Thousands Ignore Rain To Play On Peachtree Street

Burlesque dancers on stilts, giant bicycle/bird hybrids, and a man with a dozen balloons festooned around his head. The connection? They all blew off pesky rain (and a hellacious morning lightning storm) to join thousands of more normal-looking Atlanta denizens Sunday afternoon for the fourth incarnation of Atlanta Streets Alive. While the rains likely kept attendance well shy of last fall's 20,000 strong on the Highland Avenue-Beltline loop, enough supporters showed up to crowd Atlanta's signature street, especially near the Fox Theatre. Still, not everyone was pleased. Commenter "Patrick" on Midtown Patch derided the event, saying: "I've been stuck in traffic TWICE today trying (to) cross Peachtree. Can't find a place to cross over and every street is clogged. Is this the effect the organizers wanted?? This sucks!!!" Despite the naysayers, do you think Atlanta should host these events more often? Please, attendees, share your takeaways from the anti-vehicle bonanza.