Everyone is invited to celebrate Memorial Day by visiting the Sautee Nacoochee Center on Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24. A number of opportunities are planned during this holiday opening. Social distancing and virus prevention behaviors are encouraged.
- Admission to the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia will be free for all visitors. These are the final days to view the Dave Drake Edgefield Pottery Exhibit, which closes May 30. Dave Drake was an enslaved African American potter who worked in the Edgefield, South Carolina Pottery District for forty years in the 1800s. One of his greatest legacies are the poetic verses he incised on a number of his pieces.
- Also a part of the weekend will be historic demonstration and interpretation at the Heritage Site. Framed by nineteenth century landscaping and antebellum artifacts, the Heritage Site features two structures, a slave cabin original to the Nacoochee Valley and moved to the SNC campus, along with a blacksmith’s shop built onsite in 2014. The cabin will be open and a demonstrating blacksmith will be at the smithy, creating functional and decorative tools and implements.
- In the Cultural Center, the Celebrate the Arts! Exhibit is on display. The exhibit presents the works of SNC Art Studio students and their teachers, as well as the art of students from White County schools.
- The two gallery shops, presenting one-of-a-kind, handmade art in a range of mediums by member artists, will also be open for browsing and shopping. Purchasing items from the gallery shops supports local, working artists as well as the work and mission of SNC.
- The Native Peace Garden, located behind the Sautee Post Office, will be staffed on Saturday. Visitors to the garden can see plants native to north Georgia and learn why it is so important to include them in your garden. Plants in bloom include Mountain Laurel and Black Cohosh.
- All are welcome to enjoy the sprawling, green SNC campus, which includes picnic tables, a walking trail, gardens, playing fields and a playground. Visitors are reminded to follow all social distancing practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.
- Visitors may pick-up a Discovery Bag in the Folk Pottery Museum, which will include resources to enhance their visit: A ten question Scavenger Hunt covering the SNC buildings and grounds; a Word Search game for the Folk Pottery Museum; Copies of Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill (while supplies last). The Explore Helen & Sautee Nacoochee phone app can be used as a driving tour or as a guide to White County landmarks and landscapes.
Hours for Memorial Day Weekend are as follows.
Saturday, May 23
10 AM – 5 PM
Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia
Cultural Center and Gallery Shops
Blacksmithing demonstrations
10 AM – 2 PM
Native Peace Garden
Dawn to Dusk
Campus
Sunday, May 24
1 – 5 PM
Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia
Cultural Center and Gallery Shops
Blacksmithing demonstrations
Dawn to Dusk
Campus
Monday, May 25
Closed
For more information about SNC, visit
www.snca.org or call 706-878-3300. SNC is located at 283 Hwy 255 N, Sautee Nacoochee, GA 30571 and will be closed Monday, May 25.
The Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is a 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization whose mission is to value and nuture individual creativity, along with the historical, cultural and environmental resources of the Sautee and Nacoochee valleys and surrounding areas.