Visitor guide for Alpharetta, GA
Most visitors to Alpharetta drive northeast from Atlanta on Route 400 and many tourists who stop in Alpharetta are en route to Lake Chatuge, one of North Georgia’s premier resort destinations. There’s almost always something interesting happening in Alpharetta and the place to obtain a visitor’s guide containing a list of current events is the Alpharetta Welcome Center at 20 North Main Street, (678) 297-0102. The Alpharetta Welcome Center also has more than 200 free brochures featuring local tourist attractions and offering discounts at hotels and restaurants.
Alpharetta contains many public parks where opportunities for sports and recreation are available. The largest and most popular public park in Alpharetta is Wills Park where the Alpharetta Arboretum is located. Visitors will enjoy the Alpharetta Arboretum because it is a living museum that showcases the natural beauty of many native tree species from the Southeastern United States.
Annual festivals in Alpharetta
April is a great time to visit Alpharetta because that is when the annual Arts Streetfest occurs. During Arts Streetfest, Alpharetta’s downtown streets are closed to traffic and filled with vendors displaying original artwork created by people from all over the United States. Live jazz and acoustical music concerts are presented on various stages, cultural arts performances are given in Wills Park and an abundance of festive foods are available for sampling.
Another very popular annual festival held during the month of May is Taste of Alpharetta, which has been attracting more than 70,000 food connoisseurs to Alpharetta each year for over 20 years. Admission is free and food samples generally cost between 50 cents and $3.00 each. The Taste of Alpharetta festival also includes live jazz, rock and contemporary music concerts, recorded music presented by 14 metro Atlanta radio stations, a small kids fun zone and an older kids fun zone. The Taste of Alpharetta festival is held in Wills Park located on Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta.
During September the City of Alpharetta, the Alpharetta Lions Club and the Alpharetta Historical Society sponsor the Old Milton Country Fair at the old Milton High School. This is an old fashioned country fair with live bluegrass music, outdoor barbecues and authentic country foods, old time children’s carnival games, horse rides and even pie eating contests. Farmers bring their fresh produce to the fair, home bakers bring fresh homemade pies, jams and jellies while at the same time in downtown Alpharetta, weavers, spinners, quilters, blacksmiths and candle makers demonstrate old time crafts and trades. The Old Milton County Fair is a large social gathering that offers visitors a wonderful opportunity to learn about life in Alpharetta.
Other points of interest: