Tens of thousands of people will be visiting Atlanta on Labor Day weekend

It’s Labor Day weekend and that means Atlanta is about to become a very crowded city.
The anchor event is Dragon Con, which summons tens of thousands of nerds to the ATL every year. But there’s a lot more to see and do this weekend.
According to Atlanta Police, Dragon Con will bring 78,000 people to Atlanta’s downtown area on Saturday for the parade and other convention festivities.
This evening, Aug. 31, there’s a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars at the new stadium with an expected attendance of 70,000.
Black Gay Pride is also happening this weekend, which will draw another 30,000 people. Alabama (full disclosure: Roll Tide) will be playing Florida State University on Saturday. That will have an estimated attendance of 72,000 people. Georgia Tech will also play defending Champions of Life Tennessee on Monday, Sept. 4. That will draw an estimated 50,000 people.
The Decatur Book Festival is also going on this weekend, which will draw thousands of people to the city of Decatur.
“The Department urges event-goers to plan for any travel, and consider taking MARTA or carpooling,” the Atlanta Police Department said. “Event- goers should be mindful of their surroundings and call 9-1-1 to report any suspicious activity. Please help prevent theft from vehicles by removing all valuables in plain sight. Officers routinely respond to reports of laptops, smartphones, cash, tablet computers, purses, firearms and other valuables stolen from unattended vehicles. Leave these items at home or take them with you to avoid becoming a victim of this preventable crime.”
The Georgia Department of Transportation also recommends people avoid driving in Atlanta this weekend.
“To ease traffic congestion statewide during the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Georgia Department of Transportation has suspended interstate highway construction-related lane closures,”” GDOT said. “With the convergence of events happening in the downtown area beginning Friday and continuing throughout the holiday weekend; motorists are advised to plan ahead, expect heavy traffic and seek alternate routes.”
MARTA says it is increasing train frequency during the weekend and increasing security at all rail stations.
“During Labor Day weekend, MARTA’s northbound and southbound line will run at approximately seven minute intervals and the eastbound and southbound lines will run in 12 minute intervals,” the Transit Agency said. “Last year, MARTA registered more than 283,000 rail riders during Labor Day Weekend.”