure your coverage would rebuild your house at today's prices? That's a quick question for a Peachy agent.