LanceGrail

For detailed information regarding this weekend's Atlanta highway construction/re-paving projects, click here-> Weekend Atlanta Metro Area Construction Report

Updated info regarding Madison Scouts' rehearsal in Atlanta on Saturday (per the Madison Scouts' Facebook status update on 7/29 @ 1:30pm): The Scouts finish up death camp in Natchitoches, LA today and head out at 9p for Pinson, AL to Clay Chalkville HS. Rehearse Friday 10:30a - 7:30p. Then on to Snellville, GA to South Gwinnett HS. Rehearse Saturday 9:45a - 2:45p. Atlanta Regional Saturday evening with step-off at 7:49p.

...until they depart for the Georgia Dome at 4pm.

Atlanta lineup announced per DCI.org News: DCI Atlanta Southeastern Championship Presented by Lake Oconee & Greene County, GA The Georgia Dome One Georgia Dome Drive, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30313 Saturday, July 31 (Eastern Time Zone) 2:50 PM – Welcome and National Anthem 3:00 PM – Alliance - Atlanta, GA 3:17 PM – Atlanta CorpsVets - Atlanta, GA 3:34 PM – Cascades - Seattle, WA 3:51 PM – Pioneer - Milwaukee, WI 4:08 PM - Mandarins - Sacramento, CA 4:25 PM – Teal Sound - Jacksonville, FL 4:42 PM – Pacific Crest - Diamond Bar, CA 4:59 PM – Jersey Surf - Camden County, NJ* 5:16 PM – Spirit - Atlanta, GA 5:33 PM – Crossmen - San Antonio, TX 5:50 PM – Troopers - Casper, WY 6:07 PM – Colts - Dubuque, IA 6:24 PM – The Academy - Tempe, AZ 6:41 PM – Intermission - 51 min. 7:32 PM – Blue Knights - Denver, CO 7:49 PM – Madison Scouts - Madison, WI 8:06 PM – Glassmen - Toledo, OH 8:23 PM – Blue Stars - La Crosse, WI 8:40 PM – Phantom Regiment - Rockford, IL 8:57 PM – Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA 9:14 PM – The Cadets - Allentown, PA 9:31 PM – Carolina Crown - Fort Mill, SC 9:48 PM – Santa Clara Vanguard - Santa Clara, CA 10:05 PM – Bluecoats - Canton, OH 10:22 PM – The Cavaliers - Rosemont, IL 10:39 PM – Blue Devils - Concord, CA 10:56 PM – Full Retreat with last 12 performing corps

A video from the CBS Atlanta 4:00 News about local road construction: EXPECT DELAYS ON THE DOWNTOWN CONNECTOR THIS WEEKEND

And to these two reliable, excellent recommendations, I thought I would add my all-time fave: Mary Mac's Tea Room Click here for reviews. Fun footnote: To place your order, you fill in your own kitchen ticket at your table. Sweet tea to die for!

Creative Loafing has a nice blurb here. "No slouch on the field, the DRUM CORPS INTERNATIONAL SOUTHEASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP marries maddeningly smooth marching skills with bad-@zz percussive polyphony at the Georgia Dome Sat., JULY 25." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Varsity Don't forget mine and Joanne Woodward's favorite: The grilled pimento cheese sandwich! What'll ya have? What'll ya have?

Also going on around Atlanta this weekend: FRIDAY: See if those beer signs are worth anything at the Brewery Collectibles Show. 3 p.m. July 24-25. $2 for adults; ages 12 and under free. Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1500 Highway 19-41, Hampton. 770-946-4211, www.atlantamotorspeedway.com. “42nd Street” comes to Peachtree Street as the nostalgic, dance-centric hit Broadway musical returns. July 24-Aug. 2. $20-$67.50. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-881-2100, www.foxtheatre.org. R&B combo Maze featuring Frankie Beverly is a perennial favorite in Atlanta. Beverly has been the master of seductive crooning for as long as many young neo-soulsters have been alive. If you haven’t heard stone soul classics such as “Joy & Pain” and “Lady of Magic,” you’re missing some great music. 7:30 p.m. July 24. $38-$78. Chastain Park Amphitheater, 4469 Stella Drive N.W. 404-233-2227, www.livenation.com. Piano man and in-demand sideman Bruce Hornsby headlines his own show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. 8 p.m. July 24. $50. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-876-5859, www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org. See the spectrum of Atlanta’s art scene at the monthly Castleberry Hill Fourth Friday Art Stroll. 7 p.m. July 24. Free. Gallery Stokes, 261 Walker St., Atlanta. 678-770-7812, www.gallerystokes.com. Jennifer Coolidge, best known for her roles as Stifler’s mom in ”American Pie” and a ditzy dog owner in “Best in Show,” brings her one-woman show to the Laughing Skull Lounge. 8 and 10 p.m. July 23-25; 7 and 9 p.m. July 26. $28-$33. 878 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 877- 523-3288, www.vortexcomedy.com. The recent remake of “Star Trek” plays at the 2009 Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival at the Fox Theatre. 7:30 p.m. July 24. Pre-screening wine tasting begins at 5:30 p.m. $8 for the movie; $12 for the wine tasting. 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-881-2100, www.foxtheatre.org. SATURDAY Feel the beat at the Drum Corps International Southeastern Championship. 4 p.m. July 25. $30-$55. Georgia Dome, One Georgia Dome Dr. N.W., Atlanta. 404-223-9200, www.gadome.com. Blues-rock will never get stale as long as Allman Brothers/Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes is around to give it a fresh jolt of energy. Gov’t Mule headlines at the Masquerade Music park, with support from JJ Grey and Mofro and Outformation. 5 p.m. July 25. $30. Masquerade Music Park, 695 North Ave., Atlanta. 404-577-8178, www.masq.com. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra pulls out the big guns with “Beethoven Blockbusters.” The program includes the composer’s Symphony No. 7 and the Piano Concerto No. 3 with young Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen. 8 p.m. July 25. $21-$59. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, 2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta. 404-733-5010, www.vzwamp.com. The pioneering folk outfit the Kingston Trio plays a benefit concert for the We Will Not Forget Foundation. 8 p.m. July 25. $30, $40 and $100. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. 770-594-6232, www.roswellgov.com. Brooding crooner and part-time actor Chris Isaak has become a summertime favorite at Chastain Park Amphitheater. 8 p.m. July 25. $25-$75. Chastain Park Amphitheater, 4469 Stella Dr. NW, Atlanta. 404-733-5012. www.classicchastain.com. Known as the People’s Poet, Mexican singer, songwriter and actor Joan Sebastian has composed hundreds of pop songs, been a staple on the Top 40 charts in Mexico, won the Grammy for best Mexican/Mexican American album in 2002 and 2003 and starred in the telenovela “Tu Y Yo.” 7 p.m. July 25. $40-$140. Arena at Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Pkwy., Duluth. 770-813-7500, www.gwinnettcenter.com. SUNDAY While much of her music leans toward alt-country, Neko Case never stays pinned down to one genre for very long. Whatever she does, it sounds amazing because of her stunning voice, a sweet and powerful thing with just the right mixture of honey and vinegar. 8 p.m. July 26. $23-$33. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Pkwy., Atlanta. 770-916-2800, www.cobbenergycentre.com. Texas quartet Old 97s has a rootsy exuberance and melodic sensibility that make for a killer love show. 8 p.m. July 26. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave., Atlanta. 404-524-7354, www.variety-playhouse.com.

I forgot to mention that Atlanta traffic and weather tweets now too! Traffic Twitter: http://twitter.com/AtlantaNow http://twitter.com/atlantatraffic http://twitter.com/Atlanta_Traffic Weather Twitter: http://twitter.com/Atlanta_Alerts --------------------------------------

Georgia DOT Travel Information Services (Free) By Phone: Call 511 from any phone in Georgia for real-time travel information. Press “1” or “9” to reach a live 511 Operator 24 hours a day. On the Internet: Visit www.georgia-navigator.com for real-time traffic and road construction information. Live Atlanta traffic map: http://www.georgia-navigator.com/maps/atlanta Via PDA / Cell Phone / E-mail: Get customized traffic information with our free subscriber service, MyNaviGAtor. Learn more at Georgia 511 for Travel Information Metro Atlanta Weekend Weather Outlook: Friday, July 24th SUNNY Hi 89 Lo 66 Precip 0% Saturday, July 25th PARTLY CLOUDY Hi 91 Lo 69 Precip 20% Sunday, July 26th ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS Hi 85 Lo 60 Precip 30% *Grass pollen is currently in the high range. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Cavies housing/practice site has been secured for the Atlanta show: Salem High School 3551 Underwood Road Conyers, GA 30013 Map

GLASSMEN: Pennridge North Middle School 1500 North Fifth Street Perkasie, PA 18944 215.453.6932 (main) 215.453.2350 (voicemail) 215.453.7867 (fax) Mapquested

STATE OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION MEDIA ALERT: Complete details here FULTON COUNTY… DOWNTOWN CONNECTOR RESURFACING PROJECT – NORTHBOUND AND SOUTHBOUND LANE CLOSURES WHAT: Resurfacing the Downtown Connector (4.79 miles) between University Avenue and 10th Street. WHEN: 9 p.m., Friday, July 25, continuously through the weekend until 5 a.m., Monday, July 28. WHERE: Southbound: ‐ The three outside (right) lanes of the Connector will be closed starting where I-85 merges with I-75 and ending at I-20. The Jesse Hill Drive off-ramp will remain open for access to Downtown Atlanta venues and hospitals. The following Southbound ramps will be closed to ALL traffic: ‐ 10th Street on-ramp ‐ North Avenue off- ramp ‐ Williams Street on-ramp ‐ Spring/Williams Street on-ramp ‐ Courtland Street off-ramp ‐ Freedom Parkway off-ramp ‐ Ellis Street on-ramp ‐ Freedom Parkway on-ramp ‐ Edgewood Ave on-ramp The four southbound inside lanes, including the HOV lane, will remain open Northbound: ‐ The four inside (left) lanes, including the HOV lane, of the Connector will be closed starting just south of I-20 through just north of 17th Street. The following Northbound HOV ONLY ramp will be closed to ALL traffic: ‐ Piedmont Ave off -ramp The three northbound outside lanes will remain open. These closures are necessary for crews to continue resurfacing the Downtown Connector. During the weekend crews expect to lay more than 7,000 tons of asphalt brought by more than 200 dump trucks. There will be more than 250 workers within the work zone. The closures are expected to cause significant delays on I-75/85 northbound and southbound as well as delays on I-20 in the immediate vicinity of the interchange. Georgia DOT advises motorists to utilize I-285 to avoid backups.

Mary Mac's is GREAT! We love it! You get to fill out your own ticket! Be sure to try the meatloaf, or fried chicken, or chicken and dumplings or the country fried steak as well as the mac and cheese! A great Southern tradition! It's located at: 224 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30308