The Greater Augusta Arts Council (GAAC) is sprinting toward the 45th annual Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival. The three-day event runs Sept. 18-20 somewhere else this year.
From its humble beginnings in the parking lot of the Municipal Building in the early 1980s, the festival has grown into one of Augusta’s largest tourism activities. In 2025, Destination Augusta estimated attendance at 100,000 people. That generated more than $1.8 million in revenue, making the festival one of Augusta’s largest non-sporting events.
The festival soon outgrew its original home and expanded to take over part of Broad Street near Sacred Heart Cultural Center. Ongoing construction along Broad Street has necessitated another move for this year’s event. It will be centered around the Augusta Exchange Club Fairgrounds at 4th and Telfair Streets.
“This is like a completely new game for us,” explained Heather Dunaway, Gallery and Public Art Director. “It’s been interesting having to figure out where all the pieces of the puzzle are going to fit. So, the map took a little bit longer this year, but I think we figured it out. I think it’s going to be a really good layout. We have a figure-eight kind of motion going on with the flow of traffic.”
Multiple parking locations have been created, including at the fairgrounds, at the former site of the Law Enforcement Center at 401 Walton Way, and Craig-Houghton Elementary School.
Dunaway told ABD that most of the major arrangements have been finished, including organizing where the artists will go, the stage lineup for performers, and the festival map.
“Mostly ordering all the little things, like all the display items,” she explained. “I just got in some brochure displays for the family area because we have a lot of nonprofits and businesses that work towards educating kids, so we wanted to showcase some of their brochures. I just got a big order of chalk in. All the last-minute orders are usually the whimsical ones. But it’s a lot of the little details.”
GAAC anticipates some Saturday attendees may want to start at the Saturday Market on 8th Street and have arranged transportation. On Saturday and Sunday, Augusta Transit will provide dedicated shuttle buses between downtown and the fairgrounds starting at 11:00 a.m. at pickup locations including the downtown parking garages. Festival badges provide access to the shuttles.
There will also be a unique way to shuttle from your car to the festival.
“We know Saturday and Sunday are the busiest days, so we’ve planned to have Pedal Pub come on as a partner,” said Dunaway. “They’re going to be picking up folks from the Reynolds Street parking garage, the parking garage that’s behind the Richmond County Board of Education, and a few other stops around the Broad Street area of downtown.”
This year’s Global Village, where people can eat their way around the world, will have two new vendors, with Nigeria and Ghana bringing their unique flavors to the crowds. As always, music will provide the soundtrack, with five stages offering cultural music, jazz, soul, rock, and country. The Friday night headliner is Whiskey Run, followed on Saturday by Weedie Braimah & The Hands of Time with contemporary African music.
“I am hoping people bring with them a sense of joy in celebrating the arts,” said Dunaway. “I would like them to come in with the sense of what it is to experience the arts and appreciate them, and all the forms it takes.”
Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the gate. VIP tickets are available for $75 and include food, beverages, and premium stage seating. They can be purchased online at: www.artsintheheart.com or in person at:
- All Richmond County Tag Offices
- Augusta & Co at 1010 Broad Street
- The Treehouse at 305 8th Street
- Relic Coffee at 1504 Monte Sano Avenue
- Sacred Heart Cultural Center at 1301 Greene Street
- 4P Studios at 3927 Roberts Road, Martinez, GA
- Smoothie Groove at 448 Fabian Drive in Aiken
