AthFest Music & Arts Festival
AthFest is an annual free, three-day festival that celebrates Athens, GA’s vibrant creative culture, featuring local and regional musicians and visual artists. Thousands of people flock to the streets of historic downtown Athens each AthFest to experience live music by artists from a variety of genres, enjoy local artwork, and soak up the vibe of one of America’s coolest cities. Locals mingle with out of towners while music fills the air and art, food and fun fill the streets.
The festival includes three free outdoor stages with live music performances, a block-long Artist Market with dozens of visual artists, artisans and makers, and a block-long KidsFest area to make sure even our youngest fans get in on the music and art fun!
After the free outdoor stages wrap up Friday and Saturday nights, the official AthFest Club Crawl kicks into gear. Music venues and clubs will host lineups filled with local music.
AthFest raises money for the nonprofit AthFest Educates, which awards grants to support music and arts education for K-12 students in Athens.
AthFest 2024 raised over $100,000 to support Arts Education for K-12 students in Athens-Clarke County!
Check out photos of AthFest 2024 at Deadly Designs, our official AthFest photographer.
KidsFest
KidsFest is a block-long area of the AthFest Music & Arts Festival with the KidsFest Stage hosting performances by and for young people. The UpNext Showcase features middle and high school aged musicians/bands and takes place on the KidsFest Stage on the Friday night of the festival from 6pm-9pm. Activities and performances are free. There are some ticketed rides/experiences.
AthFest Artist Market
The juried Artist Market at the AthFest Music & Arts Festival focuses heavily on local artists, craftspeople and makers. Over 70 booths make up the Artist Market, with work for sale in most every artistic medium. Applications to apply open in February.
AthFest Vendors
The block in front of the main stage of the AthFest Music & Arts Festival features sponsor booths, retail vendors, the AthFest Merchandise Tent, and food trucks, all with a beer garden in between!
Calling all Athenians!
Calling all Athenians! As part of our 2025-2027 Strategic Plan, AthFest Educates is focusing on increasing community awareness of our mission, impact, and opportunities. One of our strategies for achieving this goal is gathering perception data via a stakeholder survey. That’s where you come in – how do you think AthFest Educates can better spread the word about its mission? Take our short survey and let us know. Your feedback is completely anonymous, and not only will it help AthFest Educates’ mission – but it will help AthFest Educates become one step closer to ensuring every child in Athens-Clarke County can experience the enriching impact of the arts. Thank you for your participation!