• New Harmonies will tour 12 communities in Georgia from April 2012 through November 2013, highlighting the state’s distinctive contributions to American roots music.
• New Harmonies features interactive panels, listening kiosks, and tailored display cases that inspire each host community to explore and showcase its local music heritage.
• New Harmonies will begin it’s tour of Georgia in Calhoun at the Harris Arts Center at 212 South Wall Street on April 14 through May 24.

April 21, 7:30 pm India Gaylean and Jule Medders Present the Musical Heritage of the Chitwood and Medders Family $10 Adults $8 Students

April 25, 3 pm Dalton Dulcimers at 1st United Methodist Church, Dalton, Chapel. Free-will offering.

April 27 & 28, 7:30 pm Community Chorus, “Show Business”  $15 General Admission $12 HAC Members/Seniors $8 Students

April 29, 3 pm “How Many In Your Quartet” Award winning Gordon Central Barbershop Quartet and others. All tickets $5.

May 5, 10 am – 2:30 pm Shape Note Singing, Harmony Primitive Baptist Church. Lunch on the grounds at noon. Free-will offering.

May 11, 8 pm Frank Lee, banjo, and Mick Kinney, fiddle. Free Admission.

May 12, Noon until ? The Georgia String Band Festival and Gordon County Fiddler’s Convention. Northwest Georgia Fairgrounds $10, Children under 12 free.

May 12, All Day, 50th Anniversary Celebration, Founding of New Echota State Historic Site. Cherokee Singer Barbara McAlister. $6.50/$4.50.

May 16, Noon, Lunch and Learn, Bartow History Museum, Cartersville. Laney House with a musical timeline of the career of Clayton McMichen $5.50/$4.50.

May 19, 1 – 3 pm United Shape Note Singers, Allen Chapel AME Church. Free-will offering.

The Georgia String Band Festival

Northwest Georgia Fairgrounds, Hwy 53 at Liberty Road

Friday evening at the Harris Arts Center, May 11th, at 8PM, the opening performance will include Frank Lee, banjo wizard with the Freight Hoppers, premier Old Time Band from Bryson City N.C. He will be performing with Mick Kinney of The Georgia Crackers, as well as both sharing some of their knowledge concerning our local pioneer recording artists who actually started what we now know as Country Music here in Gordon County. They will be joined by special guests, who have close ties to this heritage music. This is a free concert open to the public.

May 12th, Saturday Noon brings “The Gordon County Fiddler’s Convention” roaring back from it’s 1924-1940 run, during which as many as 5,000 attended, as well as all the great music stars of the day. Calhoun was ground zero in this very popular music, and known far and wide as home to top talent of national importance.

Based on the traditional competitions, top players from four states will compete for generous cash prizes and medals for three slots in Fiddle, Banjo, String Band, Buck Dancing and Traditional Singing. There are plans to also include a youth category, depending on participation, the top three of which will be awarded commemorative medal-ribbons.

There will be numerous jams throughout the fairgrounds, which will include buck and tap dancers. This music is a delight to children of all ages, and the event most family-friendly.

Saturday, May 12, 2012
Noon until – Dark-Thirty
$10 General Admission, Children 12 & under – Free

Gordon County Fiddler’s Convention

Competition Times:

Buck dancing – 1:15 pm, $75/$50/$25

Banjo – 2:00 pm, $100/$75/$50

String Band – 3:00 pm, $500/$300/$200

Fiddle – 5:00 pm, $200/$100/$75

Square Dance with Caller – 7:00 pm

Junior Players Competition – Age 15 & Under – Medals awarded to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place

Based on last year’s participation, the very best musicians from surrounding states will be here to vie for first place and generous cash prizes. The Junior Players Competition is a new category for 2012. Spontaneous jam sessions are encouraged throughout the day. Bring your instrument and join in or bring your lawn chair to “set a spell” and soak up the entertainment. The strains of old-time and contemporary music will fill the air from two stages. A traditional dance will end the festivities after dark, complete with caller. Food vendors are on location.
Volunteers needed!

3rd Prize $250

Calhoun’s Got Talent is back again for the third year in a row. Come share your talent – do you sing, dance, play an instrument? Are you a magician or comedian? The age limit has been lowered this year to 16 and up. Contestants must pre-register for an audition date and time. Once our showcase of “stars” has been selected, the audience votes to select winners. The application will be online as details finalize.

• Auditions will be held April 30, May 1 and 2, 5:30 until 8 pm
• Rehearsal Dates for the first show are July 7 & 15, 3 pm July 17 & 19, 6:30 pm (1st Show July 21)
• Rehearsal dates for the second show are July 17 & 19, 6:30 (2nd Show July 28)
• Rehearsal Dates for the Finale are July 31 and August 2 (Final Show August 4)

For more details please contact Alan Rabon, Program Coordinator at 706-629-2599

Download CGT Entry Form 2012

Cost for summer camp is $75 HAC Members and $90 Non-Members. Space is limited!  Contact Alan Rabon at 706-629-2599 to register today!

Click here to download a Registration Form.

Missoula Children’s Theatre presents BEAUTY LOU AND THE COUNTRY BEAST, an original country western adaptation of the classic fairy tale BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Beauty Lou is the oldest daughter of the bronc-bustin’ balladeer Buck. At the local county fair, young Beauty Lou is upset by the ungrateful behavior of a miner who has won the blue ribbon for his beautiful roses. She calls him a beast and wishes that he would look like one too. Years later, when in danger of losing the family farm, Buck meets the miner-turned-beast. Beauty Lou agrees to befriend the Beast in order to save her family. Beauty Lou and the Beast both learn to look beyond appearances and first impressions and to see the beauty that dwells inside. The story, set in the American West, also features Beauty Lou’s six sisters, her Imaginary Friend, her dog Fleabite Clyde, farmhands Slim and Dusty, the neighborly Country Folk and the Barnyard Critters.

This year Art Camp is limited to ages 7 – 13. There will be two sessions to choose from either the morning session from 9 am – 11:30 am or the afternoon session 1:00 pm until 3:30 pm. Camp is limited to 14 students per camp so register early.

2 ½ hour sessions

Art Camp Cost: $75 HAC Member $ 90 Non Member

You must fill out a registration form and mail it in or drop it by the Harris Arts Center with your payment.

Click here to download a Registration Form.

Space is limited to 6 students only so please register early.

ABOUT Dan DeFoor:

Having completed his Doctorate in Art Education in 2004 from the University of Georgia, Dan has taught art since graduating from Berry College with a B. S. in Fine Arts in 1975. He took his first wheel throwing class at Berry in 1972. Since then, ceramics has been one of the artist’s passions. In college he studied under Robin Voight and Jere Lykins and continued to seek out mentors in the ceramic arts through graduate work at Georgia State, where he completed his master’s degree, studying with ceramist Don McCance. During almost 40 years of artistic exploration he has participated in 49 regional and local exhibits and juried shows. After a 32 year long career teaching high school art in Lithia Springs and Douglasville, Dan retired in 2007. Since that time he has worked as an adjunct professor of ceramics, sculpture and education at Shorter University.

The Artist’s Reception will be from 2-4 pm Sunday June 3rd.

Registration deadline is July 2. Should the number of submissions exceed gallery capacity, entries will be accepted on a first-come basis.

All artwork must be delivered the week of July 2 – 6.

Arts Show Brochure 2012.

The Georgia Humanities Council, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, selected Calhoun as the first site in the state to present the traveling exhibition that shares America’s story by examining the origins of American music. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a partner in the Georgia exhibits, will send orchestra members to each community for special programs exploring musical heritage.

In Georgia, New Harmonies will travel from 2012 through 2013, stopping in Calhoun April14–May 26 and then going for six weeks each to Americus, Bremen, Darien, LaGrange, Moultrie, Madison, Nashville, Perry, Thomson, Toccoa, and Waycross.

New Harmonies highlights distinct types of American music, including blues, country, folk, gospel, Native American, and sacred harp. The exhibit also features interactive panels, listening kiosks, and tailored display cases that allow each community to explore and showcase its own local music heritage. “New Harmonies provides the perfect opportunity to rediscover and celebrate Georgia’s roots music traditions,” according to the Georgia Humanities Council president, Jamil Zainaldin.

Calhoun’s musical heritage–Jim and Andrew Baxter, the Georgia Yellow Hammers, Roland Hayes, and many others–and its Native American presence at New Echota made it a strong contender for the hotly contested competition among Georgia towns.

Host communities will stage companion programming for all ages, including festivals, concerts, jams, contests, and related music exhibits. Tour details (including venues and event dates) are forthcoming. For additional information on New Harmonies in Georgia, visit http//www.georgiahumanities.org.

New Harmonies is a part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Federation of State Humanities Councils. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.