Georgia Marble Festival a Marbleous Success!

by Candy Mullis

 

The 28^th Annual Georgia Marble Festival saw over 8,000 people walk through the gates this past weekend and indications are that the numbers are closer to 10,000.  “These numbers are fantastic at anytime but considering the state of the economy and the gas prices and shortages, we are thrilled that so many people decided Jasper was the place to be over the weekend.  Sunday is considered locals day.  We offer free passes to families of the elementary school students and we also had a 2 for 1 coupon in several papers.  Numbers in the best of economic times have been lower so we feel very fortunate,” said Denise Duncan, Executive President of the Pickens County Chamber of Commerce.  “This is the Chamber’s biggest fundraiser each year and we are proud of what we accomplished this year.  The staff, volunteers and our sponsors are what make it all happen and we are truly appreciative of everyone’s participation.”

 

“Marble in the Making” was this year’ parade theme and onlookers were thrilled at the sight of the many floats and parade participants.  Grand Marshal Doug Brooks enjoyed his stage coach ride, while Maxine Moore, Pickens County Citizen of the Year, waved to everyone from the parade’s opening statement float.  The Red Hatters placed 1^st for parade presentation followed by Pleasant Hill Christian Church in 2^nd and Mt. Zion Baptist Church in 3^rd.

 

The overall comments from the vendors were positive.  There were 77 booths in the Arts & Crafts area, down only 6 from last year, 25% of these vendors live in Pickens County.  1^st place in the Art Category went to Twin Creation for their beaded glass works, with 2nd place going to Woodshed Carvings for hand carved painted fish and 3^rd place going to Lynn Lommer Jewelry.  The 1^st place Craft booth was 3 Girls 2 Sew 4 with their colorful hair bows and children’s and baby clothing.  2^nd place was The Basket Patch featuring jack o’lantern and ghost pottery and Hordes of Gourds took 3^rd place in the craft division with painted and carved gourds.   Demonstrations were given by several vendors including Cove Creek Woodworking who placed 1^st with hand crafted home furnishings, Discount Wood Signs in 2^nd place and River Can Flutes taking 3^rd place in this category. 

 

There were no complaints from the food vendors with 20 food booths, 50% being Pickens County residents.  Barbeque, Mexican, Greek, Chinese and Soul Foods were among fried Oreos and Twinkies, funnel cakes and your usual hot dog and hamburger type festival items.

 

“Our Fine Arts Exhibit received rave reviews,” says Susan Wright, Committee Chair.  “Over 2,870 people came through the exhibit.  We had 180 entries with over a third of those being from Pickens County.”  Many sculptured and wood hewn pieces made up a third of the exhibit with a broad spectrum of paintings in different mediums as well.  Best of Show was Aaron Hegnembourg with a mixed media painting entitled “Quiet American Saint”.  David Cleveland took 1^st place in the Marble Sculpting category with an untitled piece, while “Calista” by Bill Cook, Jr. and “He’s My Brother” by William I. Sunderland took 2^nd and 3^rd places, respectively.  In the 3-Dimensional category 1^st place winner Al Daniel won for his wooden “Petal Bowl” with 2^nd place going to Phillip Johnson for “A Fractured Affair” and “Jack Rabbits” by Betty Beasley in 3^rd.  “A Murder of Crows” by Carol Massey placed 1^st in the 2-Dimensional Category with 2^nd and 3^rd places going to Aaron Hegnembourg for “Period of Architecture” and “Blue Bird Flight” to Barbara Edwards.  In the Photography category 1^st place went to Allison Evans for “Toiletten”, 2^nd place to Ellen McRaney for “Shotgun Shack” and 3^rd was G. Mark Weaver with ”GA Pine”.  In the non-juried categories, Chidren’s Choice was “Out to Sea” a sculpted marble piece from William I. Sunderland.

 

The Business Expo was a huge success this year with 39 participating businesses most of whom are located in Pickens County.  50% of the businesses will be back next year.  Excitement mounted on Sunday as the grand prize of a gas grill, provided by Jasper Banking Company, was awarded to Jonathan Hargraves. 

 

The Children’s Area entertained over 1,500 young festival goers.  With attractions like the Rock Wall, pony rides and a Nascar Winner’s Circle attraction, this area was better than ever.  Local organizations provided many activities for the kids and screams and laughter rang throughout the festival grounds all weekend.

 

Entertainment was at it’s best ever!  The acts were local and very talented.  There were many comments from the crowd about how good all the bands were and that the quality surpassed previous years by far. 

 

The quarry tours sold out and one was even added at the end of the day on Sunday.  Polycor Georgia Marble provided great information to tour participants, as did the Nelson Marble Museum and J. M. Huber.

 

“Our festival has tried over the years to bring a quality event to our community.  This year was very successful for our Chamber of Commerce, our vendors, our artists and the tourism dollars that this event produced,” says Marty Callahan overall event Chairman.  “This year’s success can be attributed to the many hours the staff spent planning the event with the committee chairs and to the board of directors for their support along with hundreds of volunteers and our sponsors.”

 

Directions: 

From Atlanta:  Take 1-75 North from Atlanta, Exit #268 to I-575 North
Follow I-75 North to 3rd traffic signal - Highway 53 East (Interstate ends and becomes Highway 515 - Zell Miller Mountain Parkway, at the Pickens County Line) 
Turn right on Highway 53 and proceed to Lee Newton/Pickens County Chamber of Commerce Building, approximately one mile on the left across from the Jasper Middle School.

From Dahlonega/Dawsonville:  Take 53 West all the way to Tate.  At 4-way stop in Tate take a right, continuing on 53 West into Jasper.  Cross Main Street in Jasper and continue about 1/2 mile.  Festival grounds are on right across from Jasper Middle School.

Parking & Shuttles:
Shuttles run throughout the day between parking areas and festival grounds

Ingles - located on Highway 515 where you turn onto 53

Jasper Middle School - located across from festival grounds on Highway 53

Appalachian Technical College - Burnt Mountain Road

Downtown Jasper Area

Caywood Metal Spinning Property - A.W. Lawson Blvd. 3 blocks off 53 behind Jasper Middle School.

All photographs courtesy of knowpickens.com