July  2003  A Lot Closer... A Few Degrees Coooooler! Now that Summer is in full swing, it's time to beat the heat! Only about an hour's drive north of Atlanta, we tend to be anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees cooler up here in the North Georgia Mountains. Cool breezes, shade giving trees and a higher elevation make it a coooool place and a lot closer than you think! Whether it's a week long vacation or just a weekend getaway, Dahlonega has so much to see and do, with unique shops on our historic square and live Appalachian Music through August. Join Us! - www.CavenderCreek.com July 4th in Dahlonega! July 4th is a special time here in Dahlonega! We spend the day by gathering on the square for music, arts and crafts, free watermelon, Colonial demonstrations and home made ice cream. As the sun goes down the whole town meets on the Owen Drill field on the campus of North Georgia College and State University for a spectacular fireworks display! Join us!! Summer is Beautiful! Wish You Were Here! It's true! Spring showers do, in fact, bring summer flowers and lush green meadows and big beautiful trees and gorgeous flowing waterfalls! Summer is officially here and everything is bursting with life! Our local lakes like Lanier, Winfield Scott, and Dockery Lake are full and all the great fishing spots are jumping! Some of the most beautiful places to visit this time of year are our Waterfalls. The Dahlonega Welcome Center even offers a great brochure providing directions and descriptions to some of the areas great waterfalls. Or take your own tour via J. Anthony's Waterfall Page at Dahlonega.org. Enjoy! Area Attractions & Happenings Follow the links for more information on the following North Georgia Attractions & Happenings. Dahlonega Wineries: Tastings, Tours and Special Events - Visit North Georgia's Wine Country where you can sample excellent wines, tour the vineyards and see how great wine is made! July 4: Family Day/Independence Day Celebration - Join in the biggest and most popular July 4th extravaganza in northeast Georgia. Includes arts and crafts, bluegrass and gospel music, colonial demonstrations, homemade ice cream, games, free watermelon and fireworks. July 5/August 2/September 6: Dahlonega Mountain Music & Medicine Show - 6:45-9:00pm Experience an old-fashioned live radio show highlighting Bluegrass, Gospel and Old-Time music, with homespun humor and sketches of mountain life from 1828-1950. Delightful family entertainment!. For more information visit www.folkwayscenter.org or call 706-867-6710. July 19: 2003 Cool Mountain Festival - The 3rd Annual Cool Mountain Festival will take place on Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s highest mountain at 4784 feet. Experience sitting on the front porch of a mountain log cabin, hearing bluegrass music in the background, watching square dancers, and learning how to make a bowl out of a knot in a tree. Other exhibits will include the mountain way of making apple cider, an exhibit of the mountain’s native wildlife, and old time quilting. September 20-21: Autumnfest on the Square - Enjoy a merchants’ tag sale, blue ribbon pie contest, cakewalk, Appalachian music, jamming on the square, hayrides and much more. September 28: 6-Gap Century & 3-Gap Fifty Bike Ride - One of the most challenging 100-mile bicycle rides in the southeast. The less hardy can ride the fifty-mile, three-gap alternative to the century. Begins and ends at North Georgia College & State University.