Strand Debuts Open Mic Night

1. The premieres its Open Mic Night feature at 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. today to provide another forum for local performers to showcase their talents. Andrew Cole will emcee both shows.

Doors open at 5:45 p.m. with a cash bar opening at 6 p.m. and serving $3 beer and $5 wine specials all night. The event its free to listeners and performers, but limited seating is available. Check the Strand calendar for details and performance instructions.

2. The Cobb Chamber of Commerce and the county's 12 business associations have joined together to sponsor the First Annual Coalition of Cobb County Business Associations Summer J.A.M. Touted as the social event of the summer, the J.A.M. is expected to draw between 600 to 800 people. The event will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the It serves as the first event collaboration of the Cobb Chamber and the Coalition of Cobb County Business Associations.

3. For your civic duty enjoyment, consider attending the county Planning Commission zoning hearing at 9 a.m. at the Board of Commissioners room on the second floor at Or perhaps you could check out the Cobb Libertarian Party at its July meeting from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the council chambers of .

4. Today is Global Forgiveness Day. To err is human, to forgive divine remains a great lesson for us all. We should probably practice it every day and not just today.

5. And regular followers of The 5 Things may wonder why the odd unofficial holiday entry came in at No. 4 instead of wrapping up the column at No. 5.  That's because this marks my last column with Patch.

I am grateful for this recent opportunity because it reintroduced me to the many amazing attributes of Marietta (and its great residents) and gave me a chance to help make the great secret that is the Gem City of Georgia less of a secret.

Keep an eye on the upper left hand corner of the screen under the Marietta Patch banner for the new editor. And I will see you somewhere around Marietta Square soon.