Flight November 2022

A note from our

EDITOR

ity flirting with the smoke of crackling firewood, falling leaves kiss ing cooled-off ground and nostalgia. If I could capture the scent and preserve it in a bottle, its label would read “Thanksgiving,” with the coordinates of my grandmother’s house printed beneath.

They’ll all be gathered there, aunts and uncles and cousins and honorary kinfolk, Grandma toiling in the kitchen since sunrise, hustling back-and-forth between the turkey, the dressing (or stuff ing, for those who pitch their tent in that camp) and pumpkin pie. She’ll have every window flung open, sleeves rolled to her elbows as she hands off a leaning stack of dinner plates, bowls of gravy and a steaming pot of creamed potatoes to join the spread on the dining room table that’s never been quite large enough.

Second and third mugs of black coffee will be filled, pieces of the newspaper and stories of life on the farmland swapped between the family patriarchs while homemade folk songs resound from a cous in’s fiddle.

Someone will ask “the blessin’” and the plates will be piled high again and again, each of us wondering how we aren’t bursting at the seams from it all — the pie, the kinship, the love.

Themore vibrant the maple leaves turn, the more I antici pate the journey to my homeplace — over the river, through the woods and up the interstate toward the dirt-and-gravel path nestled in my favorite foothills.

The tantalizing smell of homemade biscuits fresh from the oven will greet me from the driveway, the aroma of Southern hospital

For us, Thanksgiving is a season of the soul that lingers long after the candles burn out and the coffee grows cold. It’s a testament of unconditional love, the strength and unity that are only woven by shared loss and hardship, a celebration of history and the tie that binds us most of all: family.

Happy Thanksgiving — to you and yours, from me and mine.

Rachel Estes Life Editor

CHICKEN GLEAMS

Gainesville’s Jingle Mingle tradition heralds the holidays

BY TANIYA PIERCE

Here in Gainesville, the holi days don’t start with turkey, but with chicken.

Esteemed the Poultry Capital of the World, Gainesville heralds the season with one of its quirkiest (albeit befitting) events: Jingle Mingle and the Lighting of the Chicken.

The handcrafted 25-foot, 1,500-pound metal fowl sits atop Main Street Market at the intersection of Main and Spring streets, where it was installed nearly 20 years ago.

Although the chicken has changed over time, having been dismantled and rebuilt in 2017 due to rust and age, it remains a beloved fixture in all seasons and the cen terpiece one of Northeast Georgia’s most far-out holiday traditions.

Jingle Mingle was started long ago by the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce as an after-hours business networking event, and eventually blended with Main Street Gainesville’s Lighting of the Chicken, ac cording to the program’s manager Nicole

The reimagined family-friendly event was officially handed off to the city in 2019, and has been ringing in the holiday season ever since.

“Jingle Mingle and the Lighting of the Chicken is how Gainesville kicks off our quirky holiday season,” Parham said. “There’s just such a fun charm with the old buildings that tell the story of the origins of our city. (It’s) a really fun place to gather as a community and enjoy what our town has to offer.”

The cherished tradition returns to Gainesville’s historic downtown square from 4-8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, with crowds expected to flock by the thousands.

With open houses at the shops on the square, live music, carriage rides, Santa arriving on a Gainesville fire engine, the Coca-Cola bear and musical entertainment

Parham.

Bring the Kids

all leading up to the lighting of the chicken, downtown Gainesville will be brimming with holiday cheer.

Jingle Mingle also marks the start of the holiday shopping sea son, fulfilling Main Street Gainesville’s goal to support the small businesses “that make downtown such a wonderful place to be and such a hub for our community to enjoy,” according to Parham.

“We are just so excited for people to come downtown and see all the development that’s been happen ing,” Parham said.

that fun ap peal of how much downtown has grown in the past few years.”

Santa, otherwise known as Curtis “Bear” Sloan, has been part of Jingle Mingle for the past nine years and has borne witness to the growth of both the event itself and the children who attend it with their families.

His favorite part of Jingle Mingle is coming in on the fire truck with his elves and Mrs. Claus, and seeing the faces of the children light up.

“What I’m really happy about is Christmas is coming, and Nov. 19 is the start of one of the best seasons in Gainesville,” Sloan said.

For more on this year’s Jingle Mingle and the Lighting of the Chicken, visit exploregainesville.org/event/jingle-mingle.

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Explore

Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree

BY RACHEL ESTES

There’s no family outing like the annual hunt for the perfect Christmas tree.

Fresh air and holiday cheer are punctuated by the children squab bling; you hiss some no-nonsense parental guidance through gritted teeth as you cor ral everyone for the Kodak moment going out in all your holiday greeting cards and someone still has the nerve to bemoan how bored they are within minutes of getting out of the car.

All to string together a couple of fun old-fashioned Christmas memories year after year, the enduring tradition of the season.

In the words of Clark Griswold, “It’s all

5North Georgia farms to find the perfect Tannenbaum

part of the experience, honey.”

COOPER’S TREE FARM

Starting Nov. 19, you can deck your halls with greenery from Cooper’s Tree Farm. Guests can select their own tree from the choose-and-cut field or take their pick from the available fresh-cut Fra ser firs. This year, most of the trees stand around 9 feet or under.

Where: 5577 Winder Highway, Braselton

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

More info: 678-828-8786 or facebook. com/cooperstreefarm

BUFORD CORN MAZE

The Buford Corn Maze boasts a selec tion of Fraser firs and other Christmas

trees — some of which stand up to 16 feet tall — alongside garland, wreaths, tree stands and bows while supplies last. Onsite flocking is also available. Sales begin Nov. 22, just in time for your Thanksgiving feast(s).

Where: 4470 Bennett Road, Buford

Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday-Thurs day; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday

More info: bufordcornmaze.com/christ mas-trees

HOLLY HILL CHRISTMAS TREE FARM

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, fam ily-owned Holly Hill Christmas Tree Farm in Dahlonega offers a selection of cypress

and pine trees to backdrop this year’s holiday memories, allowing visitors to cut their own or take home a fresh-cut Fraser fir. Handmade wreaths are also available.

Where: 276 Woodland Lane, Dahlonega Hours: 10 a.m. until dark Tuesday-Sat urday; 1 p.m. until dark Sunday; closed Monday

More info: 706-864-8222 or facebook. com/HollyHillTreeFarm

KINSEY FAMILY FARM

Ten varieties of holiday trees are avail able to choose from at Kinsey Family Farm in Gainesville, paired with a variety of ways to harvest: choose and cut your own, pre-cut and living trees in containers. For households wanting to scale down the de cor this year, classic Charlie Brown Christ mas trees are available as well. In the spirit of tradition, visitors will receive a pewter ornament with the purchase of a Christ mas tree, excluding Charlie Brown trees and table toppers.

Where: 7170 Jot Em Down Road, Gaines ville

Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

More info: 770-887-6028, kinseyfami lyfarm.com or facebook.com/kinseyfami lyfarm

BOTTOMS TREE FARM

At Bottoms Tree Farm in Cumming, you’ll find over 5,000 Christmas trees, hundreds of wreaths and handmade gar land stretching to more than 4,000 feet. Cut your own cypress or pine, or choose between the fresh-cut North Carolina Fra ser firs stocked inside the barn from Nov. 19 through Dec. 17.

And, on select Saturdays, Santa Claus will be on site for free family pictures.

Four-legged family members are also invited to participate in the memory-mak ing, so long as they’re leashed for the dura tion of their visit.

Where: 5880 John Burruss Road, Cum ming

Hours: 3-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday; noon to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday

More info: 770-887-2728, bottomstreef arm.com or facebook.com/bottomstreefarm

Forsyth County News, a sister publi cation of The Times, contributed to this story.

Bundt Cakes:

BY RACHEL ESTES

Craving something sweet? Gainesville’s newest bakery aims to bring a little joy to hungry dessert mavens.

Opened earlier this fall in the City Mill Market at New Holland, Nothing Bundt Cakes deals exclusively in Bundt cakes, just as its name suggests — but, according to owner Kristi Janman, they’re nothing like the kind grandma used to make.

“You’re going to be wowed when you taste this cake,” Janman said. “It’s moist, delicious — we bake everything in house every day from fresh ingredients. That’s what makes them so delicious and so amazing. We use real cream cheese, real butter and real powdered sugar. That is what sets us apart, that we bake it here fresh daily. You’re going to taste that when you have a bite.”

Echoed by Area Director of Operations Taylor Tramonte, those who sink their teeth into the treats will find them “fluffy but dense.”

“It helps that we hand-make and swirl them here — there’s a lot of actual love and labor put into these cakes,” Tramonte said. “A lot of meaning goes behind these cakes.”

The menu features nine core flavors, including chocolatechocolate chip, red velvet, white chocolate raspberry, lemon and strawberries and cream.

The cakes are available in four sizes: bite-sized “Bundtinis” sold by the dozen, personal “Bundtlets” and 8- and 10-inch Bundt cakes, all of which are topped with the bakery’s signature cream cheese frosting.

The Gainesville location is Janman’s fourth in the metro At lanta area; the Flowery Branch resident also owns and operates franchise outposts in Kennesaw, Smyrna and Woodstock.

With a “long, rich” background in the hospitality industry, Janman was a corporate client of Nothing Bundt Cakes for years, first discovering the brand at an event she attended with a col

league.

“We took the first bite of this cake and we said, ‘We will never, ever order any other cake,’” Janman said. “And that was true.”

When she retired after a nearly 25-year career, Janman said it wasn’t hard to de cide what her next venture would be.

“It was the very first thing that I said: ‘How about cake?’ I had been in the corpo rate world for so long that I wasn’t close to guests anymore. I wanted to do something where I brought joy to people every day. … For every guest that comes in, I want my team to establish this really genuine con nection with them.”

While the bakery was under construc tion, Janman shared about 100 dozen cakes a week with the Gainesville com munity, from schools to hospital staff and first responders. The philanthropy won’t stop just because the bakery has opened, she said, as community outreach is a core value of the Nothing Bundt Cakes brand.

“It’s one of the ways that we bring joy to the community where we live,” Janman said. “I didn’t anticipate how much I would fall in love with community outreach. This brand is a giving brand; we’re very engaged in the community. We’re very generous in our community, and what we get back is a hundredfold. Honestly, it’s what drives me. Just doing good things in our commu nity. As long as we’re able to do that, we will keep doing it.”

Nothing Bundt Cakes offers cakes for all occasions, from weddings and gradua tions to other significant milestones.

As for birthdays, the bakery is a “onestop birthday shop,” Tramonte said, offer ing balloons, candles and cards along with other locally curated retail items.

While the franchise houses over 400 independently owned and operated baker ies nationwide, at its heart, Nothing Bundt Cakes is still a small business, Janman said.

“There’s no investment partner; it’s me. Local business, small business — this isn’t just some brand out of Dallas coming and doing another location.”

When they visit, Janman has one fer vent wish for her customers: “I envision bringing joy to people when they come through the door.”

For more on Nothing Bundt Cakes, visit nothingbundtcakes.com.

UPCOMINGEVENTS

FALL COLORS PADDLE

VIRTUAL SCIENCE NIGHT

7-8 p.m.

Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-1976.

MOMMY AND ME NATURE PROGRAM

10:30 a.m.

Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $10.

BRENAU DANCE DEPT: ‘ABLAZE’

7:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 3-5

Pearce Auditorium, 202 Boulevard NE, Gainesville. 770-534-6249. $5-$10.

9-11 a.m.

Lake Lanier Olympic Park, 3105 Clarks Bridge Road, Gainesville. $20-$40.

1980S ADULT PROM

6-10 p.m.

Gainesville Civic Center, 830 Green St. NE, Gainesville.

GAINESVILLE BALLET COMPANY:

’THE NUTCRACKER’

HOLIDAY PARADE & FESTIVAL

10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Braselton Town Green, 9924 Davis St., Braselton.

CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING & HOLIDAY MARKET

2-8 p.m.

Downtown Flowery Branch.

WILSHIRE WONDERLAND OF LIGHTS

Nov. 26-Dec. 31

Wilshire Trails, 849 Wilshire Road, Gainesville.

HOLIDAY TREE TRAIL

Nov. 29-Jan. 1.

Atlanta Botanical GardensGainesville, 1911 Sweetbay Drive, Gainesville. $12.95-$14.95.

7:30 p.m.

18; 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19; 2 p.m. Nov. 20

Pearce Auditorium, 202 Boulevard NE, Gainesville. $15-$25.

JINGLE MINGLE & LIGHTING OF THE CHICKEN 4-8 p.m. Gainesville square.

CHRISTMAS ON GREEN STREET

3-7 p.m. Green Street, Gainesville.