Featuring more than 400 artists from across the United States, Stone Mountain Park’s 51st annual Yellow Daisy Festival will take place Sept. 5-8. Voted one of the top arts and crafts shows in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine, a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event, and winner of multiple awards by the Southeast Festival and Events Association, the event is a tradition for multi-generational shoppers searching for unique works of art.
The Yellow Daisy Festival gets its name from the September blooming of a special type of yellow daisy which only grows within 60 miles of Stone Mountain. First discovered in 1846, Viguiera Porteri, grows in bright bands of yellow on the granite outcroppings of the mountain.
The first Yellow Daisy Festival took place at Stone Mountain Park in two picnic pavilions. Over half a century later, it is the Southeast’s largest outdoor arts and crafts festival with more than six acres of art, crafts, music and food to explore.
Festival crafters and artists are selected from a pool of applicants by the Yellow Daisy Festival jury to display their distinctive handmade work in categories including pottery, fabric, painting, jewelry, sculpture, fiber, photography, fine arts and traditional arts and crafts.
During all four days of the festival, guests can watch live entertainment on three stages, including Beatles tribute band The Return; Chatham County Line; Tameca Jones; Parmalee and many more.
For the next generation festival fans, the Children’s Corner offers activities such as crafts, sand art, face painting, henna and more.
Since 1971, Stone Mountain Park has partnered with Redbud District of The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc., to co-sponsor the Yellow Daisy Flower Show during the Yellow Daisy Festival. This year’s flower show is scheduled for Sept. 6 from 4 – 7 p.m. and Sept. 7 from 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall.
Every year Yellow Daisy Festival selects a featured artist and Thomas Burns, a Professor of Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design, was named the 2019 Featured Artist. Thomas grew up in Gainesville, Florida and received a BFA in graphic design from the University of Florida. After pursuing an MBA in Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University, Thomas relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to work for a major telecommunications company. Artistically, he remained unfulfilled and eventually created his own freelance studio in 2007. Thomas creates vintage travel images as a creative side project and a way to connect with the history of Georgia. His illustrations are meant to evoke the feeling of travel posters from the 1920's and 1930's, showcasing landmarks as great travel destinations. The prints and posters are illustrated by hand and finished digitally.
Located at the park’s Special Events Meadow, admission to the festival is free with paid parking ($20 for one-day permit or $40 for unlimited annual parking). Dates and times are as follows: Sept. 5–6, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Sept. 7, 10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 8, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Early Bird admission is available for $5 beginning at 8 a.m. A portion of Early Bird proceeds supports Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC). To learn more about FODAC, please visit www.fodac.org.
