About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2018)
W&t Srtncs gainesvilletimes.com Thursday, November 15, 2018 Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | getout@gainesvilletimes.com ★ Santa is coming to town Photos by DAVID BARNES I The Times The lighting of the chicken during the annual Jingle Mingle in downtown Gainesville, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017. Jingle Mingle returns despite construction, parking issues downtown BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com Santa Claus will soon be making his way to the down town square for Gainesville’s annual Jingle Mingle event. Guests and businesses alike always look forward to the event and the main attrac tion: lighting the giant chicken perched atop Main Street Mar ket. This year’s event, which kicks off downtown’s holiday shopping season, is set for 5 - 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15. Santa will be arriving in a fire truck as the event begins and will be ready for pho tos with children throughout the night. Guests can take carriage rides around the square and children can take train rides around Roosevelt Square. And, of course, there will be live music from the Voices of North Georgia and the Believer’s Concert Band. The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, which supports the event each year, is always hoping to bring more guests to downtown businesses. This year, it may be espe cially needed. “Businesses on the square could really use some addi tional shoppers this year, just with the construction that’s been happening,” said Con nie Rock, owner of Purchase Effect on the corner of Wash ington and Bradford Streets. “We hope people come out and support it.” Purchase Effect, which used to be located inside Main Street Market, recently moved out of that space and found a more prominent area on the square. Rock said she always looks forward to Jingle Mingle and even closes her store for about 15 minutes so she can head out to watch the lighting of the chicken. She said she doesn’t typi cally see much difference in sales, but with her new loca tion, she’s thinking that may change. “I’ve kind of got that antici pation of what’s to come,” Rock said. “In the evening, you just have a lot of people who came by and visit, and I think their minds are on the event and lighting of the chicken, not so much shop ping. But I believe they come by at a later time.” She’s keeping her hopes in check, though, since construc tion has taken over the square and cut away some of the available parking. “I’m hoping that people will take the extra time and try to find parking spots, or carpool and come support the busi nesses,” Rock said. “I don’t know anybody I’ve talked to that the parking hasn’t made it difficult for their customers.” Dress Up, a women’s bou tique on the square, is pulling people in by offering sales and free hot chocolate outside its Gainesville location. Savan nah Williams, a manager at the store, said they “like to get Julius, from Gainesville, looks up at Santa during the annual event, during which a giant chicken is lighted on the square. Mr. and Mrs. Claus wave to the crowd as they are lowered in a fire engine bucket. super festive,” so they spent an entire day decorating and getting things ready for the holiday season. “We did a bunch of holiday decor, which is different than what we normally do,” Wil liams said. “We’ve got Christ mas trees up, and lights and a bunch of fun Christmas stuff. We’re all going to be wearing Santa hats, so it will be a lot of fun.” She said Jingle Mingle brings in “a ton” of custom ers, so they bring in a handful of extra employees to keep up with the demand in the store. And even on such a busy day, Williams said the event is something they always look forward to. After “20-something years” of doing Jingle Mingle, Kit Dunlap said it still never gets old. As the president of the chamber, she said she looks forward to it every year. “It’s important because if you haven’t been downtown Jingle Mingle Where: Downtown Gainesville Square When: 5 - 8 p.m. Nov. 15 How much: Free in a while, you walk around and see the stores and it’s the beginning of the holiday sea son,” Dunlap said. “It’s not only Thanksgiving but Christ mas too. So I think it’s a big deal.” ‘Businesses on the square could really use some additional shoppers this year, just with the construction that’s been happening. We hope people come out and support it.’ Connie Rock Purchase Effect owner American Legion Post 7 to host its first fall festival BY AMBER TYNER atyner@gainesvilletimes.com Veterans Day has already passed, but the celebration will continue this Saturday: From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., the American Legion Post 7 will host its first-ever Veterans Fall Festival, complete with arts and crafts and food vendors. “We’re trying to duplicate Mule Camp, kind of at a ‘crawl, walk, run’ level,” said Johnny Varner, the house committee exec utive at large for the American Legion Post 7. “We wanted to make it a part of our Vet erans theme for the month.” The festival is for all ages, and there will be military vehicle displays, music, corn- hole and a variety of food options, includ ing chili, barbecue, hot dogs, hamburg ers and vegetable soup. Varner said the American Legion will also have a post service officer at the event around 1 p.m. “She’ll be able to talk about state ben efits as far as vet erans and some of the programs, how to check on your claims and things of that nature,” he said. And while the fes tival is sure to offer a good time, Varner said it also serves another purpose. “We want to highlight some of the things the facility has to offer,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that still don’t know they can rent it. We’d like to try to be some of the options that they can look at when compared to the (Gainesville) Civic Center or some of the other venues out there that they can rent.” He said the American Legion Post 7 is also preparing for its 100th anniversary, which will be in August 2019. “We’re just really trying to let people know where we’re at and educate them on the history we have at that post,” he said. “It would be nice to have throughout the day maybe 100 to 200 people who come through.” Veterans Fall Festival What: Hosted by American Legion Post 7 When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 17 Where: American Legion Post 7, 2343 Riverside Drive, Gainesville How much: Free More info: 404-536-3831 oralpost7@ outlook.com Exhibition to display ‘open air’ paintings among others BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com Quinlan Visual Arts Center is switch ing over to its winter exhibition, featuring paintings from the Eastern League of Pro fessional Artists, the Hoschton Heritage Group, John Guernsey and Marea Haslett. A reception for members and artists will be held from 5:30 - 7 p.m. Nov. 29, the same day the exhibition opens free to the public during normal business hours. “With all these dreary days we’ve been hav ing, it’s the per fect time to come in and see some really great art,” said Amanda McClure, execu tive director of the center. On top of the work from the two groups being displayed, Guern sey and Haslett will show off their solo work. McClure said Guernsey is known for his landscape art while Haslett is an abstract artist. One of the major draws to this show, which will be on display through Feb. 16, is the plein air paintings. “Plein is short for ‘in the open air,”’ McClure said. “It’s a French term used to describe artists that work outside.” This sort of painting requires artists to brave the elements and get outside to embrace the real movements of what they’re painting. Everything must be done in the open, not in a studio. Members of the Eastern League of Pro fessional Artists, which is headlining the show, did some of these paintings around Gainesville — a few outside Quinlan and some on other parts of Green Street — and invited other artists around the area to participate as well. “They actually required the artist to take a picture on their phone of them painting outside to prove they didn’t just paint in their studio from a photograph,” McClure said. About a dozen plein air paintings will be on display at the winter exhibition. Quinlan Winter Exhibition Where: Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville When: Nov. 29 through Feb. 16 How much: Free More info: Facebook
