ATLANTA — Organizers for the well-known Atlanta Dogwood Festival said that they generated a profit this year, enabling the event to come back again.
Channel 2’s Lori Wilson spoke with the new Dogwood Festival Director, Lanna Rudeseal, who said that thanks to the funds, next year’s festival would return free of charge.
“It’s always been our intention for it to be free,” Rudeseal told Wilson.
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Next year’s will be. For the 2026 Dogwood Festival, organizers charged a $10 entrance fee to cover the rising cost of putting on the event, but after only a day, the festival went back to the free model, with donations welcome.
For the 2027 Dogwood Festival, there will be benefits offered for people who donate to the organization at the gate or online.
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“We’re working on ways to give benefits to the people that donate,” Rudeseal told Channel 2 Action News. “You’ll be able to have special perks when you come through, so we’re working on that. That’s news to come.”
On Monday, the Dogwood Festival starts accepting applications for artists who want to show off their work in the park.
Each year, the festival gets about 1,000 applications and 260 are selected to be featured.
“I really believe we show such a wonderful variety of wonderful artists across the country,” Rudeseal said about what makes Dogwood so special. “I just think it’s a wonderful experience for people to come enjoy our beautiful Piedmont Park, which is the jewel of our city.”
Rudeseal said having the artists and being able to meet with them and hear about their experience and what inspires their work is also a great opportunity during the festival.
With the funding effort this year, Rudeseal said she was proud of the success.
“The people that donated at the gate when they entered or online really helped us get over the hump,” Rudeseal told Channel 2 Action News. “We’re really happy we can produce this event. Come and enjoy the day is what we want people to do.”
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