Event Coverage
Porchfest Plays On as Athens Fights to Preserve Its Past
By Olivia Roth
Topics: Historic Athens, Porchfest, Legion Pool, Local Music
Thousands of people assembled on front lawns across Athens on Sunday for Historic Athens Porchfest, a daylong celebration of local music that served as a reminder of the city’s past. The
event showcased performances on historic porches and highlighted the city’s unique neighborhoods, connecting attendees with Athens’s architectural and cultural heritage.
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The Little Dreams Quintet performs on Lyndon Avenue during Historic Athens Porchfest on Oct. 19, 2025. The local group was one of many acts that played on porches across Athens throughout the afternoon. (Photo/Olivia Roth)
Now in its seventh year, Porchfest broke records by hosting 262 performances throughout the day. When it started in 2019, 70 porches hosted performances. While Porchfest celebrates music and the local art scene, it also highlighted Historic Athens’s mission by showcasing the city’s historic neighborhoods and architecture, reminding attendees of Athens’s past.
Historic Athens is a nonprofit organization formerly founded as the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation in 1967, known for its community-driven goal to be a proactive force in developing community-wide understanding of the value of historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage.
The organization promotes the preservation and reuse of historic buildings to encourage community strength and engagement.
Porchfest is one of its main outreach efforts and donations can be made to support its cause on both the Porchfest and Historic Athens websites.
Porchfest provided a platform on Sunday for attendees to advocate for local causes, including the restoration of Legion Pool. Athens resident Justin Vaughn handed out petition flyers to students in attendance that explained the significance of the nearly century-old public pool and the potential impact of its planned demolition, encouraging them to support his cause. The University of Georgia is planning to replace Legion Pool and Legion Field with a new community green space, an outdoor amphitheater and an additional 70 parking spaces.
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A flyer distributed at Historic Athens Porchfest urges residents to support a petition to save Legion Pool, a nearly century-old public works project built in 1936. The University of Georgia plans to demolish the pool to make room for parking. (Photo/Olivia Roth)
While residents like Vaughn advocated for the history of Athens, others observed and enjoyed the work that went into planning the event.
Denise Sunta, senior director of operations for Historic Athens and co-chair of Porchfest, watched T. Hardy Morris’s 2 p.m. performance from the lawn of a Boulevard home. Porchfest ran from noon to 8 p.m., offering attendees a full day of music and community engagement.
“I started hearing music at 10 a.m. this morning, so I knew that we were going to have a good event, and it's just everything's been perfect so far,” Sunta said.
The festival attracted local vendors, families and out-of-town visitors who had come for Saturday night’s Georgia vs. Ole Miss football game. The crowds walked through the streets and watched performances at porches across the seven neighborhoods hosting Porchfest.
“I know this street was not as busy as it is right now last year, and it will only get fuller,” Sunta said.
Porchfest provided a stage for musical performances across Athens’ neighborhoods while giving attendees opportunities to engage with community initiatives, including efforts to restore historic sites such as Legion Pool. The festival highlighted how Historic Athens combines music and civic engagement, celebrating the city’s culture while promoting awareness of its historic preservation work.
More information on the Legion Pool petition can be found here.
Why I Wrote the Story
I wrote this Porchfest story because I wanted to capture how music and community come together in Athens, while also highlighting the city’s ongoing preservation efforts. Covering the festival showed me how events like Porchfest can entertain, educate, and spark action all at once. Focusing on Legion Pool made the story personal for me, because it illustrated how passionate people can be about preserving local history. Interviewing residents and observing the energy around the petition reminded me that when people care about something, their dedication is contagious. I wanted readers to feel the excitement of Porchfest, understand the importance of Athens’s historic spaces, and see how music can be a platform for community engagement.