The Times-Herald
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Friday, September 2, 2011 — 1B
Powers’ Festival readies for 41st edition Labor Day weekend tradition for Coweta Sept. 3-5 begins fifth decade By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com With expanded food selections and greatly enhanced entertainment planned for the annual Powers’ Festival this Labor Day weekend 2011, Coweta Festivals Inc. is once again emphasizing that Powers’ is really three festivals in one. They are the “Festival of Arts and Crafts,” the “Festival of Food,” and the “Powers’ Festival 3 Day Concert for Charity.” The three festivals of
Powers’ is not a new idea, but “I think that it kind of got lost along the way. So it has been freshened up now,” said Pam Mayer, marketing director for this year’s Powers’ Festival. This is the 41st year for the arts and crafts festival, which is held each Labor Day weekend spread across the grounds of the historic Powers’ plantation, on the Coweta/Heard county line. Powers’ Festival expects to draw more than 12,000 visitors over the three-day weekend Sept. 3, 4 and 5. The festival is presented by Coweta Festivals Inc., made up
of five non-profit organizations: Newnan-Coweta Art Association, the Coweta County 4-H, the Pilot Club, the Jaycees, and Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce. Through its four decades, proceeds from the festival have gone to the member non-profits and a host of other volunteer organizations, clubs and churches raising funds and awareness of their groups through food sales and service booths. The biggest change is this year’s 3 Day Concert for Charity.
There will be bands all three days on the main Summer House stage, performing country, bluegrass, blues, gospel, and Southern rock music. There will also be entertainment on more intimate side stages in the exhibitor areas. The main stage schedule is included in today’s TimesHerald. You can also listen to songs from some of the featured performers by visiting the festival website, www.powersfestival.org, and clicking on entertainment. In all there will be 21 bands on three separate stages.
Food prepared by some of the member organizations, as well as several local non-profits and churches, has always been a mainstay of the festival. This year, those food vendors will be joined by several additional commercial food vendors, serving food ranging from Hawaiian, Cuban, and Cajun to Philly cheese steaks, roasted corn and “tropical delights.” Lists of the food vendors are also available on the website. “It’s not to take away from the great member organizations,” said Mayer. “But this is
Powers’ Festival 2011 Labor Day Weekend Sept. 3, 4 & 5 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
1971-2011 Celebrating 41 Years!
$7 Admission (Children 6 and under enter free) Free Parking (no pets allowed) Coweta Festivals Inc. Office: 4766 W. Hwy. 34 Newnan, GA 30263 Mailing Address: Post Office Box 1174 Newnan, GA 30264 Phone 770-253-2011 FAX 770-253-8180
Labor Day Weekend 2011 September 3rd, 4th, and 5th • 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Daily Located 12 miles west of Newnan • 4766 West Highway 34 • Newnan, GA
EMAIL cowetafestivals@charter.net GPS coordinates are: N33 20.332 W84 58.778 Directions: From I-85 north or south in Newnan, take Exit 47 Hwy. 34 (Bullsboro Drive). Go west .8 miles. Turn right onto Hwy. 34 Bypass (Millard Farmer Industrial Blvd.) and go 6 miles. Turn right onto Hwy. 34 (Franklin Highway) at 4-way stop and go 8.2 miles.
Free Parking
powersfestival.org
going to attract the festival foodies.” The arts and crafts are, of course, what Powers’ is known for. This year, there is a particular focus on asking the artists to do demonstrations of their work throughout the festival. There will also be special historical craft demonstrations, including blacksmithing, the grist mill, broom making, chair caning, and spinning. A list of 2011 exhibitors is included in today’s TimesHerald. Information on the individual artists and crafters, as well as contact information for many of them, is available on the festival website. Festival hours Saturday through Monday are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gate admission is $7, with children 6 and under admitted free and free parking. If you are lucky enough to have an “I’m A Powers’ Fan” commemorative fan you get $2 off at the gate (one $5 ticket per fan). Coweta Festivals ordered 5,000 of the fans, and they have been distributed to state visitors centers and to various groups. “They have been a big hit … People are just grabbing them like crazy,” said Festival Coordinator Holly Hammonds. They are being offered at Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce on Bullsboro Drive at Farmer Street, the Coweta Visitors Center in the historic courthouse in downtown Newnan, and Arnall Grocery downtown, while supplies last. Advance tickets for the festival have been on sale for some weeks in Newnan, Hammonds said. Pre-sale tickets for $5 can be bought through Friday at the Coweta Visitors Center in the historic courthouse, the Chamber of Commerce and Scott’s Bookstore downtown. To reach the festival grounds, from I-85 north or south in Newnan, take Exit 47 Hwy. 34 (Bullsboro Drive). Go west .8 miles. Turn right onto Hwy. 34 Bypass (Millard Farmer Industrial Blvd.) and go 6 miles. Turn right onto Hwy. 34 (Franklin Road) at 4way stop and go 8.2 miles. To park, just before you arrive at Thomas Powers Road and Charlie B. Johnston Road, (on Highway 34 West) you will turn left into a large field. The field is just before the Powers' Festival office, located at 4766 W. Hwy. 34, Newnan, Georgia 30263. GPS coordinates are: N33 20.332 W84 58.778 For festival details check at www.powersfestival.org or call 770-253-2011 or email cowetafestivals@charter.net.
Nearly 200 exhibitors expected at Powers’ Festival By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com Nearly 200 artists, craftspeople, and demonstrators will be exhibiting at this Labor Day weekend’s Powers’ Festival — Sept. 3, 4, and 5. There will be several new exhibitors, as well as returning favorites — including stained glass artist Charles Adams and toy maker Lucy Moore, who have been at Powers’ for every one of its 41 years. There will also be some special demonstrations, including the “Winged Ambassadors” birds of prey, who be at the festival all weekend and will perform Monday morning. The Chattahoochee Valley Poultry Association will also be on hand with displays of fancy poultry, and R.L. Hughey and Deborah McNeil will do the “What is Art?” exhibit. That exhibit, a collection of sculptures, will be a focal point when visitors to the festival walk in the gate, said Holly Hammonds, festival coordinator. Also new this year will be fresh produce for sale at the country store. The vendor has been selling produce for over 20 years, Hammonds said, and is well known at the Cotton Pickin’ Fair in Gay, Ga. “His produce is absolutely gor-
geous,” she said. New exhibitor Jasumati Patel will be selling pitcher plants and bonsai, Hammonds said. Other new and different exhibitors include Artisan Breads, bringing an assortment of fresh baked products each day, and several artists who create “wearable art,” including one artist who does bejeweled and embellished belt buckles. There has been a concerted effort over the past several years to take the festival back to its roots of fine arts and crafts. “Before our 40th birthday last year, we decided that we had gone too far astray from our fine arts and crafts festival,” said Barbara Wetherington, vice president of umbrella coordinating group Coweta Festivals Inc. Coweta Festivals, made up of five local non-profit organizations, puts on the annual event. “We worked hard to eliminate commercial booths and all buy/sell merchandise, and proved we were now going in the right direction,” Wetherington said. “This year, we have received an astounding number of applications thanks to word-ofmouth from our 2010 artists
See FESTIVAL, page 5B What began as the Powers’ Crossroads Country Fair and Art Festival in 1971 and became the grandaddy of arts and crafts festivals in the Southeast, is beginning its fifth decade of service to Coweta County this Labor Day weekend.