Night at the Museum

 Paaaarty!! Okay, not exactly. But it's the spooky month of October, and yesterday was my birthday. One of the things I did to celebrate was to pay a visit to a favorite *ahem* haunt of mine in Atlanta. 

my haunted mansion cake

In addition to the fun of Halloween, I enjoy the height of fall every year at this time. The change of scenery, the clothes, the food. The moody, earthy vibes of fall fit me as a person. Something about colorful leaves, chilly walks, cozy fires, and the need for hibernating, resting, and rebuilding ...

What was I saying? Oh, birthday stuff. I'm the type who will (non-aggressively) claim the entire month for celebration. As in, I'm doing, eating, enjoying fun things all month, not just a single day. That should be standard for everyone, in my opinion. With friends and loved ones in different places, circumstances, schedules, timelines, I think it makes more sense to sprinkle the entire month with birthday-type fun. As in, things we don't make time to do the rest of the year. Things that, if spread out and varied in intensity, allow everyone (of all abilities and schedules) to join and partake in little (or big) bites of joy outside everyday monotony with the birthday person. All the better when people share a birthday month and can overlap some fun. Since everyone I know has a birthday 😆, we could be celebrating all the time. ANYway, now that I have outlined my plan to make birthdays better for all (I could almost run for office), I'll share one of my highlights.

Once a month, the High Museum in Atlanta (my state's capital, and the closest major metropolis to me) hosts what they call Friday Jazz. They offer live jazz in the main atrium of the museum, with access to all of the current exhibits throughout. I've attended several of these events, and have always enjoyed myself. 

When you enter the gallery, you can enjoy prime people-watching as people show up dressed to impress or relaxed and "as-you-are" to absorb the culture oozing from every corner.

In my creative work , I can't dress up or wear wild nails
(they would only get ruined!)- but here...

live music in the atrium

The live music wafts out of the atrium and reaches a crescendo as you enter the floor, where you can look up and see a giant cylinder of several floors of individual galleries traced by a winding ramp topped with a skylight (similar to the Guggenheim). The floor is filled with seats for whoever arrives early enough to claim them to sit and watch the show. I often see the regulars there. But since there's a whole museum of changing art to explore (with benches throughout and the ability to hear the live music everywhere), I never bother with the floor seats. There are cash bars; however, drinks are not allowed into the galleries.

art from two of my ancestral homes: Ghana and the kingdom of Mali

This month, the featured exhibit saw the work of designers Viktor and Rolf on display. I had seen glimpses of the collection in videos online, but never expected to be viewing them in person!

it was wow after wow

Room after room of splashy, wild, statement-making creations (mostly from the realm of fashion) fueled my curiosity and imagination. This was the exception with the music. The Fashion Statements exhibit was situated in a part of the museum tucked away from the main galleries, lending it another vibe entirely separate from the

main event. I had to ask directions to find it, lol, and luckily I did before the crowds pulled themselves away from the music. It felt like a separate space with its own soundtrack, setting, and mood. When I walked in, I was transported into the designers' world with a multimedia show that included images, videos, and dimensional floor displays. It was wild. And well worth the visit. I'm not writing this to promote the museum or the show, but I really enjoyed it. And I don't gatekeep these things. 

the High Museum
on Peachtree

Fashion Statements is on display until February 8th of 2026. And Friday Jazz happens every third Friday (so, monthly). For anyone who enjoys live music (mostly jazz), art, and culture, I highly recommend this experience. I might go back sooner than expected!

And that was one highlight from my "month of fun". Hey, I may just decide to let the fun trickle over into November, lol. Would you enjoy an outing like this?