The new Honeybee Festival will make its debut Saturday, June 3, in LaFayette, Ga., and its musical headliner has that small town buzzing.
Country star Craig Morgan - captain of the "Redneck Yacht Club" - will headline this first festival, which will be held in LaFayette Square from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
To launch a festival with as big a star as Morgan is quite a coup for festival organizers. Morgan, who spent 17 years in the Army and Army Reserves, is an ardent supporter of U.S. military personnel and was the recipient of the 2006 USO Merit Award.
An avid outdoorsman, he hosts the TV show "Craig Morgan: All Access Outdoors" on the Outdoor Channel. But he is best known for his country hits such as "Redneck Yacht Club," "International Harvester" and "That's What I Love About Sunday," which spent six weeks at No. 1.
The festival's name is a nod to the number of beekeepers in the North Georgia area and to the contributions honeybees make to local and national communities.
About a dozen members of the Northwest Beekeepers Association will man an educational booth in the information tent to answer visitors' questions about beekeeping. They will have hives on display (no bees, though) to help people understand what beekeeping involves, says Roger Ardis, president of the association.
The new festival will include a barbecue competition, baking contest and a cruise-in that includes antique tractors. A free Kids Zone will offer face painting, games, inflatables and petting zoo. There will also be a birds of prey exhibit from Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center.
More than 50 food and craft vendors will be set up around the square. Admission is free to the festival; concessions will be sold.
Morgan will take the stage about 9:30 p.m. Prior to his performance, music will be played during the afternoon by prog-rockers Steppin Stones, Channing Wilson, Robby Hopkins and Sons of Sailors, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band.
For more information: 706-639-1590.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.