Memorial Day Weekend 2024: 13 Things To Do Around Metro ATL

ATLANTA, GA — The upcoming Memorial Day Atlanta Jazz Festival in metro Atlanta is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

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

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit in metro Atlanta cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

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

• Brew at the Zoo: 6-9:30 p.m., May 25, Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave.S.E., Atlanta
• Stone Mountain Park’s Memorial Day Weekend and Music Across America Drone & Light Show: various times, May 24-27, 1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd., Stone Mountain
• MomoCon 2024: various times; May 24-27, Georgia World Congress Center, 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. NW, Atlanta,
• Memorial Day Rooftop Party: 3-9 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: 10 a.m., May 27, starts 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: 10-11 a.m., May 27, Brook Run Park and Playground, 4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody
• Memorial Day Ceremony: 10-11:30 a.m., May 27, The Green at Crabapple Market, 12650 Crabapple Road, Milton
• Memorial Day Remembrance: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., May 27, Thrasher Park, 2 N. Peachtree St., Norcross
• Roswell Remembers Memorial Day Ceremony 2024: 10 a.m., May 27, Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill St., Roswell
• Memorial Day Ceremony: 3:30 p.m., May 25, Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road SW, Snellville

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and 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 observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.