2025 YIR: AJLF Celebrates 100 Years of Community

The sixth annual Atlanta Jewish Life Festival, held Feb. 23, came roaring into the Georgia Aquarium and turned back the clock to the 1920s in honor of the Atlanta Jewish Times’ 100th year of publication, having been founded as The Southern Israelite in 1925.

Several thousand community members gathered, with many guests showing up in full “Great Gatsby”-style outfits as this year’s festival featured a costume contest. Guests also reveled in casino games like blackjack and poker while being treated to the melodic, big band sounds of the Peachtree Jazz Edition, with some attendees venturing out onto the dance floor. To further set the ambiance, a pair of “cigar girls” roamed the Ocean Ballroom circulating candy cigars and outfitted with chic “Gatsby” regalia.

The festival also featured a raffle with lucky winners taking home parting gifts from festival partners the Atlanta Braves, Zoo Atlanta, and the Georgia Aquarium. Other highlights included an artist market, kosher eats, and a kids zone featuring face painting, henna tattoos, caricature artist, representatives from Camp Judaea, Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, Ramah Darom, Israeli Scouts, 6 Points Camps, and Camp Coleman, and, of course, Ruby the Clown.
And as always, attendees were able to meet with dozens of community partners representing all facets of Jewish Atlanta life, from summer camps to health and wellness organizations and more.

Cheers to 100 years of Jewish journalism and community in Atlanta … and to 100 more!