🥂 NYE planning
Thursday tidings
Dec. 19 — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport expects 3.7 million holiday travelers from Dec. 20 to Jan. 5. The peak travel day: Dec. 27 with 327,724 passengers.
☀️ Sunny and 60° today.
🪧 Amazon workers, including warehouse staff and drivers in Atlanta, New York, California, and Illinois, authorized a strike starting today. The Teamsters-backed workers demand better pay, safer conditions, and longer breaks.
⚡ Georgia energy regulators have signed off on a 3.5% rate increase for customers of Georgia Power, which will go into effect next month.
🇧🇸 President-elect Donald Trump has selected former UGA football star and one-time U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas.
🚨 Brookhaven Police released details about another pedestrian accident on Buford Highway. The hit-and-run incident occurred on Dec. 8 and left a man seriously injured.
🎨 Several artists are being considered for two major art installations at Brookhaven’s new, $78 million city hall project slated to open next summer.
📺 The Braves are partnering with Gray Media to broadcast 15 regular season games and 10 spring training games on over-the-air TV across the Southeast in 2025.
ELSEWHERE
🇫🇷 A French court found 51 men, including the victim's ex-husband, guilty in a historic rape trial.
💰 A bipartisan deal to prevent a government shutdown faced collapse after President-elect Trump condemned the package.
📉 Stocks fell sharply yesterday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and indicated that it forecasts only two interest rate cuts in 2025, not the previously projected four.
🕖 Here's what's in today's newsletter:
• Kwanzaa & New Year celebrations
• MudFire Studio & Gallery
• Social shopping
AND
• Quick Bites
Have a good day,
Collin & Sammie
🗓️ Don't miss the 36th Annual Havinagala: A Party for PAL on Jan. 25! Join hundreds of young professionals at The Carlyle for light bites, a silent auction, and more. Proceeds benefit the PAL Program, Atlanta's only Jewish Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Purchase tickets here!
SPONSOR MESSAGE
🗓️ Don't miss the 36th Annual Havinagala: A Party for PAL on Jan. 25! Join hundreds of young professionals at The Carlyle for light bites, a silent auction, and more. Proceeds benefit the PAL Program, Atlanta's only Jewish Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Purchase tickets here!
SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Celebrate Kwanzaa and the New Year with food and parties around Atlanta
🥂 With Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations upon us, now is also the time to think about how to mark Kwanzaa and New Year's Eve.
We've got a roundup of dining and event suggestions for both holidays that you can check out. The Auburn Avenue Research Library and Unity Atlanta Church are just two of the locations hosting Kwanzaa celebrations, and there's a plethora of festive New Year activities to check out.
Experience the nighttime wonders at Fernbank's WildWoods: AGLOW
SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MUSEUM
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💫 Experience the magic of Fernbank’s WildWoods: AGLOW, an immersive nighttime adventure through 10 acres of enchanted woodlands. Explore glowing sculptures, interactive projections of nocturnal wildlife, and larger-than-life installations, all set to original music. Wander through mystical mushrooms, magical blooms, and luminous plants while discovering the science behind nature’s wonders.
🤩 This unforgettable experience runs through Feb. 23, 2025. It's fun for the whole family that you won't want to miss! Get information and tickets here.
2. Making magic at MudFire Studio and Gallery
🧱 Located just down the street from the Your Dekalb Farmers Market, MudFire Studio and Gallery has maintained a commitment to supporting local potters and ceramicists for nearly 25 years.
Originally founded in 2005 in a strip mall in Brookhaven, the maker space offers studio space and kiln access for clay-based artists.
Daphne Dail and Declan Ranlett, the owners of MudFire, first met while taking pottery lessons. They purchased the studio from its former owners a little over a decade ago, and have created a space that's known not only for its art, but its community.
3. The Atlanta-based 'social shopping' app is changing how we buy and recommend things
🎁 Loren Mount-O’Brien spent over a decade of her professional life in the advertising industry, helping brands figure out what it takes to get people to hit the buy button or swipe their credit card in stores. But even with all the advanced targeting and millions spent on campaigns, there was still a surprising amount of guesswork involved in understanding why customers make the choices they do.
“You are what you buy. Every purchase tells a story – what you love, how you live, who you are,” she said. “Despite all that sophisticated targeting, my own husband still couldn’t figure out what to get me for my birthday. That’s when it hit me – something is wrong."
Mount-O’Brien wanted to address these challenges head-on. Earlier this year, she launched Lutely, a “social shopping” app designed to make shopping more intentional and personalized.
🗓️ Don't miss the 36th Annual Havinagala: A Party for PAL on Jan. 25! Join hundreds of young professionals at The Carlyle for light bites, a silent auction, and more. Proceeds benefit the PAL Program, Atlanta's only Jewish Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Purchase tickets here!
SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. Quick Bites
VIA SIDE DISH, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER | SUBSCRIBE HERE
🥕 Dips Kitchen has officially opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Krog Street Market. The fast-casual concept, which began as a mobile restaurant, is located between Gu's Dumplings and Ju-C Bar. The menu features gourmet dips that can be transformed into meals, including options like Fried "Hot" Chicken and Low Country Shrimp Dip; dips can also be converted into sandwiches, wraps, or salads.
🎄 Looking for dining or take-out options on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Check out the list below:
🩰 Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is bringing the Nutcracker to life with a new Sugar Plum Brittle Parfait, available exclusively at Atlanta locations for a limited time this holiday season. The festive treat features plum jam layered with Brown Butter Almond Brittle and Pistachio Macaron ice creams, topped with fresh whipped cream and pink white chocolate curls.
🌿 Nine Dot, an Atlanta-based cannabis-infused beverage brand, has launched a line of alcohol alternatives. Products include a tropical cooler, cannabis elixirs, and a high-potency tallboy - all available for purchase at select retailers or on the website. Follow on Instagram here for more updates.
🎀 The Pub @ EAV on Flat Shoals Ave SE is hosting its first Ugly Holiday Bash on Sat., Dec. 21, starting at 8 p.m. Expect an ugly sweater contest with cash prizes, specialty holiday cocktails, festive bites, guest DJ, and holiday karaoke.
✈️ PS ATL, the luxury private terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, has unveiled a new Southern-inspired menu influenced by global flavors. Led by Chef de Cuisine Morgan Heller under Executive Chef Matt Roman, the selections aim to connect travelers with Atlanta's culinary heritage while maintaining an airport experience that bypasses traditional terminal processes.
📧 Today's newsletter was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
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