Puppy Love Mahjong, an afternoon that combines open Mahjong play with adoptable pets, will take place at the Brookhaven City Centre from noon to 4 p.m. Explore Brookhaven and Two Sparrows Mahjong are organizing the event.

Individuals or teams can buy tickets for the event, with the proceeds benefitting LifeLine Animal Project, a non-profit that cares for and find homes for animals.

“Guests will enjoy games, community connections, pet-friendly vendors, local organizations, and opportunities to support animal adoption efforts,” the announcement said. “While Mah Jongg players can purchase individual seats or tables, pet lovers are welcome to attend free of charge to meet the animals and enjoy the festivities.”

Attendees can purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a Mahjong prize package valued at approximately $740, featuring a sold-out Two Sparrows Lucky Ladybug tile set and other premium accessories.

LifeLine Animal Project, according to its website, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the largest animal welfare organization in Georgia.

LifeLine manages DeKalb and Fulton County Animal Services, the only open-intake shelters in Atlanta, providing critical community support to families struggling to keep their pets healthy and at home. Annually, it supports more than 46,000 pets through its adoption and support efforts.

“Our mission is to end the euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals through innovative programs, low-cost spay & neuter, affordable veterinary care, and community support,” the website said. “We rely entirely on donations and charitable giving to support our life-saving mission, services, and programs.”

A table purchase of $207 includes eight raffle tickets, with individual tickets ($80) coming with one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets will be available for purchase at the event for $22.

Pet lovers are welcome to attend free of charge to meet adoptable pets, shop onsite from local vendors, and observe the festivities.

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From Haitian fare to Uzbeki cuisine, these Atlanta restaurants offer a taste of the World Cup.

More World Cup coverage from Rough Draft

Czechia

Baltic Deli
Roswell

Sadly, metro Atlanta’s Czech offerings pale in comparison to states like Texas. Your best bet is an adjacent Central or Eastern European restaurant or pop-up (paywall). For example, try Baltic Deli in Roswell. It sells regional ingredients in its market and serves snacks and dishes leaning more eastward, while still hitting comparable Central European flavor and ingredient notes. Baltic Deli also excels at schnitzels, pierogi, and soups.

Halfway Crooks Beer
Summerhill

While Czechian cuisine isn’t widely available in metro Atlanta, you can find local iterations of its brewed counterpart at brewery’s like Halfway Crooks Beer in Summerhill. The rotating draft selection regularly features Czech-style pilsners and lagers. You can also enjoy a Southern-Belgium food menu while watching the World Cup on the TVs in the taproom, on the rooftop patio, or on the big screen in the beer garden.

West Africa

Ike’s Cafe & Grill
Norcross, Marietta, West End (to-go only)

Metro Atlanta features several restaurants representing West African nations. This includes Ike’s Cafe and Grill, which has locations in Norcross, Marietta, and a to-go spot in the West End. The restaurant’s specialities include Ghanaian jollof rice (and its spicier Nigerian cousin), as well as plantain fufu, puff-puff (known as mikaté in Central African countries like DR Congo), and West African vegetable soups.

Le Nouveau Maquis
Stone Mountain, Tucker

With locations in Stone Mountain and Tucker, this cozy West African restaurant is a popular spot for dishes like jollof, peanut soup, suya, and chofi (turkey tail). As an added bonus during the World Cup, both locations will screen matches and offer food specials during the watch parties.

Related stories:
• West African restaurant Ike’s Cafe & Grill preparing for World Cup crowds
• World Cup Recipe: West African puff-puff from Ike’s Café & Grill

Haiti

Zeke’s Kitchen & Bar
Smyrna

Run by a Haitian-American blended family, Zeke’s in Smyrna blends Haitian and American fusion cuisine. Think dishes like djon djon bowls with roasted chicken, plantain tacos, and rasta pasta. Don’t skip ordering a cocktail here from the fully stocked rum bar.

Marie’s Kitchen
Marietta

Good food is worth the wait. Such is the case at Marie’s Kitchen, which specializes in Haitian and Creole cuisine. Get your fill of classic dishes like soup joumou, fritay pwason (fried snapper served with fried plantains, sweet potatoes, and yams), and patties. Make sure to come early to partake in Marie’s signature dishes, including fried goat.

Morocco

Marrakech Express
Smyrna

Moroccan restaurant Marrakech Express started as a pop-up and quickly gained a following via Atlanta’s farmers market circuit. The restaurant specializes in traditional Moroccan cooking. The owners even import spices directly from Morocco, and make their own chermoula (zesty, herbal relish/marinade). While you should absolutely order the denjal (eggplant stew), garbanzo dwaz (chickpea stew), and chicken or lamb tanjiya, Marrakech Express also serves other regional dishes, including shawarma and falafel.

South Africa

Daily Chew
Morningside-Lenox Park

Julia Kesler-Imerman’s restaurant leans into her South African and Jewish heritages. Considered a local restaurant darling, Daily Chew serves everything from lemony, house-made labneh to boerewors sausage pitas to latke stacks accompanied by garlic labneh, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and a cucumber-pickled-onion salad. For the World Cup, expect a special South African menu to pair with matches during the restaurant’s watch parties. Grab a seat in the cafe or on the covered patio.

The Whelan
Blandtown

Looking for heartier South African fare, closer to what you’d find on a Durban dive’s late-night menu? Check out The Whelan, a Blandtown neighborhood pub that offers South African bar staples like peri-peri wings, a boerewors sandwich made with beef and pork sausage, and a chicken, potato, and red pepper curry served with rice and plantains. Make sure to order the Cape Dutch pudding served with cream. It’s an homage to a recipe by owner Jason Da Luz’s mother.

Related stories:
• World Cup recipe: South African peri-peri chicken wings from Daily Chew
• World Cup recipe: Spanish chicken Basquaise from Cooks & Soldiers

Spain

Cooks & Soldiers
Howell Mill Road/Westside

Named for a San Sebastian summer festival, Cooks & Soldiers has become a staple in Atlanta for Basque cuisine. Don’t pass up the selection of pintxos, the Basque equivalent to tapas. Try the Caña de Cabra (a plate honoring the Spanish goat cheese), the bikini (Iberian ham grilled cheese with black truffles), or gambas (Argentine shrimp with leek crema, fennel en escabeche, ajo refrito, and sourdough). The bar’s seasonal takes on Spanish G&Ts are some of the best in the metro.

Fogon and Lions
Alpharetta

If you’re looking for a top-notch grilled meat situation, visit Fogon and Lions in downtown Alpharetta. You can’t go wrong with the skirt steak and chimichurri here, or the short rib flatbread. But if you really want to go all out, order the suckling pig feast. You’ll need to reserve it 72 hours in advance. Stop by during happy hour for $9 sangria and $8 bar bites, such as fire-roasted olives and peppers, chicken croquetas, and chips with chorizo, queso, and salsa.

Uzbekistan

Laghman Express
Alpharetta

Based in New York City, Laghman Express opened in Alpharetta in 2025, bringing metro Atlanta Uzbeki and Ugyhur cuisine. This restaurant merges mainland East and West Asian dishes, transforming it all into aromatically rich comfort food. Hand-pulled noodles (laghman) and manty (beef dumplings), both Central Asian staples especially shine at Laghman Express, but don’t pass up on ordering meatier options like lamb shank soup, kebabs, and spicy stir-fried lamb.

Beth McKibben contributed to this guide.

The post Atlanta restaurants offering a taste of the World Cup appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Georgia Institute of Technology President Ángel Cabrera will leave the institution in November after seven years at the helm.

The institution said Cabrera will remain through the holiday season to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Georgia Tech announced Cabrera’s pending exit on Monday, saying that after leading the institution through “one of the most successful periods in its history,” he’d be serving as the next president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a non-profit focused on leadership and societal challenges.

“Georgia Tech transformed my life, first as a student and later as president,” Cabrera said in a statement. “Leading this extraordinary institution has been the honor of a lifetime. I leave with immense gratitude for the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters who have made our shared progress possible and with tremendous confidence that Georgia Tech’s best days are still ahead.”

Cabrera’s new role was finalized during a Monday vote by the Aspen Institute’s Board of Trustees, Georgia Tech said.

Read more of this story at WSBTV.com.

The post Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera to leave institution in November appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

There is a temporary flight restriction (TFR) in place over Atlanta Stadium, and the FAA expanded the size and height of the TFR for Monday compared to previous FIFA World Cup event days.  TFR’s are also in place in Macon and Kennesaw.  

Here’s a kink to FAA TFR map for Georgia: https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=list

In a press release, the FBI said it had seized 13 drones where pilots were violating the TFR near the stadium and Centennial Olympic Park.  One subject was arrested on unrelated charges after flying in the No Drone Zone.

Pilots can face fines of up to $100,000 and be charged with federal criminal felonies and misdemeanors as well.  Unsafe and improper use of a drone (Unmanned Aircraft System or UAS) poses a physical hazard to other aircraft and crowds on the ground. They can also violate federal law, the press release said.

Before every flight, drone pilots are encouraged to check for active flight restrictions using the FAA-approved B4UFLY app, the press release said.

The public is encouraged to report unsafe or improper drone use by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

The post FBI seizes 15 drones ahead of World Cup matches in Atlanta appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

The organization said in a press release that the campaign reflects its broader commitment to year-round community engagement (alongside its annual Pride festival, slated to return this year on Sept. 24-27), rooted in its mission to educate Georgians, celebrate diversity, commemorate history and support LGBTQIA+ individuals.

According to Macon Pride, Summer of Giving aims to highlight numerous issues in the region through a series of events, in which Macon Pride will partner with various local organizations.

The campaign kicked off on June 13 with “Pride in Your Park,” a clean-up event at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park that Macon Pride in partnership with Southern Queer Folks for Hikes.

Following the park clean-up, the organization is teaming up with Habitat for Humanity on July 18 for a “Pride Build” initiative that looks to address the region’s housing crisis. 

During the month of August, Macon Pride is partnering with Macon Periods Easier for “Period Packing Party” (Aug. 22), an event that provides awareness about period poverty and menstrual equity; as well as hosting “Planting Pride: Community Garden Project” (Aug. 29), a public space beautification effort (in collaboration with Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful).

In addition to service-focused events, the campaign is also putting on several creative-focused initiatives like art exhibitions, storytelling shows, film screenings and other cultural collaborations that Macon Pride says are designed to spotlight LGBTQIA+ voices and local artists.

Finally, Macon Pride announced several fundraiser endeavors to support its programming, including “Dine Out / Shop Out” (where participating local businesses donate 10% of the day’s earnings to the organization), “Pride Night” during a Macon Bacon baseball game and a pickleball tournament.

The post Macon Pride announces ‘Summer of Giving’ campaign appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.