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.
KidsFest at AthFest:
AthFest is a celebration of everything great about Athens, especially how it is such a family-friendly community! To make the festival experience enjoyable for attendees of all ages, we dedicate a special block-long area of the festival for kids. KidsFest is free and includes kid-friendly bands on the KidsFest stage, arts and crafts areas, demonstrations and more! There are also ticketed bounce houses and inflatables.
KidsFest Stage Lineup:
6:00PM Full Moon School of Music
7:00PM Full Moon School of Music
8:00PM Full Moon School of Music
Artist Market:
The open-air Artist Market is an integral part of the AthFest Music & Arts Festival. Booths feature fine arts and crafts for sale. Exhibited work may include visual arts (painting, drawing, mixed media, photography, and digital art), fabric, clothing and accessories, jewelry, and handcrafted items (sculpture, ceramics, glass, woodworking and furniture). All artists who make their own items are welcome to apply!
Location and Time
The AthFest Music & Arts Festival will include an artist market on Washington Street between Hull and Lumpkin streets. 70+ vendors will set up shop with both fine arts and crafts for sale.
The artist market will be open on the following days:
Friday from 5 p.m. –10 p.m.
Saturday from 12 p.m. –10 p.m.
Sunday from 12:30 p.m. –8 p.m.
Selling in the Artist Market:
We expect to have 60-70 booths, depending on the quality and range of offerings. Creativity and craftsmanship are integral to the Artist Market. All work must be the original creation of the submitting artist. Therefore, commercial work suitable for a vendor booth should contact vendor relations. Vendors pay significantly more for booths, do not go through judging, and are not eligible for awards.
The application fee is $25 per artist.
The application fee increases to $50/artist for any application after April 1, 2025.
Gospel Brunch 2025 1055 Barber, 11am-2pm:
Brunch plates: $20 advance/$25 day of – catered by Epting Events
Music by Marco & Friends, The Burgess Sisters, Jalen Eberhardt, Garren M. Walker
Celebrate community, music, and good food at the AthFest Gospel Brunch—a free event benefiting youth music and arts programs in Athens-Clarke County. Enjoy soulful live gospel performances from local talent during AthFest weekend. Admission is free, and brunch plates will be available for purchase.
Click here to buy tickets
