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July 9, 2026 | AppenMedia.com | An Appen Media Group Publication | Ser ving the community since 1976
Group pieces together community initiative By ELLE GIRARD elizabeth@appenmedia.com
PHOTOS BY: STANLEY LEARY/APPEN MEDIA
Members of the Stayin’ Alive Crew, an Atlanta-based dance group for women 50 and older, perform in the Dunwoody Fourth of July Parade July 4.
Dunwoody Fourth draws thousands
DUNWOODY, Ga. — Create Dunwoody has launched the America 250 Community Puzzle Project, an initiative aimed at bringing people together around tables at local businesses. Hosted at restaurants, shops, office waiting rooms and other community spaces, the project puts 500-piece puzzles at participating locations. People are invited to work on the
puzzles whenever the businesses are open. The first puzzle features a map of the Greater Dunwoody Village area and includes the logos of participating businesses. Create Dunwoody is also donating puzzles to senior living centers like Berman Commons and hopes to expand the project with additional puzzles highlighting other areas, landmarks and businesses.
See PUZZLES, Page 8
By STANLEY LEARY newsroom@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — Saturday, July 4, 2026, the Dunwoody Fourth of July Parade celebrated its 50th anniversary, drawing tens of thousands of spectators for what organizers called the largest Independence Day parade in Georgia. The parade stepped off at 9 a.m. from the intersection of Mount Vernon Road and Jett Ferry Road, following its traditional 2.7-mile route west on Mount Vernon Road before turning onto Dunwoody Village Parkway and concluding at Dunwoody Village. This year’s theme, “Honoring the Past, Marching into the Future,” reflected both the parade’s fivedecade history and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
See PARADE, Page 8
From left, Marie Lesen, Andrew Southerland and Caroline Southerland watch the Dunwoody Fourth of July Parade July 4. Lesen moved from Germany to work as the Southerland family’s au pair for two years.
CREATE DUNWOODY/PROVIDED
The first Dunwoody 250 puzzle focuses on the Village area.
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