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| Roses on the square |
Now with spring the season of festivals begin in the mountain
towns near me. The past couple of weekends I‘ve enjoyed hanging out in
Dahlonega’s art scene. Last weekend it was the Mountain. Flower Art Festival. A
misty day with off and on light rain, filled with enthusiastic artists showing
their arts and crafts under tented cover. It was fun to be welcomed back by
many local friends and chat with the artists a few of the artist belong to the
art group that I belong to, the Chestatee Artists. It was a day of running into
people I know, getting lots of hugs and being inspired by what other artist are
doing. The rose bushes around the square were blooming, which added to the
charm. The town of Dahlonega is a mountain in north Georgia not far from me,
where I go to church and belong to an art group that meets once a month at the
chamber of commerce. Dahlonega is a very
popular local tourist destination, only an hour from Atlanta, with it’s
wineries, restaurants and unique shops around a quaint town square where often
mountain music is played by local musicians. In the center of town there is a
old courthouse that now houses the gold museum and is the heart of a very picturesque
old southern town square. Dahlonega is the first place that gold was discovered
and had a working mine for 1828 years, 20 years before the Calif. gold rush.
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| Mtn.Flower Art Fest |
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| Letty and Oscar Rayneri-Chestatee Artists |
This weekend we enjoyed sunshine, so a friend and I decided
to poke around in Dahlonega’s shops and galleries in the town square; then
enjoyed ice tea on the patio of
Shenanigan’s. The southern tradition of ice tea is one of things I have come to love
about living here, something I really missed while living in Baja. For Memorial Day weekend the courthouse and
square was filled with American Flags. I came
of age near Berkeley during the Vietnam War and joined my fellow students in
protest marches against the war. As much as I would like to say I am proud to
see the ol’ red, white and blue flying, I can’t really say that. I’m very
saddened by the fact this country is still at war in parts of the world and
young people are still dying in the name of servicing this country. I was born
on the 3rd of July so, there was always the big 4th of
July celebration right around my birthday with lots of flag waving, as a small child I thought it was for my birthday along with the fireworks. In Baja
every town center has a giant Mexican flag waving and the most popular
presentation of Mexican food is to have the colors of the flag on the plate,
green, red, and white, which is kind of
fun. My hope for our future Memorial Day Celebrations is that we are
Celebrating Peace.
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| In front of a shop |
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| Fudge Shop |
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| Dahlonega Square-Old Courthouse |
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| Gallery on the Square |
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