Address: 101 East Court Square
Pricing: $10, $6.50
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Near the intersection of Clairemont and Ponce de Leon Avenues.
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Decatur Beach Party: Who needs an ocean to have a beach?
Jun 23, 2009
The City of Decatur may be hundreds of miles away from the ocean, but that doesn't stop the city from throwing a huge beach party every year.
The municipality east of Atlanta hauls in 60 tons of sand and throws an annual Decatur Beach Party, complete with sand castles, a board walk and surfings.
A this year's June 19 shindig, it was standing room only at the sand pit, as hundreds of children clad in swimsuits sat elbow to elbow in the faux beach. Ignoring that fact that the beach was wedged between a Starbucks and the old courthouse, kids dug right in and build sand castles, played in kiddie pools and buried each other in sand.
The event featured two bands, one geared for kiddie music and another playing beach music that got the adults shimmying and line dancing. Boardwalk games included riding a terrestrial surfing machine and a giant jumping game.
The Decatur Business Association sponsors the beach party, which raises money to help throw a variety of free events throughout the year, including free concerts on the city square every Wednesday at noon and Saturday night during May and September, the Fourth of July parade, Breakfast with Santa and the annual Easter Egg Hunt.
Volunteers sell sand pails and shovels, complete with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and juice box. At another booth, you could pick up leis, with all contributions benefiting the events on the square. Dozens of booths sold a variety of food items.
And how do they clean up the sand from the annual June event? At midnight, the sand is up for grabs and gardeners and others line up with shovels and pickup trucks to remove the grains. By the next day, the sand is gone, but the memories linger.
- by Diane Loupe, Atlanta Reporter for HelloMetro
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Diane LoupeA resident of Decatur, Ga., and a native of New Orleans, Diane has a M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Associated Press, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Yale Medical School. A freelance writer and editor, her work has appeared in The Sunday Paper, Women's eNews, the Agnes Scott College alumni magazine, eSchool News, and PTO Today.
