Educational Symposium for Tourism Professionals

19th Annual Winter Chautauqua
Sunday, March 1 - Monday, March 2

Sponsored by the Northwest Historic High Country and Northeast Georgia Mountains Travel Associations, the Winter Chautauqua's general session speaker will be Taylor Bruce from Southern Living Magazine.

Registration for the tourism conference is open – all details available at: www.WinterChautauqua.com. Pay online or print the registration to send in with your check. Please click here to download the event's brochure which includes a registration sheet. This is a large file and may take a few moments to fully load. Register by February 25th to avoid the late registration fee.

North Carolna Neighbors open new performing arts venue

Destined to become a premier venue for top-notch performances, the new Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin, NC plans to present the finest in performing arts in an atmosphere of stunning architecture, technical facilities and impeccable acoustics. The 1,500 seat state-of-the-art facility provices a creative environment for both performers and audiences. Look here for the schedule, and more to come!

The Center opens July 3 with the four-part harmonies and upbeat songs of the Oak Ridge Boys.

Celebrate Clayton 5K Run

Scheduled for Saturday April 25, the Celebrate Clayton 5K Run challenges runners of all levels on a fun course climbing through the rolling hills of Rabun County in the Northeast Georgia mountains. The race begins and ends on Ramey Boulevard in Clayton, Georgia.

You may register online , or contact Gary Jenkins, 678-795-0115. The run is sponsored by PEARLS JWC of Rabun County; please contact Laura Lane, 706,782-0906, for more information.

Call for Artists - 10th Annual Celebrate Clayton

Celebrate Clayton, Rabun County's Arts & Music Fest, invites artists to participate in the 1oth annual festival, scheduled for April 25-26 in Clayton, Ga. The event is open to all fine craft makers, artists and gardeners, 18 years of age or older.

Celebrate Clayton is an arts, music, crafts and gardening event, which also features a super kids' prorgram. It is held annually on the last weekend of April.

Applications are now online at www.celebrateclayton.com. Please cotact Jan Timms for exhibitor information, 706,212-9995.

Super Saturday at the Center

Events for the history buff, the arts lover, and the theatre patron are planned for Saturday, February 28, at the Sautee-Nacoochee Center.

Super Saturday begins at 8am with Simply Breakfast -- all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, and a beverage. Breakfast is $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-12, and free for children under 6. Reservations are not required.

After breakfast, you can participate in the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association's "Raise the Roof." The SNCA is restoring an 1850's slave cabin, and will be selling hand-split oak shakes to cover the roof of the cabin. Each shake is $10 and your name will be commemorated on a specially created work of art. There will be folk life demonstrators, folk musicians, and tours of the restoration site throughout the morning, as follows:

• 9am - Bob Slack demonstrates riving (splitting) shingles with traditional tools while local musicians keep time to the whack of the maul (wooden mallet) and crack of the froe (metal splitting wedge) with lively tunes
• 10am - Mike Craven demonstrates folk pottery techniques
• 11am - Dr. Tom Lumsden will lead a history walk of the Ceremonial Stone Circle on Alec Mountain. Meet at the Community Hall for an introduction.

On Saturday afternoon, you can view the new "Fiber Arts" exhibit in the Center Gallery, enjoy a fiber art demonstration, get in on the action at the Artists' Trading Card Swap, and meet the artists during the Gallery Reception. The "Fiber Arts" exhibit features the work of the local Fiber Soup Group artists Lynda Doll, Jane threlkeld, Beverly Mannes, Denise Hopkins, Lucia Scroggs, Betty Cooper and Suzy MacKay. Collages by Kathy Whitehead and Nancy Hicks will also be on display.

• 3 - 5 pm - Fiber art demonstration by Marilyn Wall and Martine House
• 4 - 6 pm - Artists' Trading Card Swap
• 5 - 8 pm - Gallery Reception
  

Finally, plan to stay for the Playwright's Showcase. The SNCA will present staged readings of the three winners from their One Act Play Contest, chosen by the Center's Theatre Committee as part of a national contest designed to nurture, support and encourage the development of playwrights. The winning plays are: Jon Dahlstrom's The Girl Who Walked with Music, Tim Quigley's 'Twas the Night Before a Christmas Carol, and Maia Akiva's Me. Both Mr. Dahlstrom and Mr. Quigley are from the Dahlonega area, and Ms. Akiva is originally from Israel and now resides in Los Angeles.

Attendees will have an opportunity to hear original work and to participate in audience feedback with the playwrights after the readings. Tickets are $5 each (+ tax) and are available online at www.snca.org or by calling the Center at 706-878-3300.

New Folk Pottery Exhibit

The earliest dated piece of North Georgia folk pottery is now on exhibit in the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia, located in Sautee-Nacoochee. The four-gallon jar is on loan from the collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

Winter Pottery Fest February 14 - 16

The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia and "Ladies of the Lake" present their second annual Winter Pottery Fest to celebrate a craft that has thrived in region for more than 200 years.

The tour begins at the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia, located on Hwy 255 just north of the junction with Hwy 17. Exhibits and videos show how early settlers shaped earth and water into vessels and the evolution of pottery through many generations. Several folk potters will be demonstrating at the museum.

Visitors can follow Hwy 255 north and turn on Hwy 197 toward Lake Burton and find more demonstrating artists at Hickory Flat Pottery, Cottage Cottage Furniture and Burton Gallery Emporium.

For more information www.snca.org

Southern Literary Trail features Lillian E. Smith Center In Clayton

The new Southern Literary Trail links the homes and hometowns of the South's finest classic authors in Georgia, Alabama and Mississipi. Organizers kick off the project this March with a month-long celebration of tours, plays, films, readings and other special events.

The Lillian E. Smith Center in Clayton is one of seven sites in Georgia on the Southern Literary Trail. Special events are planned for the weekend of March 14-15 to include:

March 14, 9 a.m. - Films & Lectures at the Rearden Theater, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
Two documentary films, "Miss Smith of Georgia" and "Miss Lil's Camp" will be shown, followed by presentations by two contemporary scholars and award-winning writers: Rose Gladney and Will Brantley
March 14, 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. - Guided tours of the Lillian E. Smith Center, including the writer's living space, library, cottages, a small house museum and her gravesite.
March 14, 3 p.m. - Documentary Films - Lillian E. Smith Center
March 15, 10 a.m. - Guided tours of the Lillian E. Smith Center
March 15, 11 a.m. - Documentary Films - Lillian E. Smith Center

The Rabun County Historical Society is featuring a new exhibit entitled "Lillian Smith: Miss Lil and her Rabun County Neighbors" through the month of March in honor of the Southern Literary Trail.

In addition to Lillian E. Smith, the Southern Literary trail in Georgia also features Margaret Mitchell, Joel Chandler Harris, Erskine Caldwell, Alice Walker, Flannery O’Connor and Carson McCullers.

CHEROKEE PRESENTATION AND NATIVE AMERICAN LECTURE

Interested in learning local legends about Sautee, Nacoochee, Yonah, and the way the Indians of the White County area lived? Demonstrations, talks and myths about local Native American heritage will be presented on February 17 at 12 noon in the chapel at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA.

White County had one of the largest American Indian settlements in North Georgia prior to colonial settlement. Speakers include Gracie Schwartzman, Mary Geidel, and Jill Hazen from the Sautee-Nacoochee Center; Donna Redfeather, Tina Shelton of Women of Heart, Kerry Marsh, and Kelly Wells playing Native American Flute.

This Cherokee presentation is sponsored by the Sautee-Nacoochee American Indian Conservancy Trust, Yonah Art Guild and Truett-McConnell College Art Department. For more information, call 706-969-1446 or 706-896-1060.

A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains

A special feature on Appalachia, A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains will be broadcast on ABC-TV this coming Friday, February 13th, at 10:00 pm (EST).

KANGAROO CONSERVATION CENTER LAUNCHES ALL NEW "AUSSIE OUTING" FOR 2009!

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. -The Kangaroo Conservation Center (KCC) begins its 10th year of operation in March, with a brand-new offering for 2009 - the "Aussie Outing." Offering more flexible scheduling, a variety of animal shows and the fully narrated "KangaRanger" rides through the "Georgia Outback" at regular intervals throughout the day, the Aussie Outing affords families and groups even more opportunity to learn from, and be entertained by, the Center's animals and the people who care for them.

The first scheduled Aussie Outing will commence Saturday, March 14, with tickets available online through www.kangaroocenter.com. Visitors who purchase tickets online enjoy a discount not offered by phone or at the door. Aussie Outing tickets through the month of May are available on the website. Additional months will open online as the season progresses.
Spring is the perfect time to visit KCC, as the foothills turn to green and the temperatures are comfortable for enjoying the great outdoors. Walking trails that meander between kangaroo habitats, through plantings of native flowers and trees and down to the "Billabong Encounter" afford ample viewing of the KCC's marsupial residents, as does the butterfly picnic garden. "Aussie Outing" days and dates vary, so potential visitors are strongly encouraged to check the tour calendars on the website for the most up-to-date information regarding availability.

Profiled by NBC-TV's "Today" show in July 2008, Delta Sky magazine in April 2008 and rated "Fodor's Choice" by Fodor's The Carolinas and Georgia, 17th Edition in 2007; the KCC features the largest kangaroo collection outside of Australia. An eventful 2008 tour season brought record crowds to the Center, up 43% from 2007, thanks in part to the extra exposure.
The staff at the Kangaroo Conservation Center have successfully bred, and cared for, a dozen different species of marsupials for over 25 years. Certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the KCC is dedicated to the preservation of kangaroo species and other wildlife through captive breeding and public education.

The Aussie Outing admission is $30-32 for adults, $28 for senior citizens (65 and over) and $23-25 for children ages 5-17, tax not included. The "Wander DownUnder" self-guided walking tour is $16 per person plus tax and is available on specific days only. For additional information, and to purchase tickets, go to www.kangaroocenter.com. Group rates are available for those having 30 or more people.

Picnickers are welcome. Snacks and beverages are available in the "Aussie Outpost" gift shop. The Aussie Outpost also offers a wide selection of unique gifts with an "Aussie" flavor. This year the KCC is proud to offer an even better selection of eco-friendly items. Both beautiful and creative, these products are made from recycled or natural elements. Wall art, photo frames, sun catchers and hand-crafted papers - all good for the environment.

To reach the Kangaroo Conservation Center from Atlanta, take Georgia Hwy. 400 North to Hwy. 136. Go left (west) on Hwy. 136, and travel 12 miles. Turn right onto Bailey-Waters Road at the Forrest Hills Conference Center sign. Drive about 100 yards to the first entrance on the right - just look for the large bamboo gate.

The Art Full Frames is Opening in the Barn

A move from the Old Clarkesville Mill back into the original Art-Full Barn building is underway.
For folks who haven't heard yet, The Art-Full Barn's art supplies and Art-Full Frames are both moving back into the old barn building where it started in 1998. The barn was built in the 1920's and is an awesome building. Greg and Gail Kimsey bought the building in the fall and have been cleaning and fixing it up since. The framing design center and the art supplies are downstairs; the frame shop work and assembly area is upstairs.

Old Clarkesville Mill Art & Antique Mall is still the Kimsey's store, too, and moving all this merchandise out means they will have more room to rent for art and antique booths. New owners have taken over the flea market area and it is becoming The Old Mill Bargain Mart. Right now, it is still open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but will eventually be open seven days a week. It is changing from traditional flea market booths to storefronts and there are some exciting businesses rumored to be coming in. Real Deals, the sporting goods store, Old Clarkesville Mill Fun Bowl and Soque Smokehouse BBQ are still all running strong, so when you have a chance, get by and see all the changes.