GwinnettForum | Number 25.14 | Feb. 18, 2025
ROUNDING UP ADDS UP: Gwinnett charities continue to get funding from the Jackson EMC Foundation, monies coming from rounding up Jackson EMC electrical bills. Among recent recipients was Family Promise of Gwinnett, recipient of $15,000, to support shelter programs for families without homes, through a network of local congregations. From left are Jennifer Fennell, Jackson EMC Gwinnett district manager; Carol Love, executive director of Family Promise of Gwinnett; Dee Anderson and Beauty Baldwin, Jackson EMC Foundation board members; and Kenny Lumpkin, Jackson EMC Foundation representative. For more details, see Notable below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Help Gwinnett Ballet Theatre thrive for the arts locally
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Meandering Gwinnett school board raises questions
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Gwinnett College
ANOTHER VIEW: Trump’s pardon of insurrectionists who attack Capitol
FEEDBACK: This theory explains Trump, Musk and chaos
UPCOMING: Sitting too much can cause lower back pain
NOTABLE: Gwinnett Tech gets new VP for economic development
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Circuses first appeared in Georgia back in 1801
MYSTERY PHOTO: Steel bridge engineering feat is today’s Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Sugar Hill Preservation Society meets Feb. 19
Help Gwinnett Ballet Theatre thrive for the arts here
Gas South Arena hosts the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre.
By Brian Wire, member
Board of Directors, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
SUWANEE, Ga. | As we prepare for the 2025-2026 season, we invite you to invest in the continued success of Gwinnett Ballet Theatre (GBT)—a company dedicated to bringing professional, high-quality ballet to Gwinnett County. For over 45 years, GBT has been a pillar of the local arts community. In the past five years, we have grown into Gwinnett’s only professional ballet company. With your support, we can continue to bring exceptional performances, artistic excellence, and cultural enrichment to our region.
Why should you support GBT?
When you donate to Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, you are directly supporting the arts, local artists, and the economic vitality of our community. Professional ballet is more than just a performance—it is an investment in Gwinnett’s cultural identity and creative economy. As a professional company, we provide paid contracts to talented dancers, ensuring that they can pursue their craft while contributing to the artistic landscape of our region.
Beyond the stage, GBT serves as an economic driver. Every performance at Gas South Theater attracts audiences who dine at local restaurants, shop at nearby businesses, and book hotel stays, generating revenue that benefits the entire county. A thriving arts scene also enhances Gwinnett’s appeal, attracting businesses, fostering tourism, and creating a dynamic environment where families want to live and work.
At GBT, we take a responsible and strategic approach to financial stewardship. We understand that every dollar donated is a contribution of trust, and we ensure that your support is used efficiently and effectively. Our organization operates with lean budgets, prudent decision-making, and a strong focus on sustainability, allowing us to produce high-caliber performances without unnecessary overhead.
A single dollar spent at GBT goes a long way, supporting everything from costumes and set designs to dancer salaries and live music collaborations. Unlike larger metropolitan companies that require vast operating budgets, GBT has learned how to stretch every contribution to maximize its impact. With your help, we can continue to deliver productions at a fraction of the cost, making professional ballet accessible to more people in our community.
Your support makes a difference: the 2025-2026 season is a crucial turning point for GBT, as we work to secure a full season residency at Gas South Theater. Expanding our performances will allow us to reach larger audiences, create new artistic works, and provide even more opportunities for dancers and students alike. However, we cannot do this without your generosity.
Your donation today will help fund professional dancer salaries, ensuring that GBT continues to attract and retain top talent. It will support the production of full-length ballets, bringing the magic of dance to Gwinnett. It will help keep ticket prices affordable, making the arts accessible to a broader audience. It will also fund community engagement programs, inspiring the next generation of artists and patrons.
Your support is an investment in the arts, in Gwinnett, and in the future of professional ballet. Together, we can ensure that Gwinnett Ballet Theatre thrives for years to come. Donate Today and be part of something truly special.
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Meandering Gwinnett school board raises questions
From a Jan. 16, 2025, meeting of the county school board. Meetings are available online through the Gwinnett County Public Schools website.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
FEB. 18, 2025 | In the past 30-40 years, Gwinnettians have been proud of its public school system, as it gained new heights in various ways year after year. Yet these last few years, its residents have had a growing concern about the direction of its school board, as there has been upheaval, bickering among the school board and split decisions affecting operations.
In the last four years, we have seen the firing of two school superintendents. This does not bode well.
Yet in spite of all this, so far the students seem to be doing better than their leaders. We wonder how long this can continue. That is why there is more apprehension on the part of parents of students about our schools.
There are several significant matters that worry us. Among them:
- Will Gwinnett be able to continue to adequately fund its operations, since it is taxing property owners at 19.2 mills, with a 20 mill statewide limit? (This limit on school funding was imposed by the Legislature years ago.) Schools districts can only exceed this limit by voter approval, after authorization by the Legislature.
- Will voters continue to approve E-SPLOST funds for the certain growth of the district, and the need for funding of new schools, in view of the ramifications of a split board?
- How would the system pay for new schools without E-SPLOST funds? Is overcrowding a certainty in the future?
- Will all this upheaval show itself in the lowering of the quality of the education of students?
- Can the school board attract a superb superintendent in view of the recent firings? Would you want to jump into this situation?
Administering a school system can take many forms. There are 180 school districts in the state, all with locally-elected boards to run them.
These boards, in turn, select the superintendent.
That was not always the case in Georgia. In what was once a virtually unworkable system, many counties elected both the school board members, and also the superintendent. Talk about a difficult situation, this was it. The voters were choosing rivals in a continuing battle. Fortunately, this is no longer possible in Georgia.
The legislature eventually voted to require the school boards in every district in Georgia to hire its superintendent, eliminating a continual battle between two entities selected by the voters.
Seems we remember some counties where the Grand Jury selected its school board members.
Back in 1870, the General Assembly of Georgia established the law requiring public schools in each county of the state. But look what happened in Bibb County: On August 23, 1872, the General Assembly of Georgia passed an act creating the Board of Public Education and Orphanage of Bibb County, a public school system supported by taxpayer funds. This act provided the Board would be self-perpetuating; the power of filling vacancies was left in the hands of the Board.”
You read that right. A self-perpetuating board! The Macon schools essentially were run by leaders in the county that the school board itself picked. The voters had no determination of who were the school board members. That system continued for many years and the Macon schools were exceptionally good. (Yep, we’re happily a product of that system.)
The people of Gwinnett will have its school system foremost in their minds over the next two years, as its meandering board raises question after question.
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Trump’s pardon of insurrectionists who attack Capitol
Rioters storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Image via Wikipedia.
“Justice is indiscriminately due to all, without regard to numbers, wealth or rank.” —John Jay
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | For those who have been under a rock, President Trump just pardoned 1,500+ insurrectionists. On Jan. 6, 2021, many attacked Capitol police where 150 were injured, then ransacked the Capitol building. The actions of these rioters lead to the eventual deaths of five officers, four by suicide due to the impact of the riot upon their mental health.
My uncle commanded a New York Police Department precinct. My first cousins were employed by the FBI and corrections departments. I would have thought “back the blue” police unions would come down strongly on Trump’s pardons. But even The International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police are afraid of Trump’s vindictiveness.
So, in a joint statement (1-21-25), both organizations attempted to falsely equate Joe Biden’s inappropriate actions of pardoning his son, et al, with Trump’s outrageous pardoning of 1,500+ traitorous rioters. A total of 1,270 of these rioters were already convicted. Trump also commuted sentences for another 14 members of radical right-wing groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
I disagree with Biden’s pardons for criminals who are politically connected. But for some pardons, I acknowledge his thinking centered around humane considerations for his own family, Congressmen and other people simply doing their jobs.
I can also understand Trump’s self-interested, politicized rationale for issuing his pardons to people convicted of “obstruction or impediment of an official proceeding” and violent 1-6-21 offenses. Loyalty to Trump is the sole criteria for obtaining immunity, with him repeatedly declaring convicted insurrectionists to be “hostages” rather than criminals.
In other words, “Anyone who kisses the ring is immune from prosecution.” How else can Trump’s historic, unethical actions be explained? Let’s look at a few of the violent people who organized and led the violent confrontation, but then got commutations or complete pardons.
- Stewart Rhodes: A primary organizer of the insurrection, Rhodes is a leader of the radical right wing Oath Keepers. He was sentenced to not one or two years, but to 18 years for “seditious conspiracy.” In other words, conspiring to overthrow our democracy by preventing the certification of the 2020 Presidential election. His followers, dressed in battle gear, attacked police. His sentence was commuted.
- Enrique Tarrio: A leader of the right-wing Proud Boys, he was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy. Although he organized the violent activities of hundreds of Proud Boys on January 6, he was completely pardoned.
Others pardoned/commuted (you can Google specifics) included Dan Gray, a Georgia resident who assaulted a Capitol police officer; and Brandon Fellows, Brian Mock, Issac Sturgeon, Salvador Sandoval, Jacob Chansley, Rachel Powell, Andrew Valentin, Matt Valentin and many other men/women convicted of various indefensible violent offenses against Capitol police.
Two-thirds of Americans do not agree with these Trump pardons. However, the bottom line is that we now have an American “king” who has been bestowed total immunity by our politicized Supreme Court. Plus, Trump has made it clear that he will give immunity to anyone wearing the red MAGA hat (even a Democrat like NYC Mayor Eric Adams).
Our system of checks and balances and equal protection under the law has ceased to exist. Trump’s “Brown Shirts” are now free to terrorize anyone that Trump dislikes. If they are found guilty by a jury, he can just make an excuse and then pardon them. And they know it. Our Founding fathers must be turning over in their graves.
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This theory explains Trump, Musk and chaos
Editor, the Forum:
Here’s a theory to explain the autocratic behavior of Trump and Musk. The two of them are driven by the love of money. They believe the massive size of the United States debt is a major threat to U.S. financial stability and a threat to their wealth. They want to reduce the national debt to achieve domestic financial tranquility.
Many of their executive orders are focused on cutting the outflow of cash.
- Reducing the number of employees in the federal government.
- Eliminating government departments like USAID and the department of education.
- Reducing US commitment to NATO.
- Using tariffs to achieve a positive balance of trade.
Trump and Musk are trying to accomplish these cash-saving policies without going through Congress because they believe (1) congressmen and senators are the root of the problem and (2) the legislative process is too slow.
These politicians are always looking for ways to spend money. They want their states and congressional districts to get a large portion of the federal pie, without regard to the financial consequences. They receive large benefits from lobbyists and they end up doing the lobbyists’ bidding. In other words, they have the power of the purse, but they don’t use it wisely. Furthermore, their unwillingness to compromise makes it very difficult to reach a sensible decision.
The tactics of Trump and Musk are probably illegal and unconstitutional, but they are willing to take that risk in their quest to cut the federal deficit and secure the financial stability of the United States.
– Tim Keith, Sugar Hill
In order for jurists to rule, first must come suits
Editor, the Forum: Your article on the importance of the judicial branch during these times is right on point.
Of course, in order for a court to act, some party with standing must file suit. Many groups have already done so and I applaud them.
My opinion is that anytime Trump or his administration does something of questionable legality or constitutionality, it needs to be questioned in court. His blanket actions are likely to cause harm to our nation and its people.
– John Titus, Peachtree Corners
Are you happy with Trump slash-and-burn tactics?
Editor, the Forum:
It’s gladdening to me that some of these Trump supporters are happy with the slash and burn to the government agencies that he is decimating along with his buddy Musk (a billionaire who also gets taxpayer money for his wasteful projects). I hope all of you enjoy the music when on telephone hold that these agencies play while you wait to speak to someone about whatever help you need from the government.
Agencies like checking your Social Security check or understanding the latest Medicare rules. You could always call the Governor for assistance, but I believe he and his wife will offer their thoughts and prayers for you (bless your heart).
Granted, some of these agencies need to be checked for redundancies and be consolidated if found. But to just outright fire people without due cause and closing agencies without investigating what should be cut and what is necessary is insane. This should have been done methodically with care, understanding and expertise. I’m also concerned that strangers looking at my private information who have not been vetted or checked for possible security breaches are working. Many of these people have no background in government. Imagine the mischievousness these people could cause!
So here we are. You say the government belongs to the people, but that is not what I’m seeing. I see a president who still doesn’t understand how to govern and treats this country like a corporation that he owns. Remember this is OUR country. We should have the final say through the Congress. It’s not wrong to want to see America pay her bills and balance the budget. But it should not be at the cost of those who are relieved from these agencies who work to make our lives better.
– Sara Rawlins, Lawrenceville
- Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: ebrack2@gmail.com.
Sitting too much can cause lower back pain
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 80 percent of the world’s population will experience lower back pain (LBP). The causes of LBP range from injuries to the spine, muscles or ligaments to poor muscle tone and joint problems.
Via Unsplash
Dr. Lauren Tapp, Georgia Gwinnett College’s associate professor of exercise science and chair of the Physical Education Department, says that one aspect of daily life is a contributing culprit to lower back pain: how we sit.
“One of the biggest causes of chronic lower back pain has to do with how much sitting we do each day. A lot of jobs are sedentary in nature, and most people don’t practice good sitting posture. It’s important to take breaks, stand up and move if you spend a lot of time sitting.”
For those whose jobs are physical in nature, Tapp said much of the same precautions are true. When lifting items, she said it’s important to use the correct technique, which means bending your knees and keeping you back straight. Additionally, she said it’s good to take advantage of available equipment designed to help move heavy objects.
Good posture also helps prevent problems when doing everyday activities outside of exercise.
Tapp
“A common scenario resulting in an acute injury can be as mundane as picking up a basket of laundry, twisting and then putting it on a counter,” says Tapp. “When extending and then twisting at the same time, we can pull a muscle or displace a spinal disk, leading to sometimes debilitating lower back pain.”
During winter months, many have prepared their homes for colder temperatures. Some of those activities may include cleaning gutters or replacing insulation around doors and windows. Other examples may also include taking down holiday lawn displays, lights and interior decorations. All of these activities, said Tapp, can lead to lower back pain.
There are several ways to help reduce your risk of lower back pain, like maintaining a healthy weight and performing daily mobility and/or strengthening exercises.
“There are plenty of exercises you can do at home using your body weight that will help strengthen your back muscles,” says Tapp. “The key is to not overdo it. More is not necessarily better.”
Some home exercises that Tapp recommended include the Cat Cow, Kneeling Supermans or Bird Dogs, and Prone Back Extensions.
The Cat Cow stretch involves two yoga poses that stretch the back, neck and abdomen. It helps improve spinal flexibility. The Kneeling Superman or Bird Dogs helps strengthen the back. Like its name, it’s done on all fours and alternating extending the arms and legs with the right arm, left leg, and then the left arm, right leg. Prone back extensions can help improve posture and range of motion in the lower back. They are done by lying on your stomach, extending both arms back and raising your chest.
Tapp recommended that before starting any exercise regimen, seek professional advice.
Gwinnett Tech gets new VP for economic development
Gwinnett Technical College is announcing a new vice president of economic development. She is Lauren Dodson of Tucker, who has 15 years of experience in the sciences and education sector. Dodson is set to lead the college’s economic development, customized training, Quick Start, and continuing education services, emphasizing the community’s workforce needs.
Dods0n
Lauren Dodson’s previous roles include project manager at Partnership Gwinnett, where she specialized in technology and life sciences, and positions at Georgia EMC and the Technology Association of Georgia. Dodson also has a background as a science teacher in Gwinnett County public schools.
Dr. D. Glen Cannon, president of Gwinnett Technical College, said, “We are excited to welcome Lauren to Gwinnett Tech as the Vice President of Economic Development. Her impressive contributions to Gwinnett County and the technology sector make her a perfect fit for our mission to support our community in Gwinnett and North Fulton counties.”
Dodson holds a PhD in education from Piedmont University and a Master’s in science education from Georgia State University. Her undergraduate degree is in biology from Reinhardt University.
JEMC Foundation grants $80,000 to Gwinnett charities
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total of $99,890 in grants for organizations during its recent meeting, including $80,000 to organizations serving Gwinnett County.
- $15,000 to Hebron Community Health Center, Inc., Lawrenceville, which offers non-emergency primary care for residents in Barrow and Gwinnett counties who are low income or uninsured.
- $15,000 to Hope Clinic, Inc., Lawrenceville, which provides medical care to uninsured, underinsured or with limited or no access to healthcare for people in Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Lumpkin counties for in-person or telehealth mental health services.
- $15,000 to The Salvation Army, Lawrenceville, to provide rental or mortgage assistance for families in Gwinnett County facing homelessness or a disaster, and people with a disability.
- $10,000 to Giving Health, Inc., which supports individuals and families in all counties served by Jackson EMC with affordable access to healthcare services for access to virtual medical and mental health services.
- $10,000 to Home Repairs Ministries, Inc., Duluth, which provides critical home repairs and modifications for vulnerable homeowners, including low-income seniors, widows, veterans, single mothers and people with disabilities in Gwinnett County for its Critical Home Repairs Program.
- $10,000 to (The) Cottage Sexual Assault Center and Children’s Advocacy Center, Inc., Athens, for therapy sessions for children and adult survivors of sexual abuse and assault in all counties served by Jackson EMC.
- $5,000 to the Lilburn Woman’s Club to promote literacy in the community in Gwinnett County.
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An invitation: What books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next.
Circuses first appeared in Georgia back in 1801
Since the early 19th century the circus has been a favorite form of professional entertainment for Georgians. The circus first appeared in America in 1793, and Georgia hosted a circus as early as 1801 in Savannah.
Just like circuses of today, these early shows emphasized horseback riding, acrobatics, and clowning. The circus’s appeal in Georgia from the early nineteenth century to the present day provides a window into how southern tastes in popular culture and southern norms of public behavior have changed over time.
The early circus was strictly an urban amusement. Circuses performed in a single city for weeks at a time, playing in theaters or temporary wooden structures built by the showmen. In a coastal state such as Georgia, shows moved from city to city by riverboat, and before 1825 no circus played farther west than the state’s short-lived capital of Louisville. But that year the introduction of a portable canvas tent into the circus business allowed shows to undertake more frequent and ambitious moves deep into the Georgia backcountry.
With the addition of small towns to their itineraries, performers and workers now faced the exhausting task of moving on rutted and muddy country roads from one isolated Georgia community to another. Circuses reached the interior towns of Athens, Macon, and Milledgeville by the late 1820s and Columbus by the early 1830s, giving rural Georgians the opportunity to see the same performances that their urban counterparts had enjoyed for years.
By the early 20th century the circus had entered a period of decline. Novel forms of entertainment like movie houses, amusement parks, and professional sports competed with circuses for the attention of the Georgia public. The ever-increasing number of automobiles on the road forced shows to end the long and popular tradition of the free circus parade.
Still, Georgia residents could point with pride to the fine shows that called the state their winter home. Between 1908 and 1956, Macon’s Central City Park hosted five different circuses. Other Georgia cities where circuses wintered during the first half of twentieth century include Americus, Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, and Valdosta.
Since the 1990s smaller shows like Barnum’s Kaleidoscape and Cirque du Soleil have spearheaded a popular resurgence of the circus in America. Georgia’s contribution to this new generation of tented troupes is the Black-owned UniverSoul Circus, which debuted in Atlanta in 1994. This one-ring show offers standard circus acts like clowning, acrobatics, and performing animals but presents them with a distinctive African American aesthetic. Breaking with circus conventions, UniverSoul performers dance to the beat of rhythm and blues, salsa, and hip-hop, and its clowns draw on the realities of urban life for their humor.
Yet in a return to the intimacy and interactivity of the antebellum circus, the show brings audience members into the ring to dance and sing. Through its fusion of tradition and innovation, the UniverSoul Circus demonstrates why the venerable entertainment institution of the circus will remain a part of Georgia’s, and the nation’s, cultural fabric.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Steel bridge engineering feat
Today’s mystery photo is a major engineering feat of a steel bridge. Your job is to determine where this bridge is, and what is unusual that takes place there. Send your thoughts to ebrack2@gmail.com and tell us your hometown.
The last mystery was meant to throw off our spotters, for this colorful temple was located here in the county. First in was Ruthy Lachman Paul, Norcross, who said: “it is the Buddha temple near Snellville.” The photo came from Bruce Johnson of Lawrenceville.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas, wrote: “The readers of the GwinnettForum do not need to ‘travel worldwide’ to figure out where today’s mystery photo was shot. They just need to head on over to East 4052 Zoar Church Road near Snellville to see the Wat Lao Buddha Khanti of Atlanta in person.
“This is a Theravada Buddhism practicing temple focusing on the traditional and cultural rites practiced by religious leaders from the country of Laos. In Buddhism, a ‘wat’ is a sacred edifice, temple or monastery that houses a large image of Buddha and is often used as a facility for teaching Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religion in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
“There are a number of Laotian Buddhist Temples in Georgia, both in the Atlanta area and as well as the rural northeast area of Georgia. So if you are interested in seeing more of these ornate temples, you don’t need to travel the world, as these options exist in your own backyard! Here are some other Laos Wats that you may want to visit.
- Wat Lao Buddhamoongcoon: 2325 Hillside Road, Riverdale;
- Wat Lao Buddha Phothisaram: 4433 E Conley Road, Conley;
- Wat Lao Buddha Sattha Dhamma: 241 Buchannan Road, Alto; and
- Wat Lao Buddharam Khambouneheuan: 136 Hamby, Mountain Park Drive, Baldwin.”
Also recognizing this photo were Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
- SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Click here to send an email and please mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
Sugar Hill Preservation Society meets Feb. 19
Author Talk: Join New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict as she discusses her newest historical fiction novel, The Queens of Crime. This will be on Tuesday, February 18 at 1 p.m. at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. The author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie returns with a thrilling story of Agatha Christie’s legendary rival Dorothy Sayers, the race to solve a murder, and the power of friendship among women. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Food Giveaway is taking place on February 18 at 10 a.m. at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, 182 Hunter Street in Norcross. A total of 550 boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables will be available, on a first come, first served basis. Enter the Faith Hall parking lot via Jimmy Carter Boulevard to line up for the food. Partners in this include Volunteer Gwinnett and Helping Mamas.
Highlighting Black History month, speaking in Lawrenceville on February 19 at 6 p.m. will be Dr. Terrence Roberts, a member of the Little Rock Nine. That was a group of Black students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, facing fierce opposition as they challenged segregation in public education. This year’s national theme, African Americans and Labor, will be explored locally through the traditions of Black family reunions and their deep connections to shared history, resilience and labor. The meeting will be at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center.
Sugar Hill Preservation Society will meet on Wednesday, February 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Room of City Hall. The Speaker will be retired Lt. Cmdr. Michael N. Henderson. His book, “GOT PROOF! My Genealogical Journey Through the Use of Documentation” explores his family background and the social dynamics of French and Spanish Louisiana.
Postpartum Health Awareness: Are you a new or expecting parent? Gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the joys and challenges of postpartum care, newborn care, and child safety. This will be presented on February 19 at 11 a.m. at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library.
Author Talk: Join author Tiffany L. Warren as she discusses her historical fiction novel, The Unexpected Diva, about the first Black prima donna, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield. The talk will be at the Five Forks Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on February 20. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
The Peachtree Corners Library will host Author Laura Elizabeth on February 21 at noon. She will discuss her newest book in The Island Mysteries series, A Special Kind of Heartache. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
GGC Four Pillars scholarship gala will be February 21 at 5:30 p.m. (dinner at 6:30 p.m.) at the Georgia Gwinnett College Convocation Center. Awards will be presented. Those attending will honor and celebrate GGC’s 20 years of growth and success, and support its amazing students with scholarship support.
Art-Tiques Winter Market will return to downtown Braselton on February 21-23 with 150+ vendors offering vintage furniture, local artwork, boutique items, and more, plus food trucks and live music. Location: Historic Gym at 115 Harrison Street. Times are Friday, 12-6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Researching African American ancestors will be the topic of a workshop on February 22 at 11 a.m. at the Snellville Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. Learn how to research African American genealogy through courthouse records.
Horns galore! and The Chamber singers and Gwinnett Symphony will be in concert at the Norcross First Global Methodist Church on February 23 at 5 p.m. Jose Manuel Garcia will be featured at the piano as the Symphony presents Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 as well as Humperdinck and LoPresti’s “Tears of Joy.” Tickets on sale at Visit Gwinnettsymphony.org.
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