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Smyrna Vinings
Bright Side
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Smyrna and Vinings’ Community Newspaper
Volume 10, No. 10
FALL JONQUIL FESTIVAL TAKES THE STAGE
SMYRNA, LEGION SET TO HONOR VETERANS NOV. 11
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The City of Smyrna, the Smyrna Veterans Committee, the Veterans Memorial Association of Smyrna, American Legion Post 160, and Smyrna Rotary Club will sponsor Smyrna’s Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. The ceremony will be held across from City Hall at the Twentieth Century Veterans Memorial on the corner of Bank and King Streets. The Ceremony is free and open to the public. Seating will start after 10 a.m. Handicap parking will be provided behind City Hall Guest speaker will be Colonel Paul R. Longgrear, US Army Retired. Col. Longgrear was one of 14 American survivors of the North Vietnamese attack on Lang Vei in February 1968. The 116th Army Band, Georgia Army National Guard, will provide music throughout the program. Pre- and Post-ceremony music will honor WW I as we are soon approaching the 100th Anniversary. The Armed Forces Medley is always a crowd favorite. Belmont Hills Elementary Choir will give a Music Salute to Veterans and Tara Simon will solo special Patriotic Music. The American Legion Auxiliary will sponsor its Poppy Donation Drive the weekend before the ceremony and the day of the ceremony. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Smyrna Community Center.
OCTOBER 2014
Cobb Commissioners at Braves Groundbreaking, from left, Lisa Cupid, JoAnn Birrell, Tim Lee, Helen Goreham and Bob Ott.
BRAVES TO PLAY AT SUNTRUST PARK
The Atlanta Braves broke ground on its new ballpark in Cobb and announced the name of the team’s new Cobb County stadium Sept. 16. The Braves partnered with Atlantabased SunTrust Banks to create the name SunTrust Park. SunTrust signed a 25-year agreement that will give it marquee signage, as well as additional signage and promotional opportunities at the 41,000-seat stadium. Financial terms of the agreement were not made public. SunTrust Chairman and CEO William H. Rogers Jr. announced the bank will mark the occasion with a $100,000 donation from the SunTrust Foundation to the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, in honor of the legendary Braves player. Heavy construction has begun to turn the plot of land into a stadium and entertainment development by April 2017. Grading work is already underway at the 60-acre site near I-75 and I-285 that will include the new stadium, hotels, entertainment and restaurants. The $622 million project is expected to generate $4 million in tax revenue for Cobb County each year. “This is one of the most important
The pitcher’s mound of the Braves’ new SunTrust Park is marked with an A.
days in the history of the Atlanta Braves franchise,” said Terry McGuirk, CEO of the Atlanta Braves. Bill Rogers, CEO SunTrust, said that the bank is committed to the ballpark naming rights for the next 25 years, because, “this is our hometown.” The naming ceremony included a video of Smyrna Little League players at Brinkley Park. Rogers also introduced Braves star Hank Aaron and presented him a donation of one $100,000 for the Hank Aaron chasing the dream foundation. “In April 2017. We will cut the ribbon and welcome all to see this beautiful new ballpark,” Atlanta Braves President John Schuerholz said. He said the park’s 41,500 seats will be arranged to provide a “very intimate” setup to bring fans a better experience. Schuerholz said the outfield wall will be unique and different than the current wall at Atlanta’s Turner Field. He also said the ballpark will not favor hitters or pitchers, but provide a balanced venue for a game. “It will value the home run, as well as a well-pitched baseball game,” he said. “So, if a hitter gets his pitch, he can hit it out. If a pitcher makes his pitch, he can get an out.” The new ballpark will expand current favorite areas at Turner Field, such as the Chophouse, which will be expanded to four levels, and feature about 100 field-level seats behind the right field fence, giving fans a unique perspective on the game. Adjacent to the park will be a 14 acre planned development, including restaurants, retail, hotels that will allow fans to come early and stay late. Gov. Nathan Deal spoke about the economic growth the stadium is expected to generate, saying SunTrust Park will provide about 3,100 jobs and is anticipated to spur about $25 million each year in tourism and visitor revenue.
The City of Smyrna welcomes all on the weekend of Oct. 25 & 26 at The Fall Jonquil Festival presented by the City of Smyrna and Superior Plumbing. The event is held on the beautiful Village Green in downtown Smyrna, next to the Market Village. The festival has a history of more than 20 years and will feature some 125 handmade arts and crafts booths, local nonprofit booths, puppet shows, live music, plenty of festival foods, and all types of children’s activities. There will also have local entertainment on the stage in front of the library. Friends of the Smyrna Library will have its book sale during the Fall Jonquil festival, so plan to get some phenomenal deals on all types of books imaginable. Keep Smyrna Beautiful will be distributing Jonquil Bulbs and promoting a cleaner Smyrna. Peter Hart, a crowd favorite, will be bringing his Atlanta Puppet Show to the Fall Jonquil Festival. Peter’s festival puppet show has appeal to everyone in a family audience with unique marionettes and puppet characters that sing, dance, juggle, play fiddle, break apart and come back together, squirt water, and are even launched by catapult across the stage! J. Scott Thompson one of the founding members of Peachtree Station (voted Atlanta Magazine’s Best Country Band 2000) will entertain you with all your favorite songs on Veteran’s Memorial grand lawn adjacent to the Fall Jonquil Food Court. Artisans are from all over the southeast and feature their own hand made crafts, paintings, clothing, furniture, jewelry and much more. The festival foods include: pizza, cotton candy, candy apples, corn dogs, hand-dipped ice cream, snow cones, polish sausage, chicken sandwiches, and BBQ. The festival hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 and Noon – 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26. Admission is FREE.
Peter Hart and his puppets are a highlight of the Fall Jonquil Festival.