The time is fast approaching, and we thought it would be helpful for you to have your very own guide to the festivities.
Dates/Times

Friday, September 29 at 5:30pm (note the change)
Saturday, September 30 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Location

The Performing Arts Center located on the campus of Fannin County High School
2346 E. First Street, Blue Ridge, Georgia 30513

Performers
We’ve been giving you bits and pieces; here is a complete lineup of performers:

Friday

  ○  The Onllwyn Male Voice Choir
  ○   Men’s Chorale of Cherry Log Christian Church

Saturday

• Blue Ridge Mountain Dulcimer Players
• The Cherry Log Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Choir
• Mountain Children
• Laura Boosinger (Also, recall that Laura will host a shape-note singing class on Saturday)
• The Barker Brothers
• The Hoyles

We are still working out times with the performers; once the times are finalized, we will post a schedule on the website. We know you will want to stay to hear everything, though, so see the “dates/times” section above and you should be all set.

Outdoor events

Food will be provided by Harmony Baptist Church – they’ll be bringing breakfast and lunch, and you will definitely want to indulge in both. We can’t eat inside the PAC, but there will be tables set up so you may enjoy your food and beverage while taking in the nice autumn air.

Craft booths will be situated under tents. There is still space remaining, so if you want to host a booth (actually, a table), let us know.

Lodging
There are several places to stay in the area; here are a few names and numbers:

Black Bear Cabin Rentals: 888/ 902-2246, or http://blackbearcabinrentals.com  
Days Inn—Blue Ridge: 706/ 632-2100
Douglas Inn & Suites—Blue Ridge: 706/ 258-3600
Ramada Limited—Blue Ridge: 706/ 632-4444
Best Western—Ellijay: 706/ 515-1500
Budget Inn—Ellijay: 706/ 635-5311
Stratford Motor Inn—East Ellijay: 706/ 276-1080

Admission is Free
Now you’re in the know. We’ll see you soon.
 

LET ME EXPLAIN  SOMETHING

Please notice that the time for Friday evening’s performance has changed to 5:30 pm. Why the change? In a word: homecoming. As you know, we reserved the Performing Arts Center – or PAC – months ago. The PAC is located at Fannin County High School, and we had even odds that the Friday night of our event would align with an “away” football game. A couple of weeks ago, the football schedule for 2006 was announced. As luck would have it, not only is September 29 a home football game, it’s homecoming… an event that hasn’t occurred in September in Fannin County in at least 20 years! For those of you who don’t live here, trust me when I say that homecoming is no small event. To prevent our guests from having to park in Cherry Log and walk to Blue Ridge, we decided to host our event earlier. The football game starts at 7:30 pm, so if you want to stick around after the performance, you may make the most of your evening and take in both events.—TRS
 

THANKS FOR REGISTERING EARLY

For the Fall Preaching Workshop. The date: Oct. 2; The Time: 9:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m. (breakfast and lunch provided); The Topic: “Thirteen Things I Have Learned About Preaching”.
Now we ask a favor of those who have registered. If you learn that you cannot attend, please let Tammy know; there are 30 on the waiting list. And those on the waiting list let Tammy know if you want an audio tape of the session.

The Spring Workshop will be on March 12 instead of March 5. The Topic: “Preaching About Money”.– FBC

DO YOU DRIVE A LAND YACHT?

We really, really need you! We have a few families that have agreed to host multiple Welsh guests, but don’t have the ability to transport them to/from Blue Ridge to their place of lodging. If you drive a large vehicle… a minivan, Expedition, Suburban or limousine, and would be willing to run a shuttle for us, we would be grateful! — TRS


THE GIFT

On December 30, 2004 a memorial service was held at Cherry Log Christian Church for Joe Burke. On August 3, 2006 an impressive gift to the Craddock Center was made by Joe Burke. You probably want a word of clarification.

Joe kept on a night stand near his bed, along with his glasses, an oval metal box into which he put loose change from his pockets. Now and then a small withdrawal was made in response to a claim too small for a check or paper money, but, in general, the coins accumulated.

Joe died, and suddenly every reminder of him became sacred and irremovable. Doris did not move his glasses. We hang on to what we can. Doris did not touch the box of coins. She certainly could not bring herself to spend any of it; the idea of it seemed sacrilegious. For 19 months the box and the glasses stayed in place.

Then Doris read Teri’s article in the July issue of Milk and Honey about Coins for Craddock Center. She knew Joe would have wanted the box of coins given to the Center, and so, on August 3, 2006, Doris came to the Center and gave the box of coins to Tammy, along with a note to me explaining what I have now told you.
Tammy took the coins to the bank to have them sorted and counted by that thingamajig which does it in the blink of an eye. $43.76 total, said the machine. I wanted a second opinion. I held the box of coins before the wide eyes of one of the Center children. “Wow! There must be a million dollars in there!” She was exactly right.

Thanks, Joe. Thanks, Doris. — FBC
 

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO

We are often told, “just tell me what I can do to help”. We want to make it easy for you, so here’s a list of tasks we need help with for Appalachian Weekend:

• Assist with event setup Friday afternoon
• Assist with cleanup Saturday night
• Take a turn selling beverages – The Craddock Center will be selling Coca-Cola products at the event, and we need folks to staff the booth. We won’t require a background check, but it will be helpful if you can make change.
• Prepare meals for our Welsh guests
• Assist with transporting our Welsh guests

If you want to help – let us know… we’re full of options: you may call us, e-mail us, or sign up at the website.—TRS