Memorial Day Weekend 2024: 13 Things to Do in the ATL Metro Area

ATLANTA, Ga. — The upcoming Memorial Day Atlanta Jazz Festival in metro Atlanta continues a nearly 160-year-old tradition honoring service members who have lost their lives in service to their country.

The 47th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival, 1 to 9 p.m., May 25-27, at Piedmont Park, is the highlight of this year’s three-day Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27 . Artists Andre 3000, Sullivan Fortner, Butcher Brown and Cecile McLorin Salvant are among the artists expected at this huge free outdoor jazz festival.

As the celebration has changed over the years, many families also take advantage of Memorial Day to visit metro Atlanta cemeteries and place flowers on the graves of their family members, whether or not they have served in the army.

Memorial Day weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in metro Atlanta. Below are other ways to spend the weekend:

• Zoo Brew: 6-9:30 p.m., May 25, Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave.SE, Atlanta
• Memorial Day Weekend at Stone Mountain Park and Music Across America Drone and Light Show: Multiple times, May 24-27, 1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd., Stone Mountain
• MomoCon 2024: several times; May 24-27, Georgia World Congress Center, 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. Northwest, Atlanta,
• Memorial Day Rooftop Party: 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., May 26, Virtue Rooftop Lounge, 1197 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta
• Alpharetta Symphony presents: An Ode to America: 7:30 p.m., May 27, Brooke Street Park, 2 Park Plaza, Alpharetta
• 31st Annual Memorial Day Parade: May 27, 10 a.m., begins at Hebron Baptist Church, 202 Hebron Church Road, Dacula
• Memorial Day Ceremony: 10-11 a.m., May 25, Cauble Park, 4425 Beach St., Acworth
• Memorial Day Ceremony: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., May 27, Brook Run Park and Playground, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody
• Memorial Day Ceremony: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., May 27, The Green at Crabapple Market, 12650 Crabapple Road, Milton
• Memorial Day Remembrance: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 27, Thrasher Park, 2 N. Peachtree St., Norcross
• Roswell Remembers Memorial Day 2024 Ceremony: 10 a.m. May 27, Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill St., Roswell
• Memorial Day Ceremony: 3:30 p.m., May 25, Snellville Town Hall, 2342 Oak Road SW, Snellville

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when General John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost during the battles of the Civil War which had ended a few years earlier. according to History.com. Over time, more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s celebration on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed their doors and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday only honored soldiers who died fighting for the Union during the war, while Southern states honored their war dead on a different day. After more than 116,000 American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remembering all those who died during their military service.

Each year, a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they are doing, Americans are encouraged to pause for a minute in silence to remember the service members who gave their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the noon hour was chosen because it is a time when many Americans will enjoy their freedoms on a national holiday.