Celebrate spring’s arrival in Atlanta at Oakland Cemetery’s Spring to Life Family Festival!
No matter your age, everyone can delight in the sights, sounds, and energy of spring at Oakland—colorful flowers in bloom, buzzing pollinators, and lush green landscapes.
Join us for the free Spring to Life Family Festival on April 5th, and enjoy wildlife demonstrations, a plant sale, food trucks, family yoga, interactive kids activities, gardens tours, and more!
Spring to Life Family Festival admission is free! Oakland is also hosting the family-friendly Run Like Hell 5k on April 5th, directly after the Spring to Life Family Festival. Keep the good times going and register to run/walk in support of Historic Oakland Foundation’s mission to restore and preserve Oakland Cemetery.
Schedule of Activities
10:00 AM - Event opens
Spring Plant Sale begins on Magnolia Lawn (Reservations required for admission from 9 AM - 12 PM - more info here)
11:00 AM - Gardens Tour
Join our Horticulture tour guides for a family-friendly gardens and nature tour of Oakland. Learn about plants, trees, and animals that depend on them for survival.
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM - AWARE Wildlife Center demonstrations
Meet the Animal Ambassadors of AWARE Wildlife Center, hear their stories, and get tips on peaceful coexistence with wildlife.
12:00 PM - Spring Plant Sale opens to the public without reservations
12:00 PM - Family Yoga with Jess Pfeffer
Spring isn’t just a season—it’s a state of being. Join Jess Pfeffer as she leads you through Burst Into Bloom, a yoga experience designed to awaken your body, mind, and spirit as you step into your fullest potential. This practice will leave you feeling refreshed, radiant, and ready to bloom into your most vibrant self.
1:00 PM - Pollinator Planting in DIY Containers with Georgia Tech Beekeeping Club
Hear from the GA Tech Beekeeping Club about the contributions of local bees as pollinators for many of the plant life in Oakland and throughout the city. Participants will build DIY plant containers and fill them with dirt to plant native pollinators.
1:00 PM - 4 PM - Gardens Tours
Join our Horticulture tour guides for a family-friendly gardens and nature tour of Oakland, beginning at 1 PM, 2 PM, and 3 PM. Learn about plants, trees, and animals that depend on them for survival.
2:00 PM - Protecting Atlanta’s Watershed Litter Clearing Competition
Learn more about local watersheds and explore how runoff from different surfaces impacts these watersheds. Then join in our Litter Cleaning competition to remove rubbish from Oakland, with prizes awarded.
3:00 PM - Georgia’s Native Residents: Sidewalk Chalk Art
Honor the native plants (magnolia, dogwood, azalea, hydrangeas) and animals (red-tail hawk, possum, white-tail deer, gopher tortoise) of Atlanta by sketching images of them on the Visitor’s Center walkway.
5:00 PM - Run Like Hell 5k Begins
Registration required - learn more here!
Food and Drink
Food & drink vendors include Greatest of All Pops, Fresh Mike Hot Dogs, A Curated Coffee, and Funnel Cakes Food Truck!
Engage with Atlanta’s Green Leaders
Meet and learn from wildlife and environmental experts from:
AWARE Wildlofe
Park Pride
Xerces Society
Georgia Tech Beekeeping Club
Fulton County 4-H and Extension
Wylde Center
Chattahoochee River Keeper
Georgia Conservancy
BirdsGeorgia
Interactive Activities for Kids
Step away from the screens and dig into some hands-on fun! Join us for a day filled with nature-inspired crafts, games, and interactive activities for kids, including:
Make Your Own Bug Hotel
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Bird Feeder Activity with BirdsGeorgia
Pollinator Planting with GT Beekeeping Club
Protecting Atlanta’s Watershed: Litter Clearing Competition with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper & West Atlanta Watershed Alliance
Painting with Nature
Georgia’s Native Residents: Sidewalk Chalk Art
