HEAD = 13th Annual Mardi Gras Celebration in Club Forest  

 

Saturday, March 21, was a beautiful day for the 13th annual Krewe du Foret Mardi Gras parade and party. Residents and friends lined the streets of Club Forest to watch as floats decorated like pirate ships passed. Krewe members, in pirate attire, tossed beads and other goodies to onlookers.

 

The Krewe is Club Forest’s men’s club. Each year, the men select a parade queen. This year’s queen was Mary Rogers, a 40-year resident who is in her fourth house in the area. Past queens have included Emily Hyde, Lele Griner, and former Sarah Smith Elementary School bus driver Ms. Allen.

 

“It was a good turnout,” said James McGowan, Krewe captain. A party followed the parade with food, beer, kids beverages, and a live band.

 

EVENT COVERAGE

HEAD = Another Successful Pound the Pavement for Peter

 

Early in the morning on Saturday, March 28, Historic Brookhaven residents and other runners and walkers gathered in the Capital City Club parking lot for the 17th Pound the Pavement for Peter (PPP) 5K family fun run. About 700 people registered for the race, which has become a Historic Brookhaven tradition.

 

Pound the Pavement for Peter was started by Anne Park and Matt Hopkins to raise awareness and funds for children with disabilities. The race honors their son Peter, who had peroxisomal disease and died in 2010 shortly before his fourth birthday.

 

In addition to able-bodied participants, the race has an in-chair division. This year, 41 in-chair athletes competed with 70 assistants who pushed them around the Capital City Club golf course. Thirteen individuals with peroxisomal disorder were at the 2026 race along with their families.

 

The morning began with a prayer from Anne Park’s dad Peter Amann. Peter and his wife Kay lived on Club Drive in Historic Brookhaven from 1975 to 2021.

 

The 2026 event raised $200,000, for a total of over $2.5 million since its inception. The 2026 beneficiaries are Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Medically Complex Care program, Extra Special People, Keck Medical Center of USC, and the Kyle Pease Foundation.

 

“For me, it is the power of a community coming together when a family is hurting,” says Anne Park. “Our community surrounded us when our son was diagnosed, and this is the result – still making an impact 18 years later.”

 

For more information or to donate to Pound the Pavement for Peter, visit https://poundthepavementforpeter.com/.