Plenty Of “Ho, Ho, Ho!” Highlights The Holiday Season
ALONG GEORGIA’S HOSPITALITY HIGHWAY
Visitors celebrate the holiday season in style along Georgia 400, Georgia’s “Hospitality Highway,” with a plethora of opportunities for shopping, romance, history, music, nostalgia, and family festivities
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October, 2007 – Just in time for the holiday season, here comes Santa Claus – along with frosty snowmen, red-nosed reindeer, merry gentlemen, little elves, herald angels, and even jingle bells – and they all transform North Georgia’s “Hospitality Highway,” the verdant, tree-lined Georgia 400 corridor that winds it way from Sandy Springs to Dahlonega, into a winter wonderland of endless Christmas and Hanukkah festivities and shopping opportunities. Each community along the Hospitality Highway, which includes Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Cumming, Dawsonville, and Dahlonega, will be jam-packed with myriad exciting activities during the upcoming holidays. While a few samples of holiday-themed festivities are listed here, visit www.hospitalityhighway.com and the individual community websites for an entire parade of endeavors and amusements during this season of warmth and giving.
From “Metro to the Mountains”, Communities Celebrate the Holidays in Style
Silver bells and jingle bells ring and ting-a-ling in the North Fulton city of Sandy Springs, the closest community to Atlanta along the Hospitality Highway. Brimming with glittering lights and lots of glamour during the holidays, this side of Sandy Springs is balanced by a visit to the circa-1869 Williams-Payne House, a homespun and historic restored farmhouse and community center that is the heartbeat of the city. Sandy Springs, with both cosmopolitan and natural components, encompasses part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area for plenty of outdoor activities; yet it also offers just about everything from gourmet dining to finger-lickin’ good barbecue and from specialty shops and boutiques to bustling department stores. For a look at all that Sandy Springs has to explore during the holidays or any time of the year, visit www.visitsandysprings.org or call toll-free 1.866.511.7742.
Sleigh bells ring during Christmas in historic and charming Roswell with a long wish list of things to do during its month-long celebration, Christmas in Roswell that simmers with the magic and wonder of the season. Amidst this place of red brick, white columns, small town charm, crisp winter skies, and the glow of candlelight, visitors can enjoy strolling the beautifully decorated Roswell Historic District, attending musical performances and theater productions including a reenactment of Mittie Bulloch’s 1853 Christmas-time wedding to Theodore Roosevelt, and touring notable history-laden homes like Barrington Hall, Smith Plantation Home, and Bulloch Hall, all decked out in the splendor of the season. Roswell’s many galleries, boutiques, antique shops and restaurants all celebrate the holidays with true Southern hospitality; offering shoppers warm greetings and treasures galore. For more information, contact the Roswell Convention & Visitors Bureau at www.cvb.roswell.ga.us or telephone 1.770640.3253; toll-free 1.800.776.77935.
‘Tis the season to celebrate even more with a visit to Alpharetta, a holiday shopper’s paradise (or any time of the year, for that matter!) with seven distinct shopping districts including antiques at Queen of Hearts, folk art at Matilda’s, and culinary delights at Harry’s Farmers Market. Into the shopping mix, add the town’s 30th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at Milton Avenue and Main Street on December 2 at five o’clock in the afternoon. Named a “Top 20 Event in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society, the ceremony commences an evening of music, dance, and children’s activities. Additionally, Alpharetta’s annual hometown holiday celebration, now in its second year, is a blend of trendy and traditional festivities, all beginning on November 1 when visitors can log on to www.AwesomeAlpharetta.com and register for a “Holiday Gift Extravaganza” for a chance to win gift certificates and merchandise valued at more than $1,500. Alpharetta is more than shopping, though! With gourmet dining, top-of-the-line spas, and hotels galore, Alpharetta adds sparkle and shine to the holidays. For more holiday details, visit the website or call the Alpharetta Welcome Center at 1.678.297.0102 or call toll free 1.800.294.0923.
Jingle all the way to Cumming and Forsyth County, where the stage is set for their annual Christmas Parade and Festival, followed by the Celebration of Lights on Saturday, December 1, beginning at 3:30 p.m., on Marketplace Boulevard. Reminiscent of small-town pageantry and complete with marching bands, floats, and Santa Claus riding in on his sleigh, the parade ends on the campus of Northside Hospital-Forsyth, where the spectacular Celebration of Lights begins and the pinnacle event is the lighting of the magnificent tree perched atop the hospital. Visitors can also catch a few falling stars from November 23 through December 21 at the Cumming Playhouse (www.playhousecumming.com) for concerts, festivals, and productions including the time-honored “A Christmas Carol.” Located in the historic and beautiful Old School House, visits to the Playhouse are complemented by meals at Tam’s Backstage Restaurant (located at the Old School House). For more information on Christmas in Cumming, visit www.cummingforsythchamber.org or call 1.770.887.6461.
For a “most wonderful time of the year”, visit downtown Dawsonville during the holidays. There is more to Dawsonville than its being the home of the North Georgia Premium Outlets, one of the finest shopping experiences in Georgia, and the inspiring-yet-fascinating Kangaroo Conservation Center. Come December, visitors can get into a hoppin’ good spirit of the season with the “Ye Ole Fashioned Christmas” and tree lighting ceremony, which kicks off Christmas in Dawsonville on December 7, at 6:00 p.m. Moreover, from December 1-21, visit the Bowen Center for the Arts for the “Home for the Holidays National Fine Art Exhibit.” Since its inception more than a dozen years ago, the event, a mixed-media art exhibit containing juried artwork from local and national artists, has drawn guests from across the world and has helped make Dawsonville a cultural focal point for North Georgia. Contact the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1.706.265.6278; toll-free 1.877.302.9271 or visit www.dawson.org.
Dance into Dahlonega with the sugarplum fairies for their month-long Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration. The mountain town truly lights up for the holidays on Saturday, December 1 with the enchanting Lighting of the Square celebration and a real hometown Christmas parade. Festivities continue almost daily through New Year’s with lively venues including caroling, music and entertainment, wine tastings from area wineries, holiday readings by Mrs. Claus, and visits by Old St. Nick himself. For an added touch of nostalgia, the historic Holly Theater will have a live performance of Annie November 30th - December 16th; and Celtic Christmas, a Celebration of the Season with Song, Music, Dance and Poetry, December 22nd at 8:00 p.m. www.hollytheatre.com. A more detailed schedule of holiday events and information on packages offered by local innkeepers are easily found at www.dahlonega.org or by calling the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1.706.864.3513 or toll-free 1.800.231.5543.
Georgia’s Hospitality Highway, a stretch of Georgia 400, that meanders from Fulton County to Lumpkin County and includes the communities of Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Dawsonville, Dahlonega, and Sandy Springs, contains a fusion of restaurants, shopping, historic sites, outdoor activities, and much more, all amidst some of the most dazzling scenery in all of the state. For more information, including links to additional websites and photography, visit www.hospitalityhighway.com.
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Media Contact:
Dotty Etris,
Historic Roswell CVB;
1.770.640.3253; 1.800.776.7935
info@cvb.roswell.ga.us
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