One of the chilling pleasures of October in this neck of the woods is the annual “Tour of Southern Ghosts” at Stone Mountain Park produced by ART Station, Thursdays  through Sundays, October 13 – 31. Nearly 15,000 visitors are expected to venture on the latern-lit tour of the authentic Antebellum Plantation where storytellers will regale audiences with both spooky and fun ghost tales. Whether you’re a skeptic, a full believer, or just enjoy a good yarn, the event featuring six professional storytellers will captivate your imagination. Each night offers different story tellers and at the end …

Angela Williams likes connecting with people through her art. Whether she’s working with young students or a couple attending date nights in the studio, reaching out to others is essential to her creativity. Williams, who owns Angelic Art Studio, is part of the SMart program in the city of Stone Mountain, created to give the arts a bigger presence in the city while giving artists an opportunity to launch their own businesses. The city leases and furnishes the artists with studio spaces for a limited time, while the artists provide supplies, pay a nominal fee for rent, attend business and art …

Stone Mountain resident Lisa Williams picked up the guitar when she was 9 years old and taught herself how to play. About the same time her dad, who served in the Vietnam War, was listening to his collection of popular music from the 60s and early 70s on a reel-to-reel tape player. “I loved that music — Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper, Crosby Stills Nash & Young,” said Williams. “There was so much great storytelling.” Williams, an Army brat, was born in New Jersey and lived with her parents, three brothers and one sister, all over — Virginia, Texas, California, Germany and now Atlanta…

Peek behind the scenes at Sailor Studio in Center Town Gallery in Stone Mountain Village and you’ll see three artists hard at work creating beautiful enamel on copper and stained glass art. You might also see those same creative people, Debbie Thigpen, her daughter Lily Bilsland and her daughter in-law Britni Thigpen making sure their little ones, all five of them, are fed, have a nap and stay out of trouble. It’s all in a day’s work, grandmother and mothers agree. The gallery recently opened as part of the SMart Inc. program to revitalize the city of Stone Mountain. When the opportunity came…

Hilde Friese is probably best known for the art of baking. After all she’s been in the business for 37 years. Freshly baked whole grain breads, rich, crumbly cookies, buttery pastry filled with fruit jams, rhubarb pie and prettily decorated cakes line the glass shelves at the Village Corner German Restaurant and Bakery Café in Stone Mountain. But Friese, who was born in Benediktbeuern Bavaria, has another talent she began exploring about 11 years ago — painting.  The business was stabilized and she began to feel it was okay for her to take some time for herself, Friese explained. “It was …

No matter where you look, strumming, singing and foot-stomping will be the order of the day on March 26 in the City of Stone Mountain when nearly 200 musicians gather to play old-time country and bluegrass music. Sidewalks, stores, restaurants and street corners will be filled with musicians gathering to play banjoes, fiddles, mandolins and basses.  Stop and listen awhile or join in with your instrument, it’s all good and it’s all free. “You’ve never seen anything like it,” says festival co-producer Jack Sartain. “We put out the call for old-time country and bluegrass musicians and they just …