This Weekend in Georgia!

As most folks are drawing a 4-day workweek to a close, you might be thinking about what to do this weekend. Well, here are a few ideas... looks like a good weekend to check out a festival!

Oktoberfest in Helen

September 10-12, 17-20, 24-17 and additional dates in October and November

Oktoberfest kicks off in Alpine Helen this weekend! Beer, brats, bands and Liederhosen - the Helen Oktoberfest has them all. Join the longest running Oktoberfest in the United States, which runs from mid-September through the first weekend in November. Every year the heart of hte event is the Helen Festhalle where German-style bands from around the country and around the world play for your listening and viewing pleasure. See the Alphorns blown, the Cowbells rung and the Accordion squeezed. Grab your partner and take a spin on the dance floor to the timeless tunes of the Polka. For more information, check out the website. To watch Georgia Traveler's segment about Oktoberfest in Helen, click here!

41st Annual Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain

September 10-13

More than 500 artists and crafters from 38 States and two countries display their works for your appreciation and purchase at Stone Mountain Park. Organizers tell us that the festival schedule includes daily live entertainment, Children's Corner activities, clogging and crafter demonstrations throughout the event as well as fabulous festival foods. Vehicle entry to Stone Mountain Park is $10.00 for a one-day permit during the festival or $35.00 for an annual parking pass. No coolers or pets can be brought inside the festival. For more info, check out their website. To watch Georgia Traveler's segment about Stone Mountain, including some Yellow Daisy coverage, click here!

Experience Coastal Georgia Festival at Crooked River State Park in St. Mary's

September 12 from 9am-4pm

Experience what Georgia coastal living has to offer this Saturday at Crooked River State Park in beautiful St. Mary's. This weekend's festivities mark the 3rd annual festival and include live animal shows, photo contest and intro to photography class, bird and nature hikes, crafts, games, gardening class, food and more. $5 parking. For more information, check out their website or call 912-882-8531.

And those are just a few of the ideas for weekend fun that you can find at the Explore Georgia website, operated by our production partners at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Get out there and enjoy Georgia!

This Week: Mountains East (Dahlonega)

On this week's episode of Georgia Traveler, it's off to Georgia's picturesque northeast mountains. Dahlonega, site of America's first gold rush, is our destination city, where we visit the Smith House restaurant and Wolf Mountain Vineyards. David Zelski explores Elberton, the Granite Capital of the World, while Gerald Bryant meets Joni Mabe the Elvis Babe at her museum in Cornelia. Phil Proctor delights in the delicacies offered up during Oktoberfest in Helen, and Keely Muse guides us through some beautiful state parks in Dawsonville, Mountain City, and Tallulah Falls.

Georgia Traveler 103, "Mountains East (Dahlonega)" airs this Friday, April 17 at 9 PM, Saturday, April 18 at 7 PM, and Wednesday, April 22 at 7:30 PM on GPB. You can also watch on Saturday, April 18 at 8 PM, and Sunday, April 19 at 8 AM on GPB Knowledge.

For more information, check out our website at:

http://www.gpb.org/georgiatraveler/

Georgia Traveler is produced in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Tourism Foundation.

Georgia Public Broadcasting is Television, Radio and Education: your PBS station serving all of Georgia; your source for great music and NPR news; and Georgia's source for top-quality multiple media educational products and services.

Watch Georgia Public Broadcasting on these nine stations across Georgia: Atlanta - WGTV/Channel 8; Albany - WABW/14, Augusta - WCES/20, Chatsworth - WNGH/18, Columbus - WJSP/28, Dawson - WACS/25, Macon - WMUM/29, Savannah - WVAN/9, Waycross - WXGA/8.

This Weekend in Georgia

Looks like the rain is moving out and mild temperatures for most of the Empire State of the South this weekend. Here are a few ways you could explore Georgia:

First, we'd be remiss if we didn't remind you about the ongoing Oktoberfest festivities in Alpine Helen. For more information about events for this weekend, check out the Greater Helen Area Chamber of Commerce website. Georgia Traveler's Gerald Bryant and Phil Proctor visited the festivities of Oktoberfest in our first season. To see that segment, click here.

The folks up at Rocky City Gardens urge you to get in touch with Rock City’s German heritage at Rocktoberfest. Rock City Square will be transformed for a celebration of harvests and fall foliage. Visitors can stroll through an atmosphere of German music and food, enjoy a Bratwurst, Knackwurst or Polish Sausage along with German Sauerkraut. Specialty beer will be on tap in the Beer Garden. Work off dinner with a “chicken dance” at the polka stage. The event is free with Rock City admission: $15.95 adults/$8.95 child. You can find out more by visiting the Rock City website. To watch the Georgia Traveler segment about Rock City, which was featured in the first season, click here.


Organizers of the Okefenokee Festival in Folkston tell us 5000 to 10,000 people attend this event annually. People from Southeast Georgia and parts all around travel to the Festival to enjoy the arts, crafts, food, the parade, live entertainment, and activities. In our first season, Keely Muse visited the festival during a segment about the Okefenokee Swamp. Click here to watch that segment online! The festival is from 9AM-5PM this Saturday, October 11. For more information, check out the City of Folkston's website. Folkston is also well known for the Folkston Funnel where train watchers from across the country come to spend some time. Find out more about train watching in Folkston by watching our Georgia Traveler segment. Click here to watch that segment online!

And in the Capitol city, it's Taste of Atlanta. This 2-day outdoor food festival held in the streets of Atlantic Station on Saturday, October 11 & Sunday, October 12, 2008. The event will feature more than 70 of the city's best restaurants, live cooking demonstrations from national and local celebrity chefs and live entertainment. But just a heads up, general admission tickets are $25. There are also VIP tickets available for $75. For tickets or more information, visit the Taste of Atlanta website.

And those are just a few of this weekend's highlights. For more information, check out the new
www.exploregeorgia.org website!