Between September 6 and September 14, Marietta puts nearly everything worth doing inside a few walkable blocks of the Square. A Tony Award-winning musical runs at the Strand, Glover Park hosts two very different festivals a weekend apart, and Church Street Park sets up a screen after dark. Here are four ways to spend the next nine days in and around downtown Marietta.
Parade at the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre
Why It Stands Out
Sunday, September 6 at 3:00 p.m. and Thursday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Strand, 117 North Park Square. Parade is a Tony Award-winning musical set in Georgia in 1913, following the trial of Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born factory manager working in Atlanta. It is a serious, beautifully scored piece of theatre, and seeing it staged a short drive from where the events took place gives it a weight it does not carry anywhere else.
What to Expect
The Strand is an Art Deco house that opened in 1935 and seats 531, which means there is not a bad sightline in the building and no seat feels distant from the stage. Tickets have been running in the $41 to $55 range. The box office opens on the day of the event, one hour before the show.
Best For
Couples and anyone who takes theatre seriously. This is not light entertainment and it is not a children's outing. Treat it as the anchor of a full evening rather than a casual stop.
Insider Tip
Take the Thursday 7:30 p.m. performance over the Sunday matinee if you want dinner on the Square first. The restaurants ringing Park Square are calmer midweek, and the walk from a table to your seat is about three minutes.
Marietta Handmade Festival at Glover Park
Why It Stands Out
Friday, September 11 through Sunday, September 13, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in Glover Park at the center of Marietta Square. Presented by Artisan Circle Events, this is a three-day maker's market rather than a one-morning pop-up, which changes how you shop it. You can walk it Friday, think about a piece overnight, and come back Saturday.
What to Expect
Metro Atlanta artists and makers set up across the park with work you cannot buy in a store. Expect ceramics, jewelry, textiles, and small-batch goods, with the makers themselves behind the tables. The setting does a lot of the work here, since Glover Park is shaded and ringed by the Square's storefronts.
Timing and Planning
Friday morning is the quietest window and the best one for actually talking to vendors. Saturday is the busiest by a wide margin. Parking on the Square fills quickly on weekend afternoons, so the decks and side streets a block or two out are the reliable play.
Best For
Anyone shopping for a gift with a story attached, and newcomers who want to meet the local creative community without committing to an evening.
Movies Under the Stars at Church Street Park
Why It Stands Out
Saturday, September 12 at 8:00 p.m. at Church Street Park. An outdoor film night in early September is one of the better trades Marietta offers: the evening has finally cooled, the park is small enough to feel neighborly, and the whole thing costs nothing but a folding chair.
Best For
Families and anyone who wants a low-commitment Saturday evening. It is also an easy first outing for someone who has just moved into the area, because the crowd skews local and conversational rather than destination.
Insider Tip
Arrive by 7:30 to claim ground while there is still light to set up by. Bring a blanket for the ground and something warmer than you think you need, because the temperature drops noticeably once the screen goes on. Church Street Park is compact, so anywhere in the middle third gives you a good view.
The 5th Annual Before Slavery Sankofa Festival
Why It Stands Out
Sunday, September 13 from 12:00 p.m. at Glover Park, presented by Vibrant Health. Now in its fifth year, the Sankofa Festival is a cultural celebration built around heritage, performance, and community, and it closes out the window with the most distinctive programming of the nine days.
What to Expect
A midday start means this is a daylight event with an afternoon rhythm rather than a night out. Expect performance, vendors, and programming with a clear point of view, staged in the same park that hosted the makers two days earlier.
Neighborhood Angle
Glover Park doing two completely different festivals in one weekend is a fair snapshot of how Marietta uses its Square. The park is the town's living room, and the programming rotates constantly rather than settling into one register.
Best For
Families, friend groups, and anyone curious about the cultural programming happening in Cobb County outside the usual arts calendar.
Event Q&A
Which event is best for families?
Movies Under the Stars on September 12. It is free, outdoors, starts at a manageable hour, and nobody minds if a child talks through the second act. The Sankofa Festival on Sunday afternoon is a strong second.
Which feels most on-brand for a date night?
Parade at the Strand, specifically the Thursday, September 10 performance at 7:30 p.m. Dinner on Park Square, a short walk to a restored 1935 theatre, and a show worth talking about afterward.
Which one is worth planning ahead for?
Parade. The Strand seats 531, the run is short, and the box office only opens on show days one hour before curtain, so buying in advance is the sensible move rather than an optional one.
Which option is the most relaxed?
The Marietta Handmade Festival on a Friday morning. Three days of runtime means no urgency, the park is shaded, and you can be in and out in twenty minutes or stay for two hours.
Which event gives the best feel for the neighborhood?
Glover Park across that second weekend. Watching the same green host a makers' market on Friday and a cultural festival on Sunday tells you more about how Marietta actually works than any single event on the list.
