--- title: SR 883. Roswell Arts Festival; celebrate 60th anniversary collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr883 cite_as: SR 883, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr883 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr883.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr883/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73735 date: 2026-03-03 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr882.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr884.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr883.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 883 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-03 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - John Albers - Jason T. Dickerson - Shawn Still - Kay Kirkpatrick - Josh McLaurin text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR883/2025 upstream_id: 2125957 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Roswell - arts festival - parks and recreation - Georgia Senate resolution --- # SR 883. Roswell Arts Festival; celebrate 60th anniversary ## Text Senate Resolution 883 By: Senators Albers of the 56th, Dickerson of the 21st, Still of the 48th, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd and McLaurin of the 14th A RESOLUTION Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Arts Festival; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Roswell Arts Festival was founded 60 years ago by a group of civic-minded residents, becoming the first arts festival in North Fulton County and establishing a tradition of community-led cultural engagement that continues to this day; and WHEREAS, for six decades, the Roswell Arts Festival has been organized and operated by residents and volunteers, including multiple generations of service, reflecting a deep and enduring commitment to the cultural, civic, and recreational life of the City of Roswell; and WHEREAS, the festival was created not only to celebrate art, music, and community but also to serve as an additional funding source for public recreation and park improvements, ensuring that proceeds generated by the event are reinvested directly into the community; and WHEREAS, over its 60-year history, the Roswell Arts Festival has contributed more than $1 million toward the development, expansion, and enhancement of Roswell's public parks, recreational facilities, cultural assets, and community spaces; and WHEREAS, festival proceeds have supported foundational investments in Roswell's recreation system, including the installation of athletic field lighting at Woodstock Park, funding a portion of the City's first recreation director salary, and contributing to Roswell's first Recreation and Parks Master Plan; and WHEREAS, the Roswell Arts Festival has played a significant role in the creation, expansion, and improvement of major parks, including Roswell Area Park, East Roswell Park, Don White Park, Grimes Bridge Park, Old Mill Park, Groveway Park, Riverside Park, Chattahoochee River Park, and Mill Park; and WHEREAS, festival funding has helped acquire and preserve critical parkland, including contributions toward the purchase of 63 acres and an additional 9.37 acres for Roswell Area Park, the acquisition of property for Grimes Bridge Park, and the preservation of 38 acres along the Chattahoochee River through the Trust for Public Land; and WHEREAS, the festival has funded or supported athletic and recreational facilities throughout Roswell, including ball fields, athletic fields, the Roswell Area Park Athletic Field, the Roswell High School athletic field, adaptive fields, outdoor fitness equipment, swimming and therapeutic pools, spraygrounds, playgrounds, shade structures, and equipment for recreation centers; and WHEREAS, the Roswell Arts Festival has made substantial investments in community and cultural facilities, including contributions to the Visual Arts Center and its expansion, Arts Center West improvements such as blacksmith facilities and a train kiln, furnishings and equipment for the Community Activity Building and Adult Recreation Center, and updates to the Recreation and Parks Master Plan; and WHEREAS, festival proceeds have supported community gathering spaces and special projects, including renovations at Town Square, the Vickery Creek Dam, Serenity Garden, Leita Thompson Memorial Garden, trail systems, and site planning for Old Mill Park; and WHEREAS, the Roswell Arts Festival stands as a model of how resident leadership, volunteerism, and cultural programming can produce lasting public benefit, strengthening community identity while delivering tangible improvements enjoyed by generations of Roswell residents. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Arts Festival in honor of its immense and enduring impact on the City of Roswell as well as extend best wishes for continued success. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the press. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution honors the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Arts Festival, recognizing its decades of fundraising for the city's parks and cultural facilities. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia Senate celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Arts Festival, a volunteer-run event founded as North Fulton County's first arts festival. The resolution recounts how the festival has raised more than $1 million over six decades for public parks, recreation facilities, and cultural spaces in the City of Roswell, including contributions to Roswell Area Park, East Roswell Park, the Visual Arts Center, and Chattahoochee River land preservation. The resolution does not change any law or provide funding itself. It formally states that the Senate celebrates the festival's anniversary and wishes it continued success, and it directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies available to the public and press. ### What it does - Formally recognizes and celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Arts Festival on behalf of the Georgia Senate. - States the Senate's recognition of the festival's more than $1 million in contributions to Roswell's parks and cultural facilities over 60 years. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. - Does not create any new law, funding, or ongoing obligation; it is a ceremonial statement rather than binding legislation. ### Who it affects The resolution mainly concerns the City of Roswell, its residents, and the volunteers and organizers behind the Roswell Arts Festival. It also touches Roswell's parks and recreation system, which has received festival funding over the decades. ### Why it matters While the resolution has no legal effect, it publicly documents and honors decades of community fundraising that helped build parks, athletic fields, and cultural venues in Roswell, giving official state recognition to a long-running local institution. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses recount the festival's founding 60 years ago as North Fulton County's first arts festival and its role funding park improvements. - It credits festival proceeds with over $1 million toward Roswell parks and facilities, including Roswell Area Park, Grimes Bridge Park, and Chattahoochee River land preservation. - The resolved clause has the Senate celebrate the anniversary and wish the festival continued success. - A further resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-03) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2026-03-03) - Sponsors: John Albers, Jason T. Dickerson, Shawn Still, Kay Kirkpatrick, Josh McLaurin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73735 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr883.md?full=1