 In This Issue - Mystery of the Christmas Star and Supernova Gala at Tellus Museum
- Candlelight Tours and Milk & Cookies with Santa Planned in Calhoun
- NAIA Championship Hosted in Rome December 14-19
- Celebrate & Save on Holidays at Barnsley Gardens Resort
- Gordon-Lee Mansion Hosts 34th Annual Christmas Candlelight Tours
- The Grand Theatre Welcomes the Atlanta Pops Holiday Concert
- Celebrate a Moravian Christmas at Chief Vann House
- Cedartown’s Big Spring Named To Trail of Tears
- Visit Blue Ridge for These Favorite Holiday Experiences
- Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights
- Summerville Celebrates Christmas
- About the Historic High Country Travel Association
| Mystery of the Christmas Star and Supernova Gala at Tellus Museum Unlock the Mystery of the Christmas Star at Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science Museum in Cartersville this Holiday Season. In this new planetarium journey back 2000 years to Bethlehem as we seek to discover a scientific explanation for the Star the wise men followed to find the baby Jesus. Investigate possible dates for the birth of Christ and look at recorded sightings of significant astronomical events during this time. See which of these signs in the sky could have been remarkable enough to cause the wise men to travel across the desert from Babylon to Bethlehem to see a newborn King. This planetarium show and others may be seen daily for an additional $3 with museum admission. Visitors may also enjoy the ongoing Tellus Lecture Series. On December 4, at 7 p.m. Collector Alan Stout will present “Saber Tooth Cats” and invites everyone to discover the history of these pre-historic animals. Skulls and fossils from one of the largest saber tooth cat collections in the world will be featured. Want to enjoy more while supporting this magnificent new museum? Mark your calendar for January 9, 2010 and make plans to attend the Tellus Supernova 2nd Annual Gala. Enjoy a dinner, live music, dancing, silent and live auctions and more. Call before December 4 to reserve your tickets for this event, Lisa Weeks 770-606-5712. For more information see http://www.tellusmuseum.org. Candlelight Tours and Milk & Cookies With Santa Planned in Calhoun The Calhoun/Gordon County Convention & Visitors Bureau invites you to http://www.ExploreGordonCounty.com this holiday season. On December 5, visit Calhoun for the New Echota Christmas Candlelight Tour from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Bring your candle lantern to kick-off the holiday season. We’ll celebrate Christmas with decorations, music and refreshments reminiscent of the 19th century Cherokee Nation Capital. Dress warmly and wear good walking shoes for this one-mile walking tour of the New Echota State Historic Site, located on GA 225 N, off I-75 Exit 317. Admission is $5, children ages 5 and under are free. On December 10, the Christmas Parade of Lights celebrates an “Olde Tyme Christmas” in downtown Calhoun at 7 p.m. Then on December 12, the Kiwanis Club of Calhoun invites you to enjoy Milk and Cookies with Santa from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Calhoun Convention Center. Tickets are $10 per child and includes a photo opportunity and visit with Santa, refreshments, goodie bags and a holiday sing-along and storybook reading. Tickets are available at the Calhoun/Gordon County Chamber & CVB. Continue your winter getaway in January as The Lovell Sisters return to Calhoun to kickoff the Harris Arts Center Performing Arts Season Series on January 16, 2010 at 7 p.m. For complete “Explore Gordon County” details call 800-887-3800 or 706-625-3200. NAIA Championship Hosted in Rome December 14-19 Football fans will want to tailgate to Rome in December for the NAIA Championship Week December 14-19. A variety of celebrations are held throughout Rome to welcome the two competing teams. For ticket information and a schedule of events for the teams see http://www.romegeorgia.org. Christmas at Oak Hill The holiday festivities at Oak Hill and the Martha Berry Museum in Rome gets underway December 5, as the museum celebrates Candles & Carols with a twist! From 6-9 pm guests will delight in more candles than ever before at Oak Hill. Enjoy the debut of the Christmas exhibit, “The Gift of Christmas” that tells the story of how Martha Berry brought Christmas to the Possum Trot community and made Christmas-time at Berry so special for everyone. The Rome Brass Band will play Christmas carols as guests enter the museum. This is a recreation from Berry’s history as Martha Berry would hire the band to play at various events. Be sure to see the new Christmas documentary “The Christmas Lady” while visiting the museum. Trees will light the way to the open house tours of Oak Hill and guests may enjoy hot chocolate and cookies following the tour. Christmas at Oak Hill continues throughout December, staying open late until 7:30 p.m. on December 12 and December 19, so that guests may enjoy the lights of Oak Hill, home tours and carriage rides. Admission is $10 per car. Carriage rides are an additional cost. For more information see www.berry.edu/oakhill. Celebrate & Save on Holidays at Barnsley Gardens Resort This year the holidays are coming early at Barnsley Gardens Resort. Start the holiday season off right – With every overnight stay in December at Barnsley’s special holiday rate, get a free $100 Gift Certificate good toward activities, services and merchandise during your visit. With rates starting at just $250 per night plus tax the time to celebrate is now! Barnsley Gardens Resort is a Preferred Boutique Hotel recently honored by Conde Nast 2009 Readers’ Choice. To learn more visit online at http://www.BarnsleyResort.com or call 770-773-7480. Gordon-Lee Mansion Hosts 34th Annual Christmas Candlelight Tours Celebrate Christmas on the first two weekends in December as the Gordon-Lee Mansion hosts its 34th Annual Christmas Candlelight Tours December 5-6, and December 12-13 in Chickamauga. The beautiful and historic Gordon-Lee Mansion is one of the South’s most historic antebellum homes. Set on seven manicured acres lined with elms and maples, the home is located just 18 miles south of Chattanooga. The Mansion evokes the time of early Southern aristocracy and is the only structure that survived the great Battle of Chickamauga. The home is fully restored and furnished with museum quality period antiques of Federal, Empire and early Victorian origins. For times and ticket prices call 706-375-4728 or see http://www.gordonleemansion.com. The Grand Theatre Welcomes the Atlanta Pops Holiday Concert The 2009-2010 Grand Theatre Entertainment Series and Bartow County Bank welcomes the Atlanta Pops Holiday Concert on December 5, at 7 p.m. The concert will feature a wide variety of holiday music from the Appalachian Mountains to Merry Old England. There will be sleigh bells, holiday classics, and a taste of Hanukah as well. Established by Albert Coleman in 1945, the orchestra has served as principal players for all touring Broadway shows in Atlanta. Tickets for the Atlanta Pops Concert are $25 Orchestra Level, $20 Balcony Level. The Grand Theatre is located at 7 North Wall Street in downtown Cartersville. Call 770-386-7343 or see http://www.thegrandtheatre.org. Celebrate a Moravian Christmas at Chief Vann House In 1805, Cherokee Chief James Vann opened is new brick mansion to the Moravian missionaries in order to hold one of the first Christmas celebrations in the Cherokee Nation. To honor this tradition, visitors are invited to enjoy the sights and sounds of a 19th century Christmas in one of America’s best-preserved Cherokee homes on December 11, from 5-9 p.m. Admission prices range from $3.50-$5.00. The Chief Vann House State Historic Site is located 3 miles west of Chatsworth at the intersection of GA Hwy 225 and GA Hwy 52-A. Call 706-695-2598. Cedartown’s Big Spring Named to Trail of Tears In November, many years of work by members of the Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association and others culminated in the certification of the Cedartown Removal Camp site at Big Spring as a Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Site. The Cedartown camp was one of 14 Georgia camps and forts built by military forces for the Cherokee Removal. It is the southernmost camp or fort site on the Trail of Tears and is the first removal fort or camp in Georgia to be added following the enactment of the Omnibus Public Lands Bill. Cedartown now joins the Chief Vann House, the Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home, the Ross to Ridge Road, the Chief John Ross House and the New Echota State Historic Site on the list of official Trail of Tears certified sites in Georgia. The Big Spring park is owned by the City of Cedartown. Visit Blue Ridge for These Favorite Holiday Experiences Pick out your own living Christmas Tree at Southern Tree Plantation in nearby Blairsville. Enjoy hot apple cider by a toasty fire in your mountain cabin. Take a brisk hike through the winter forest or take in the mountain views from the rocking chair. Go downtown for holiday shopping and find handmade and homegrown mountain gifts. Visit Mercier Orchards for fruit and gift baskets. Be enchanted at the Old Fashioned Christmas Village at McCaysville. Take a ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway Christmas Express. Find inspiration at the Art Center Holiday Art Show & Sale. Spread some Christmas cheer with antiques and uniques found only in Blue Ridge. Call the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce for details 800-899-MTNS. Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights This award-winning light extravaganza is open nightly 6-9 p.m. now through January 2, (closed Christmas Eve) at Rock City Gardens high atop Lookout Mountain, Georgia. This year’s theme, the North Pole Adventure, gives guests the opportunity to interact with Santa and Mrs. Claus, watch live elves harvest candy canes and see a sleeping polar bear. The lighting spectacular ranges from glittering snowflakes to a life-sized gingerbread house. A portion of each ticket sale goes to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. For details call 706-820-2531 or visit online at http://www.seerockcity.com/lights. Summerville Celebrates Christmas Christmas in the Park is a celebration of the season held in Summerville’s Dowdy Park at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 6. All activities are free of charge. Enjoy pictures with Santa at the Couey House, wagon rides, live Christmas music by local artists and choirs, hot chocolate and a bon fire. The event is sponsored by the City of Summerville, Evans Welding, Mohawk Industries, Palmour Law Firm, and United Community Bank. On December 6, from 2-4 p.m. enjoy Summerville’s Victorian Christmas Walking Tour in downtown. See 17 scenes including a nativity, carousel, train & village, toy shop, santa & sleigh, Longfellow’s study and more. For more details see http://www.summervillega.com. Regional Meetings The next meeting of the Historic High Country Travel Association will be at 10:30 a.m. on the following Wednesdays: December 9 – 2010 Officer Elections and Pot Luck Lunch (bring your favorite dish to share) at the Dalton Freight Depot (CVB Office) in Dalton. The Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association will meet on Saturday, January 9, at 10:30 am. at the Chief Vann House in Chatsworth. The speaker will be Bill Frazier, an expert on southeastern native fish traps. Call Leslie Thomas, 706-635-3864 or see www.gatrailoftears.org for details. 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. |
