Pumpkins, hayrides and pedal tractor races are part of the family farm fun at Old McDonald's Farm in Sale Creek.FESTIVALS THIS WEEKENDSEPT. 19-21• Arts Festival at Rose Lawn: Rose Lawn mansion, 224 W. Cherokee Ave., Cartersville, Ga., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, free admission to festival, tours of historic Victorian mansion $5 adults, $2 children. 770-387-5162.• Bachman Fall Festival: Bachman Community Center, 2815 Anderson Pike, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, $5, chili cookoff, petting zoo, children's games, crafters, live music. 423-886-4842.• Blue Ridge Blues and Barbecue Festival: Downtown Blue Ridge, Ga., noon-9 p.m. Saturday, $5 ages 13 and older. 239-462-8773.• Boom Days Heritage Celebration: City Park, Fort Payne, Ala., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. CDT Saturday, free; 8 p.m. concert by Wet Willie in DeKalb Theatre, tickets: 256-845-2741.• Fall Heritage Festival: Downtown Cowan, Tenn., 5-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday (all times Central); music on three stages, juried arts and crafts, woodcarving and blacksmithing demonstrations, Civil War cannon firing, children's activities, cornbread contest (3 p.m. Sunday). fallheritagefestival.info.• Festival!: Creative Arts Guild, 520 W. Waugh St., Dalton, Ga., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, free. 706-278-0168.• Ride the Rails Festival: Depot in Mineral Bluff, Ga., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, five-mile round-trip by railroad motor car traveling through the Iron Bridge over the Toccoa River to Hogback Road crossing and Murphy Junction, Ga., then returning to Mineral Bluff, model railroad displays, entertainment, crafts, children's area. Suggested donations: $10 adults, $5 children 2-12 motor car rides; $1 per trip, $5 for six trips on hand-pump car.• Roswell Arts Festival: Town square, Roswell, Ga., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, free, catch free shuttle at Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill St. roswellartsfestival.com.• Tails on the River Fish Fry and Bluegrass Festival: Camp Dixie, 2421 Buffalo Lane, noon-4 p.m. Saturday, $15, bluegrass, pooch pedicures, dog microchipping for $20, $5 to enter team in cornhole tournament, benefits Pet Placement Center. 423-877-0738.• War Between the States Day: Gordon Lee Mansion, Chickamauga, Ga., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, free admission, tours of mansion $5 adults, $1 ages 12 and under. Annual barbecue cook-off and crafts show marks 125th anniversary of Blue & Gray Barbecue. 423-488-0861.SEPT. 20-NOV. 2• Old McDonald's Farm: McDonald Farm in Sale Creek, Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 20-21 and Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-5, Oct. 11-12, Oct. 18-19 and Oct. 25-26 and Nov. 1-2. Also open Halloween. Open Tuesdays-Fridays by appointment for school groups, birthday parties, other private parties. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays, noon-7 p.m. Sundays, $12 age 3 and older, pumpkins an additional charge. 423-531-CORN.SEPT. 22-27• DeKalb County VFW Agricultural Fair: VFW Fairgrounds, 100 18th St., Fort Payne, Ala., 5 p.m. CDT gates open, 6 p.m. rides start, $3 adults, $1 ages 6-12, additional charge for rides. 256-996-7473.SEPT. 22-NOV. 1• National Southern Gospel and Harvest Celebration: Dollywood, 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd., Pigeon Forge, Tenn., $59 ages 12-59, $47 ages 4-11, admission includes free concerts. 800-365-5996.
The 13 festivals opening this weekend offer a variety of scenic backdrops to appeal to festivalgoers, ranging from historic mansions to the Smoky Mountains.
Civil War history buffs might want to step back in time with a trip to Chickamauga, Ga. This weekend's War Between the States Day is special because it marks the 125th anniversary of the Sept. 20, 1889, barbecue at which 12,000 Civil War veterans - Union and Confederate - gathered for a reunion at Crawfish Springs, now known as Chickamauga.
According to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Militry Park history, they chose 50 veterans and civilians from North and South to found the Joint Chickamauga Memorial Association. That group's mission was to present to Congress an appropriations bill to purchase the Chickamauga battleground and preserve it as a national park. President Benjamin Harris signed that bill into law in August 1890, the first legislation preserving an American battlefield.
Just as barbecue was on the menu 125 years ago, it will be again Saturday. Gary Gossett, event organizer, says seven barbecue teams will be cooking, among them defending champ Choo Choo Bar-B-Que in East Brainerd.
"They cooked tons of beef and pork back then, and that's how we continue to celebrate it. The teams usually sell what they cook. Each team sets its own price, but last year it was $6 to $8 for a plate."
Gossett said the historic Gordon Lee Mansion will be open for tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a charge for the tours of $5 adults, $1 children. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Gordon Lee Mansion. Ten craftsmen will be set up on the front lawn of the mansion.
If you head down I-75 to Cartersville, Ga., for the Arts Festival at Rose Lawn, make a detour at Dalton to visit the Creative Arts Guild's annual Festival.
Leanne Lawson, operations and events director, says 75 artists will be exhibiting at the two-day arts show
"The indoor exhibit is a combination of fine art, paintings, sculpture, jewelry and some clay pieces," she says. "The outdoor artists' market is a combination of fine art and fine craft. Also outdoors we'll have free children's activities."
The fun gets underway with the preview/patron party at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Taste of Dalton offers specialties from 12 Dalton restaurants and a wine tasting for its $55 ticket. Lawson says reservations are requested by 5 p.m. today, Sept. 18. Call 706-217-6677 or email reservations@creativearts guild.org.
On Saturday night, Sept. 20, the festival includes a free community concert at the guild. The Classics will perform at 6:30 p.m. Bring the kids Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21, to the free puppet show, "Aesop's Fables," by That Puppet Guy, Lee Bryan. Shows are at 1 and 3 p.m.
Rose Lawn in Cartersville is a stately Victorian mansion built in the 1880s that looks like the set from a Disney movie with its cozy wraparound porch and gingerbread trim. It's said that 200 rose bushes once lined its fences and walkways, giving the property its name. Tours of the home are available or you can browse the work of more than 100 artists and craftsmen who will be spread across the mansion's lawn.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.
Students from Gordon Lee High School dressed in antebellum gowns add to the setting of Gordon Lee Mansion at Chickamauga's War Between the States Day.