Organizers are expecting a large turnout for next weekend’s second annual Dunwoody Music Festival at Brook Run Park. One unverified estimate has the number as high as 25,000 people.
The two-day event on Oct. 23 and 24 also features a chili cook-off competition and will showcase more than 30 hours of live music on three stages. Genres span indie rock, jazz and blues to folk, rock and roll and “inspirational country.”
Festival sponsor, the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce, hopes the event will attract many outsiders into the city.
Other entertainment includes a car show, Saturday night fireworks display, beer garden and even a battle-of-the-bands competition for 12- to 20-year-olds. The winner receives a recording demo session valued at $1,000.
“I went to last year’s festival and had a blast,” said resident Keith B. Smith. “I’ll be going this year, and as a parent, I appreciate there’s lots to do for kids. I’m really looking forward to trying all the chili, too.”
A children’s recreation area is among festival attractions.
Banks and Shane, an acoustic outfit, will be headlining the musical acts. “Bluegrass to beach music, rock and roll to reggae, with some down-home country thrown in to round things out,” is how organizers described Banks and Shane’s repertoire.
The chili cook-off has two classifications—professional, for chefs, and backyard, for amateurs—with two awards up for grabs. A panel of chefs will decide the experts’ pick, while attendees vote for the “People’s Choice Award.”
Adult tickets, which can be purchased online, are $10 for adults with children younger than 11 years old admitted free. Attendees also will have the chance to win a Smart car, provided by the City of Dunwoody.
For more information on all events, including a musical lineup and tickets, visit www.dunwoodymusicfestival.org.