Green Options at Taste of Atlanta
The Taste of Atlanta (TOA) celebration is here. This year, the two-day event that features the city’s best restaurants, live cooking demonstrations from national and local celebrity chefs, and live entertainment is taking strides to become a greener festival. The event will feature on-site recycling facilitated by a “green team” of volunteers and will donate leftover food to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Additionally, a portion of the festival called Country Road will be devoted to local, sustainable restaurants. Country Road (sponsored by Atlanta’s Finest Dining and Edible Atlanta) will have its own cooking stage to showcase restaurants and the goods of local farmers, including the spotlighted activity of an olive oil tasting featuring oils created from local olives. Continuing in the green vein, festival promoters are also strongly encouraging attendees to take MARTA to the event and will offer free shuttle service to TOA from the Arts Center Station. TOA will be held October 11 and 12 (11 am-6 pm both days) at Atlantic Station in Midtown. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 the day of the event. VIP tickets are also available. For tickets and more information, visit www.tasteofatlanta.net.

City’s Population on the Rise
Are the green aspects of city living (infill development, walkability, access to public transportation, etc.) on the forefront of the minds of those on the move? Looks like it. The 10-county Atlanta region is beginning to feel the effects of the slowdown in home building after posting its lowest annual population gain since the recession earlier this decade, according to the latest estimates from the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). But, “The City of Atlanta is still booming,” says ARC Research Chief Mike Alexander, who adds, “In fact, for the first time in at least four decades, the City of Atlanta added more new residents than Gwinnett County.” The City has had its largest single-year population gain in almost 40 years, up 13,100 people. The City’s annual growth also marks the first time in at least four decades that the City added more new residents than Gwinnett County. The ARC is the official planning agency for the 10-county Atlanta region, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties as well as the City of Atlanta and other municipalities. For more information, visit www.atlantaregional.com.

Share Your News
Live Local is New Life Journal’s newest department that brings you sustainability news from the region. And we know there are a lot of great green and healthy happenings taking place in northern Georgia—from Atlanta’s groundbreaking commitment to building LEED Certified buildings to the BeltLine project, which hopes to transform the urban core of the city and create sustainable communities!

Share this news with us! Are you a member of a group working to integrate alternative healing modalities into area traditional healthcare systems? Or, is your group pioneering green in the area? Do you know of a local nonprofit actively working to promote local foods, clean water, or other issues related to sustainability? Send information and press releases with the subject “Live Local” to submissions@newlifejournal.com.

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