Its the party Atlanta Blues Society members look forward to all year, and this year as always, it lived up to expectations! The Atlanta Blues Society Holiday Party took place at the Helene S. Carter Multipurpose Facility in Atlanta, with loads of space for tables, food, drink and dancing and a big stage.

The tables were decorated with festive centerpieces and a lot of them had Christmas Headgear on them, which was a genius move because the room certainly looked festive with all those Santa hats and holiday headbands! My husband and I shared ours!

There was free food from Fat Matt’s for members, which means we had the best barbecue chicken and pork in Atlanta, plus delicious sides and cookies! There were tea and water and for a minimal fee Spike from Blind Willie’s would provide you with beer, wine or a mixed drink.

The music was fantastic and let the dancers really show their moves. We had the winners of the Atlanta Blues Challenge play for us, starting with People’s Choice winners, the dynamic Danu Mac and Co. After them cane band winners ThunderGypsy who kept the momentum rolling right into our favorite Youth Group, repeat winners No Solution. They are repeat winners, and yet the oldest members of the group are 16 years old!

No Solution led to the last music of the evening, with Dos Blues Guys, who are also repeat winners, but Bennie Mobley made sure everyone was still alert and paying attention to them with the best holiday stagewear I have ever seen! They then proceeded to give us a set that blended originals from Andy Johnson and Bennie, with some hot guitar and that unmistakable harmonica.

Blues people are huggy people, generally speaking, and some of us had not seen each other in months, so there was a lot of hugging and talking and smiling, as there is in the best holiday parties. And that is what this was: one of the best holiday parties! And we contributed several huge boxes of toys to the Marin Corps’ Toys For Tots, the Society’s 20th year of participation in that program.

If you are interested in learning more about the Atlanta Blues Society and how you can join, visit the website for all the info you need!