Some of the biggest and best (in terms of quality or location) crafts shows and festivals are coming up, with half of this weekend's 15 events set in North Georgia.
Here's a quick look at four top choices:
* Arts Festival at Rose Lawn is just an hour's drive down I-75 to Cartersville, Georgia. Artists from across the Southeast displaying oils, watercolors, pastels, sculpture, glass and hand-crafted items will be set up around the grounds of the Victorian mansion for this 44th show. The house is open for guided tours and some original outbuildings of the mansion - school, smokehouse and carriage house - still remain.
* On the way to or from Cartersville, detour off I-75 at Dalton for the Creative Arts Guild's Festival 2019. This fine arts show offers a beautiful range of art for all tastes in an indoor patron exhibit as well as an outdoor artist market. There will be live music on the hour each day by regional bands and children's art activities and a kids-only art market. Children are invited to decorate their bikes to bring to the bike parade at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Don't worry about parking; catch the shuttle provided Saturday in the parking lot at First Baptist Church, 311 N. Thornton Ave. in Dalton, and on Sunday at the Dalton-Whitfield Senior Center, 302 Cappes St.
* What was formerly known as Marsh House Heritage Day has a new name and a new date.
The festival, now called Autumn Rocks, has moved up earlier in the fall, and will be Saturday at the antebellum Marsh House and in downtown LaFayette.
A trip to LaFayette is worth it just to see the Marsh House. This 1836 Greek revival home features a traditional dogtrot - a wide hallway through the middle of the house with two separate living areas on each side - and has a lot of Civil War history.
Autumn Rocks will offer arts and crafts on LaFayette's square and a fly-in at the LaFayette Airport, but the Marsh House is primarily a heritage celebration.
Organizer David Boyle invites visitors to bring antiques, vintage clothing, photos and documents for identification. Plus, cooks can learn how to make old-timey family recipes using modern ingredients.
* After moving the Sunflower Stables Barn Sale last year from a Cleveland barn to the more easily accessible Collegedale Commons, organizer Deborah Lofton saw a sharp increase in attendance with an estimated 1,500 visitors.
"It is a great venue that is just perfect for this type of event. We have expanded with double the number of outside tents this year in addition to our inside vendors," says Lofton.
Sunflower Stables is an upscale, vintage-inspired market with recycled, upcycled and handmade items. The fifth Sunflower Stables show is set for Friday and Saturday. The Commons will be filled with jewelry, repurposed furniture, artwork, skin-care items, home decor, wooden signs and lots more.Visitors can shop while enjoying the music of Lou Wamp and Bluetastic on Friday and Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Karen Guethlein, whose handmade jewelry dishes were selected for Ree Drummond's Patriotic Party on the Prairie in July, will be among the 40 vendors.
Many items here are gift-worthy, so it's a good place to start checking off your Christmas list.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.
FESTIVALS OPENING THIS WEEK
SEPT. 19-29
* North Georgia State Fair: Jim Miller Park, 2245 Callaway Road, Marietta, Ga., gates open 4 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. Saturdays, 12:30 p.m. Sundays; $7 admission ages 11 and up, $5 parking, 21 ride tickets $20, daily admission specials; free nightly concerts with paid admission feature Tyler Farr, Mitchell Tenpenny, Jeremy Camp and Lee Brice. www.northgeorgiastatefair.com.
SEPT. 20-22
* Arts Festival at Rose Lawn: Rose Lawn Mansion, 234 W. Cherokee Ave., Cartersville, Ga., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, free admission to festival, $7 to tour historic mansion. http://www.roselawnmuseum.com/arts_festival_and_rose_lawn/index.php.
* Autumn Rocks: Marsh House, 308 N. Main St., and Joe Stock Park, LaFayette, Ga., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, free; festival formerly known as Heritage Days emphasizes local history and original crafts. 706-764-2801.
* Bats, Beer & Bluegrass: Fricks Cave Preserve, Fricks Gap Road, Chickamauga, Ga., 4-9 p.m. Saturday, $60, barbecue dinner and locally crafted brews with music by No Time Flatt and The Tin Cup Rattlers before watching flight of gray bats. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4311109.
* Boom Days Heritage Celebration: City Park, Fort Payne, Ala., 6:30-10 p.m. CDT Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. CDT Saturday, free, two dozen acts on six stages over two days with headliner Diamond Rio at 8 p.m. Saturday. 256-845-1524
* Fall Heritage Festival: Railroad Park and downtown Cowan, Tenn., 5-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday (all times Central), free; arts and crafts, fireworks at 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. https://www.fallheritagefestival.info.
* Fall Into Winter: Red Bank United Methodist Church, 3800 Dayton Blvd., 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, free. 423-598-2538.
* Festival!: Creative Arts Guild, 520 W. Waugh St., Dalton, Ga., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, free; indoor and outdoor fine-art exhibits, live bands on the hour, children's activities. 706-217-6677.
* GoFest: Chattanooga Zoo, 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, free, music, food and activities for children of all abilities. www.chattanooga.gov/gofest.
* Homesteads Apple Festival: Cumberland Homestead Tower and Museum, junction of U.S. 127 and Tennessee 68, four miles south of Crossville, Tenn., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday (all times Central), $5 ages 11 and older; 100 crafts booths, music, antique tractors, quilt show. www.cumberlandhomesteads.org.
* Jamboree: Center Post Community Center, 8125 Georgia Highway 337, Center Post community south of LaFayette, Ga., 1-5 p.m. Saturday, free admission; family fun with games, bluegrass music, door prizes and concessions. 706-638-1935.
* Sunflower Stables Barn Sale: The Commons, 4950 Swinyar Drive, Collegedale, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, $5 ages 13 and older; handmade, vintage and antique items, jewelry, art and food vendors. sunflowerstablesbarnsale@gmail.com.
* Valley Fest: Chattanooga Valley Church of the Nazarene, 2853 Chattanooga Valley Road, Flintstone, Ga., walking track beside the church, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, free; Chattanooga Valley Lions Club fundraiser with crafts, inflatables and music by Barefoot Nellie. 706-841-2595
* Walker County Ag Festival: Walker County Ag Center, 10052 N. Highway 27, Rock Spring, Ga., 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, highlights county's agriculture, products and producers, 4-H and photography contest. 706-375-7917.
SEPT. 23-28
* DeKalb County VFW Agricultural Fair: VFW Hall, 151 18th St. NW, Fort Payne, Ala., gates open 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday (all times Central), $4 ages 6 and older, $3 parking, $25 for 22 tickets to Kissel Entertainment midway. www.dekalbcountyvfwfair.com.