Experience Atlanta’s Premier Urban Ag Event: Soil Festival 2024
Join Food Well Alliance, WABE, and WSB-TV Family 2 Family for the 9th annual Soil Festival at historic Maddox Park on Saturday, May 4! Celebrate healthy soil and its role in building a strong local food system with delicious food, engaging activities, and food leaders.
Soil Festival is a fun, family-friendly event where attendees of all ages can gather to learn more about urban agriculture and our local food leaders. Attendees will enjoy delicious food sourced from local vendors, learn about the importance of healthy soil, meet inspiring local food leaders, and engage in cooking demos, kids’ activities, and workshops on topics including composting, beekeeping, and gardening. The event will also feature a growers' panel, farmers market, beer garden, music, and compost giveaway.
Proceeds from this year's event will help provide critical resources to local farms, community gardens, and orchards. By purchasing a Soil Festival ticket, you’re supporting local growers, helping them thrive and strengthening our community. Your ticket covers admission, food, beverages, and so much more!
Saturday, May 4, 2024 | 11 AM - 4 PM | Maddox Park
1115 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy, NW
Check out the Soil Festival Program on Eventbrite!
Attendees can expect many exciting features at Soil Festival, including a farmers market with locally crafted products and plants for sale, a growers panel with four local food heroes discussing education for the youth around agriculture, workshops where you can learn about growing your food, and much more. The full program of activities is now up on the Eventbrite page, check out what to expect here!
Local Food You’ll Love
We're excited to share who will be serving up delicious meals, sweet treats and drinks! If your tastes lean towards tacos, grilled cheese sandwiches, banh mi sandwiches, or noodle bowls, we've got you covered! Enjoy a delicious mixture of tacos with soulful meats and side dishes from The Blaxican Mexican Soulfood or go with creative combinations of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches at Speakcheesy. If Vietnamese cuisine is more your thing, choose from a banh mi or noodle bowl from 6packsubs. Sip on hibiscus tea from Ms. Haylene Green "The Garden Queen" and stay cool with vegan fruit pops from Mocha Pops.
Fun for All Ages
When we say Soil Festival is a family-friendly event, we’re not joking! There are plenty of things to do that children of all ages can enjoy while learning how to grow food. Kids can burn off energy at the new Maddox Park playground. Plus, there will be plenty of educational and crafty activities for kids to enjoy, including a kids’ cooking demo and storytelling session.
Kids and adults alike will love getting their faces painted by the talented artists from Chelle Face Painting or visiting caricature artist Eddie Platt Art for a cartoon drawing of you and your family.
Don’t Miss A Beat and Enjoy Good Vibes at the Beer Garden
We're so excited to bring back local grower and edutainer Lelo Jones from Outdoor Fresh Farm to be our emcee! He’ll keep our attendees in the know on all things happening throughout the day. DJ Cam Christian and Nathalie Rose (aka the Young StepMom) will keep the music going all day. While you’re vibing to the music, don’t forget to check out the Beer Garden. Khonso Brewing and Brewgether will be back demonstrating how to make beer and providing samples of their own signature brews. You can also sample brews and spirits from Monday Night Brewing and Tito’s Vodka.
Soil Festival's program is packed with six exciting workshops on everything from composting at home to learning about pollinators.
Introduction to Seed Saving Workshop with Brandon Brones of Atlanta Botanical Garden
Digging into Vegetable Gardening with Coles McLaulin from Chattahoochee Nature Center
Building Healthy Soil with Regenerative Agriculture with Farmer Jeff from Souper Jenny’s Farm
Composting 101 with Food Well Alliance’s Chloe Weathington
Pollinators and Beekeeping Workshop with Bill Crumpler of Rooted Faith Farm
Cooking Demo with Chef Ricky
Plus, be sure to attend the growers panel on Nurturing Tomorrow's Agriculture Leaders with local food heros:
Sister Terri Ali and Sister Tazar Gissentanner from Firdous Community Garden at Mohammed Schools of Atlanta
Shanii Armour a student partcipating in Food Well’s Compost Connectors Program
Traves Hyman from Creekside High School
Farmer Jeff from Souper Farm at Souper Jenny's Westside
Shop for Plants and Locally Crafted Goods
The Farmers Market is back for a second year and we have even more vendors for you to explore, including our Plant Sale vendors!
Bed Head Plant Nursery
Gangstas to Growers
Garland’s Garden
GlycoSponge
The Herbal Society
Love is Love Cooperative Farm
Mama Raishlyn’s Natural Wellness
My Elderberry Fairy
Plant Lady Juice Co.
Retaaza
Rooted Faith Farm
Roxie’s Cookies
Ry’s Kitchen
Sol Flour
Chat with Exhibitors and Local Ag Experts
Head to Exhibitor Row to meet some of our event sponsors and urban ag experts.
AgLanta
Allstate Insurance
Atlanta Beltline Partnership
CompostNow
Community Farmers Markets / The MARTA Market
Grove Park Community Garden
Hands on Atlanta
Hiawassee Products, LLC
Patagonia
Rooted Faith Farm
Second Helpings Atlanta
UGA Extension
USDA
WABE / Black in the Garden Podcast
Wellstar Health System
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Use the buttons below to add Soil Festival to your calendar so you don’t forget to join us on Saturday, May 4, 2024!
Volunteer at Soil Festival
Want to experience all Soil Festival has to offer and help behind the scenes to support Atlanta’s premier urban agriculture event? Become a Soil Festival volunteer! In return for your support, you’ll get a free t-shirt and admission to the event to enjoy the festivities either before or after your shift.
Volunteers play an integral part of a successful Soil Festival by supporting set up and break down, greeting attendees, assisting vendors, and more.
We're also seeking dedicated volunteers to help participants with sorting compostable, recyclable, and landfill destined materials before disposing of them. Help make Soil Festival a zero waste event by signing up for this important here!
2024 Soil Festival Sponsors
2024 Soil Festival Patrons
Will Sellers
SNAP Corps
Patagonia
Monday Night Brewing
Alex Dileo
Angela Grant
NRCS
Capella Cheese
Deyna Chisolm
Haylene Green
Natalie King
Katherine Lindley
2024 Soil Festival Exhibitors, Vendors, Panelists & Workshop Leaders
6packsubs
AgLanta
Allstate Insurance
Atlanta Beltline Partnership
Bed Head Plant Nursery
Bill Crumpler of Rooted Faith Farm
Black in the Garden Podcast
The Blaxican Mexican Soulfood
Brandon Brones of Atlanta Botanical Garden
Chelle Face Painting & Event Entertainment
Chef Ricky of The Kitchen Renegade
Chef Ryanne of Ry's Kitchen
Coles McLaulin of Chattahoochee Nature Center
Community Farmers Markets / The MARTA Market
CompostNow
Eddie Platt Art
Farmer Jeff of Souper Farm at Souper Jenny's Westside
Gangstas to Growers
Garland’s Garden
GlycoSponge
Grove Park Community Garden
Hands on Atlanta
Haylene Green '‘The Garden Queen”
The Herbal Society
Hiawassee Products, LLC
Lelo Jones of Outdoor Fresh Farm
Monday Night Brewing
Nathalie Rose of the Young StepMom
Patagonia
Plant Lady Juice Co.
Love is Love Cooperative Farm
Mama Raishlyn’s Natural Wellness
Mocha Pops
My Elderberry Fairy
Northside Hospital
Retaaza
Roxie’s Cookies
Rooted Faith Farm
Safia Icgoren of Yoga by Safia
Second Helpings Atlanta
Shanii Armour with Food Well Alliance’s Compost Connectors
Sister Terri Ali of Firdous Community Garden at Mohammed Schools of Atlanta
Sister Tazar Gissentanner of Firdous Community Garden at Mohammed Schools of Atlanta
Sol Flour
Speakcheesy
Traves Hyman of Creekside High School
UGA Extension Fulton County
USDA
WABE
Wellstar Health System
Soil Festival In the News
Foodwell Alliance’s Soil Festival will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 6 at Maddox Park. The fundraiser will help support more than 300 farms, community gardens and orchards in metro Atlanta. Attendees can dine on food from local vendors, learn about the importance of healthy soil, meet local food leaders and engage in cooking demos, children’s activities and workshops on such topics as composting, beekeeping and gardening.