Tradition at its finest, nearly 40 years in the making

Labor Day weekend will once again herald the always-anticipated Powers’ Crossroads Country Fair and Art Festival. The event, which draws thousands of visitors each year, will be celebrating its 38th year.

With gas prices on the rise, many residents are staying local this holiday weekend. For those looking for some inexpensive fun this weekend, Peachtree City has just the thing: the 19th annual Kidz Fest and the first ever Pizza Fest. The event, which takes place Saturday, is perfect for all ages. 

As in years past, Kidz Fest is free and open to the public. It will feature free rides such as the Giant Slide, Twist and Spin, Rock Wall, The Trackless Train, and the famous Money Machine with free prizes. Also available for a nominal fee will be pony rides.

Lace up your running shoes and head to downtown Newnan this weekend for Main Street Newnan’s Sunrise on the Square Road Race planned for Saturday, August 30.

Smokey Bones in Peachtree City is hosting a viewing party for the season premiere of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” on Sept. 5. The special two-hour episode airs at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Prepare for a Special night

The six-member rock and roll powerhouse .38 Special, will perform at The Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater this weekend.

Popular Christian recording artist, multiple Grammy and GMA Dove award-winner Michael W. Smith will be providing the entertainment at Southwest Christian Care’s 16th annual benefit dinner and auction gala on Friday August 22.

Smith is one of the most influential and best-selling artists in the Christian contemporary music field.

Fayette County-based Offshoot Productions continues to empty its Peachtree City warehouse of its contents, which include flats, backdrops, platforms, set pieces, props, storage bins, front-of-house items and more. No reasonable offer will be refused, and extra wood and other miscellanea will be available for free with any other purchase.

The official “ambassador” of bluegrass music will take the stage this Saturday, August 16 at the Fayetteville Villages Amphitheater. Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will perform as the fourth concert in the 2008 Mercedes-Benz of South Atlanta Summer Concert Series at the Fayetteville venue.

Striving to offer a varied schedule for their patrons, the Main Street Tourism Director Nancy Price is excited to welcome a different genre of music to the stage in Fayetteville.

The summer movie season has been especially kind to comedy fans over the last few years by giving us such treats as “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Anchorman” among others. Movie studios know that comedies can bring in the bucks like a movie with a lot of explosions and with “Tropic Thunder,” audiences get both. This is a brilliant comedy from writer/director/star Ben Stiller that starts off with some hilarious spoof trailers and commercials and keeps the audience laughing until the credits start rolling. And even the credits have some funny stuff, too, so be sure to stick around.

Dust off those running shoes. Main Street Newnan’s Sunrise on the Square Road Race is planned for Saturday, August 30.

Offshoot Productions’ improvisation troupe, the Gallery Players, is slated to perform at the Gallery Row coffee shop in Peachtree City on Sunday, August 24, at 7 p.m., with a return engagement scheduled for September 7. 

Newnan Community Theatre Company will hold auditions for their upcoming show, “The Pied Piper.” Auditions will be held for children ages 5-12 on Monday, August 25, at 7 p.m. and for teens ages 13-18 on Tuesday, August 26 at 7 p.m.

This Saturday night Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will take the stage at the Fayetteville Villages Amphitheater. The bluegrass performance will be the fourth concert in the 2008 Mercedes-Benz of South Atlanta Summer Concert Series.

PDK first stop on 2008 Great Atlanta Warbird Tour

Armchair aviators and World War II history buffs will get a chance to fly back in time when three WWII-era aircraft touchdown at Peachtree-Dekalb (PDK) Airport on Saturday, August 16. The airplanes, maintained and flown by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Dixie Wing, will provide enthusiasts with a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to recreate and preserve history by purchasing a ride in one the vintage planes. The CAF Dixie Wing aircraft will be based at Atlantic Aviation from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.

The Peachtree City Library has announced it will be launching a new series of programs to promote family literacy called Family Night. Family Night will be held on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. and will feature a unique theme each week lasting approximately 30-40 minutes. Programs are designed so that parents who work during the day can spend quality time with their children in the library setting. Registration is not required for Family Night.

A first of its kind seminar bringing together experts in the fields of event planning, advertising, marketing and increasing ticket sales for all arts organizations is scheduled for Saturday, September 13 at the Clayton County Performing Arts Center in Jonesboro.

Student director takes the reigns

Fayette Coweta Family Theatre, Inc. (FCFT) this weekend will present the family-friendly Broadway musical “Little Women.”

This story has touched the hearts of millions through the book by Louisa May Alcott and now a tremendous musical score makes this timeless story even more amazing.

Take a tour of the most fabulous, magical candy factory in the world during the 1971 classic movie “Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” starring Gene Wilder and Jack Albertson, showing this weekend in Fayetteville.

WeddingsofGeorgia.com will be hosting its Wedding Extravaganza show at the Flat Creek Country Club in Peachtree City on Sunday, August 10 from 1-4 p.m.

There are many types of “stoner comedies” in your local video store. From the cult classic “Reefer Madness,” with its over the top, creepy propaganda, to Cheech and Chong’s “Up in Smoke,” which lazily wanders around numerous sequences that sort of resemble a plot. More recent entries in the genre include Richard Linklater’s classic tribute to high school tomfoolery, “Dazed and Confused,” and the criminally underrated “Half-Baked,” starring Dave Chapelle before he flaked out. One could even argue that “Knocked Up” is a bit of a stoner comedy since Seth Rogen’s character is quite the stoner before realizing he needed to grow up and take responsibility. Rogen returns in a definitive entry in the pot comedy canon with “Pineapple Express.”

Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) is an archeologist who has, for the last few years, been fighting mummies and putting them back where they belong. He has his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) as his partner, and his 18-year-old son Alex (Luke Ford), who also has his father’s love for the undead. But lately Rick and Maria have gone into retirement and they are living peacefully in their big mansion, bored to tears.

Travel down the yellow brick road with The Legacy

The Legacy Theatre will travel down the yellow brick road again this weekend for four more performances of the beloved musical “The Wizard of Oz.”

The show, which will run through August 10, has performances on Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.

Rick Springfield will perform at The Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater on Friday, August 1 and Saturday, August 2.

Springfield is the first show in the Lexus of South Atlanta 2008 Summer Concert Series II. Returning to The Fred, this Grammy Award-winning rock icon is on tour to support the release of his new album, “Venus in Overdrive.”

 Springfield has withstood the test of time writing and performing some of the best power pop of the past 30 years, with hits that include, “Jessie’s Girl,” “I’ll Miss That Someday” and “Love is Alright Tonight.” 

The Oscar-winner sits down with The Citizen to discuss his new film

As an actor, Kevin Costner has starred in some of the greatest movies of all time – “Dances with Wolves,” “Bull Durham” and “Field of Dreams,” to name a few. He is the recipient of three Oscar nominations, and two wins, and has had both massive hits and utter disappointments play at theaters globally.

Recently he made a stop in Atlanta to discuss his latest project, “Swing Vote,” which will open in theaters nation wide on August 1.

I am someone who believes that “Anchorman” is one of the funniest movies in recent history, if not my entire life. I also thought “Talladega Nights” was particularly inspired. “Step Brothers” is not of that ilk. It’s funny and it has many good to great moments, but it’s not a great movie and, with both Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly teaming up on another Adam McKay production, it really should have been.

During the month of July, auditions are being held to fill baritone and bass vacancies in the Southern Nights Chorale. Founded in 2004, the chorale is a men’s precision, a cappella chorus.

Newnan Community Theatre Company will celebrates its new lease on life with a Murder Mystery Dinner. 

The company will roll out the red carpets for theirr latest installment of “NCTC – Murder on the Main Stage!”

The City of Newnan Fire Department will be participating in Ashley Park’s Summer Celebration on Saturday, July 26. Some of Newnan’s firemen will be out at Ashley Park showing off a city fire truck and handing out burn awareness materials to citizens.

Fayette County Public Library invites everyone in the community to gather at the library on Saturday, July 26 to celebrate the inaugural Fayette On The Page: One Book, One Community program.

By now, you have probably already seen “The Dark Knight” or at least read countless stellar reviews. I will try to talk about all the good things that haven’t been given a tremendous about of buzz and acclaim ( i.e. Heath Ledger’s magnificent turn as “The Joker”).