AthFest is a free annual

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, first held in 1997. The festival spans three days in the downtown area during the summer, and planning for the event begins in November. Jared Bailey founded the festival to promote the

music of Athens, Georgia The music of Athens, Georgia, includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave. The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, and ...

; he was formerly of the free alternative weekly ''

Flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

'' and the influential early nightclub the

40 Watt Club The 40 Watt Club is a music venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and new wave music. The 40 Watt Club was the primary performance space for numero ...

. In 2009, AthFest became the 501(c)3 non-profit AthFest Educates, which seeks to advance high-quality music and arts education for local youth and the Athens community through direct support of school and community-based programs and events, including an annual music and arts festival. In 2010, AthFest Educates started the annual AthHalf Half Marathon as an additional fundraiser. The 2020 event, the 24th year of the festival, had been deferred to 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, making it the first time in 23 years that the festival was cancelled. However, in September 2021, the festival was cancelled again for the second year in a row due to continuing concerns of public health from the pandemic.

References

External links

Athfest homepageAthHalf homepage
Music festivals in Georgia (U.S. state) Tourist attractions in Athens, Georgia {{music-festival-stub