Dade County will host a celebration this weekend to mark the anniversary of the end of an event that apparently never happened in the first place.
The first State of Dade Heritage Festival, set for Trenton, Ga., today and Saturday, will mark the 65th anniversary of a ceremony in which President Harry Truman acknowledged the county’s return to the union following its supposed independence declaration at the beginning of the Civil War.
“The history is that (Dade County resident) Bob Tatum told the Georgia legislature that if (the state) didn’t secede, Dade County would,” said Trenton Downtown Development Authority director Peter Cervelli.
There is just not a lot of documentation whether or not the county ever seceded, he said.
The festival, sponsored by the Trenton Chamber of Commerce and the city’s development authority, will feature musical acts on three stages; a parade; a pageant; Civil War and American Indian encampments; tractor, car and motorcycle shows; more than 60 arts and crafts and food vendors; a children’s area with inflatables and face-painting; contests and prizes.
The festival will be held primarily on the courthouse square in Trenton and in adjacent Veterans Memorial Park.
Overall, said organizers, the festival will focus on the myths and truths about the county’s threats to secede from Georgia and its announced return to the nation on July 4, 1945.
Among the activities is a two-act play largely by schoolchildren highlighting, in the first act, the myth of the county’s secession in 1860, and in the second act, the WAGA (of Atlanta) radio broadcast that detailed the moment when the paperwork was signed to cement the county’s return.
The play will be offered both today and Saturday.
On the day in question, according to organizers, an estimated 3,000 Dade County residents met at the courthouse and unanimously voted to return to the union. They then listened to a military band play and heard the reading of a telegram from President Truman welcoming the county back into the union with the words “Welcome home, Pilgrims.”
Parking for the festival will be available at Dade County High School, with shuttle service provided to and from the festival every 15 minutes.
In conjunction with the festival:
* The American Legion post, located on Highway 11 North, will sponsor a breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday.
* The Dade County Library, adjacent to the Trenton courthouse square, will kick off its summer reading program on Saturday with activities — including magician Ken Scott — from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
IF YOU GO
* What: State of Dade Heritage Festival.
* When: 6-10 p.m. today and 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday.
* Where: Courthouse square and Veterans Memorial Park, Trenton, Ga.
* Admission: Free.
* Phone: 706-657-4488
* On Facebook: State of Dade Heritage Festival.
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Among the scheduled acts who will perform at the State of Dade Heritage Festival:
* Today: 7 p.m., Eighth Regiment Band (of Rome Ga.); Dade County High School Jazz Band.
* Saturday: 1 and 4 p.m., Old Towne Brass (Confederate band of Huntsville, Ala.); 3 p.m., Chris McDaniel (formerly of Confederate Railroad); 6 p.m., Eighth Regiment Band; 7 p.m., Air National Guard Band of the Smoky Mountains.
* Other music will be provided by the BelAires, a ’50s-’60s rock band; several bluegrass bands; and other local talent.