Johns Creek Arts Festival Draws Big Crowds

Making its debut this year, the Johns Creek Arts Festival drew healthy crowds over Saturday and Sunday, with city officials estimating some 10,000 patrons on Saturday alone, based on car count.

Hosted by the City of Johns Creek, the Johns Creek Convention & Visitors Bureau and Arts on the Creek, the event was a reincarnation of sorts over previous years' Arts on the Creek festivals.

This year the city joined forces with the other hosts to make the festival bigger and better, hiring Splash Festivals to coordinate the event.

"I'm so excited," said Heather Blanchard of the Johns Creek CVB. "We're already talking about next year."

One key difference was location - this year's festival took place on the spacious fields owned by the Atlanta Athletic Club, which made for easy parking and access and allowed more space for an expansive Kidz Zone and a stage for live entertainment.

Blanchard said that based on a survey the CVB conducted during the event, festival-goers were fans not only of the artists, but also the location. "They loved not having to be shuttled," she said.

Some 100 art vendors from around the country were joined by music acts, including a special concert Saturday night by the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra followed by fireworks.

"From a CVB perspective, we were thrilled with the evening entertainment," Blanchard said. "We want people to make this a weekend event."

For photo and video highlights of the festival, see: