6 MyConnection | Wednesday, August 28, 2013
43rd Annual Powers Festival
Along with farm fresh produce there will be goods from local vendors at the 43rd annual Powers including Wally Bee’s Pure Honey, from Lynn and Wally Batchelor.
Mindy Harrell will be one of the many artists at this year’s annual Powers Festival.
Labor Day weekend brings 43 edition of festival started by Tom Powers From Staff Reports news@newnan.com
cooked vegetables and old-time fried pies to funnel cakes and ice cream. Coweta Festivals, Inc., the umbrella organization for the five local non-profits that own the Powers Festival property, in recent years received a Special Events Use Permit from Coweta County. This special events permit now allows the property to be used for multiple events a year. After receiving this permit, Coweta Festivals, Inc. Board of Directors enlisted the help of Xcessive Sound Inc., an event management company, to organize and produce multiple events a year. The management group has produced such events as a haunted trail with a zombie theme for the Halloween season, a spring bike rally for motorcycle enthusiasts, and a barbecue and beer fest. The recent Sessions at Sunset concerts featuring musical talent
on the festival stage have invited attendees to bring food and drink much like a “mini-Chastain Park” concert at the popular venue in north Atlanta. Proceeds from ticket sales at Powers Festival go back each year to the five local nonprofits, which support projects in the Coweta community. Over more than four decades, hundreds of talented artists and craftsmen from across the nation have gathered each Labor Day weekend to display their works from Saturday through Monday. Powers Festival has become well-known throughout the nation and has been selected several times by the Southeast Tourism Society as one of “The Top Twenty Events” for the month of September. Among the many highlights of the festival is the abundance of delicious country cooking
and festival food, bands and entertainers on the main field stage and locations throughout the festival, and a children’s area that has evolved over the years with activities for the younger attendees. Powers Pavilion, which is the new name for the event venue grounds, has housed Powers Festival for the past 42 years, with this upcoming Labor Day event being the 43rd Powers Festival. Powers Pavilion is working to bring visitors the very best outdoor events and entertainment in West Georgia — more festivals, concerts, and events throughout the year which will allow the management group to put more money back into the community and to charitable organizations. Powers Festival will continue its 43-year-old legacy this Labor Day weekend.
The Labor Day weekend, decades-old Powers’ Crossroads Country Fair and Art Festival, now known as Powers Festival, was formed in 1971 by local and well known artist, Tom Powers. The site of the festival — which in 2013 will see its 43rd year — was on the beautiful grounds of the Powers family plantation at Powers’ Crossroads, off Georgia Highway 34 West between Newnan and Franklin. The property straddles the CowetaHeard county line. Exhibitors were set up along winding paths under shady trees. The goal was to exhibit handmade, one-of-a-kind creations — recalling the time of the late 1800s and early 1900s before automobiles and electricity were commonplace, when residents of the rural South were selfsustaining and made much of the goods they needed. From pottery to leather and textiles to blacksmithing, the artisans demonstrated these age-old talents. Among some of the special exhibits in the early years were a working grist mill, a sorghum syrup mill and cooking operation, a blacksmith, and a display of wagons and buggies from an area collector. There was even a ...and patients Radiation Oncology licensed moonshine still. Onsite at ...and Radiation Oncology Services knows shouldn’t have Services the festival hand-thrown pottery shouldn’t to travel far for excellent cancer care.knows In fact,patients we know all abouthave to artisans at their wheels, white oak basketmakers, the blacksmith, combining compassionate care with travel state-of-the-art technology in care. far for excellent cancer chair caners and a popular bobbin a warm, friendly environment. . . close to home. lace maker demonstrated their In fact, we know all about crafts. All this was alongside the combining compassionate care creative talents of painters, Our services include: with state-of-the-art technology in a photographers, sculptors and artisans working in mediums n Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy warm, n High Dose Rate Brachytherapy friendly environment. . . from metal and glass to textiles. A variety of paintings, prints, n Image Guided Radiation Therapy n Stereotactic Radiation Therapy close to home. sculpture, jewelry, clothing, ® n Partial Breast Radiation Therapy n Gamma Knife (through affiliation) accessories, children’s toys and n Prostate Seed Implants n Palliative Care home decor was displayed around every turn of the tree-shaded paths. The festival was a huge success Henry Radiation Oncology Center Opening Summer 2010 from its beginning and involved all the communities of Heard and Piedmont Fayette Cancer Center Opening Summer 2010 Coweta counties. Tom Powers operated the Festival for770. three994. and1650 a half Administration years with much cooperation and Cobbassistance 770. 948.of6000 Griffin 770. 228. 3737 these communities Newnan 770.civic 254. 9600 Riverdale 770. 997. 8424 and their and church For various Saintorganizations. Joseph’s Hospital 678. 843. 7004 reasons, health and otherwise, SouthTom Fulton Medical Center 404. Powers had to give up the466. 6100 operation of the festival and in the Accredited by the Joint Commission. www.radonc.com middle of his last year the festival Our locations: Our services include: was put under the supervision of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of ■ Intensity Modulated Radiation ROS-Administration 770. 994. 1650 Commerce. In 1975 Coweta Festivals Therapy Inc. was formed as an umbrella ROS-Cobb 770. 948. 6000 organization of six nonprofit civic ■ Image Guided Radiation Therapy groups: Newnan-Coweta Chamber ROS-Griffin 770. 228. 3737 of Commerce, the Newnan■ Partial Breast Radiation Therapy Coweta Art Association, the ROS-Newnan 770. 254. 9600 Newnan-Coweta Jaycees, the Pilot ■ Prostate Seed Implants Club of Newnan, the NewnanROS-Piedmont Henry 678. 251. 1099 ■ High Dose Rate Brachytherapy Coweta chapter of Professional Secretaries International ROS-Piedmont Fayette 770. 719. 5850 ■ Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (later changed to International Association of Administrative ■ Palliative Care ROS-Riverdale 770. 997. 8424 Professionals) and the 4-H Boys and Girls of Coweta County. These nonprofit organizations purchased the 86-acre festival site a few years later when the land Accredited by the Joint Commission became available. Many a local church and civic group has worked at the festival 770-994-1650 over the years, providing exhibits and many offering tasty treats to festival-goers from sausage biscuits, sandwiches, home-
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