| 
IN THIS ISSUE: - City of Ringgold Announces New Ringgold Gap Festival for October 2009
- New Tellus Museum Announces Upcoming Lectures
- Spring Senior Scholars Program at Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum
- The Black West: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Cowboys and Untold Stories
- Winter Wine Series Continues Through March
- Musical Performances Highlight Calhoun Arts Calendar
- Red Top Mountain State Park Site of 11.5 Mile Trail Race and Trot on February 8
- You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown Coming to 1902 Stock Exchange
- Winter Chautauqua Registration Now Open – Join Us March 1-2
- Bartow History Center to Relocate in 2009
- In Print: Regional Marketing in 2009
- Tourism Dates to Remember
- About the Historic High Country Travel Association
| City of Ringgold Announces New Ringgold Gap Festival for October 2009 The City of Ringgold and the Ringgold Telephone Company are proud to present the First Annual Ringgold Gap Festival, honoring General Patrick Cleburne. The two-day event scheduled for October 2-3, 2009 will be a celebration of the arts. Activities will include a Living Experience Camp (provided by the Hardee Guard Battalion), Civil War exhibits, a reenactment of the Battle of Ringgold Gap and other entertainment. Festival events will take place on Robin Road in Ringgold. Dedication of the statue of General Patrick Cleburne will be the highlight of the festival. The statue will be placed in the heart of Ringgold Gap, at Confederate Park on Highway 41. For information see www.ringgoldgapfestival.com, or call Marcy Cirlot at 706-965-1249. New Tellus Museum Announces Upcoming Lectures Georgia’s newest attraction, Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science Museum, is pleased to announce its upcoming guest lectures. On February 5, the Tellus Lecture Series will feature David Schwimmer, Paleontologist and discoverer of the Appalachiassaurus. Then on March 5, John Dobson, creator of the Dobsonian Telescope and Sidewalk Astronomers, will be featured. Both lectures take place at 7 p.m. and are free with museum admission. Tellus is a new museum located in Cartersville at I-75 Exit 293. The museum includes four main galleries: The Weinman Mineral Gallery, The Fossil Gallery, Science in Motion and The Collins Family My Big Backyard. A 120-seat digital planetarium and an observatory with a state-of-the-art 20-inch telescope are also offered. Tellus is open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $12 adults, $10 seniors ages 65+, $8 children ages 3-17 and students with ID, free to Tellus members and active military with ID. The planetarium show is an additional $3 ($2 for members and one free show for active military). For information call 770-606-5700 or see www.TellusMuseum.org. Spring Senior Scholars Program at Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum The Berry College Senior Scholars Program returns this spring with a full slate of courses designed to challenge, educate and enrich the lives of people ages 55 and older. Oak Hill and The Martha Berry Museum will host the program beginning February 17. Classes will be held each Tuesday through April 14, with the exception of March 17 (spring break at Berry). Course offerings include Creative Photography, Fine Art Tole, Book Discussion – Moby Dick, Founding Fathers, Book Discussion – Mama Day, and Thai Chi. In addition to these courses, Senior Scholars will feature two lunch-time discussions. These one-hour sessions will be held at Noon on Feb. 17 – personality profiling with Barry Benton, and March 10 – self-defense with Shannon Bond. Registration for the program is $75 for three classes, $60 for two classes or $30 for a single course. Contact Patrice Shannon at 706-368-6775 or pclonts@berry.edu for more information or to register. Oak Hill and The Martha Berry Museum is a popular attraction and the former home of Berry College founder Martha Berry (1865-1942). It is located at the intersection of Georgia Loop 1 and US Highway 27 in Rome, Georgia. More information is available online at www.berry.edu/oakhill. The Black West: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Cowboys and Untold Stories Showcasing the work of 16 contemporary African American artists, this special exhibition at the Booth Western Art Museum will shed new light on the important role Blacks played in developing the West. In addition to the stories of Black cowboys and buffalo soldiers, works of art will also feature Black lawmen, explorers, rodeo stars and women. Participating artists include: Bernard Williams, Ed Dwight, Burl Washington, Eddie Dixon, Bobb Vann, Michael Godfrey and many others. The Black West is on display through March 22, 2009. The Booth Western Art Museum is located at 501 Museum Drive, in downtown Cartersville and is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. late on Thursday until 8 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $8 adults, $6 ages 65+, $5 students ages 13+, members free. Call 770-387-1300 or see www.BoothMuseum.org for more details. Winter Wine Series Continues Through March Barnsley Gardens Resort’s popular wine series returns on select dates in February-March! A different wine from various regions will be paired with a fabulous dish prepared by Barnsley Chef Charles Vosburgh CEC AAC. Each dinner will be hosted by a representative from the featured wine estate. There will be amazing prizes, wonderful food, challenging trivia and great company! Visit Barnsley Gardens for the following dinners beginning at 7 p.m.: February 7 – The incomparable champagnes of Krug, with Court of Master Sommelier, Holly Beach of Moet Hennessy; March 7 – By popular demand The Silver Oak Winery, with good friend Tom Johnson; and March 14 – A newcomer to the Barnsley family, Freemark Abbey, with Winemaker Ted Edwards. Barnsley Gardens Resort is located in Adairsville, Georgia. Call to reserve your seat at the table for these memorable evenings, 770-773-2522 or see www.BarnsleyResort.com for more details. Musical Performances Highlight Calhoun Arts Calendar Visit Calhoun February 21, to enjoy a performance by The Chattanooga Choral Society for the Preservation of African American Music in conjunction with the Roland Hayes Museum. All performances take place at 7 p.m. at the Harris Arts Center, located in Calhoun’s historic Rooker Hotel, at 212 South Wall Street. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 HAC members, seniors and students. Group discounts available. Also at the Harris Art Center through February 20, is a special exhibit by the Georgia Clay Council. For more information please contact the Gordon County Convention & Visitors Bureau at 706-625-3200 or visit online at www.ExploreGordonCounty.com. Red Top Mountain State Park Site of 11.5 Mile Trail Race and Trot February 8 The Georgia Ultrarunning & Trailrunning Society will host the Red Top Rumble 11.5 Mile Trail Race & Kids Trail Trot on February 8, at Red Top Mountain State Park. The trail race gets underway at 8 a.m. followed by the Kids Trail Trot at 10 a.m. The trail race is limited to 250 runners and features moderate to easy wooded trails with several bridge crossings and beautiful views of Allatoona Lake. Multiple aid stations will be placed along the course with a variety of food, drink and support. Awards will be presented to the Top 10 Male & Female, Overall Master and Overall Grandmaster. Pre-registered participants receive a shirt and goodie bag. Post race festivities include plenty of food & raffle prizes. Red Top Mountain State Park is located in Cartersville, Georgia at I-75 Exit 285, go east to park on Allatoona Lake. To register and plan your visit see the Cartersville-Bartow County Convention & Visitors Bureau online information center at www.NotAtlanta.org. You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown Coming to 1902 Stock Exchange The Public Square Opera House inside Adairsville’s 1902 Stock Exchange invites you to join them for You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. The dinner theater performances of this bright, fun and adorable show based on Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strips takes place at 7 p.m. on Saturday evenings February 14-28. Take your Valentine to dinner and a show – call today for reservations, 770-773-1902. The 1902 Stock Exchange is located in historic downtown Adairsville. Take I-75 Exit 306, GA 140 west, one mile, cross US 41 intersection, left onto Main Street, one mile to Historic Public Square on the right. Plan your visit and learn more about Adairsville online at www.NotAtlanta.org. Winter Chautauqua Registration Now Open – Join us March 1-2 The 19th Annual Winter Chautauqua Conference will be hosted by the Historic High Country Travel Association at Dalton’s Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center on March 1-2. This conference has proven to be one of the most affordable and informative tourism conferences in Georgia. Sunday evening is a great time to network with business associates and colleagues prior to Monday which features a full day of classroom sessions that target key tourism issues. Bring your staff to experience Winter Chautauqua for only $75 per person; or register for the Monday-only option at $55 per person. Visit online at www.WinterChautauqua.com. Bartow History Center to Relocate in 2009 After many years of planning and one year following an impressive restoration of the 1870 Courthouse, the Bartow History Center will be relocating to this impressive cornerstone “Under the Bridge” in downtown Cartersville. The courthouse was the first built in Cartersville when the County Seat was moved from Cassville subsequent to its destruction in the Civil War. When the BHC gets the keys to the courthouse in early spring, the museum will close for a short time as new exhibits will be built during the move. The center’s popular Museum Store will remain open in the current location at 13 N Wall Street throughout the relocation and then will join the museum in the courthouse upon completion. Until then, the BHC will continue its schedule of programs and invites you to visit on the following dates: Feb. 14 – Be My Valentine children’s activities; Feb. 18 Lunch & Learn featuring a discuss of the courthouse restoration project by Ron Goss Jr.; Feb. 26 – Evening Lecture Series with historian Sal Amico discussing World War II historical accounts featured in his book They Answered the Call; March 18 Lunch & Learn with Dana Davis, author of Tomorrow is Better: The Story of the Kingston Woman’s History Club 1861-Tomorrow; and March 26 Evening Lecture with Dr. Catherine Oglesby, history professor at Valdosta State University discussing her book Corra Harris and the Divided Mind of the New South. Call 770-382-3818 for times and details or see www.bartowhistorycenter.org. In Print: Regional Marketing in 2009 Look for the Historic High Country Travel Association in print in 2009. See our full-page “Explore Georgia’s Land of Sights and Legends” advertisement in the March issues of Women’s Day, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping in the Tampa/St. Petersburg market. The advertisement provides full-color vacation suggestions on the adventure, resorts and world-class attractions found only in Northwest Georgia. And getting here couldn’t be easier. The region spans the historic mountains between Atlanta and Chattanooga easily accessible from Interstate 75. Bring the RV or load up the family van for a smooth ride on our scenic highways. Learn more online at www.GeorgiaHighCountry.org. Regional Meetings The next meeting of the Historic High Country Travel Association will be at 10:30 a.m. on the following Wednesdays: February 11, at Northwest Georgia Trade & Convention Center in Dalton. The business meeting will focus on Winter Chautauqua, TravelSouth, and the HHCTA Advertising Co-op. 2009 Officers are President Margaret Thigpen of the Dalton CVB, President-elect Ellen Archer of the Cartersville-Bartow County Convention & Visitors Bureau; Secretary Teresa Mullis of the Catoosa County Chamber, and Treasurer Beth Grubbs of the Gordon County CVB. No meeting in March due to Winter Chautauqua. The Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association will meet on Saturday, March 14 at 10:30 am. Location TBD. The speaker will be Chris Haveman, Creek Indian specialist and grad-student at Auburn University majoring in History with a focus on Creek Indian removal. Call Leslie Thomas 706-635-3864 or see www.gatrailoftears.org for details. Tourism Dates to Remember March 1-2 – Winter Chautauqua, Northwest Georgia Trade Center, Dalton
April 20-21 – Techno Tourism Conference, Athens About the Historic High Country Travel Association The HHCTA is a volunteer membership organization created in 1979 to collectively promote the tourism resources in Northwest Georgia’s Land of Sights & Legends®. The association serves the following 17 counties in northwest Georgia: Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield. Plan your visit to Northwest Georgia’s Land of Sights & Legends®. For information and free brochures visit online at www.GeorgiaHighCountry.org. |
