Friday, September 19, 2003
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Friday, September 19, 2003 |
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Festivals galore this weekend By MICHAEL BOYLAN
While the days may still be warm, there is a hint of fall in the air. Another indicator of the impending autumn is the return of all the beloved area festivals. Citizens and visitors to the area come out in droves to peruse arts and crafts, eat their favorite festival foods, be entertained by local singers, dancers and assorted performers, and have a generally good time with their family and friends in the community. Residents have already been out in force at this year's Coweta County Fair, located at the Fairgrounds on Pine Road.The fair is sponsored by The Newnan Kiwanis Club and admission is $3, while children under 6 get in free. Hours for the fair are 5 p.m.-midnight tonight and 1p.m.-midnight Saturday. There are live bands each night in the Walker Horne Open Air Theatre starting At 7:30pm The 19th annual Old Town Sharpsburg festival is also in full force this weekend. Old Town Sharpsburg also offers up over 100 vendors with a number of products, everything from antiques to leather goods, puppets, cypress furniture, jewelry and DIY crafts. The festival runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. In addition to all of the shopping, there will be entertainment provided by Rachel Ferguson's dancers, Spencer Mulkey and Turin Baptist Church among others. Abe Winters will offer a special tree climbing activity for children of all ages and, as always, there will be a lot of different types of tasty morsels for visitors to sink their teeth into. There is ample parking in the designated customer parking area and there are also a few vendor spaces still available. If you are interested in renting a vendor space, phone Sharon at 770-252-9400. In Tyrone, the 27th annual Tyrone Founders Day. is currently running at Shamrock Park. The festival runs through Sunday, Sept. 21. The hours for the carnival are 5-11 p.m. weeknights and 10 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday. An armband priced at $15 will allow you to ride all of the rides for the duration of each day, with the exception of Saturday. A $15 armband will allow you to ride either 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or 6-11 p.m. The rest of the Tyrone Founders Day schedule includes an ice cream eating contest today at 6:30 p.m. followed by the start of the Tyrone Idol contest from 7-9 p.m. Saturday's full slate of activities kicks off with a one mile run and fun run at 7:30 a.m., followed by the 5K road race at 8 a.m. Race day registration is $25 and all proceeds benefit Tyrone Elementary School. Phone 770-631-3265 for more information. The rest of Saturday's activities include a car show from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., entertainment that will run from 10 a.m.-11 p.m., a parade at 2 p.m., the Leigh Langley Band from 5:30-8 p.m., fireworks at 9 p.m. and Tommy Ray Gurley from 9:30-11 p.m. The festival ends on Sunday with a bicycle rodeo at the community center at 1 p.m., the Flat Rock cheerleaders from 1-1:30 p.m. and an auction from 2-5 p.m. Vendors are expected to arrive on Thursday and they will offer a variety of things from arts and crafts, to books, antiques and more. For a taste of the old days, head to Inman. For the past six years the Minter family of Inman, Rick, Joanne and Stephanie have welcomed visitors to their farm for a weekend in September for Inman Farm Heritage Days. This year marks the seventh year for the festival and while visitors will get to see their favorite exhibits and demonstrations, there are some new additions to the festival. As always there will be arts and crafts, entertainment and food, as well as antique cars and tractors on display, demonstrations of a wheat threshing, blacksmithing, a cotton gin, a saw mill and a grist mill, children's activities and contests for the whole family. Some of the contests taking place this year are watermelon seed spitting contests, hay bale tossing, wagon wheel rolling and a battle of the bands with the only instruments allowed being jugs, washtubs and saws. New this year is a rescued and restored one-room schoolhouse and a country store, a water purification distillation plant, a baby donkey at the farm animal display, a corn sheller, a hammermill, an Allis Chalmers Model 100 self-propelled combine and an almost fully restored 100 year old Chandler and Price printing press. It wouldn't be Inman Farm Heritage days without the tractors in the annual power parade. Among the tractors participating in the parade this year are Allis-Chalmers, Economy, J. I. Case, John Deere, Farmall, Ford, International Harvester, Massey Ferguson, Minneapolis Moline, Oliver, Silver King, and Waterloo Boy. The festival gives visitors a chance to step back in time to a simpler time and place. In addition to all of the fun to be had, there is much to be learned about history. Visitors are welcome to arrive in their antique cars, trucks or tractors. The festival runs Friday-Sunday, Sept. 19-21. Activities start at 9 a.m. each day and go until dark. Sunday's activities will start with an outdoor church service. Admission to the festival but donations are accepted. Phone 770-461-2840 for more information or visit www.inmanfarm.com. In Peachtree City, one of the oldest arts and crafts festivals in the region is underway with The Shakerag Arts and Crafts Festival. Nestled in Shakerag Knoll, located by the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater and the BMX track in Peachtree City, vendors come out every year to showcase their wares to thousands of visitors. Festival organizers expect 130 vendors this year, many of whom have appeared at the festival before. Visitors will get to peruse and possibly purchase such items as dried floral, quilts, afghans, coffee table gardens, paintings, jewelry, handbags and more. There is also a children's area featuring pony rides, a moonwalk, games and assorted activities. Another main attraction is the fabulous festival food which includes such treats as apple dumplings, turkey legs, funnel cakes and kettle corn among others. There are also typically a number of entertainers performing throughout the weekend. The hours for Shakerag are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 12-5 p.m. Sunday, rain or shine.
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