When you buy a Jingle Jog bib or a gift from a Winterfest vendor on Lanier Boulevard, where does the money go? The City of Atlanta's event listing describes Winterfest as a "fundraising event for Virginia Highland District Association." The same nonprofit is working with developer Third & Urban on retail and safety improvements to the Atkins Park block of North Highland Avenue. That block went under scaffolding in October and will stay that way through the holidays.
The festival at the north end of the district and the construction to the south share an organization this December, and the season's calendar runs right past the scaffolding.
The Season, Date by Date
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to noon. John Howell Park Beautification Day, organized by the Virginia-Highland Civic Association. Meet at the Great Lawn at Barnett Street and Virginia Avenue, and bring gardening gloves and pruning tools.
- Dec. 1 through Dec. 12. The Elf Scavenger Hunt. Holiday elves hide in businesses across the district, you collect a sticker at each stop, and a completed card turned in at Winterfest enters you in a raffle.
- Thursday, Dec. 3, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Christmas tree lighting at Murphy's, 1002 Virginia Ave. NE, with carols from the Georgia Boy Choir.
- Saturday, Dec. 12. Winterfest: the Jingle Jog 5K, the Elf Dash, a parade, the Gift Market and Kids Corner.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12 and 13. The Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes.
Where Winterfest Sets Up
Winterfest is centered on the Virginia Avenue and Lanier Boulevard end of the district. The organizer's 2026 vendor application puts the Gift Market at that intersection and says both streets will be closed for the festival. The city's listing describes the event area as Lanier Boulevard between Hudson Drive/Los Angeles Avenue and North Highland Avenue/1082 Virginia Avenue.
The Saturday schedule fills the morning early:
| Time | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | Jingle Jog 5K | All ages, costumes encouraged, long-sleeve tee for every 5K runner |
| 9:00 a.m. | Elf Dash | For runners under 12, free with registration |
| 10:00 a.m. | Parade | Listed on the city's event calendar |
| 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Gift Market | 80 vendors and 20 young entrepreneurs |
| 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Kids Corner | Crafts, face painting, bounce houses |
| Noon to 6:00 p.m. | Tour of Homes, day one | Self-guided |
The music at the market comes from neighborhood groups: youth performances by Ztunes and Tutu School, plus the Atlanta Vocal Project men's choir. The district's sponsorship page plans for 15,000 attendees. A crowd that size explains why the Elf Hunt starts eleven days early. It sends people into the shops along the full strip before festival day packs everyone onto one closed street.
The Block South of the Festival
Walk south on North Highland and you reach the work site. Urbanize Atlanta reported on Oct. 28 that Third & Urban began renovating the Atkins Park Restaurant and Bar block in October. The developer calls the project the "Atkins Park Collection." It covers 61,120 square feet across three blocks of North Highland, with more than $3 million going into building and streetscape upgrades. According to that report, the goal is more daytime traffic and a lift for the businesses already there.
Third & Urban put the collection together in two purchases. It bought the first phase, 35,370 square feet of retail along North Highland and St. Charles Avenue, in 2024. In September 2025 it bought the second phase, the block between Greenwood and St. Charles avenues, which includes Neighbors bar, City Church and other infill storefronts.
The Virginia Highland District said all businesses on the block will stay open while scaffolding and parking changes are in place. Parking near the block is free. On Sept. 2, 2025, the Atlanta City Council approved a resolution removing all parking meters in the Atkins Park Commercial Zone, at the request of the Virginia-Highland District Association and the civic association. Atlanta News First covered the request the day before the vote. This season, that means you can park for free near the scaffolding, while the festival end of the district loses street space to the Dec. 12 closures.
What the Finished Work Already Looks Like
One piece of the renovation is already finished. A block north of the active site, Third & Urban has finished the standalone building at 842 North Highland, which now has new signage, railings and light fixtures. A new mural by local artist Janice Rago covers the Intown Ace Hardware side of the building. If the Elf Hunt brings you out in early December, that wall is the clearest preview of what the rest of the collection is meant to look like.
The biggest change is still ahead at 780 North Highland Ave. Most of that section is vacant, and the plans call for an indoor-outdoor courtyard with new retail around it. Bridger Properties, Third & Urban's leasing partner, plans to target "community-focused food and beverage tenants that enhance the neighborhood," per Urbanize Atlanta's account of a March announcement. The renovation is expected to finish by spring 2027.
So the renovated block will open after this holiday season. For now, the businesses around 780 North Highland are trading through December behind scaffolding.
The Park Money Runs on the Same Calendar
The Tour of Homes connects the festival to a second neighborhood project. Proceeds support the Virginia-Highland Civic Association and its work on parks, preservation and community programs. The biggest park effort right now is at John Howell Park. In its Oct. 14 update, Friends of John Howell Park reported $793,000 raised toward a $950,000 goal. The group has chosen CORE Landscape to build the playground, rain gardens and pathways, and it needs $157,000 more before it can break ground. That work is Phase 1 of the park's master plan.
That makes the Nov. 21 Beautification Day more than a cleanup. The volunteers pruning on the Great Lawn are taking care of a park that is still raising money for its next phase. Three weeks later, Tour of Homes ticket sales go to the civic association that scheduled that workday.
Planning December Around All of It
The easiest way to cover the whole season is to spread it out:
- Dec. 1 through 11: pick up an Elf Hunt card and work the district a few stops at a time on weekday errands. The Atkins Park block has open storefronts and free parking.
- Dec. 3: the Murphy's tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. is a one-hour evening on Virginia Avenue, a few steps from where the festival sets up nine days later.
- Dec. 12: go early. The 5K starts at 8 a.m. and the parade at 10 a.m., and the Gift Market opens at 10:30 a.m. Bring your finished Elf Hunt card to Winterfest to enter the raffle.
- Dec. 13: the Tour of Homes runs noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, a quieter day after the festival.
Winterfest also needs volunteers. The district gives each one an exclusive long-sleeve tee and a free drink ticket, and you can sign up through the Winterfest page. Winterfest raises money for the Virginia Highland District Association, and Tour of Homes proceeds support the Virginia-Highland Civic Association and its parks, preservation and community programs.
I follow how Virginia-Highland's commercial strip and parks are changing because those changes shape the blocks around them for years. If you'd like to talk about what the Atkins Park Collection could mean for your street once the scaffolding comes down, Sara Harper would be glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
