Toccoa Harvest Festival Scheduled for October 30th and 31st

Press Release

Release:  Immediate/Harvest Festival                      

Date:   August 24, 2021

Contact: Sharon Crosby

Email:  scrosby@cityoftoccoa.com

TOCCOA, GA - The 44th annual Toccoa Harvest Festival will be held Saturday, October 30 and Sunday, October 31, 2021. The event typically boasts some 125+ vendors. The fee for craft vendors is $40 per space. Since it is a craft festival all products must be "homemade, home baked or home grown". The Main Street Promotions Committee goes to great lengths to verify that this criterion is met. This is to give crafters a market for selling handmade products without having to sell their products competing with retail product prices.

Many local residents have already been accepted into the festival, as well as crafters from nearby communities in Northeast, Middle and South Georgia, and South Carolina, and as far away as Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Types of crafts being sold at the event include handmade quilts, soaps, fountains, jewelry, wooden furniture, wooden accessories, and wooden toys, baskets, pottery, crocheted items, Christmas decorations, wreaths, jellies, pickles, candles, children's clothing, bottle wind chimes, aprons, birdhouses, a variety of baked goods, painted gourds, folk art, blankets, pillows, neck pillows, and painted glass.

The Toccoa Main Street Program wants to invite anyone who has a handmade, home grown, or home baked product to participate in the 44th Annual Toccoa Harvest Festival. For information or to receive an application please contact the Main Street office at 706-282-3309 or go to www.mainstreettoccoa.com to download the application form.

            

Main Street Toccoa Receives GDA Premier Partner Award

Press Release

Date: August 20, 2021
Contact: Christian Hamilton, Main Street Manager
Release: Immediate
RE: Main Street Toccoa Awarded GDA “Premier Partner” Award

TOCCOA, GA – August 20, 2021 – Main Street Toccoa is pleased to announce that, on August 18, 2021, at the Georgia Downtown Association’s Annual Conference held at Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa in Young Harris, GA, Main Street Toccoa was awarded the organization’s “Premier Partner” Award as part of its annual awards ceremony.

The Premier Partner Award recognized the City of Toccoa’s achievements in collaborating with Amtrak to see revitalization work completed at the Amtrak Waiting Platform connected to the Downtown Toccoa Historic Depot. Amtrak and the City of Toccoa collaborated to see an expanded 800-foot platform. In addition to the raised ADA-accessible platform, multiple quality-of-life improvements were installed, including 20 historically-inspired lights selected by city staff. A wheelchair lift and new signage were also installed.

Amtrak spent over $2 million on this project, which serves as both an inspiration and outcome that, while obstacles as large as the platform repair may seem insurmountable, with partnership and dedication, a downtown can see dynamic restoration.

For more information on the award, please contact Main Street Manager Christian Hamilton at 706.898.5777.

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From Left to Right: Christian Hamilton, Main Street Manager; Connie Tabor, Community Development Director; Todd Stennis, Amtrak Senior Manager for Government Affairs, South; Mathew Hill, Georgia Downtown Association President

Community Development Director Connie Tabor Receives "Starr Award"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       Aug. 9, 2021

Contact: Kelli Bennett                                     Amanda Coyne

  Office: 678-686-6242                        Office: 678-538-3794

  Cell: 404-796-5508                           Cell: 404-772-0574

  kbennett@gacities.com                 acoyne@gacities.com

 

Toccoa Community Development Director Connie Tabor Recognized with

Starr Award from Georgia Cities Foundation

 

SAVANNAH – Toccoa Community Development Director Connie Tabor has been recognized for her tireless efforts in restoring her city’s historic downtown district with the Starr Award, presented by the Georgia Cities Foundation (GCF). The award was presented Aug. 9 during the Georgia Municipal Association’s Annual Convention.

Tabor has led the city’s effort to restore its downtown since 1990, securing $1.4 million in state and federal funding and returning the area to its original aesthetic. She established an active Historic Preservation Commission for the ongoing effort, and her work has been recognized by the National Main Street Center as one of the top 10 Great American Main Streets.

Under her direction, the Historic Downtown District in Toccoa sees over 50 annual events, has been awarded 48 grants totaling more than 4.6 million dollars in funding, and has seen over $36 million invested in public and private dollars, creating real jobs and supporting families in the community.

Tabor led the visioning team during the large-scale update to the City of Toccoa’s Comprehensive Plan in 2017 that directly influenced Main Street Toccoa being designated one of the first nine Rural Zones in the State of Georgia in 2018, a PlanFirst community in 2018, and a Georgia Trend Live, Work, Play Community in 2019.

Connie’s forward-thinking approach to downtown development has brought hundreds of jobs into Downtown Toccoa, has garnered community support for the downtown that has increased the quality-of-life in the city, and has instilled a passion for downtown development in all.

About the Georgia Cities Foundation: The Georgia Cities Foundation was originally established in 1999 by the Georgia Municipal Association as a 501(c)(3) organization.   In December 2010, the Foundation was designated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the United States Department of the Treasury's CDFI Fund. For more information, visit www.georgiacitiesfoundation.org.

 

From Left to Right: Connie Tabor, Community Development Director; Susan Starr, Wife of Mike Starr (for whom the award is in memoriam); Pam Sessions, Georgia Cities Foundation President

Night at the Ritz Kicks Off with "Jim Curry and the Music of John Denver"

Press Release

 

Release: Immediate

Contact: Tami Mayhugh, 706.244.0039

Date: August 9, 2021

RE: Season 5 Night at the Ritz begins September 10th

Toccoa, GA August 9 – Are you ready for those country roads to take you home or feel some sunshine on your shoulders? Then join us Friday, September 10^th at 7pm when, Jim Curry presents the Music of John Denver, kicks off Season 5 of Night at the Ritz at the Historic Ritz Theatre.

Jim Curry is not your usual “Vegas style” impersonator. In fact, he is not an impersonator at all. Jim sings, in his own natural voice, a tribute to the music in a way that has to be seen and heard to understand the pure honesty of his amazing performance. His looks and his voice are simply a pleasant coincidence that captures the true essence of John Denver’s music. Curry’s heartfelt delivery rolls out into the crowd as multi-platinum hits like “Rocky Mountain High,” “Annie’s Song” and “Calypso” fill the room. “Take me Home Country Roads” gave America a new lift abroad as well as at home. People all over the world found pride in the natural wonders of the earth and love for John’s message of caring for our planet and each other. Jim has created the ultimate tribute experience and has emerged as the top performer of John Denver’s music today.

Our Night at the Ritz performances are sponsored in part through generous grants from The Georgia Council for the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ritztheatretoccoa.com. Please contact Ritz Theatre General Manager Tami Mayhugh at 706-244-0039 or tmayhugh@cityoftoccoa.com with any questions.

Back-to-School Bash Takes Place this Friday!

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Tami Mayhugh 706.244.0039

Date: 8/2/21

RE: Back-to-School Bash 

Back-to-School Bash

Toccoa, GA- August 2, 2021- School is back in, but the fun doesn’t have to end. Spend Friday, August 6^th from 5:00pm to 9:00pm at the Historic Ritz Theatre for a fun-filled night of inflatable activities, ice-cream, snowcones, school supplies, treats, and a movie, all free of charge.

Main Street Toccoa and the Historic Ritz Theatre are teaming up to bring you our first Back-to-School Bash. Join us outside the theatre from 5:00pm-7:00pm for a giant inflatable obstacle course and ice cream. Members from First Alliance Church Toccoa will be on site serving snow cones along with The Wright Credit Union giving out school supplies. Shantelle Grant, Children’s Librarian at Toccoa Stephens County Library will be offering library card sign-ups and handing out treats. All while supplies last. Monsters University will begin at 7pm inside on the big screen. Concessions will be available for $1 each.

For more information about the Back-to-School Bash, contact Tami Mayhugh, General Manager, Historic Ritz Theatre at 706. 244.0039.