Photographers & quilter help author-fiddler benefit festival

Visitors to the mountains who attend the upcoming Wild & Woolly Wine Tasting & Author-Fiddler Festival can count on a heady mix of authors, fiddlers, poets, food, wine and a few native plants for sale, all for the benefit of Georgia ForestWatch, the well-known non-profit forest conservation organization.

And now add two talented photographers and an expert quilter to the mix.

Local artist Pat Calderone of Scaly, North Carolina, and photographer Peter McIntosh of Clayton, Georgia, are donating two beautiful prints to the cause, which will go home to the winners of a raffle that will be held that day. (Cost: $1 per ticket, six tickets for $5.00. Winners need not be present to win. Also to be raffled: Assorted gear from Patagonia and a rain barrel, courtesy of the Rain Barrel Co.)

Cara Busch, meanwhile, a noted quilter from Ellijay, Georgia, is donating a handsome quilt for the raffle, a cotton wall hanging, 16.75 X 35 inches in size, entitled “Wild Columbine.”
In addition, the noted environmentally minded, free-lance photographer, Kathryn Kolb, will be one of the presenters at the event, set for 10-5 p.m., Saturday, May 2, at Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Tiger, Georgia. (See www.gafw.org for directions to the site and a detailed schedule of presentations, as well as greater information on each of the six authors speaking that Saturday: Mildred Greear, Helen, Georgia; George Ella Lyon, Lexington, Kentucky; Thomas Rain Crowe, Cullowhee, North Carolina; John Lane, Spartanburg, South Carolina and Janie P. Taylor, Tiger, Georgia.)

Three talented local fiddlers will fiddle while visitors enjoy a taste of red and white from the award-winning farm winery and some mighty delectable local food fare: Scottish-style fiddler Marie Dunkle, Tiger, Georgia; old-timey fiddler Kelly Smith, Salem, South Carolina; and John Harper Duncan, maker of down-home Appalachian music, Asheville, North Carolina.

For the raffle photographers, see www.web.mac.com/patcalderone as well as www.mcintoshmountains.com. For Busch’s work, see: www.etsy.com

Georgia ForestWatch has strived to organize the event as an “affordable fundraiser,” and asks for a $20 entry fee per each adult, good for the plant sale or authors and fiddlers, or both, as well as the food and wine. Several of the authors’ autographed books also will be for sale.

Rabun Walk. Photo by Pat Calderone. Up the trail leading to Rabun Bald.

Betty’s Creek. Photo by Peter McIntosh. A wild waterway in Rabun County.

Wild Columbine. By Cara Busch. Machine piece, hand quilted with color washes.

Great Composer Series at Piedmont

Piedmont College Department of Music , of Demorest, presents the "Great Composer Series," featuring the music of Handel, Haydn, & Mendelssohn, in the College Chapel, featuring the Piedmont Chorale, Chamber Singers, & Orchestra, on Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m.

Philllip Hayner, Piano
Donna Bunn James, soprano
Wallace Hinson, conductor
Lauren Ringwall, conductor

Tickets: adults,$15., students and seniors $10, Piedmont faculty , staff & students free

Yonah Art Guild Classes April - May

Learn art basics in local classes. Early registration required, sign up today for jewelry, Indian crafts, drawing, painting, clay, flower arranging and more. Please contact instructors for supply list & costs.
April 21 Beaded Necklaces Tues. 2-wks 6:30-8:30 pm at $30, supplies needed, Valorie 706-865-1473.
April 23 Basic Acrylic Painting or Hand-built Clay Thur. 5:30-7 pm, $10 per class plus supplies ($15), Terrylynne 706-896-1060.
April 28 Wire Wrap Jewelry Tues. 8 week class, $10 per session, supplies needed, Therrell 770-536-9642.
May 4 Easy Quilted Purses Mon. 3 classes, $30 plus supplies, Virginia 706-865-9373.
May 5 Beaded Bracelets Tues. 2 classes, 6:30 pm, $30, supplies needed.
May 6 Flint Knapping MUST PRE-REGISTER. Wed. 1-class. $150 plus supplies, Kerry 706-865-0228.
May 7 Floral Arranging Thur.6-9 pm, $30 supplies inc., Donna 706-969-1446.
May 14 Yonah Art Guild Meeting 6:30 pm UCBank Community Room, Cleveland.
May 19 Beaded Earrings Tues.2 classes, 6:30 pm, $30 plus supplies, Valorie 706-865-1473.
May 20 Knapping MUST PRE-REGISTER. Wed. 1-class. $150 plus supplies, Kerry 706-865-0228.
May 21 Native American Arts Thur. 2 classes, 6-8 pm, $40 supplies inc., Donna 706-969-1446. May 25 Watercolor Portraits Mon. 4 classes 6:30-8 pm, $40 plus supplies, Carol 706-865-6052. Funding is by Grassroots Arts Program of the Ga Council for the Arts and Sustainable Arts Society. For more information yonahartguild@yahoo.com 706-865-6052 or 706-896-1060.

Appalachian Photo Contest

North Georgia Technical College announces its first annual Appalachian Photo Contest.

Aspiring photographers may enter one or all of three categories: Abstract, people, or nature. Prizes will be awarded in each category. Although there is an entry fee of $15 for adults, youth 18 and under may enter for free. There is a limit of three entries per individual. Photographs must be mounted and have one dimension at least eight inches.

The deadline for entry is Wednesday, May 12. Winners will be announced at the grand celebration in the exhibition area of the Visual Technology Building in the Clarkesville Campus on Wednesday, May 27, at 5:00 PM. The public is invited to attend and refreshments will be served.

This program is supported in part by the Grassroots Arts Program of the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly and in partnership with the Sustainable Arts Society in Blue Ridge. The Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) provides funds to support art activities and encourage local collaborations between artists and arts organizations. Special thanks also to Capital Filmworks, Photobarn, and the Georgia Professional Photographers Association.

A simple application and release form is available from NGTC by calling 706-754-7700 or by sending an e-mail address to jgulle@northgatech.edu or jloring@northgatech.edu.

17th Annual WineFest in Northeast Georgia

Come and taste Georgia’s award winning wines!
Saturday May 2, 2009
12 PM- 5PM

RiverMist Lodge (Next door to Habersham Winery)
7025 S. Main Street Helen, GA 30345

Participants include :

Blackstock Vineyards
Frogtown Cellars
Sharp Mountain Vineyards
Wolf Mountain Vineyards
Persimmon Creek Vineyards
Crane Creek Winery
Habersham Winery
Tiger Mountain Winery
Montaluce Winery
Chateau Elan Winery

• Food selections by Nachoochee Grill
• Live Music
• Wine Arts and Crafts

ADMISSION: $15.00 AND INCLUDES A SOUVENIR WINE GLASS

Additional information at www.georgiawine.com

Tallulah Gorge Grill opens for season!

The Tallulah Gorge Grill
is opening for our Third Season!
April 2
Thursday - Monday
11:00 serving Lunch
706-754-9149
Dinner
Friday, Saturday & Sunday

will begin in May

Sautee Players' Youth Theatre Production: A Midsummer Night's Bad Dream

Come see the Sautee Players as they perform their wacky play-within-a-play version of A Midsummer Night's Bad Dream on April 24-26. You'll be joining the performers at their dress rehearsal as they are preparing for their opening night of Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and all is going wrong! Frolicking fairies can't remember their lines, Helena has come down with the flu, and Lysander has suddenly decided to drop out. Can the director manage to hold the show together?

William Shakespeare would be rolling over in his grave if he could see this dress rehearsal production! The director has it right when she says, "This isn't A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is A Midsummer Night's Bad Dream!" But you know what we say -- on with the show! (If only Hermia didn't really "break a leg.")

Sterling performances will be April 24 and 25 at 8pm and April 26 at 2pm. Tickets are $5.00 for SNCA members/adults, $10.00 for non-members/adults, $3 for youth ages 6 to 17 years, and under age 6 free, plus tax. You can obtain tickets by calling SNCA at 706-878-3300 or by going online to www.snca.org.

Rabun County Music Festival Summer Series

JUNE 14- Sentimental Journey Orchestra…a big band, including three
Vocalists, playing the unique music of the swing era

JUNE 28- Hotlanta Jazz…brings to Rabun County a “Night on Bourbon
Street”, with jazz classics and new arrangements

JULY 12- Mac Frampton and Cecil Welch…present the memorable music
Of Henry Mancini in “That Mancini Magic!”

AUGUST 9- The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra… the world-renowned orchestra in a“Special Performance” that is the highlight of any music lover’s season

AUGUST 30– “Emile Pandolfi in Concert”… Pianist Emile Pandolfi entertains with his smooth interpretations of music from Broadway, the movies and the classics

SEPTEMBER 13-Georgia Philharmonic Orchestra…presents a delightful program called “Fiery Fanfares, Opulent Overtures”


All concerts are at 4:00 at the Rearden Theatre on the campus of Rabun Gap -Nacoochee School. All tickets are $15, with the exception of the ASO, which are $25. Season tickets for 5 concerts, not including the ASO, are an incredible bargain at $60. A six-concert season ticket, including the ASO, is just $85. You may purchase tickets online at rabunmusicfestival.com, in person at the Rabun County Chamber of Commerce, or at the door .