It's Festival Time in North Georgia

October 14, 2009

I'm actually writing this from the Sandestin Resort in Destin, FL. This is another fabulous vacation spot -- if you like heat, humidity, the most beautiful white sand beaches, and the emerald green ocean. I like the last 2 -- hate the first two. For those who don't know, I rent 7 condos here in the Sandestin Resort -- 6 of them right on the beach. One is mine (with my partner Tania) in the Village of Baytowne Wharf, which is on the north side of the resort.

And this is a really beautiful place....but I'll have to write about this trip at another time.

As it is October, fall, and I live in the North Georgia Mountains.....I wanted to give you some great ideas of where to spend a sunny Saturday or Sunday up here in the mountains. IT IS FESTIVAL TIME IN NORTH GEORGIA!! October is an amazing time, as every little town (and for some, I do mean little) in North Georgia has a festival. I've included a couple of pictures which I took off the various web sites for the towns. But you can go enjoy the festival and take some pictures of your own.

Let me start with my home town -- Ellijay. The Gilmer County Apple Festival takes place on the 2nd and 3rd weekends in October. So for this year, it was Oct. 10-11 and 17-18. As I believe I've mentioned, Gilmer County is known as the Apple Capital of Georgia -- the county has 60% of the apple trees in Georgia. Gilmer County produces 600,000 bushels of apples, with 25 different varieties -- many of which are not found in the grocery stores. There are 18 orchards, 11 of which are found in "Apple Orchard Alley" along Hwy. 52. The apples are tree-ripened and FRESH -- and some orchards let you pick your own. The Apple Festival has a parade (see the picture here), 300 vendors selling all types of hand-made crafts, as well as a lot of that wonderful "junk" food you get at festivals. Don't miss the fried apple pies -- available at any orchard.

And on October 17, there is the Arts around the Square in downtown Ellijay. We are a very "artsy" town with many local artists. The Arts around the Square is something that is done once a month, so if you miss the October showing, come on back on November 21 for another fun day.

In Jasper, GA (15 miles south of Ellijay) there is the Pickens County Marble Festival (Oct. 3-4). Unfortunately if you are reading this, we've missed the festival for this year. Pickens County is famous for the Georgia marble, and you can take tours of the marble quarry. As with all festivals, lots of hand-made crafts along with food, live music and entertainment, a fine arts show, motorcycle show, a parade, and I believe some rides for the kids.

This coming weekend, October 17-18, as well as October 24-25, you'll find the Mountain Harvest Arts & Crafts Fair at the Blue Ridge Farmer's Market in Blue Ridge, GA (about 15 miles north of Ellijay). Actually, if you go to the Blue Ridge Chamber of Commerce web site, you'll see that Blue Ridge has a large number of crafts and art festivals throughout the year. I looked at the "festival" tab on the web site, and found out that there is a Blue Ridge Mountain Adventure Race which involves 80 co-ed teams of 3, who hike, mountain bike, run, and kayak through the Chattahoochee National Forest (with the Blue Ridge and Cohutta Mountains). I'm going to have to see this next year -- I've a big fan of "Primal Quest", and I didn't know we had our own little version here in North Georgia.

Blue Ridge is the gateway to the Appalachian Mountains, and has many national forests surrounding the area with lots of hiking, including walking the famous Appalachian Trail. Blue Ridge was founded in 1886 as a result of the arrival of the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad. Blue Ridge became a business center, and the county seat was moved to Blue Ridge in 1895.

It was once considered an "elite" health resort because of it's pure mineral water. Tourists would take the train to Blue Ridge to eat and visit the mineral springs. The train is still a tourist attraction today, and particularly popular in the fall when the leaves are turning a brillant red, yellow, and orange. The train goes along the Taccoa River from Blue Ridge up to McCaysville. This town has a blue line running through the downtown (really) which is the border from McCaysville, GA to Copperhill, TN -- you can actually have one foot in Georgia, and one foot in Tennessee!! I also know that you can include a white water rafting trip down the Oconee River with the train ride -- that would be a great day.

The downtown historic and business district of Blue Ridge is a GREAT place to shop. It's very cute, quaint, and has some really great stores and art galleries. And if you like mountain furniture and accessories (as you all know I do), then this is your place. At least half of my log home is furnished with pieces from Blue Ridge -- some purchased from stores, and others hand made at Jerry's Mountain Furniture.

And now for the Talking Rock Heritage Days, held in Talking Rock, GA. This is the THIRD smallest town in Georgia -- truly, it is about 4 antique stores, the fire station, a little park next to the river, and a handful of homes. It was incorporated in 1883, and as many of the towns in North Georgia, the train was the lifeline of the town. Talking Rock has many stories and history which involves the Trail of Tears (Cherokee Indians), the Civil War, and the Great Depression. "Heritage Days" is held the 3rd weekend of October (this year the 17 and 18th), and has many craft and antique vendors plus food and fun.

There there you have it -- your entire October planned with one festival after another. If you do visit any of these beautiful mountain towns, please let me know.