IF YOU GOWhat: Rock City Founders Day.When: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday.Where: Rock City Gardens, 1400 Patten Road, Lookout Mountain, Ga.Admission: $18.95 adults, $10.95 children 3-12; 25 cents for first 80 people in line Monday.Phone: 706-820-2531.Website: www.seerockcity.com/anniversary.
Rock City Gardens will celebrate its Founders Day on Monday with a special guest and promotions that hearken back to 1932.
To commemorate the iconic attraction's 80th anniversary, the first 80 guests in line will be able to "See Rock City" for the original ticket price of 25 cents. At 1 p.m., Rocky, the mascot, will host a birthday party with sugar cookies and lemonade, the same menu as opening day.
Martha Bell Miller will attend the party, just like she did in 1932, when she was 5 years old. Miller is not only one of the first Rock City Gardens visitors, she also took on the role of Mother Goose at the attraction from 1983 to 2005 and helped conduct outreach at local schools during that time.
The birthday party will take place at Lover's Leap. Recently added elevated terrace seating with two fireplaces offers seating for guests to dine and view seven states. The New Binkley Brothers will entertain guests with Southern Appalachia folk music from the new permanent stage.
"Over the years, our family has welcomed the world to Rock City," said Bill Chapin, CEO of See Rock City Inc. and a third-generation descendant of founders Garnet and Frieda Carter. "We have strived to create memories that parents can share with their children and then repeat with their grandchildren. The fact we've been able to do this for 80 years means a great deal to our family."
Close to half a million guests visit each year to see the woodland garden and the vistas along the 4,100-foot winding trail.
Current owner Bill Chapin, Frieda's great-nephew, purchased the famous attraction in 1985 and runs it with son-in-law Andrew Kean, who handles day-to-day operations.