{"232291":{"#nid":"232291","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Sports, Sci-Fi and Literary Events Dominate Labor Day in Atlanta","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELabor Day weekend is one of the city\u0027s best for students looking to get out of their residence halls and apartments and experience true Atlanta fandom. Among all of the festivals, sporting events, and concerts going on around town there\u0027s something for everyone \u2014 so put down your pencils, close your textbooks, and check out these iconic Atlanta events:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFree and Cheap Events\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.atlantamotorspeedway.com\/events\/advocare500\/\u0022\u003EAdvocare 500 (Sunday, Sept. 1, at 7:30 p.m.; Atlanta Motor Speedway)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E: Fans can enjoy a race under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway, one of NASCAR\u0027s \u0022toughest and most exciting tracks.\u0022 Ticket prices start at $19.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.decaturbookfestival.com\/2013\/index.php\u0022\u003EAJC Decatur Book Festival (Aug. 30\u2013Sept. 1; Downtown Decatur)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E: The Decatur Book Festival is the largest independent book festival in the U.S. As many as 85,000 people are expected to attend events that include cooking demonstrations, poetry readings, discussion panels and more. Several Tech students, faculty, and staff members will be featured throughout the weekend, including: \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.decaturbookfestival.com\/2013\/authors\/detail.php?id=392\u0022\u003EJohn Cressler, author of \u003Cem\u003EEmeralds of the Alhambra\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: Cressler will speak in the\u0026nbsp;Mary Gay Room within the Marriott\u0026nbsp;Conference Center (Stage 5 on the AJC\u0027s map)\u0026nbsp;on Saturday\u0026nbsp;at\u0026nbsp;1:30 p.m. His 30-minute talk and reading\u0026nbsp;will be followed by a book signing. \u003Cem\u003EEmeralds\u003C\/em\u003E will be on sale all weekend at\u0026nbsp;the Charis Books \u0026amp; More booth inside the Marriott.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.decaturbookfestival.com\/2013\/authors\/detail.php?id=160\u0022\u003EStacy Braukman, author of\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.decaturbookfestival.com\/2013\/authors\/detail.php?id=160\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECommunists and Perverts under the Palms: The Johns Committee in Florida\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: Braukman\u0027s book was published in 2012 and\u0026nbsp;received the Rembert W. Patrick Award from the Florida Historical Society for the best scholarly book on a Florida history topic. Her talk, titled \u0022American Homophobia,\u0022 will take place on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on the City Hall Stage.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/lmc.gatech.edu\/school\/newsitem.php?nid=230731\u0022\u003EPoets from the School of Literature, Media, and Communication\u003C\/a\u003E: These students will be featured on the Local Poet\u0027s Stage at Java Monkey Cafe from 3 to 3:45 p.m.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.atlantaonthecheap.com\/2013\/08\/28\/free-concert-with-sheryl-crow-at-centennial-park-on-august-31-2013\/\u0022\u003EAT\u0026amp;T Kickoff Concert (Saturday, Aug. 31, at noon; Centennial Olympic Park)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E: Sheryl Crow will headline this free concert in the park on Saturday afternoon. Gates open at noon and Uncle Kracker will take the stage at 2:30 p.m. The music will end at 4:30 p.m. so that attendees have plenty of time to get to the Georgia Dome for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dragoncon.org\/?q=node\/387\u0022\u003EDragonCon Parade (Saturday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m.)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E: Students can hit the streets Saturday morning to catch a glimpse of their favorite sci-fi and fantasy characters during this iconic DragonCon tradition. The parade begins at the corner of 10th Street and West Peachtree Place and ends on Peachtree Center Avenue between the Hyatt Receny and Marriott Marquis hotels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBonus:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gatech.edu\/calendar\/event.html?nid=232051\u0022\u003EGet your free Sci-Fi button from the Georgia Tech Library.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ramblinwreck.com\/sports\/m-footbl\/geot-m-footbl-body.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Football\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: The Yellow Jackets open their season against Elon University on Saturday at noon in Bobby Dodd Stadium. Student ticket information is online at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ramblinwreck.com\/tickets\/student-tickets-fb.html\u0022\u003Eramblinwreck.com\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/inthelifeatlanta.org\/wp2\/pride-2013\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn the Life Atlanta (Aug. 26\u2013Sept. 3; various locations)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: Atlanta\u0027s official Black Gay Pride event will take place across the city to \u0022promote unity, pride, self-empowerment and positive visibility within Atlanta\u2019s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) community of African descent through education, advocacy, and coalition building programs.\u0022 Events includes a marketplace, workshops, and parties hosted by local LGBT hangouts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOther Events\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dragoncon.org\/\u0022\u003EDragonCon (Aug. 30\u2013Sept. 2; Hyatt Regency Atlanta and surrounding hotels)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E: DragonCon 2013 will \u0022offer over 3,500 hours of non-stop programming, concerts, a film festival, the South\u2019s largest costume contest, and the largest Art Show in all of fandom\u0022 for the more than 50,000 expected attendees. Superfans should note that vendor halls have been moved from the Atlanta Marriot Marquis to the Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chick-fil-akickoffgame.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChick-fil-A Kickoff Game (Saturday, Aug. 31, 5:30 p.m., Georgia Dome)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: Football fans can attend the game as well as any number of pre-game festivities at and around the Georgia Dome on Saturday. This year, the ACC-SEC match-up will feature Virginia Tech versus University of Alabama.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECampus will close on Monday, Sept. 2; classes resume Tuesday, Sept. 3.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Campus will close on Monday, Sept. 2; classes resume Tuesday, Sept. 3."}],"uid":"27841","created_gmt":"2013-08-28 10:59:29","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:46","author":"Lauren Spikes","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-08-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-08-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/atlantaonthecheap.com\/","title":"Atlanta on the Cheap"},{"url":"http:\/\/yelp.com\/atlanta","title":"Yelp Atlanta"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"72501","name":"events in Atlanta"},{"id":"9798","name":"free events in atlanta"},{"id":"72491","name":"Labor Day Wekend"},{"id":"167141","name":"Student Life"},{"id":"14716","name":"things to do"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:stucomm@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ELauren Spikes\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["stucomm@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}