After the hard work of Book Week, I am ready to coast around here for a while. If you’re around the ATL, here are some upcoming events that you may want to put on your calendar.

This Friday the Margaret Mitchell House is having a “Midtown Mixer” with a New Orleans theme. Admission is free and includes food from Grape and live music by Zydefunk. Hurricanes will be available at the cash bar. As a NOLA native, I am required by little known provisions of the Napoleonic Code to attend events like this. I plan to back it up with the Third Anniversary party for the Alcove Gallery, featuring the musical stylings of Van Heineken. The show will feature the art of personal fav, Nina Friday, and others.

It remained for Dr J, who no longer lives in A-town, to hip me to the first Decatur Book Festival, which will be held labor day weekend in Decatur Square. Decatur has long made a cottage industry out of outstanding festivals. Hopefully this will live up to the pedigree. I am especially looking forward to seeing Roy Blount, Jr. and Wesley Stace (John Wesley Harding). Stace will be doing double duty, reading from his book, Misfortune, and performing at the music stage. It would be flippin’ sweet if he plays with former Atlantan Kelly Hogan, as he mentions on his book’s page. His cover of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” should be considered definitive.