Georgia: Your Home for the Holidays

ATLANTA, November 13, 2008 - Always a time for family, friends, and fun, the winter holiday season marks a spectacular time to be out and about in Georgia. Our mild temperatures make going out a pleasure. And with everything from light shows to performances, snow parks to historical home tours, you are sure to capture the joy of the season.

Georgia's cities are busting at the seams with special events and celebrations. Visit the coast and head to St. Simons Island for the 24th annual Christmas Tour of Homes. On December 13th, explore five elegant island homes aglow with discerning holiday decorations, then venture to the holiday marketplace with what participants declare the 'best bake sale in the Southeast.' Or, go on the Historic Holiday Candlelight Tour of five house museums in Augusta, featuring destinations such as The Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson.

In Santa Claus, Georgia you can delight your loved ones by having your Christmas cards postmarked at Santa Claus City Hall. Depart for Milledgeville, where the décor, candlelight tours, and concerts of Antebellum Christmas at the Old Governor's Mansion will take you back to another era. In the north Georgia mountains, the city of Dahlonega is alive with its Art Show and Sale and Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration. Parades, crafts, gift ideas, wine tastings, live theater, musical acts and more are just waiting to be enjoyed.

Or, stop by New Echota Historic Site in Calhoun for a one-mile walking Christmas Candlelight Tour that celebrates with decorations, music and refreshments reminiscent of the 19th century Cherokee Nation Capital.

Get outside and enjoy the crisp air of Georgia's mild winter while celebrating the season. They sure know how to do that at Stone Mountain, where Atlanta's first snow park, Snow Mountain, is about to open. Three football fields worth of deep snow (200 tons made fresh daily!) include a 400 foot tubing hill and a 30,000 square foot play area.

Winterfest at Tanglewood Farm in Canton offers old fashioned holiday fun.
Step back in time to the 1800s and visit past Christmases in the Wild West Town, complete with a trading post stocked with holiday gifts. Sip hot cider or cocoa while you enjoy a sleigh ride, and let the kids see, pet and feed more than 100 miniature farm animals. The Festival of Lights illuminates Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta with family activities, reindeer, live shows, Santa, Rudolph and more.

Some more open air holiday experiences are the Atlantic Station Horse and Carriage Rides that tour beautifully decorated sheets under the Midtown Atlanta skyline, or The Steel Mill Express Children's Train, a charming miniature train ride for all ages recalling the industrial heritage of the area.

Now in its 17th year, Callaway Gardens' Fantasy in Lights turns Pine Mountain into one of the premier light-seeing destinations of the season. With more than a dozen scenes made from custom designed frames, 8 million lights and 444 speakers, this award winning event is a must see for any holiday light enthusiast. At Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, the holiday cheer stays outside with the city's only Outdoor Ice Skating Rink and the signature Holiday in Lights, where the 21-acre park transforms into a winter wonderland decorated with thousands of lights.

Holiday shows usually abound during the season, and the Atlanta Ballet continues this tradition. The magnificent Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker, a classic for more than 40 years, will be playing in The Fabulous Fox Theatre. Ballethnic's Urban Nutcracker is a contemporary African American interpretation of the time-honored play. Set on Atlanta's own Auburn Avenue in the 1940s, Urban Nutcracker will bring a multiracial cast of professional ballet dancers and over 70 youngsters to Georgia Tech's Robert Ferst Center for the Arts.

Also at the center this winter is Eileen Ivers An Nollaig performing carols and holiday favorites in An Irish Christmas. Described by the New York Times as 'the Jimmy Hendrix of the violin,' Eileen Ivers is recognized as one of the world's best fiddlers.

A few traditional events are a must for everyone's calendar. See famous American artist Norman Rockwell's Home for the Holidays exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, showing some of his most celebrated holiday cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post. His memorable images offer a nostalgic glimpse into the past.

The 31-year-old Festival of Trees is moving to a new location at the Savannah College of Art and Design's Atlanta campus. Over the years, this philanthropic holiday event has raised more than $17 million for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. SCAD-Atlanta is hosting a December 5th gala where more than 30 trees decorated by students will be on display, and the 28th annual Children's Christmas Parade is planned for the morning after.

Macy's storybook ride, The Pink Pig, has been a tradition since 1953 and continues through January. Stop by and take a ride on Priscilla before watching the Lighting of the Great Tree, another Macy's institution. Experience the magic of Holiday Island on Jekyll Island, with more than a month of musical performances, sporting tournaments, holiday history tours, movies and celebrations on Georgia's coast. Bring the whole family to the largest New Year's Eve celebration in the southeast: the venerable Peach Drop at Underground Atlanta, with a performance by popular country music artist Julianne Hough.

With so much to do, it promises to be another unforgettable holiday season in Georgia. So if you catch yourself wondering what to do, just remember all the feasts, festivals, and fun popping up all over state, and visit www.exploregeorgia.org to find more.