PopSmart

Eat, drink and be merry at the GEORGIA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. An opening weekend fit for a king includes juggling acrobats, a sword swallower and plenty of turkey for the family. Check out a clashing duel by the Hanlon-Lee Jousting Knights or watch a majestic performance by the Royal Lipizzan Stallions. The interactive outdoor festival is packed with shopping, activities and performances taken straight out of the 16th century, with the exception of the newly featured item, fried Coca-Cola. Through June 1. Free-$19.95. Sat.-Sun., 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. 6905 Virlyn B. Smith Road. 770-964-8575. www.georgiarenaissancefestival.com.

Check out this little snippet of how fun the festival is from performer Sarah Petermann, as quoted in last year’s Summer Guide.

Or listen to Kylie Minogue sing its praises (sort of) …

(Photo courtesy Georgia Renaissance Festival)

(Photo Algonquin Books)

There was a time in our country when an African-American president would have been unimaginable. Throughout history pioneers such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Septima Clark, among others, set forth to change society. For On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail, journalist and reporter for NPR and PBS CHARLES E. COBB JR. compiled photos, maps, interviews and speeches from the Southern Civil Rights Movement. On Tues., FEB. 19, he reads his assembled accounts of the sit-ins, marches, sites and speeches that changed America. Free. 7:15 p.m. Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore St. 404-370-8450. www.georgiacenterforthebook.org.