Doraville's Pringle Has One Date on Its Fall Calendar. Make It October 24.
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
Doraville now has a stage floor about the size of the Fox Theatre's, under a curved timber roof its builders call the longest-bending active timber gridshell in North America. For the rest of 2026, it has one confirmed public event. That's the free Doraville Art and Culture Festival on Saturday, October 24.
That gap between how big the structure is and how few public dates it has explains how to get the most out of Assembly Park this fall. Plan around the one date that's on the calendar. On every other day, use it the way it already works, as a public park.
Gray Media owns Assembly, and it began installing the bandshell in early May. The roof was craned into place and attached to its supports at six points. It's shaped like a saddle, with a mass timber skeleton and stainless steel shingles, and that curve is where the nickname "the Pringle" comes from.
Atlanta-based Smith Dalia Architects designed it, StructureCraft fabricated it, and Bailey Construction installed it. A project representative told Urbanize Atlanta that getting wood to bend into that shape "is truly a work of art."
Where it sits matters. The bandshell anchors the public greenspace just outside the gates of Assembly Studios, a working film lot where Apple TV's Cape Fear remake was recently filmed. It's also the first piece of Assembly Atlanta's second phase. That phase stalled several years ago, and as of May its mixed-use plans were still "scheduled to be announced soon." Assembly's own "What's Next" page says the same. It's still exploring the next phase and hasn't announced firm retail, restaurant, or residential plans.
Planners said the bandshell would host live music, film screenings, cultural events, and community gatherings. So far, the documented record is shorter than that list.
The Pringle's public debut was ATL Fútbol Fest, a two-day World Cup watch event that Gray put on with its Spanish-language affiliate, Telemundo. The posted schedule:
An August venue guide from Discover Dunwoody confirmed that all three watch parties happened. It also said a broader slate of events was "coming soon." As of October 1, Assembly's events page is still a booking inquiry page, not a calendar. No dated concert series, outdoor movie night, Halloween event, or holiday program has been posted for the rest of the year.
None of that is a knock on the venue. A stage this unusual will take time to fill. For now, though, the festival is the only fall date you can actually plan around.
The Doraville Art Center is putting on the Doraville Art and Culture Festival with the City of Doraville. It runs Saturday, October 24, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2582 Assembly Blvd. Admission is free. Vendor, performer, and community-partner applications have closed, so the roster below should be close to final.
On stage:
Some of the listed vendors:
| For eating and drinking | For browsing |
|---|---|
| King of Pops | Atomic Parlour |
| Chilled Peach | Just Good Creations |
| Lavish Lemonades | May's Monsters |
| Tacos Al Pastor | Reflections by Myrna |
| My Sweet Delight | Brooklyn's Finest Creations |
| Juiced Box | Lisa's Littles Atlanta |
| Ibur Solecito | The Soulful Store |
The vendor page also links to MarceArt, AnhyThings, TL Nest, GA2RGN, and Iron Horse Builds, along with My Southern Nostalgia, Delicate Skin, and Smiley Maste. The festival page is the best place to check for set times if the organizers post them.
For anyone who hasn't seen the Pringle up close, this is the first chance since June to see it in use. The festival covers six hours on a Saturday afternoon, so you can stop by for one set or stay the whole day.
The everyday side of Assembly Park is more dependable than its event calendar. Assembly says the park is open to the public and pitches it for an evening walk or a weekend picnic. It doesn't post daily hours.
On an ordinary visit you'll find:
Assembly asks visitors not to block gate entrances or go into areas marked private, which makes sense on an active studio lot. For anything larger than a picnic, the site says to contact the City of Doraville.
| How you're arriving | What to know |
|---|---|
| Driving | Public parking runs along the park, and there's also an on-site deck. |
| Walking or biking from the Peachtree side | The Rail Trail crosses into Assembly over a covered trestle bridge you can reach from Peachtree Boulevard. The bridge doubles as a filming location. |
| MARTA | Discover Dunwoody says Doraville station is directly across the street from Assembly. |
The trestle is the best way in. You get the Rail Trail, the covered bridge, and your first look at the bandshell across the grounds, all before you reach the park.
All three of these are 2026 openings or moves, and all are a short drive from Assembly Park.
Tom N Toms Coffee, 6035 Peachtree Rd, Suite C-103. The chain's own site calls the Doraville location newly opened and lists coffee, matcha, bakery items, breakfast, and brunch. It's on Peachtree, the same corridor where the trestle crossing starts, so it works for a morning coffee before an 11 a.m. festival start. Rough Draft Atlanta included it in its roundup of July openings.
Kamayan ATL, 5150 Buford Hwy NE, Suite A220. The Filipino restaurant moved into a larger space next to its original Buford Highway storefront, a move the AJC reported on August 1. The Dunwoody-Brookhaven Ledger puts the move in July. The earlier target had been the end of February 2026, so regulars waited a few extra months for the new room.
Bake and Bite, 5150 Buford Hwy NE, Suite A238. It's a Malaysian café in the same building as Kamayan, serving kopitiam-style food and drinks. It also made Rough Draft's July openings list. With Kamayan and Bake and Bite under one roof, you can have a sit-down dinner after the festival and pick up something sweet in the same stop.
On the other side of the Doraville MARTA station, the city-owned Doraville City Center project is under construction. Its first phase includes the People's Building and a large central greenspace. The city says the People's Building will hold civic and community services and expanded library space. The city also lists the BuHi Walk as a proposed pedestrian route and the Peachtree Creek Greenway as a multi-year trail project, with no opening dates for either. Assembly's phase two is still unannounced. For this fall, that leaves the park, the trestle, the Pringle, and one Saturday when the stage will be in use.
If you see the bandshell for yourself on October 24 and want to talk about what Assembly's next phase might mean for homes nearby, I'm happy to share what I'm hearing. Let's Connect with Dana Zahedi.
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