Nandan Durga Puja Atlanta 2026 in Alpharetta

Nandan Bengali Association of Atlanta presents Durga Puja Thursday through Sunday, October 16–19, 2026, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily at DeSana Middle School, 625 James Road, Alpharetta. The nonprofit’s homepage titles the run “2026 Durga Puja Atlanta & Chandrabindoo Live,” with a separate concert slot Friday, October 16, 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the same campus.

Nandan is a 501(c)(3) Bengali cultural association based in Alpharetta. Its mission centers on language, music, food, and religious observance for Bengali families across north metro Atlanta, with outreach to younger members so traditions carry forward. Durga Puja is the group’s marquee autumn ritual: days of arati, cultural programs, community meals, and the kind of reunion energy that draws families from Forsyth, Gwinnett, and Fulton counties.

Who this is for: Bengali households planning the season’s puja schedule, and curious visitors who want a temple-scale festival with live band programming rather than a single-day street fair. Skip it if you need a free open-air mela only; Global Mela at Global Mall is the shopping-forward edition one week later.

DeSana Middle School sits off James Road west of GA-400. Alpharetta’s Indian restaurant corridor is minutes away for post-puja dinners. Parking for multi-day school-campus events typically fills early on opening Thursday and the Chandrabindoo concert night; plan arrival before evening arati if you want a close spot.

Chandrabindoo is a long-running Bengali band known for folk-rock sets that pair with puja socials. Nandan’s October calendar continues after puja with an October 24 evening at Sawnee Mountain Park in Cumming and Kali Puja and Diwali programming November 7 in Forsyth County, so this puja opens a three-week association run rather than a single isolated weekend.

October stacks quickly on the Atlanta calendar. Global Mela lands October 24–25; Diwali in Dunwoody follows November 7 alongside Nandan’s Kali Puja night. Clarkston International Rice Festival in September is the east-metro civic counterpoint if you want refugee-city food programming before puja season peaks.

Our take: treat Friday concert night as the headline if you can only make one visit; return Sunday for immersion day if you want the full four-day arc. Watch nandanatl.org for ticket tiers, volunteer shifts, and daily program blocks as they post.

When: October 16–19, 2026 (daily 5:00–7:00 p.m.; Chandrabindoo concert October 16, 9:00–11:00 p.m.)
Where: DeSana Middle School, 625 James Rd, Alpharetta, GA

Updates on nandanatl.org.