Foxfire Fall Heritage Festival

The fifteenth annual Foxfire Fall Heritage Festival next Saturday, September 26, features old-fashioned fun, food, crafts, and music.

The festival is set up at Dillard City Hall, next to the world famous Dillard House. From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., festival-goers will experience over 35 exhibits and demonstrations such as pottery, cornshuck dolls, crocheted and knitted items, berry basket making, woodworking, broom-making, flint knapping, blacksmithing, corn-shuck chair-bottoming, folk art painting, nature & wildlife photography, hand-made jewelry, stained glass, railroad history, and more. Foxfire Magazine students will also be present to autograph and sell their current and back issues.

A raffle of donated items by local and regional businesses will be featured along with great mountain music by The Foxfire Boys, as well as other bluegrass and gospel groups. Good food will also be available until sold out. Admission: $4, ages 11 up; children age six to ten, $2. All proceeds benefit Foxfire’s Local Educational Programs. www.foxfire.org

This Weekend in Rabun

It’s not too late to get your tickets for the hilarious comedy about Texas' third smallest town "Greater Tuna” presented by the North Georgia Community Players. The show runs Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 pm, and there’s a Sunday matinee at 3 pm.

Begin your Saturday at the Simply Homegrown Market in historic downtown Clayton, in front of Butler’s II on North Main Street, 9 am. – 2 pm. For this week’s market listing,

The Hambidge Summer Festival, Music, BBQ and Raku is this Saturday from 10-4. Begin your experience with glazing and firing your own pot. While you wait, have fun, enjoy some BBQ and experience other art! Music, wine tasting, silent auction and raffle, native plant sale, opening of the 5th Annual Georgia Pottery Show, and demonstrating artists throughout the day.

Crawl all over downtown Clayton to taste fabulous food, wine, and listen to great music! Join the fun at the first annual Clayton Crawl Saturday evening from 6 – 9 pm. Sample fabulous food from local restaurants set up at the Rock House and at Veterans Park. Taste local wines from Tiger Mountain and Persimmon Creek Vineyards along with featured wines from around the world on the wine lists of participating restaurants. Enjoy live music by jazz saxophonist David Fry in Rock House Park and Brian Sanders playing down by Butler’s II. Follow Rabun on Twitter for regular updates throughout the event!

There will also be live music at Prater’s Main Street Books from 6 – 8 pm, with William Prater on keyboard, and an artful gathering on the porch at the Globe Gallery. Well known artist, Jean Wilkes, will be onsite at Reeves Furniture painting some of her beautiful accessories and textiles. You don't want to miss it!

The 6th Annual Heirloom Tomato Festival at Glen Ella Springs & Meeting Place begins at 11:00 am Sunday and ends at 6:00 pm, with Twilight Supper in the pavilion. Along with creative tomato concoctions, enjoy music, fine arts and crafts! www.glenella.com

It’s Junior Ranger Week at Tallulah Gorge State Park, for ages 10-13. www.gastateparks.org/info/tallulah.

The Dillard House offers complimentary horse drawn carriage rides on Saturday afternoons through September. Check online for ongoing classes held at the Center on Warwoman and also at the Georgia Heritage Center for the Arts.

PLANNING AHEAD

“Greater Tuna” continues performances next weekend on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon.

Next Saturday, July 25, is filled with a variety of activities for all ages:

o Foxfire Children’s Heritage Day provides an opportunity for children ages 7-12 to participate in hands-on activities and make projects. www.foxfire.org
o Local Lake Burton author, Jenny L. Cote, and her Scottish Terrier Max, will be signing her new pre-teen Christian series at Prater’s Main Street Books from noon – 2 pm.
o The North Georgia Arts Guild hosts the 2009 Art at the Lake Show & Sale at the Lake Rabun Pavilion from 10-6, www.northgeorgiaartsguild.com
o Chef Virginia Willis will prepare a multi-course Southern spread featuring seasonal specialties from her book, Bon Appetit Y’all, at Persimmon Creek Vineyards, www.persimmoncreekwine.com
o Meet artists Salley Robbe, Millie Speeg, and Bev Rambo at the new Greenleaf Gallery location in Highlands from 4 – 6 pm.
o Kiwanis Club is sponsoring a Sock Hop at the Old Clayton Inn at 7 pm.

Finish out the month and kick off August with the 13th Annual Dillard Bluegrass and BBQ Festival July 31 – August 1, with two days of top bluegrass performers, plus the Georgia state championship KCBS cook-off, and beautiful crafts.

A calendar of upcoming August events is attached. Be sure to follow my Traveler blogs for details on these and other happenings. Become a fan of our Facebook page, and follow Rabun on Twitter for the latest!

Schedule of Events for Hambidge Summer Festival Saturday, July 18

U-Do-Raku
10am - 4pm, Hambidge Campus

Begin your experience with glazing and firing your pot. After glazing, it takes about 45 minutes to fire your pot. While you wait, have fun, enjoy some BBQ and experience the other art!

BBQ
begins 11:30am in the Dining Pavilion

Music: Weave Shed Porch
10am - Noon: The Old Hippie Band
Noon - 2pm: Hank Belew & Carmel Ridge
2pm - 4pm: Mountain Hoodoo

5th Annual Georgia Pottery Show
Located in the historic Weave Shed (enter at back door), this show and sale features over 30 of the best potters in Georgia. Two woodturners are also represented.

Wine Tasting
11:30am - 2pm
Persimmon Creek Vineyards
Tiger Mountain Vineyards

Raffle Drawing
3:30pm, Weave Shed Porch
Silent Auction ends 3:30pm

Native Plant Sale
10am - 4pm, across from Weave Shed Back Door


Demonstrating Artists
11am - throughout the day
Drawing - Angus Galloway & Paul Rodecker
Cyanotype - Lynn Marshall Linnemeier
Iron Forging - Corrina Sephora Mensoff
Kudzu Weaving - Junco Sato Pollack
Traditional Weaving - Tommye M. Scanlin
Printmaking - Stephanie Smith
Painting - James Taylor
Large Art Installation - Jennifer Van Winkle

Concessions: Buy Tickets To Purchase!
Drinks, Hotdogs, Shaved Ice, Popcorn, Pretzels

Fun on the Fourth in the Georgia Mountains!

Photo: Peter McIntosh

The Fourth of July Celebrations start early in Rabun County, actually beginning on Friday, July 3rd, at 7:30 am with the 3rd Annual Rabun Ramble 5K and 10K Roadrace at Lake Rabun Pavilion. Participants can either run or walk as they enjoy all the breathtaking views of Lake Rabun Road.

The evening brings a Steak and Seafood Cookout at the Dillard House, lasting from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. The Dillard House will also be hosting a free Patriotic concert by the Air National Guard Band of the South beginning at 7:00 pm.

The fun doesn't slow down on the 4th of July, as you have your pick of Saturday morning activities. Tallulah Gorge State Park is hosting a Gorge Floor Hike at 9:00 am, followed later by a Holiday Canoe Outing at 2:00 pm, so be sure to sign up in advance for both of these activities! Another way to celebrate for the athletically inclined is the Lake Burton Fun Run! This scenic course will open up to runners, joggers, and walkers at 9:00 am, with all proceeds donated to the Lake Burton Fire Department.

If all this exercise is making you hungry, you can relax and refresh at the Fourth of July Party and Wine Tasting hosted by Tiger Mountain Vineyards. They will be open from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm with live music, cheeses, and award-winning wines. The Dillard House will also be preparing an outdoor feast, beginning with an outdoor Hamburger Cookout at noon, a live band at 4:30 pm, followed with an outdoor Barbeque at 5:30 pm, and topping the evening off with a fireworks show!

Fireworks shows will be going on all around the county, so you can choose your spot and get settled in advance, or the brave adventurer can even attempt to see more than one show! Besides the visual treat at the Dillard House, the fireworks show at Lake Burton will begin at 8:45 pm, and the fireworks show on Lake Rabun will begin at dusk.

And why stop there? July 5th marks the 31st Annual Lake Rabun Wooden Boat Parade. Spectators can view this spectacular event at 10:30 am from the Methodist Church boathouse on Lake Rabun Road.

No matter which celebrations you choose to enjoy, you're guaranteed an exciting Fourth of July weekend in Rabun County!

Wine Weekend Stimulus package at Spendor Mountain

The 2nd annual Georgia Fine Wine Festival returns to Black Stock Vineyards and Winery the weekend of June 6-7. Reserve your tickets today! It's a weekend festival of the finest food, wine, music, and art in the beautiful Georgia Mountains.

Splendor Mountain in Tiger (Rabun County) offers a wine weekend stimulus package. Enjoy the wine weekend and rest in a comfortable luxury cottage, perfect for a family or group of couples, for only $500/weekend. This is a real deal! Splendor Mountain also offers a romantic suite for two at the Shadow Rock Pavilion for just $300/weekend.

Bring your Georgia wine and relax on the wraparound porch and enjoy the 8 o'clock Saturday night movie showing of "The Good Year" at Sunrise Lodge.

For reservations, call 706.212.2897