BY HILLARY KELLEY, Features Editor
Festival season is about to be in full swing, and there are plenty exciting venues to check out in Georgia.
The Sweetwater 420 Fest 2014 is a music festival created by a local Atlanta brewery that aims to raise awareness for environmental issues and bring together musicians from all over the country.
For only $18 from April 18-20, visitors can enjoy music and food at Centennial Olympic Park.
Festival goers looking for the fair vibe can attend the 29th Georgia Renaissance Festival between April 19 and June 8 in Fairburn.
Tickets are usually $22, but for the first two opening days, visitors can get a free ticket for a friend.
Also on April 19 is the Earth Day Revision Art and Eco Festival at Forsyth Park in Savannah. for those interested in checking out the arts and crafts circuit.
Downtown Toccoa, which is only a 20-minute drive from campus, will be showcasing food from various vendors, activities and more for their Taste of Toccoa festival on April 24.
Another local event that takes place from April 26-27 is Clayton’s own Celebrate Clayton festival that will feature arts, crafts music and gardening events for all ages, according to their website.
Dahlonega also takes a bite out of the local festival circuit with its Bear on the Square Mountain Festival from April 26-27.
A bit farther away, a two-hour drive time from campus, is the CounterPoint Festival in Kingston Downs.
This music festival features a lot of electronica bands, but will have many hip-hop and pop acts like the headliner and Atlanta-native group Outkast, Pretty Lights, Foster the People and more from April 25-27.
As for some more arts and crafts adventure, Athens will feature the Indie South Fair for May 3-4.
According to the event’s web presence, the organizers are still looking for artists, designers and other vendors of handcrafted items to run booths.
Anyone interested in selling their own items can visit the web page and register as vendors.
Atlanta is also buzzing during this spring to summer season with the Skaky Knees Music Festival 2014 featuring big names like the Alabama Shakes, Cold War Kids and more from May 9-11 and will be the Vans Warped Tour destination for July 24.
Though not in Georgia, one of the largest music festivals in the country, Bonnaroo, takes place in Manchester, Tn. from June 12-15.
A summer trip to Bonnaroo might be worth the lengthy drive as the line-up consists of some of the biggest names in music like The Avett Brothers, Elton John, The Head and the Heart, Wiz Khalifa and more.
These festivals range in dates from now until summer ends and cover a wide variety of interests.
Taking advantage of these adventures can be just what a student needs to recharge for the last few weeks of the semester or enjoy the summer break before the new school year begins.
De-stress with a day trip to one of the destinations to purchase good food and arts and crafts, or take few days to camp out and listen to major performers at one of the music festivals offered all around Georgia.