SOUTHLAND JUBILEE FESTIVAL…read more The Southland Jubilee Festival in the town of historic Greensboro is now in its nineteenth year. It features arts and craft vendors, entertainment, a classic car show and community service groups and businesses. It was a great way to spend a very comfortable Saturday morning. We arrived early and started with the classic cars. Gorgeous! Oh my gosh, those classics are incredible and it is always nice to speak with the owners and hear the story of their prized possession. Sometimes you go to a festival and you really can't see the town for the festival. However, this was not the case in Greensboro because many of their historic buildings were on full display and prominently featured. For example, the historic jail was open and available for touring while the former school auditorium is now their Festival Hall which held an art display and puppet show. That huge courthouse was at the center of it all because it was not easily missed and was prepared with tables so that we were able to sit, enjoy a cool breeze and great conversation with other attendees. When you visit the downtown shops you immediately notice the brick walls, wooden floors and other cool historic details. This festival had a cute little stage with straw bales for seating. We enjoyed sitting on the bales and watching the young dancers, Sole Momentum. They performed a Philippine folk dance using sticks and an American Folk dance featuring clogging and drumming. They created a very positive and contagious energy which totally engaged the audience. Although there were other performances, we did not see many because we were too busy exploring the town and other elements of the festival. When it came to the food, there were a variety of options from traditional fried options to barbecue options with sides. We decided to go "old school" so we targeted the non-descript tent with a simple white sign. As we looked around, we saw this huge group of people in matching tees, just chilling in chairs and listening to old school R and B while they monitored two huge smokers. This was the food I wanted to eat. I decided to go with the smoked wings because when eating out, I tend to just keep it simple and clean. These wings were delicious, perfectly smoked and seasoned. There were so good that I had to take an additional order to go. Yes! For our special treat, we decided on a large bag of kettlecorn. Although we love kettlecorn, we have not purchased it in a while because it suddenly became too salty for our taste. However, we found a vendor, Blueberry Gardens, who prepared a special bag just for us with no added salt. It was delicious and perfectly seasoned without the added salt. Winning! Thank you Greenboro for hosting such a lovely festival and making us feel so welcomed. We had a very nice time and look forward to seeing you again next year!

BEST "COTTON PICKIN" FESTIVAL THIS YEAR!…read more Well, I was off to explore yet another festival this weekend and it was a blast! The Cotton Gin Festival was started back in the late 80's as a fundraiser to save the historic Agnes Hotel. It proved to be very successful and now occurs annually. The drive to the town of Bostwick was great because it is very scenic and quaint. We love the things that we saw on the way: baby goats playing in a front yard like they were little kittens, horses,cows and awesome cotton fields . I love cotton and I am just fascinated with touching raw cotton and borrowing samples from certain museums. My husband thinks it's like stealing a Van Gogh but I only grabbed a little to put in my pocket. However, I am happy to say that today I was actually able to PURCHASE my very own sample. Our favorite experience at the festival was touring the historic cotton mill. We were able to tour the mill and see that awesome gin at work. We actually saw the cotton vacuumed into the machine and transported throughout where it was cleaned, de-seeded, compressed and packaged for transport. It was the coolest thing ever!! Every single bale has a sample removed and sent to a government agency where it is inspected and evaluated. This tour was not just about seeing a cotton gin, it was a great opportunity to educate the public about the cotton industry. This festival is a great event for the entire family. Along with tours of the cotton mill, there was also an early morning race and a parade. The festival featured various vendors selling, clothing, jackets, jewelry, handmade soaps, wood crafts, winter accessories and more. I found a great hooded wool poncho that was handmade and super warm. It was sold by a Native American vendor who had great outerwear, bracelets, necklaces, hand puppets and more. Unfortunately he did not have a business card or the name of his business posted. This is not uncommon but it causes these small businesses to miss out on getting recognized with a Yelp review. I really like being able to "shine the light" on these small businesses so that they get the attention they deserve. In addition to vendors, there was a parade of various antique tractors and a few classics. It was incredible because there were so many tractors that it was just dizzying! Some of them were very rustic while others were beautifully restored. It was just great to see so many classic vehicles still loved and appreciated. Love it! Every festival has to have good food and great music and this one did not disappoint especially when it came to the music. I do not know the name of the band but they were so professional and so good that I would absolutely pay to hear them play again anywhere. They kept everyone thoroughly entertained. As we actually sat down to watch them, we noticed that we were sitting under a pecan tree. So we had fresh pecans to snack on while we jammed to the music. Perfect! For lunch we actually had some deliciously smoked ribs which is one of our favorite festival foods and a slice of buttermilk pie. In addition to all of the activities and businesses to interest adults, there was also a petting zoo and a huge play area for the kids. This festival absolutely had something for everyone and is highly recommended for all. ***Now to the issues that need to be addressed: During the festival, one should never run out of water and soap. This is just unacceptable. One should also never, ever run out of tees so early in the day, especially when it comes to the larger sizes. Additionally, tees should be designed to fully embrace the tractors and the cotton gin theme as in prior years and be available in complimentary colors. It is really not that difficult. I look forward to attending next year and having a great time! Just have my t-shirt ready please. PS If you are a vendor who sells clothing, outerwear or accessories, please consider bringing a mirror along so that customers can conveniently see themselves in the items they are wanting to purchase (instead of trying to rely on their phone). Thank you!

its the first weekend in nov. every year good food,music , tractors ,ex. very good festival to go…read moreto. see ya there

My partner and I stumbled into the museum on our way to Madison,GA. The cute wooden carved statues…read moreoutside, in front of a rustic log cabin, made it intriguing to find out what was inside. The museum is three rooms, chock full of history and memorabilia. Ms. Pat, our tour guide was well versed in the history and items housed in the unique building. I believe we were there for about an hour, just looking and reminiscing about the early years. It's worth a stop if you find yourself in this area.

Small museum with friendly and knowledgeable volunteers. It is air conditioned which is great for…read morethe summer.

When you tire of city living and need an escape, point your car toward the perimeter and start…read moredriving. Keep going until you see some good road kill. Squirrels don't count -- you see those in the city. I'm talking about possums, armadillos and porcupines. Chances are you'll bump into some kind of festival in a nearby small town. And that's how I discovered the Sunflower Farm Festival in Rutledge, GA over the 4th of July weekend. Barely 45 minutes away from my condo in downtown Atlanta, but a world apart, it's billed as a "Good Old Fashioned Family Fun Time In The Country!" And despite my lack of family, I did have fun. I arrived early enough on Sunday morning to catch some of the Sunday Morning Jubilee, featuring fine bluegrass gospel tunes by the Rocky Creek Band. I didn't feel so guilty about skipping church as the sweet sounds of "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" wafted through nature's own cathedral of tall pines. With barely 6,000 people in attendance over three days it's more relaxed and less crowded than the massive festivals held in the city. There's a real charm to the artists and crafters market, unlike the slick juried shows at big city festivals. I delighted in choosing between buying corn cob jelly or banana nut bread jam. The bird feeder I purchased, made from a vintage cup and saucer, will make a unique gift. Like any good festival, there are food vendors, including the requisite junk food purveyors selling funnel cakes, and get this, fried Oreos, Twinkies and Snickers. I did my cholesterol a favor and took a pass. Activities for kids included pony rides, a petting zoo and a hay ride. And instead of sand, the kids play box was filled with corn kernels. Isn't that cute? The signature event allows you to wander through 15 acres of sunflowers and cut as many as you can stuff into a bucket for $15. That's a lot of smiles and sunshine to carry home. The thing about small town festivals is that you hear about other festivals too, like the Cotton Gin Festival and the Christmas In The Country Weekend and even the Loachapoka Syrup Sopping Festival in Loachapoka, AL. If the Sunflower Farm Festival is any indication, I see more small-town festivals in my future.

Nice interiors Market. Great staff! I believe it's close to 20k square feet! They carry a lot of…read moreEnglish and French antiques.

Concerned that these markets might be suffering from the malaise of many antique dealers we…read moreapproached with some reservations. Very pleased to report no reservations needed---this is a first class operation with a large and varied inventoried that is not fearful of presenting high quality items. A lot of treasures to be discovered.. Highly Recommended.

I finally got to cross this off my bucket list of places near me to visit. I went on Saturday,…read moreFebruary 2. First off, it's a nice little museum/bookstore in a literal brick and mortar store. There is free street parking along the strip of stores and across the street. Be advised that its on a busy(ish) street. I got there around 2:45-3 pm. I'm glad I did as the museum closes at 4 pm. When you do a search online it says they close at 5 pm, which is contrary to what their posted hours are. When you walk in it opens to the small bookstore/shop area. They carry only books by Georgia authors, which I absolutely love. To the right, the space opens up to a coffee shop but they had a partition of chairs blocking entrance because the coffee shop had closed for the day. I had no idea there was an attached coffee shop so I will definitely come back to check it out. I believe the coffeeshop closes at 2 pm. Two-thirds of the space is devoted to their exhibitions. The main exhibitions focus on Flannery O'Connor, Alice Walker, Joel Chandler Harris, and Sidney Lanier who are authors either born in or not too far from Eatonton. Overall, it's a pretty cool little museum/bookstore with an attached coffee shop. I ended up buying a book and one of the decorative glass cups. I was told by the staff person about an upcoming author/writer event they were having. Loved my time there. Will definitely pop over again especially to check out the coffeeshop. Explanation of rating: I deducted a star because of the hours which were different and not knowing they had a coffeeshop which I would have loved to check out.

Really appreciated this little space in downtown Eatonton. I've been through the town a number of…read moretimes to visit spaces associated with one of my favorite writers, Alice Walker. I'm not sure why I never took the time to see if there was an actual museum in the area, but on a recent trip I decided to take a look and found the Georgia Writers Museum. I stopped in on a Friday (the museum is only open a few days a week, so make sure to check the hours of operation before making a trip). It's free to visit, but there are ways to financially support the museum if you're able to do so. (Donations, or purchasing something from the gift shop, which actually has a really decent selection.) The museum itself was pretty small, but very well taken care of, and a really great jumping off point if you're in the area to learn about the local writers. (Both Alice Walker and Flannery O'Conner lived in the area, and there are places to visit associated with both writers for anyone wanting to learn more about them.) There was a clean restroom, and street parking was free and easy even in the downtown setting. The staff were incredibly friendly and knowledgable. A very solid little stop for anyone interested in learning about the rich history of writers from Georgia.

Visited during a field trip and we had a blast!…read more Farmer John and the girls did amazing teaching the kiddos and being oh so patient with them as well. It was so cool learning and seeing how dairy cows are milked. I'm still amazed to know that they don't have top teeth!! I tell everyone who'll listen now. LOL

This Greek Revival home and museum was built in 1811. It's a stunner. Take a tour and learn some…read morehistory, some insight, and marvel at the grand homes of the south.