Hey neighbor,

So, uh… about last week.

Picture me: 9,000 miles from Gwinnett, somewhere between Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, and Zambia, dragging a camera bag through four airports in 15 days, trying to remember what time zone my body lives in. And in the back of my mind the entire time — "Gus. The newsletter. The newsletter, Gus. THE NEWSLETTER."

Friends, I missed last week's email. Full stop. No clever excuse. Just a tired guy in a hotel lobby in Lusaka at midnight, trying to upload b-roll over wifi that moved at the speed of forgiveness.

So — forgive me. 🙏

Here's the truth though: this trip rearranged something in me. I was on the ground with Nick Vujicic — the NYT bestselling author and speaker I'm honored to lead content and creative for — and we were sitting with people in villages, churches, classrooms, and city centers who are quietly doing world-changing work for their own neighbors. Local pastors. Local moms. Local entrepreneurs. Nobody waiting on a savior to fly in. They're building it themselves, brick by brick, person by person, community by community.

And the whole time, I kept thinking about us. About Gwinnett. About Buford and Suwanee and Lilburn and Norcross and Lawrenceville. About how that is what we do too — neighbors building things for neighbors. Beekeepers. Coffee roasters. Volunteer concert organizers. Farmers market vendors who remember your kid's name.

Africa didn't just inspire me. It reminded me of what we already have here. And I came home more in love with this county than I left it.

Okay. Enough sentiment. Let's get into the good stuff. 👇

— Gus

Four picks for the next few days — one for the family, one for friends, one for the music lovers, and one massive farmers-market reminder. None of these have been featured here recently. 👇

Saturday, June 6 | 12:00 – 8:00 PM | Town Center Park (330 Town Center Ave, Suwanee) | FREE

This is the one I'd circle on the calendar. Eight hours of authentic Asian cuisine, multicultural performances (Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Malaysian, Filipino, South Asian, Indonesian, and more), artisan vendors, and family-friendly activities. Bring an appetite and stretchy pants. This is exactly the kind of event that makes Suwanee feel like Suwanee.

🔗 Suwanee Asian Festival info

🏷️ Free | Family | Cultural | Food

Thursday, June 4 | 6:00 – 10:00 PM | Downtown Lawrenceville Square | FREE

Every Thursday all summer long, the Square turns into a block party — DJ Kahleesi spinning June 4, restaurant patio specials, outdoor axe throwing, art, and a couple hundred neighbors deciding Thursday is the new Friday. Round up the friends, hit a patio for dinner, walk the Square. Cheapest, easiest summer night you'll plan this week.

🔗 Beats on the Streets info

🏷️ Free | 21+ Vibe | Live DJ | Walkable

Friday, June 5 | 7:30 – 9:30 PM | Thrasher Park, Downtown Norcross | FREE

Norcross keeps their Summer Concert Series rolling with Lydia Simonds, a Nashville-based country songwriter. Bring a blanket, a chair, a cooler (no glass), and your favorite take-out from a Holcomb Bridge spot. The Norcross Summer Concert formula is undefeated: easy parking, free music, downtown vibes, home by 10.

🔗 Norcross Summer Concert Series

🏷️ Free | Live Music | Family-Friendly | Outdoor

Saturday, June 6 | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Town Center on Main (421 Main St, Suwanee) | FREE

Get there by 9 if you want first pick on the good stuff. Local growers, fresh flowers, bread, honey, breakfast burritos, and the kind of slow Saturday morning that resets your whole week.

🔗 Suwanee Farmers Market

🏷️ Free | Family | Seniors | Local

Heads up: the FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11 — and Gwinnett is going big. Explore Gwinnett, in partnership with our cities, has confirmed four free signature watch parties across the county. Lock these in now.

Monday, June 15 | Gates 11:00 AM, kickoff at noon | Coolray Field, 2500 Buford Dr, Lawrenceville | FREE

Hosted with the Gwinnett Stripers. Inflatables and face painting for the kids, blankets-on-the-field seating if you want it, stadium vendors open. Free parking, free entry.

🔗 Coolray Field watch party info

Saturday, June 27 | 5:30 – 9:30 PM | Suwanee Town Center | FREE

Food trucks, family-friendly activities, themed entertainment. Suwanee always shows up for these.

🔗 Suwanee Town Center watch party info

Tuesday, July 7 | Pre-game 11:00 AM, kickoff at noon | 5200 Town Center Blvd, Peachtree Corners | FREE

Big screen, DJ, family activities, and Town Center restaurants running FIFA-themed specials. Easiest lunch-hour watch party in the county.

🔗 Peachtree Corners watch party info

Wednesday, July 15 | 2:00 – 7:00 PM | Lillian Webb Park (5 College St NW, Norcross) | FREE

Live music, kids' activities, food and drink vendors, semifinal on the big screen. This will be a moment — Norcross is going to throw down.

🔗 Norcross watch party info

🏷️ All FREE | All in Gwinnett | All confirmed by Explore Gwinnett

One spot in Gwinnett that deserves more love this week. This one hit different after Africa.

5225 Bellewood Ct, Buford, GA 30518

phoenixroasters.coffee | Roastery hours: Mon 9:30 AM – 4 PM, Tue–Fri 9 AM – 4 PM (closed Sat–Sun)

Listen — after spending two weeks watching local leaders in Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, and Zambia change their own communities one cup of intention at a time, I came home looking at Gwinnett's coffee scene with new eyes. And I cannot believe I haven't told you about Phoenix Roasters yet.

This isn't just a coffee roaster. It's a mission. They source through direct trade from growers in Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ethiopia — paying farmers daily wages over 300% higher than other farms. Every bag sold also funds domestic relief work: ending child exploitation, supporting single mothers, fighting homelessness, restoring abuse victims.

The roastery itself is in a quiet corner of Buford and feels like the kind of place where the people behind the counter genuinely want to talk about the beans. Their tagline is literally "Coffee That Matters" — and after this trip, that hits even harder.

Best move: Stop by the Buford roastery during the week, grab a bag of the Ethiopian, ask them about the foundation work. You'll leave with better coffee and a better story.

🏷️ | Mission-Driven | Single-Origin | Buford | Brings a Tear to Your Eye

3137 Main St NW, Duluth, GA 30096

truckandtap.com/duluth

Here's the move when summer is hot, the wallet is light, and dinner-at-Stäge feels like too much of a production.

Truck & Tap is the most underrated date night spot in Gwinnett. It's a craft beer + cocktail bar in the heart of downtown Duluth that lives off a rotating lineup of local food trucks parked outside — lobster rolls one night, BBQ the next, NY-style pizza, Asian fusion, whatever rolls in. Order at the bar, grab a seat on the covered patio (fans + dog-friendly), and pick a food truck. Easy.

You'll spend less than a regular sit-down dinner and walk away with a story about that wild Korean-Mexican fusion truck that wasn't there last time. Then walk it off on the Duluth Town Green afterward — that's a whole date for under $40 a person.

Hours: Mon–Thu 3 PM – 11 PM | Fri 3 PM – 12 AM | Sat 12 PM – 12 AM | Sun 12 PM – 10 PM

🏷️ $ – $$ | Date Night | Patio | Summer Friendly | Dog Friendly

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🎤 In the Heights is officially LIVE at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville. Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning musical opened May 28 and runs through June 21. Audiences voted it Aurora's favorite show in the theatre's history. If you've been on the fence, this is your week. Tickets are moving.

🔗 Get tickets here

The "text this to your spouse" section.

Quick personal note before I go.

My incredible wife's birthday just passed, and after two weeks across the ocean, I wanted to do it right. So I drove over to the Nothing Bundt Cakes by Mall of Georgia in Buford (1825 Mall of Georgia Blvd, Ste A1 — and picked up a cake.

Friends. If you have never had a Nothing Bundt Cake, you need to fix that.

After everything I saw overseas — leaders pouring themselves out for their neighbors, communities being built one cup, one conversation, one cake at a time — I came home grateful. For my wife. For my boys. For all of you who let me write to you every week.

Don't take this place for granted. Hug your people. Buy the cake. Show up for someone.

Gwinnett is better because you're in it.

— Gus

P.S. — If this letter adds something to your week and you want to keep it going, you're more than welcome to buy me a coffee ☕. Every single one helps me keep this thing free for everybody.