Tomorrow, a new year begins and with it comes a calendar filled with fun events in the area for the family to enjoy.

The Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast in Peachtree City is always one of the first events of the year and a favorite of many in the area, including this reporter. The breakfast will take place on Jan. 31 at McIntosh High School. There will be more details to come in the coming weeks.

The annual Father/Daughter Dance in Peachtree City on Feb. 6 is open to girls ages 6-12 and their fathers. The dance will last from 7-9 p.m. at The Bridge Community Center in Peachtree City. Admission is $30 for the couple and $15 for each additional child. The deadline to register is Feb. 5.

The Kiwanis Art and Talent Showcase will take place at The Bridge Community Center in Peachtree City on March 23.

The Optimist Club of Peachtree City’s Easter Egg Hunt will take place from 9 a.m.-noon at Shakerag Knoll on Apr. 11.

The March of Dimes Walk/Run will take place at Picnic Park this year on Apr. 18. Registration starts at 8 a.m. and the race begins at 10 a.m.

The Spring Yard and Garden Show will take place Apr. 25 at Shakerag Knoll from 10 a.m-6 p.m. Admission is free to this event which will showcase outdoor furniture, decor, plants, tools, yard art and much more.

The Fayette County Kid’s Fishing Derby will tale place on May 2 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Luther Glass Park. The event is open to kids ages 6-12 and admission is free, but pre-registration at the Peachtree City Recreation Building or the Kedron Fieldhouse and Aquatic Center is required.

Touch a Truck will return on May 9 at the parking lot of the Recreation Adminstration Building from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The event, as always, is free.

The Fayette/Coweta Rotary Car Show will take place at Drake Field on June 13.

There will be a Family Sock Hop at “The Fred” on July 3. There will be live bands, a costume contest and more. Tickets are $17 for adults, $12 for children under 12 or $50 for a family four pack. The gates open at 6:30 p.m. and activities start at 7:30 p.m.

The sock hop is just one of the new events coming to “The Fred,” this year. There will be a six concert series on Fridays and Saturdays in 2009, in addition to four, one night only, spotlight concerts. There are plans for open mic nights, community theatre performaces from Twilight Theatre and a Halloween/storytelling event in October as well as several family film nights.

For those who want to test their fitness, the Adult Triathlon will take place Aug. 22. Closing out the month of August, Peachtree City’s Kids Fest will take place at Shakerag Knoll on Aug. 29 from 11 a.m-3 p.m.

The Shakerag Arts and Crafts Festival will return Sept. 19-20. Citizens are invited to come find jewelry, scarves, mosaic work, pottery, candles, soaps, wood work, plants, and much much more. There will be over 100 vendors, plenty of food and a designated children's area. Admission and parking is free. The event runs 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and from 12-5 on Sunday.

The Alzheimer’s Memory Walk will take place at Shakerag Knoll on Oct. 3 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Also in October, the Peachtree City Classic Road Race will take place Oct. 17 at Shakerag Knoll from 8:50 a.m.-noon.

The Hometown Holiday event will take place Dec. 5 from 6-9:30 p.m.

Fayetteville and Tyrone have yet to announce their 2009 events on their web sites. Expect announcements in the future.

For fans of the stage, there are a number of big shows coming to area theatres.

Kicking off the new year at The Legacy Theatre will be “Smoke on the Mountain,” Jan. 30-Feb. 22. The year is 1938. It's Saturday night in Mount Pleasant, NC, and the Reverend Oglethorpe has invited the Sanders Family Singers to provide an upliftin' evening of singin' and witnessin'. The audience is invited to pull up a pew and join in the rollicking good time. More than two dozen songs, many of them vintage pop hymns, and hilarious stories from the more or less devout Sanders provide a richly entertaining evening that has audiences clapping, singing, laughing and cheering.

The spring show will feature a new musical from Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald called “john & jen.” Running Apr. 17-May 10, “john & jen” is a truly original musical that takes a look at the complexities of relationships between brothers and sisters and parents and children, set against the background of a changing America between 1950 and 1990, this is the story of Jen and her relationships with the two Johns of her life: her younger brother, who was killed in Vietnam, and his namesake, her son who is trying to find his way in a confusing world. With a cast of only two people, john & jen is a tour-de-force for two actors who take Jen and John (both of them) from childhood, through adolescence and beyond.

The season concludes with “High School Musical 2: On Stage,” dates TBA. School’s out – and the Wildcats are back for an all new adventure. Join Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan and the rest of the East High gang as they dive into the enchanted world of Lava Springs Country Club and put their talent to the ultimate test.

The Children’s Series will feature “Most Valuable Player,” a play about Jackie Robinson on Feb. 7 and “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” on May 2. Tickets for these shows, both scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., are $10.

For more information on The Legacy Theatre and their upcoming Mainstage and Children’s series, visit www.thelegacytheatre.org or phone 404-895-1473

The first show of the new year at Southside Theatre Guild in Fairburn will be “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” a PG-13 show to be sure, but one filled with clap-hands singin’, hoe down dancin’ and gut-bustin’ laughin.’ The show runs Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 19-21 and March 5-7, and Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 26-March 1. The comedy “Whose Wives Are They Anyway,” will run Thursdays-Saturdays, Apr. 30-May 2 and May 7-16. The final show of the season will be “Snoopy,” a musical featuring vignettes, songs and dances based on the work of Charles Schulz. The show runs Thursdays-Saturdays, July 16-18 and July 30-Aug. 1 and Thursday-Sunday, July 23-26.

For more information on tickets and auditions, visit www.stgplays.com or phone 770-969-0956.

Offshoot Productions is staying busy with improv shows and acting classes. Their improvisation troupe, the Gallery Players, will be performing on occasional Sunday evenings at Gallery Row in the Kedron shopping center. The troupe is also available for special events, fundraisers, corporate functions and private parties.  The group consists of professional actors with quick wit and lively interaction.  They represent a wide range of ages and backgrounds. 

Offshoot is also teaching acting through the Georgia Academy of Dance. This is a pre-professional program for those students really intent on theatre or film careers.  In the Peachtree City location, ages 7-8 meet Saturdays at 10 a.m. and ages 9 and up meet Saturdays at 11 a.m.  In the Newnan location, ages 7-8 meet Thursday afternoons at 4 p.m. and ages 9 and up meet at 5 p.m.  Each class is an hour long.  Enrollment is accepted throughout the year.  For additional information and to register, contact GAD at 770-631-3128

For additional information, contact Offshoot at  770-631-2362 or offshootpr@aol.com.  You can also visit their web site to keep up to date with performances and classes:  www.offshoot.org.

Fayette Coweta Family Theatre has a number of shows on their 2009 schedule. They will start with “Seussical, Jr.” Jan. 17 and 18 at the YMCA Lodge off of Huiet Road with performances at 2:30 and 7 p.m. Other shows in 2009 include “Tiny Thumbelina,” March 13-15 and 20-22, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” Apr. 23 and 24, “High School Musical 2,” May 1-3 and 9-10, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” July 9-12, “Pinnochio,” Aug. 28-30 and Sept. 4-6, “Voices from the Titanic,” Oct. 2-4 and 9-11 and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Dec. 4-6 and 11-13.

Visit www.fcft.net for more information.

The 2009 schedule at Newnan Community Theatre will feature “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “M*A*S*H,” “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Deean, Jimmy Dean,” “Misery,” “Lucky Stiff,” “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” “The Jungle Book” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as well as “Romantic Fools” for Valetine’s Day and “Zombie Prom” for Halloween and murder mysteries and performaces from the group’s Improv troupe, NITWITS, throughout the year.

For more information on the Newnan Theatre Company, visit www.newnantheatre.com or phone 770-683-NCTC.

Obviously, this list is far from complete. There will be more events announced in the coming weeks and months, everything from favorite annual events such as Tyrone Founders Day to performances from the local bands, choruses and high school drama departments.

If you have an event you’d like to announce in this section and in our Things to Do calendar, e-mail the information to mboylan@thecitizen.com.

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