CITIES AROUND GWINNETT are decked out in holiday decorations these days. We liked these cheerful robins perched on a wire snowman and marker on the grounds of the Historic Courthouse in Lawrenceville. On Thanksgiving night, the giant North Carolina spruce (insert) was lighted. (Photos by Roving Photographer Frank Sharp)
TODAY’S FOCUS: Are There Better Options Than Runoffs To Elect Officials?
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Auburn-Alabama Game Was Thriller, Best of 2019 Season!
ANOTHER VIEW: New Rabbi Now On Board at Temple Beth David in Snellville
SPOTLIGHT: Northside Hospital
FEEDBACK: Photo Triggered Memories of Being Frightened in a Salt Mine
UPCOMING: Northside Hospital Adds Two More Physicians in Sports Medicine
NOTABLE: Gwinnett 2040 Comprehensive Plan Is Judged As Best in the State
RECOMMENDED: Letters from the Dead by Steve Robinson
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Sapelo Island Has Human History Going Back Some 4,500 Years
MYSTERY PHOTO: This Watery Photo Doesn’t Look Much Like North Georgia
CALENDAR: Getting Near Time for Children To Meet Santa in Norcross and Duluth
Runoffs today in Gwinnett; Are there better election options?
(Editor’s Note: Today, Braselton, Norcross and Snellville have city runoffs. Today’s comment is a follow-up to a recent GwinnettForum article concerning political runoffs. The author is a professor of political science at the College of Charleston. His co-authored book, First in the South: Why South Carolina’s Presidential Primary Matters, will be released next month by the University of South Carolina Press. This commentary was published first in the Charleston City Paper. –eeb)
By Gibbs Knotts
CHARLESTON, S.C. | During the November 5 general election in Charleston, John Tecklenburg won 47.8 percent of the vote in a six-candidate field but fell just short of the 50-percent-plus-1 vote threshold required by the city’s election rules. Mike Seekings received the next highest level of support, with 34.3 percent. As a result, City of Charleston voters returned to the polls on Nov. 19 to participate in a runoff election between Tecklenburg and Seekings.
Knotts
(Note: Tecklenburg won the runoff with 62 percent of the vote.)
Local governments in South Carolina are empowered to make the choice about whether to have runoffs, or simply to let the person who wins the plurality of the vote be declared the winner. Even in the Lowcountry, some local governments use runoffs, while others do not. For example, in North Charleston, Keith Summey won 46.7 percent in a five-candidate field but was reelected because there is not a majority vote requirement. Similarly, Ricky Waring was elected mayor in Summerville with 47.3 percent of votes.
One reason to consider a change is the racially charged history of runoff elections. Runoffs are a relic of the one-party Democratic South, an era of racial segregation and black political oppression. During the Jim Crow era, from the end of Reconstruction through the 1950s, Democratic Party primaries determined political winners and losers in the region. Though whites were nearly always the only racial group permitted to vote in the primaries, there were instances where the vote was split among several white candidates. Runoff requirements emerged as a way to unite a majority of the electorate behind a single candidate, ensuring white Democratic dominance in Southern society.
The use of runoffs accelerated following the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The number of African-American voters increased dramatically following this legislation, and runoffs were used to make it harder for black candidates to win political office. In some jurisdictions, an African-American candidate might be able to win 40 percent of the vote, but not the majority needed for a victory. As a result, the runoff allowed white voters to unite behind a single white candidate, making minority office holding more difficult.
Runoffs also place additional burdens on candidates and municipalities. Candidates are forced to raise and spend additional resources, and county election boards have to spend money to open polling locations.
Charleston residents could also consider Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). This procedure eliminates the need for a runoff election because voters rank candidates when casting their initial ballot. A number of major U.S. cities use IRV, including Oakland, Calif.; St. Paul, Minn., and Las Cruces, N.M. Even here in South Carolina, military and overseas voters provide ranked choices during the submission of their initial ballot, eliminating the need to participate in a second round of voting should a runoff be needed.
How does IRV work? During the initial stage of vote counting, all “first choice” votes are tallied. If no candidate gets a majority, the candidate receiving the lowest vote total is eliminated. The “second choice” for all the voters who picked the eliminated candidate is then added to the remaining candidates vote totals. This process continues until a candidate receives a majority.
While it is important to study the issues, research candidate positions, and cast ballots, our democracy also depends on a periodic examination of election rules and procedures. Charleston residents should engage in a conversation about the city’s runoff requirement and consider other options that might be a better fit for our community.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Auburn-Alabama game was thriller, best of 2019 season
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 3, 2019 | The Auburn-Alabama football game on Saturday was the best and most exciting game we’ve watched on television this year. And for the second time in three years, Auburn upset Alabama on a missed field goal, this time 48-45.
It was rip-roaring from the beginning, including an Alabama 98 yard kickoff return and two interceptions for touchdowns by Auburn, one for 100 yards. Then there was what would have been a game-tying field goal attempt by Alabama with two minutes to go in the game. Dramatically, the normally-easy kick hit the left goal post, bounced away, and gave Auburn the victory.
So for the first time since the College Football Playoffs was initiated five seasons ago, Alabama will not be included this year, since they have been knocked from the top four rankings. Alabama had won two of the last five college championships.
Alabama Coach Nick Saban is dethroned in his own state of Alabama, and Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn is on top of the Iron Bowl again.
There were two major turning points in the game, the first which didn’t seem all significant when it happened near halftime. With Alabama leading 31-24, Auburn was driving, but got stopped shy of the goal with time about to expire. On the last running play of the half, at first, the referees signaled the half had ended. However, on review, they put one second back on the clock. This allowed Auburn to line up for a field goal attempt, which was good, bringing the scores 31-27 at half, a three point margin. And three points was the margin at the end of the game.
The other turning point came soon after the start of the second half. Auburn had scored on another field goal, making the score 31-30. But quickly Alabama got its game going and was roaring back to near the goal line, only a few yards from another touchdown, which would have made the game 38-30, Alabama.
But as the Alabama quarterback was pressured on a run to his right, his pass apparently bounced off the Alabama receiver in the end zone, and into the hands of Auburn defender Zakoby McClain, who caught it at the goal line and was off like lightening for a 100 yard interception, and with the extra point, a 37-31 Auburn advantage. In one play, Alabama had gone from being one point ahead to six points behind. And with the Alabama missed touchdown that seemed like a sure thing, that was a 14 point difference.
This set the stage for the Auburn defenders keeping Alabama away from the goal line in the last few minutes, and brought on the field goal attempt, which squarely hit the goal post and failed. Auburn victory!
The football didn’t bounce Alabama’s way, though they outgained Auburn by 161 yards, and had a 12 minute advantage, 36-24, in time controlling the ball. The 93 points were also the highest total score in the 84 year history of the rivalry.
Another wrinkle: Auburn placekicker Anders Carlson had missed six field goals from 40-plus yards during the season. But Saturday he kicked four, all of them from 40-plus yards!
What a game! Hail the Tigers! War Eagle! Hurrah for the No. 1 team in Alabama!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
New rabbi now on board at Temple Beth David in Snellville
By Jesse Charyn
Rabbi, Temple Beth David, Snellville
SNELLVILLE, Ga. | Shalom, I am proud to be the new Rabbi of Temple Beth David (TBD) here in Snellville. On graduation from Arizona State University, I enrolled in the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and was ordained at the Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute. I am also a chaplain, an outdoor enthusiast, an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) veteran, a self-proclaimed deli-man, and a consummate student. I’m finishing my studies toward a master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management.
Charyn
My family (my wife, Shira, and our daughter, Rayna) and I have hit the ground running. We moved from Phoenix, Ariz. in late June. Thanks to the people here, both our family as well as neighbors and other faith leaders, it has been an easy transition.
In early July I was formally installed as rabbi of Temple Beth David. In September and October we held our High Holy Days (our Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and our Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur), enhanced by our talented High Holy Day Choir, our gifted musicians and the participation of our members.
I knew I wanted to devote my life to helping others enhance their connection to God and Judaism. While I was pursuing my undergraduate degree, I had a phenomenal mentor named Dr. Joel Gereboff, who helped me see that I could be a trailblazer. He challenged me to think about how to facilitate a love for Judaism in others. The thought of becoming a rabbi, a Jewish spiritual leader and teacher, felt natural. I am a rabbi because I am passionate about Judaism and believe this is the work I was meant for. My goal is to see our members grow in Jewish understanding and to build strong relationships with our non-Jewish neighbors.
In the past few months I have begun an adult education program including a weekly Lunch and Learn on Wednesdays (open to all). I also teach Modern and Prayer Hebrew, an Introduction to Judaism and a variety of courses on other topics. I facilitate a weekly Grief and Loss Support group that meets each Monday at night and is open to members of the Gwinnett community. Our Temple has a growing Religious School, an active Sisterhood and Men’s Club, and, for our youngest participants, my wife leads a Tot Shabbat with our two-year-old daughter on Saturday mornings.
We have had many college students come to experience a Shabbat service and expand their awareness and understanding of Judaism. Our doors are open to anyone wanting to say hello and build bridges.
Looking towards the future, we hope to strengthen our interfaith work. At Temple Beth David, we believe in social justice, in building community, and in pursuing peace. Jewish life in Gwinnett County is thriving and I’m honored to be the spiritual leader of this incredibly welcoming community. We are currently enhancing our website (https://www.templebethdavid.info) to make it even more informative and interactive.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Northside Hospital
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Photo triggered memories of being frightened in a salt mine
Editor, the Forum:
Seeing the photo of George Graf riding the tram into the salt mines in Salzburg, Austria reminds me of the times I went into those mines.
I have claustrophobia and always swear that I would never, ever go into those mines.
However, three of my granddaughters wanted to go down into the mines. Marie, their grandmother, who also has claustrophobia, went with us on two separate occasions. Going in is not so bad, as we slide down on a wooden slide smoothed over the centuries by thousands of people with leather skirts on their behinds.
From there it gets much worse. We travel across a subterranean salt sea with a ceiling just a few inches over our heads. We come out on a tram through a tunnel with the sides and ceiling only inches from your body.
I coped with my claustrophobia going in and coming out, and crossing the sea, by simply keeping my eyes closed and praying. I will never ever go back. This time I really mean it.
It’s a sight I don’t want to see.
— Hoyt Tuggle, Buford
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Northside Hospital adds 2 more physicians in sports medicine
As the Atlanta region continues to grow, Northside Hospital is adding more physicians and expanding outpatient locations to better serve patients in the communities where they live, work and play. Two physicians are joining the Northside Hospital Orthopedic Institute of Sports Medicine.
Middleton
Dr. Kellie Middleton provides advanced, comprehensive orthopedic and sports medicine care, specializing in complex shoulder, elbow and knee surgeries. She trained at the top orthopedic fellowship program in the nation, the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, N.Y. during which she helped take care of the NBA and the WNBA teams, the New York Knicks and the New York Liberty. Dr. Middleton also served as the assistant physician for the Woodland Hills High School Football team in Pittsburgh, Penn.
A Georgia native, Dr. Middleton was a three-sport high school athlete. She graduated early from the University of Notre Dame as an All Big-East Conference player and continued her NCAA career at the University of Georgia. At UGA, Dr. Middleton became a two-time All-American while earning her Masters of Public Health. She then went on to work in Berkley, Calif. in public policy while playing professional fastpitch softball before medical school. Dr. Middleton sees patients at locations in Cumming, Lawrenceville and Peachtree Corners.
Wusu
Dr. Timilehin Wusu is an orthopedic surgeon, who utilizes personalized treatment plans and a multi-disciplinary approach to effectively repair and treat a number of complex joint conditions. He performs everything from minimally-invasive joint repair, to complete reconstruction and replacement, for shoulders, knees, hips and ankles.
Before pursuing a career in orthopedic surgery, Dr. Wusu was a collegiate and professional athlete. This love for competitive athletics and staying active, as well as overcoming several injuries throughout his career, is what drives his commitment to get—and keep—patients moving. Dr. Wusu sees patients in Lawrenceville.
DAR invites participants to Dec. 14 wreath-laying
The Philadelphia Winn Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution of Lawrenceville invites all to attend the December 14 Wreaths Across America Ceremony at East Shadowlawn Memorial Gardens in Lawrenceville.
Every year, the U.S. Congress proclaims a Saturday in December as National Wreaths Across America Day. This year, the ceremony will begin at noon. This will be one of over 1,600 participating ceremonies in the United States, at sea, and abroad.
Wreath Sponsors and volunteers will have the opportunity to lay remembrance wreaths on veterans’ graves, to honor and remember our fallen heroes.
Stripers offer popular Hook, 9 and Sinker packs again this year
The Gwinnett Stripers announce the return of “Hook, 9 & Sinker” Packs for the 2020 season. Packs are available for purchase online at GoStripers.com/hook9sinker.
Following a successful debut in 2019, this year’s packs include a Field Box level seat for nine of the Stripers’ most popular games, including three guaranteed Premium Giveaways, and a Home Run Porch seat for the Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets game on April 24 at SunTrust Park.
Among the nine Stripers games included in the pack are Opening Night (April 16), Star Wars Night (May 9), Memorial Day (May 25), Independence Day (July 4), and Fan Appreciation Night (September 4).
Gwinnett 2040 comprehensive plan judged as state’s best
The Gwinnett County Department of Planning and Development’s peers have selected its 2040 Unified Plan as the best planning document in Georgia for 2019.
“The County’s 2040 Unified Plan casts a bold vision for the future, builds upon and continues the long-term vision for Gwinnett County, and identifies short-term, incremental steps that can be used to achieve the vision,” the Georgia Planning Association said in announcing the award.
The Georgia Planning Association noted that the Atlanta Regional Commission also said the Unified Plan was one of the best plans in Georgia.
Kathy Holland, director of the Gwinnett Department of Planning and Development, says:
“It is especially meaningful that people who are experts in developing plans think the 2040 Unified Plan was the best in the state. We believe it will serve as a thoughtful and deliberate guide for growth in Gwinnett for the next 20 years.”
The 2040 Unified Plan, also known as a comprehensive plan, contains analyses, maps and policies to help shape progress and development countywide on multiple fronts through 2040. It was crafted after months of public input from stakeholder meetings, open house information sessions across the county, intercept interviews at parks and surveys.
The plan anticipates future needs and establishes short-term and long-term goals. The 2040 Unified Plan also ties several other plans into a single, coordinated vision so that everyone is on the same page and moving in the same direction.
Other plans are incorporated into the Unified Plan, including the County’s recently approved Comprehensive Transportation Plan, Connect Gwinnett: Transit Plan, Countywide Trails Master Plan and water and sewer plans.
Burke of Snellville wins award for fourth time for reporting
Snellville Controller Jan Burke, pictured at right, has received an award of excellence for preparing the comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
This is the fourth time Burke was given the award in the four years she has applied for it. The CAFR serves more than 20,500 members.
Snellville changing billboard ordinance along major highways
An amendment to the Snellville’s billboard ordinance will eventually cut the number of billboards in the city from its current number of nine. The amendment governs currently existing, non-conforming billboards on Georgia Highway 124 and U.S. Highway 78.
If sign owners completely remove an existing billboard and support structure, they can request to replace an existing billboard with an electric one. The amendment states sign brightness will automatically be regulated with daylight, and that the signs must be able to show Amber Alerts. No movement or animation can be shown on the sign.
Letters from the Dead by Steve Robinson
From John Titus, Peachtree Corners: Genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to find the identity of a client’s four-times-great-grandfather. He is provided with an old letter which not only is the beginning point for the search, but also mentions a legendary lost ruby of great value. Tayte is invited to stay at the client’s ancestral home in Scotland as he conducts his research. More letters are mysteriously left for him and people begin to die as he uncovers a tale of greed, murder, and forbidden love. And, of course, there is an unexpected ending to the story. This is a treat for both genealogy and mystery lovers.
- An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Sapelo Island has human history going back 4,500 years
Sapelo Island, situated about 60 miles south of Savannah, lies in the center of coastal Georgia’s well-defined chain of barrier islands. The 16,500-acre island is Georgia’s fourth largest and, excepting the 434-acre African American community of Hog Hammock, is entirely state owned and managed.
The island comprises various entities in addition to Hog Hammock, including the University of Georgia Marine Institute, the Richard J. Reynolds Wildlife Management Area, and the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve. The latter two are administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
The human history of Sapelo dates back at least 4,500 years. Archaeological investigations on the island have determined an extensive Native American presence on Sapelo during the Archaic Period of prehistory (2,000-500 B.C.). The name Sapelo is of Indian origin, being adapted to Zapala by Spanish missionaries, who established themselves on the island from about 1573 to 1686. The Franciscan mission of San Josef was situated on the north end of the island at or near the Native American Shell Ring, a prehistoric ceremonial mound that represents one of the most unusual archaeological features on the Georgia coast.
English colonization of Georgia beginning in 1733 led to an agreement with the Creek Indians by which the colony acquired the land between the Savannah River and the Altamaha River, with the Indians reserving hunting lands on several barrier islands, including Sapelo. In 1757 another treaty with the Creeks resulted in the cession of Sapelo, Ossabaw, and St. Catherines islands to the royal colony.
Early private owners of Sapelo included Patrick Mackay, who grew crops there before the Revolutionary War (1775-83), and John McQueen. In 1789 a consortium of Frenchmen planned to develop the island for agricultural, live-oak timbering, and livestock operations and acquired Sapelo. The French involvement on Sapelo was characterized by mystery, intrigue, and mayhem. Disagreements over the use of the island and mistrust over expenditures of funds led to the breakup of the six-man French partnership by 1795. One of the men, Chappedelaine, was shot and killed by one of his partners in a duel on the island; another partner, Dumoussay, died of yellow fever a few weeks later.
In the first decade of the 19th century, Sapelo was acquired through purchase or inheritance by three men, all of whom left their imprint on the island. They were Thomas Spalding (south end), Edward Swarbreck (Chocolate), and John Montalet (High Point), the latter having married the daughter of one of the departed Frenchmen. By 1843 Spalding had acquired almost the entire island, except a tract of several hundred acres at Raccoon Bluff owned by the Kimberly-Street family.
Spalding left the most important legacy to Sapelo. He was one of the leading planters on the tidewater, an agricultural innovator, amateur architect, astute businessman, and leading citizen of McIntosh County. Spalding introduced the cultivation of sugar cane and the manufacture of sugar to Georgia. He built his own sugar mill, commissioned a lighthouse for the island in 1820, reintroduced the use of tabby as a primary building material on the coast, contributed important techniques for the culture of Sea Island cotton, and gradually developed Sapelo into an antebellum plantation empire. Spalding and his children owned 385 slaves on Sapelo in the 1850s.
(To be continued)
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
This watery photo doesn’t look much like north Georgia
Today’s Mystery Photo shows a person who seems to be having a good time. Now tell us where you think this is happening. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net, and be sure to include your hometown.
The Mystery Photo from the last edition was an inspiring painting which Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill was first to spot. “This oil painting is Lift Up Thy Voice and Sing by South Carolina native William Henry Johnson (1901-1970). This piece, painted in the early 1940s, is in the Greenville County Museum of Art in downtown Greenville, S.C., which houses the world’s largest collection of Johnson’s work outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum (which owns more than 1,000 of his paintings, watercolors and prints). Johnson liked to paint ‘the working people of the Southern states’ and portray their African American leaders. Born in Florence, S.C., Johnson became a student at the National Academy of Design in New York before moving to France where he was exposed to modernism. He later lived in Scandinavia where he was influenced by the folk art style for which he is best known. He traveled extensively through Europe and northern Africa before returning New York just before WWII. Here he was determined to paint his ‘own people’ (African Americans). Unfortunately, he spent the last 23 years of his in a state psychiatric center.” The photo was taken by the publisher in Greenville recently.
Lou Camerio of Lilburn wrote: “This is one of the paintings by William Henry Johnson. He was a private in World War I and served in the first African American Division. Henry Johnson was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Obama in 2015. Johnson was wounded in the Argonne Forest 21 times fighting the Germans.”
Alan Peel of San Antonio, Texas says: “Today’s mystery photo is a work of art that is currently on display at the Greenville County Museum of Art (GCMA) in downtown Greenville, South Carolina. It was created in 1942 by the artist William H. Johnson. The Greenville County Museum of Art is considered the premier American art museum in the South and is home to the largest collection of work by William H. Johnson outside the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. The Smithsonian has 1,036 pieces of Johnson’s work on file (not all of it is displayed). Note that the American flag in this painting appears to be upside down! Another similar painting at the Smithsonian is not upside down.
“The theme of the painting is a tribute to the National Hymn called Lift Every Voice and Sing, originally a poem written in 1899 by the NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and then set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954). Often called ‘The Black National Anthem’, the lyrics deal with the hardship of the African-American experience in America, one that tells African-Americans to ‘keep movin’ on, to keep fighting for freedom.’ The musical version of the hymn was first performed in celebration of President Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, 1900, by a choir of 500 school children at the segregated Stanton School (Jacksonville, Fla.), where James Weldon Johnson was principal.”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. wrote: “Johnson and his wife lived in Svolvær in the Lofoten Islands during the late 1930’s where Johnson painted and Holcha painted and wove her copy of the Baldishol Tapestry. The threat of World War II prompted Johnson to return to the United States in 1938. In a pronounced and unexpected transition in his style, Johnson became interested in religious paintings and his subjects were almost exclusively African American. Using a palette of only four or five colors and painting frequently on burlap or plywood, Johnson developed a flat, consciously naive style. During the early 1940s, war activities, the Red Cross, and other related events interested Johnson and provided grist for his widely exhibited narrative paintings.”
The Nutcracker by Gwinnett Ballet Theatre returns for its 39th annual production, to run December 6-22. Buy tickets by going to gwinnettballet.org/tickets or by calling 770 626 2464.
Tree Lighting in Norcross will be December 6 at 5:30 p.m. in Thrasher Park. Enjoy music from Norcross First United Methodist Church. The City of Norcross will once again be honored to have Norcross resident Steven Howington officially light the Christmas tree. For over 30 years, Howington, who has Down Syndrome, has lit the City of Norcross’ Christmas tree. Santa will be busy checking his list in his workshop in the park and will be available for photos. Enjoy free hot cocoa and cookies courtesy of the Norcross Masonic Lodge and the Norcross Lions Club, and s’mores courtesy of the City of Norcross. “Polar Express” will be playing on the big screen while you wait in line to meet Santa. A local group of Disney princess performers (as well as the one, the only, The Grinch) will also be on hand to add to the Christmas magic.
Real Snow in Duluth: Start the holiday season off right on December 7 with the annual Deck the Hall event on Duluth Town Green. Enjoy a giant snow slide, real snow playground, crafts, pictures with Santa, a train ride with Mrs. Claus and a laser show, all for free. The free event takes place on from 2-7 p.m.
Holiday Arts and Crafts Show will be at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center on December 7 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring local vendors selling handmade crafts, woodworking, jewelry, clothing and much more! There is no fee to attend the Holiday Arts and Crafts Show. However, Breakfast With Santa is $17 per person. To register for Breakfast with Santa, visit www.gwinnettEHC.com or call 678-765-4664.
An annual Christmas Pops concert by the Gwinnett Symphony Musical Arts Consortium will be Monday, December 9 at 7 p.m. at the Infinite Energy Theater, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. This is a family friendly event for all ages. Don’t miss this spectacular performance that is sure to entertain the hearts of all kids and every kid at heart! All children will be invited to the stage to conduct the orchestra in a whimsical “Sleigh Ride” led by The Grinch. Tickers at $13-$25.
Author Visit: Dale Cardwell’s debut book, Don’t Get Scammed: Get Smart! endeavors to empower consumers and expose scammers. In this consumer oriented handbook, the author shares his seven-step strategy to becoming a savvy consumer. This event is free and open to the public on December 12 at 7 p.m. at the Suwanee Branch Library, 361 Main Street in Suwanee.
Another author Visit: Children are invited to hear Author Nury Crawford reading from her latest book, Sofia and Vivi: Big Sister. This is a bilingual English/Spanish children’s book about two sisters and their family who are new to the United States. She will be at the Buford Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library, 2100 Buford Highway in Buford, on Saturday, December 14 at 10:30 a.m. The event is free, and the books will be available for purchase and signing.
Santa in the Garden will be Saturday, December 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Discovery Garden Park in Norcross. Join Santa for marshmallow roasting and hot cocoa around the fire pit!
Cookies and Cocoa with Santa will be on Saturday, December 14 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Duluth Festival Center (new location!). Free crafts, homemade cookies and hot cocoa will be available while supplies last. Letters to Santa are welcome. Professional pictures will be taken on site and later posted on the City of Duluth’s Facebook page for free download. Guests are asked to arrive early as Santa will leave promptly after the event to make it back to the North Pole.
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