Though my Amanda Thompson-esque schedule sometimes keeps me from Decatur parties, we’re lucky to have plenty of folks out there, pro and amateur, documenting city events.

• The AJC’s April Hunt has a neat, little profile of the folks that lined up to cart off the 90 tons of sand dumped on Ponce de Leon for Friday night’s Beach Party.  [Should we be concerned?  Cheryl Burnette sounds so excited about watching stuff disappear from Ponce, I'm afraid she might just start dumping all kinds of stuff in the street just for kicks.  90 tons of M&Ms! Parakeets!  Vidalia Onions!]

• Over on his website, Josh D. Weiss has some of the best shots I’ve seen of the sealess beach event.  [h/t: InDecatur]

Are you ready to slip into those flip-flops and head up to the Square this evening for the Decatur Beach Party?  As the poster above states, tickets are $10 at the door, but only $6.50 in advance at ticketalternative.com

A few details from my good friends over at the Minute…

The Reputations play Beach music at the Community Bandstand beginning at 5 p.m. and Terry Lee and the GTs begin playing at 8 p.m. on the Main Stage.

The organizing committee has made some changes this year, and both the sand area and the Boardwalk Games will be on Ponce de Leon Avenue, renamed “Ponce Fun Pier”. The main stage will be on the MARTA Plaza. This year’s event also includes Douglas Brake and The Sizzle Pop Fizz Band beginning at 5 p.m. on the “pier”.

Other new fun for 2009 includes a Bunji Jump for the children and a Photobooth where you can get your souvenir photo made.

It’s the hottest street beach this side A1A.

If you’ve got $6.50 and kids that suffer from landlocked-itis, you better rush over to Ticket Alternative and purchase your tickets to the Decatur Beach Party right now!  (Kids 12 and under get in free (limited to 2 per adult), adult tickets are $10 at the “door”)

The beach will magically appear on Ponce on Friday, June 19th starting at 5p.  Afterwards, residents in need of sand to haul away as much as they can free of charge.

More details can be found on the DBA website.

Don’t let the dying azaleas fool you.  Festival season is upon us.

• The Decatur Green Fest is less than a month a way!  On Saturday May 2nd, be ready a sample an endless array of green consumer goodies up on the Square, all in the name of the environment!  Green music will be provided by an array of green musicians throughout the day.
• Dave at InDecatur notes that Decatur Beach Party tickets are already available online for $5 each on Ticket Alternative.
• The Decatur Minute announces that its time to start designing logos for the “I Will Volunteer For Other Festivals Just To Volunteer For This Festival” Festival!  The winner gets their logo all over everything, $300 to pregame with, two tix to the Beer Fest, and two beer-soaked t-shirts (trust me, they will be).  So get to work!  Because I’m sure that Lauren has already noticed there isn’t a “you can’t win more than once clause.”

Next Stop…Decatur’s got a couple over on his blog and a bunch more over on his Flickr page.

Thanks for the excellent coverage Dennis!

Update: InDecatur has a big set of photos too from Friday night.

Lots of beer trucks and sand lining Ponce this morning in prep for this evening’s Decatur Beach Party.  If I wasn’t so lame, I’d have taken a picture of something.  But nope, you just get text!

Once again here are the details…

Beach Party
June 20, 2008 from 5 p.m. to midnight
Decatur brings in 60 tons of sand and turns the square into a beach for this annual event. Dance in the streets to the beach music from the live band performing from the stage that stretches across Ponce de Leon Avenue. Activities include children’s boardwalk games, face painting, wading pools in the sand and more. Adults $6.50 in advance, $10 at the gate; Children 12 and under, free (limit two children per paying adult). No coolers, glass or pets allowed. Sponsored by Decatur Business Association. Proceeds from this annual fundraiser benefit downtown improvement projects.

Order your advance tickets here!

Love at the Pub’s Mary Jane Mahan has a proposition for you.

She’s seeking 25 volunteers to play with the kids at the children’s boardwalk at next Friday’s Decatur Beach Party (8p-10:15p).  In return for your service, she’s promising “automatic volunteer status at the Decatur Beer Festival later this year.

Interested?  Contact Mary Jane at maryjane[at]maryjanebrain.com with your name and contact info.  Then you can serve me tiny glasses of beer come October!

BTW…the Brick Store-inspired Love at the Pub book is now looking at a September release.

It sure has been hot enough lately to conjure up thoughts of the beach. But why waste all that precious $4 gas to drive all the way to the coast when you’re kids can enjoy the feeling of sand between their toes right along East Ponce?

Co-chair of the event, Scott Drake, forwarded along this summation…

Beach Party

June 20, 2008 from 5 p.m. to midnight

Decatur brings in 60 tons of sand and turns the square into a beach for this annual event. Dance in the streets to the beach music from the live band performing from the stage that stretches across Ponce de Leon Avenue. Activities include children’s boardwalk games, a special beach movie on the giant inflatable screen, face painting, wading pools in the sand and more. Adults $6.50; Children 12 and under, free (limit two children per paying adult). No coolers, glass or pets allowed.

Sponsored by Decatur Business Association. Proceeds from this annual fundraiser benefit downtown improvement projects.

Buy your adult tickets beforehand at a discounted rate HERE.