Courtesy of Dan at Pickens Progress
Everything set, except, “Where’s the marble?” ask organizers
Organizers say everything is in place for the 28th annual Marble Festival October 4-5 at Lee Newton Park, but are making a last minute call for vendors who work with the namesake stone.
Marble Festival Chairman Marty Callahan said Friday that the host organization, the Chamber of Commerce, is willing to offer special opportunities, including free booth space to attract crafters who will feature marble products.
Callahan said this has been a long-time problem at the festival, but is a great opportunity for someone who does work with marble.
He said every year, they give away a large pile of marble pieces sent by Imerys, but there is usually only a single booth, manned by Woodbridge Owner Joe Rueffert, selling marble products.
Callahan said guests to the festival every year ask why there isn’t more marble wares available for sale.
“Craft artists who work in marble are hard to come by,” the chairman of the volunteer-run event said. “This would be a great opportunity for someone inside the gates or a local business. It’s frustrating for us to not have more connected to the marble industry.”
Callahan said the festival should roll into its 28th year with basically the same style and events as the previous two decades.
With the slow economy, this year Callahan said the festival should be a major help to businesses and non-profit groups involved at the festival by drawing people into town.
With the parade, tours and out of town festival-goers, Callahan said this is a good opportunity for the whole community to both enjoy the events and see local businesses reap some additional sales.
“I realize that not every business benefits and the festival does create some traffic congestion, but this is the busiest day of the year for some local businesses,” he said. “Overall the county benefits [economically]. It’s money being spent somewhere.”
Inside the grounds this year, the festival-goers should see fewer booths, but with an increase in quality. Callahan said they limited the food court vendors and worked to screen the people to be sure there is a wide-variety and no duplication.
For the crafts, the organizing committee has made an effort to keep everything homemade. But Callahan said “jurying” isn’t easy as exactly what separates homemade from something with parts bought in two different places and put together can be tough to judge ahead of time.
Other events this year include:
• Main Street Mania, the monthly downtown street dance, will be held on Saturday night, October 4, to coincide with the festival.
• Working with motorcycle shop R & R Trikes, there will be A Rumble in the Mountains motorcycle ride. The riders will join the parade and leave directly after it for a tour of the surrounding area. Callahan said this could draw a couple of hundred riders.
• Returning this year will be the Fine arts exhibit in the chamber building, which is up and running already.“It’s a neat experience for our school students,” he said. “This is a chance for all elementary school students who come with their classes to get to see an art show.”
• The tours of the marble industry will likely sell out, based on early demand. For more information on the bus tours around the county, check the website www.pickenschamber.com or call the chamber at 706-692-5600.
• The parade will be shorter as the DOT has asked for the roads not to be closed as long. It will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.
• There will be usual 5K road race and fun run to start the day. See entry form on www.pickensprogress.com “event forms” links for info on this race.
Callahan said the crowd could be larger than normal this year as the slow economy may keep people at home or looking for shorter trips. “This is a chance for a good ‘staycation’ for people from the Atlanta area,” he said. “People may not go to Gatlinburg or places further north if they can stop here and have a fun day.”
Georgia Marble Festival October 4-5, gates are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday.
See special insert in next week’s paper with schedules and more information.
