If you think Downtown Atlanta is traffic-clogged and difficult to drive through under normal circumstances, you'll definitely want to consider avoiding it, or at least walking or taking public transportation, this weekend.
Between the Atlanta Boat Show and the Atlanta Braves' FanFest and a "Monster Jam" at the World Congress Center, the Hawks (Friday and Sunday) and Thrashers (Saturday) at Philips Arena and the Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market at the AmericasMart, most of downtown should resemble one big parking lot for long stretches of the weekend.
To make matters worse, tonight (Friday) the cast of local sports radio station 790 the Zone's new "Afternoon Saloon" program will depart from STATS restaurant (300 Marietta St.) after the show ends at 7 p.m. in a horse-drawn carriage for a Midtown pub crawl.
None of that should discourage you from attending an event in the area if you're inclined to do so (I've certainly got my eye on FanFest and maybe the Thrashers game). Take MARTA or a cab, do some walking. Consider it practice, if you like, for that faraway future in which we'll no longer be dependent on fossil fuels and the city will be a bustling web of transit stops and pedestrians. Or just do it for the exercise.