There will be a Public Input Meeting to introduce the Cultural Arts Master Plan process and begin to gather input regarding the arts in Decatur on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in the City Commission Meeting Room, Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street.

The Master Plan will include an inventory of existing cultural arts facilities, programs and public art located throughout the city, identify program and facility needs, and recommend partnerships to support the cultural arts in our community.

Please plan to join the conversation!  For more information call 404-371-8386 or email linda.harris@decaturga.com.  The arts plan information is also posted and updated on Decatur’s website.

Well, technically the event is called:

However, four of Decatur’s finest are participating. Are you confused? Well then, read on!

Fashion Over Atlanta is an annual event that celebrates shopping and fashion all across the city. Local boutiques pull out all the stops with specials, trunk shows, tastings and personal stylists. The city-wide event starts on Thursday, Nov. 12 and ends on Sunday, Nov. 15, but Friday is the official Decatur Day. Each one of Decatur’s boutiques is hosting a trunk show:

• Kaleidoscope Boutique – Fidelity Denim trunk show.
• Squash Blossom – Frye trunk show.
• Boogaloos – French Connection trunk show.
• Worthmore - Juacar trunk show from 11a.m.-7p.m., “Abstractions” art exhibition from 5 to 8p.m.

For more details and a complete listening of Fashion Over Atlanta events, visit www.fashionoveratlanta.com.

Are you excited? Kaleidoscope’s Camille is (below left)!

Let the local holiday shopping begin tonight on the first Terrific Thursday of 2009! I know some of you are dreading the idea of holiday shopping, but here’s a few things to keep in mind about Decatur’s Terrific Thursdays:

1.) You won’t be stuck in a mall. Tonight you can shop and enjoy the weather. Plus our local restaurants offer tastier dinning options that your average food court.

2.) You’ll be supporting your local economy as you shop. Don’t need to elaborate on that one!

3.) You’ll be one of the first to check out Decatur’s new holiday lighting.

Remember to check out our Terrific Thursdays page to see who all is participating this year. A few things to keep in mind:

• Alexia Gallery won’t have late hours until December.
• Greene’s just sent out an e-newsletter. They have a bunch of new products and some deals on their candy and fudge this Thursday.
• Kaleidoscope will be offering 15% every Terrific Thursday on fall clothing. Tonight will be one of Camille’s last in-store before the birth of her son Connor, so come by and hang out.
• Keep your eye out for the Decatur Pedicabs and hop on! We’ve hired two of the pedicabs to drive Terrific Thursday customers around for free. Just look for the cabs with the Terrific Thursday signs and holiday lights and hitch a ride.

Have a fun and terrific Thursday!

OK, go ahead and vent.  Get it out of your system and then just relax and enjoy the beautiful sight of holiday decorations in downtown Decatur.  Yes, the holiday decorations are going up and yes it’s a bit earlier than we had scheduled.  As we’ve explained before, we are a relatively small account for holiday decorating installers so we are given a window of opportunity and then see where we fall in their schedule.  This year we ended up on the front end.  Hey, at least it’s after Halloween!  We’re adding a few more lights this year to some of the trees and to the Bandstand and have plans to add to the lights over the next few years expanding around downtown and the Oakhurst business district.  The new lights are energy saving LED lights and bring a nice glow to downtown.  So go ahead and prepare yourselves because the holiday decorations will be installed by the end of the week.  Take a deep breath and just relax and enjoy the beauty of the decorations in the evening and don’t forget that the Terrific Thursday events start this week.  Visit all of your favorite local business owners and give them support.  They really appreciate it.

Tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall, the results of the Decatur Historic Resource Survey will be presented.  The presentation will begin at 7 p.m and afterwards there will be an opportunity for questions and comments from the community.

The City is very excited about the survey results and we hope that many of our residents will attend. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Regina Brewer
Preservation Planner, City of Decatur

Lola just loves Jon Stewart!

Lola and I just love to find cute dog related events around Decatur, and when I caught her reading “America” by Jon Stewart today, it reminded me to tell you about a cool event at Little Shop of Stories this weekend:  the First Annual Bring Your Dog to Storytime!

The event is on Sunday, November 8th at 3 pm .  People are welcome to bring their dogs (on leash) into the store for the event.  The staff will  read doggie books, do doggie activities and there will even be special treats for your Fido… and for your two-legged children as well.  There will also be someone from the Reading Paws Program there to talk to kids about tips for reading to their dogs.  How cute is that?!?!

Lola and I hope to see you there.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the store at littleshopofstories@gmail.com

When: Sunday, November 8th at 3 pm
Where: Little Shop of Stories, Downtown Decatur
* Remember that all dogs must be on leash

Also, a fun little note to the jewelry loving dog owners out there, the Humane Society has some really cute pieces for sale on their website.

Worthmore Jeweler's fantastic Terrific Thursdays sign

It’s hard to believe that it’s already November and time to start seriously thinking about holiday shopping. Luckily for us Decaturites (and fellow Atlantans), a number of our favorite local shops and restaurants are participating in this year’s Terrific Thursdays.

For you Terrific Thursdays newbies out there, Decatur shops and restaurants stay open late and offer discounts, specials and treats every Thursday in November and December (except for Thanksgiving) through Dec. 17.

This year we’ve hired two Pedicabs each week to take shoppers around town. Look for the pedicabs with Terrific Thursday signs and holiday lights.

For a list of participating businesses, check out the Terrific Thursday webpage. Happy local shopping!

Okay, so I “borrowed” the title from a DM Blog comment, but I thought it was appropriate! Last month the Great Decatur Beer Tasting Festival brought over 4000 people to the Decatur Square to taste over 4oo different beers. So, to be fair to the wine drinkers in the area, the Decatur Arts Alliance is presenting the 8th annual Decatur Wine Festival this coming Saturday. There will be over 350 different wines for your tasting pleasure, plus 14 restaurants offering samples of their foods and music all afternoon. And all of this plus a commemorative wine tasting glass for only $30! Interested?  Get your tickets here!

We were fortunate to be able to attend the Clsoing Ceremony of the Mandala Sand Painting at Agnes Scott this morning. Sand painted Mandalas are used as tools for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants. To construct the Mandala, millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks. This one at Agnes Scott was done by the Tibetan Monks in four days. When finished, the Mandala is destroyed to symbolize the impermanance of all that exists. The colored sands are swept up and poured into a nearby river or stream, where the waters carry the healing energies throughout the world.