best interest.
Jason Stump Mortgage Lender
Our expertise is in your best interest.
FREE
Nat Higdon Vice President, Commercial Lending
www.yourtownie.com
www.tcfederal.com Thomasville's Only
Issue No.
November 18-30 VOLUME 5
Working in your best interest.
Heather Taylor Personal Banker
Q&A with Melissa June:
What are the key changes between this year and last year’s productions? As usual, we like to change things up from year to year. We have a very talented pool of dancers and choreographers that we will showcase for this year's Nutcracker. I am very excited to showcase a new Snow Scene with new choreography and new costumes. Both will blow people's socks off! We also have an entirely new second act featuring all new Sweets and also a new Waltz of the Flowers. We will be featuring two of our graduating Seniors as Sugar Plum Fairy. Alejandra Daniel and Emily White will have the honor to dance the coveted role.
2.
November 18-30 VOLUME 5
Quoted in the Ville
as their dancing. We have also added many other new costumes in all of the scenes to keep our audiences delighted to come back each year and see something different. It is going to be an exciting show for sure! 4.
Who are the principal dancers for this year’s production?
Our principal dancers this year are David Brandon, playing the role of the Nutcracker Prince. David comes to us from Jacksonville University as a dance major. He is an amazing partner for our Clara, who is played by Sydney Ellen Rawlings. She is a Senior at Thomasville High School's Scholar's Academy. She is planning on majoring in dance after she graduates. Our Sugar Plum Fairy will be a shared role played by two more graduating seniors, Alejandra Daniel and Emily White. This is the most sought after role in the entire ballet and these girls have reached the level necessary to perform this beautifully. We are so proud of them. Their prince will be played by Ben Howard, a soloist from Tallahassee Ballet. He really compliments these dancers beautifully and we are grateful to Tallahassee Ballet for lending such a talented dancer to us!
Why did you decide to implement these changes? As a choreographer, I really try to showcase the talent of the dancers that we have in front of us. I am not a one size fits all kind of director. I try to have each individual dancer shine by giving them movement that plays to their strengths and makes them feel beautiful! I have also added a wonderful choreographer to our SGB family. Alongside me and Kaitlyn Christensen, who is heaven-sent, Rebecca Ross has joined us. She brings a fresh and exciting new perspective on the story. She comes to us from New York and has danced in many Nutcrackers during her career. Her choreography has added so much dimension and musicality to our performance. She really understands musical syncopation and pays special attention to nuances in the music to make the dancer the visual vehicle for Tchaikovsky's beautiful score.
3.
FREE
Thomasville's Only
www.tcfederal.com
Townies can always look forward to the production of South Georgia Ballet’s, The Nutcracker. I asked Melissa June, SGB’s artistic director and outreach education director, some questions about this year’s production.
Heather Taylor Personal Banker
20
All about SGB’s The Nutcracker
1.
Working in your best interest.
What can the audience look forward to seeing in this year’s production?
5.
What are the cost and time details for the performances?
The performances are Thanksgiving weekend on Saturday, November 26th at 7:30p and Sunday, November 27th at 2:30p. Tickets are available through our website at southgeorgiaballet.org and will have links that will send you to the performance of your choice. Tickets are sold online through Eventbrite and you will be able to choose your own seats at Thomasville Municipal Auditorium. Tickets range from $15-$25.
6.
On Thanksgiving I prepare a traditional dinner, and my house is filled with my children, their spouses, my grandchildren and we also include the parents of my son in laws so that everyone can celebrate together. Everyone brings a favorite dish to share. We do this so that children don't have to be torn between which family to spend time with. We make it an all inclusive gathering. It is wonderful and one of my favorite holidays! And what could possibly be better than leftovers the next day?
—Kerey C. I like being around my entire family, it's the only time I get to be around all of them. And I don't know?! Food.
—Landon L. Family. Not just family, but it's the one holiday where nothing is expected, no gifts, just getting together with your family and being thankful you have each other.
—Megan J. The stuffing.
— Denise P.
Victorian Christmas is coming! Victorian Christmas complete with caroling, carriage rides and a live nativity scene, to name a few. Visitors look forward to hitting the bricks and getting some tasty treats like funnel cakes, hot chocolate, shrimp and grits and piping hot corn on the cob. It’s also exciting to be able to hit up your favorite stores after hours and knock out some Christmas shopping. Below are some of the highlights for this year’s event. {For the full schedule of events, visit www.thomasvillega.com.}
—Ursula P. Thanksgiving usually brings out the best in people. It’s the one day people would rather give than receive. And it’s my birthday this year.
Turkey, stuffing, football and family.
—Chris P.
Carriage Rides
•
Santa's Helpers Gingerbread Man and Baker
•
Live Nativity presented by First Baptist Church - Jefferson St. next to the Historic Courthouse
•
Community Sing-A-Longs
•
Live Musical Performances
•
Community Performances
•
Live Freeze Models at The New Image
•
Snow Angels
•
Fun Victorian Photo Booth Cutouts
•
Christmas Face Painting
•
Delicious Food Vendors of all types
•
Live Demonstration Stations
•
Visits with St. Nick
•
Toy Soldier, Nutcracker and Snow Queen Stilt Walkers
•
Strolling Carolers Dressed in Fine Victorian Fashion presented by First Baptist Church
•
Marshmallow Toasting and Chestnut Roasting by Boy Scouts
•
Old Fashioned Carousel
•
Plein Air Artists provided by Accidental Gallery
•
Main Stage with Live Entertainment
Entrepreneur, wife and mother of two doesn’t even begin to sum up Missy Taylor. She’s a fun and spunky creative who almost always can be found giving back to the community. She wears a contagious smile and has a heart for those in need. Are you originally from Thomasville or what brought you here? My husband lived here already. I moved here while we were dating. What is it that you like best about living in Thomasville? As I have become more involved in community events, I have met some incredibly smart, hard working women that truly care about making Thomasville the best place to live and I love that. What kind of work do you do? I own a business with my friend Gerriann Kennedy. Together we opened the store, Flourish, about a year and a half ago. Is that a specialty shop? I think that is one way to describe us. We like to refer to ourselves as an encouragement store. When we first decided to start this project, it was and still is based on Gerriann’s breast cancer journey. We even tossed around the name Stupid Cancer Store when we were discussing what to call it.
CHUMS
What is the overall mission of Flourish? As we talked about what we wanted our store’s true mission to be, it became pretty clear that yes, we are able to help people going through treatment, but we can be more. Everyone is going through something, no? So our mission is practical and affordable items that are encouraging to help one feel better.
Turkey and stuffing, hay rides in the beautiful weather and memories of family and my grandmother as we celebrate it on her farm.
So what kind of things would you find in an encouragement store?
—Allison M.
Well, we do carry items specifically for cancer survivors, but we also have products for everyone. I recently returned from the All Baby Child show to find ways to expand our maternity, nursing and baby line. We do everything from makeup to bamboo pjs.
I appreciate someone else who wants to do most of the cooking and I bring the salad or dessert! My favorite is the dressing and giblet gravy!
—Evelyn B. Thanksgiving is seriously not just about the food. It’s largely about the food, and the people who prepare the food. For example, my Aunt Ruby makes the most amazing biscuits and coconut cake on the planet. My mom and her pumpkin roll can’t be beat, but my favorite part is sitting around the table listening to the conversations that surround us. That’s the best part about Thanksgiving.
—Martha M. As I’ve gotten older, it’s different. When I was younger, my favorite part was always about playing football in the yard with my cousins. Now that I’m older I just really enjoy a good home cooked meal. I mean I cook but it’s different when it’s somebody else.
—Sondra T.
•
Missy Taylor
What inspired you to create an encouragement store?
—Shayne S.
This is a great tradition to start off your holidays and get you in the spirit of Christmas. The audience will be amazed at the tremendous talent that our area has to offer and will leave delighted and want to come back again and again. We also want to thank our many sponsors but especially our season sponsor, Thomas County Federal, for their continued support of our programs and our show sponsor, CNS. We appreciate all of the support that we receive from our amazing community.
Alongside the new choreography, the audience will enjoy seeing many familiar faces from around the community! We have the Fabulous Jeff and Della Lovett who join us every year alongside Grady Enlow, Susan O'Neal, Bob Miles, Tim Daniel, Chris Holt, Ethan Lovett, Laura Norman, Sarah Daniel and even my own husband, Kyle June! As well as our fabulous community dancers that play the adult party guest roles, we will be featuring many new costumes. The Snow Scene has been completely redone from head to toe. Their costumes are as breathtaking
The draw for many people to attend Victorian Christmas is the ability to transport themselves to an 1890s Christmas. Each year, the event is a joy for children and adults alike as it allows visitors to enjoy a typical
—Cherie L
What else would you like to add?
Victorian Christmas has been a Thomasville Christmas staple for going on 30 years. Each year the event attracts approximately 30,000 people to downtown Thomasville with out-of-towners making up about half of those attendees. This year’s event takes place on December 8 + 9 from 6-9p.
What do you love most about Thanksgiving?
CHUMS
Whispers
What do you look for when you are looking for items to carry? Our focus is ensuring that our products are natural, safe and nontoxic. The store is kind of tucked away, why aren’t you downtown? We get asked quite often why we aren’t located downtown. Downtown has an incredible amount of foot traffic, which would be nice, but we really wanted our place to be more approachable to everyone. Many of our customers have weakened immune systems, which we don’t want to jeopardize, and we didn’t want parking to be difficult. Our current location is in the same area as Publix, Lowes and Longhorn Steakhouse. What do you do for fun? There are a variety of things I love to do for fun. I love to travel, but when I’m home, I love to read, spend time with my closest friends who thankfully have girls that are my daughter's closest friends, and binge watch Netflix with my husband. Is there anything that you can recommend to try that is off the beaten path?
Psst... become a $1,000+ Covey sponsor to join the Fireside Chat with Greg Kinnear on 11/23...
It seems like everything I do is off the beaten path these days! My eight year old and I took a trip from Jacksonville to Indianapolis this summer by train. That was a trip we’ll remember forever! — Cherie L
Check out Dowtown Thomasville's Victorian Christmas getaway packages! — Denise P.
+
F r e e
t o
r e a d ,
t h a n k s
t o
t h e s e :
Our Clients Are Our Friends
Where Living is Easy Phone 229-226-3911 www.keysouth.com
to advertise, contact yourtownie@gmail.com
Gourmet Gifts and Specialty Pecans Open Year Round