PARK(ing) Day

NEW DATE: October 1, 2021

Turning a parking lot green with envy

Thank you to our participants, sponsors and attendees for making this event a success. We will see you next year!

On Friday, October 1st, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Lenox Square parking lot will become a wooded wonderland, complete with a patchwork of pop-up parks for one of the Southeast’s largest PARK(ing) Day celebrations. This is the sixth year that Livable Buckhead has hosted a local PARK(ing) Day event, joining a global project to temporarily convert parking spaces into creative places for art, play and activism.

What is PARK(ing) Day?

PARK(ing) Day is a worldwide event where citizens, artists, and activists collaborate to temporarily transform parking spaces usually reserved for cars into temporary public parks or displays of art or community.

The theme for Buckhead’s PARK(ing) Day 2021 celebration is “Where We Play,” and more than two dozen local businesses and organizations will construct mini-parks with features ranging from a Zen garden to flower walls and bee hives to a collaborative mural installation. Parks will also feature interactive elements for the public, including Spin e-scooter safety training sessions, e-bike demonstrations and a putting green. Visitors will be asked to vote for their favorite mini-parks.

A new feature of this year’s PARK(ing) Day is a tree-lined, curving path connecting the mini-parks. Thematically the path underscores the value of Atlanta’s tree canopy and the importance of protecting it. From a practical standpoint the path creates space for physical distancing, one of several COVID-related safety protocols that will be in place during the event.

How do spaces become parks?

Each participant will be given a standard-sized parking space in the parking lot. The participant can decorate in a way that embodies their organization OR donate the space for a nonprofit to transform. Either way, participants supply materials and theme for the space.

Previous participants have built a temporary urban farm, created a virtual reality park, built a dog park cafe, showcased outdoor living spaces, hosted group yoga, created a virtual rain forest and even a Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirrors exhibit.

What will you do with your mini park? The only limit is your imagination.

Park(ing) Day registration is $200, which includes a designated spot for use on the day of the event. No walk-up or day-of participants will be allowed, and there are a maximum of 50 spaces available for use. Groups may elect to combine two spaces for $300. Nonprofits are eligible for a discounted registration fee and individuals can adopt a space for $25.

Food Trucks at Lenox Square

PARK(ing) Day is the only time of the year you can find food trucks at Lenox Square. Enjoy your favorite nosh wagons for lunch while you’re checking out the incredible mini parks.

Event Sustainability

Recycling – Livable Buckhead has partnered with LifeCycle Building Center to assist in using reclaimed material for the mini parks, as well as utilizing them for recycling the mini park material after the event. Their goal is to reduce solid waste disposal, promote resource efficiency, stimulate economic development, and empower every citizen to improve their own built environment. In addition, Livable Buckhead will have bin available throughout the event for participants to recycle.

Composting – Livable Buckhead has contracted CompostNow to facilitate the composting of food waste for the event. The CompostNow vision is to close the loop on food waste by empowering community members and local businesses to divert their compostables from the landfill and, instead, use those nutrients to build nutrient-rich soil.

PARK(ing) Day Events

Build and Booze

If the challenge of building a mini-park seems daunting, we have a great way to calm your nerves – a Build and Booze workshop. Livable Buckhead and professionals from HGOR will help prospective PARK(ing) Day participants learn how to create a temporary greenspace. HGOR, which has taken home the top PARK(ing) Day prize for two years in a row, will share secrets for success and lead a brain storming session. By the end of happy hour, each group will have a game plan for building their perfect PARK(ing) Day vision.

PARK(ing) Day Sponsors

Thank you to all of the sponsors of PARK(ing) Day. Their investment in the Buckhead community, makes events like these possible.

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