James Sept-Oct 2021 web - Flipbook - Page 45
is the company’s first site in
the Southeast and only the
second in the United States.
The Prater’s Mill Country Fair takes place at a
restored grist mill in Dalton, featuring nearly 200
artists who all hand-craft
their items. The fair is a
collection and celebration
of Appalachian traditions
found in few other places.
Live demonstrations include
blacksmithing, spinning,
quilting and woodcarving,
not to mention watching the
mill do what mills do.
Fasching, we have a beerfest that is German beer,
and our new year event is with a German band and
we drop an edelweiss,” said Renee Green, executive director of the Helen Chamber of Commerce.
“You are coming to a Bavarian town and that’s what
we’re going to give you. There are other pretty
mountain towns but we offer an experience found
nowhere else in the U.S.”
Also, when talking about Helen and places to
visit, a “must-see” is the Valhalla Resort Hotel there.
Located just minutes from the main street in Helen
and right next to Unicoi State Park, Valhalla offers
old world charm with true Southern hospitality.
Valhalla strikes an appearance as a European castle dropped into the north Georgia mountains. Every
room features a fireplace and balcony, among other
numerous luxurious interior design accents. Guests
can enjoy golf, deluxe spa services, an outdoor pool
and the restaurant features an executive chef with
go East & see Popular Attractions
Speaking of Bavaria, outside of
Atlanta or Savannah, few events across
the state bring in as many out-of-towners as
Oktoberfest in Helen on the eastern side of the
Chattahoochee National Forest. Indeed, Helen is the
third-most visited city in the state with potentially
2 million visitors turning out in a regular year to celebrate Oktoberfest. The Helen Chamber is already
hard at work preparing for the annual festival. Last
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JAMES
SEPTEMBER/ OCTOB E R 2021
year was slated to be the 50th anniversary of the
event celebrating all things Bavarian (notably, beer)
but was cancelled due to the wicked virus. The
event is back on this year and they will be celebrating their 50th this year instead.
Helen was a logged out logging town in 1969
when some city fathers got together to think of
ways to put a spark back into the little mountain
haven. Being adjacent to the Appalachian Trail,
Helen had a built-in crowd of visitors if it could find
something to attract them. The city brought in local
artist John Kollock who had served in the military
in Germany and knew just the thing. A relatively
short trip up Georgia 400 from Atlanta, Helen is now
home to almost strictly architecture from Southeast
Germany. Even the buildings and businesses have
taken up the theme, at least partially thanks to a
law requiring merchants to remain “in character” of
the town. Businesses like the Alpine Pretzel Haus,
Hansel and Gretl Candy Kitchen and the Old Bavarian Inn help to make the theme complete.
The world’s longest-running Oktoberfest takes
place for most of September and October. German-style bands from across the country play amid
the blowing of alphorns, cowbells ringing and accordion playing. No less than the Today Show recently recommended it as an ideal getaway to travel
“outside the country” without actually having to
use that passport. If you are looking for a break, the
Chattahoochee River runs through the middle of
town and that Appalachian Trail is just a few minutes up the road.
“We do events throughout the year. We are the
third most visited community in the state, but Helen
is a very small community. All our events are German-themed— we do a German Mardi Gras called
a 5 star, 5 diamond pedigree. Valhalla was founded
by Jerry and Gayle Murdock. Jerry was the owner of
Chilay Foods and Gayle was an interior designer in
Atlanta who worked on the restoration of the Jekyll
Island Club before turning her sights on Valhalla.
GO SOUTH (NORTH MEANS YOU’RE IN TENnESsEe)
Back down the road a bit, at the end of Georgia 400, is the city of Dahlonega on the southern
edge of the national forest. Home to North Georgia
College and State University, Dahlonega was home
to the first major gold rush in the United States, in
1829. Situated along the Chestatee River, Dahlonega was home to a mad rush of gold panners and
miners before the seams began to get mined out by
the 1840s and the miners moved west to California. But that gold leaf on the capitol dome is from
there— 43 ounces to be exact, at about the thickness of a gum wrapper. continued on page 46
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