About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2018)
Thousands of dollars in Black Friday savings inside Church’s festival displays more than 1,000 Nativity sets, get out, 4B ehe eftne THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2018 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Happy Thanksgiving Turkey and tamales Latino immigrants combine American, native traditions in Thanksgiving meal BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com Diego Covarrubias proudly showed off the hundreds upon hundreds of tamales his staff at Carniceria Tapatia on Browns Bridge Road in Gainesville were rolling in prepara tion for Thanksgiving, or “dia de action de gracias.” Customers have been coming in all week to the grocery to get what has become a staple of Thanksgiving meals in Latino households. The tamales can include a choice of meats, such as beef, chicken or pork (or even vegetarian) wrapped in corn husks, which are steamed for two hours. Covarrubias said his staff makes about 3,000 tamales weekly, but that number is ris ing this week. He also has stalks of sugar cane on hand, which are used to create a popular fruit punch enjoyed by many Latino immigrants. Born in the United States to Mexican immigrants, Covarrubias said Turkey Day, an all-American holiday, fits perfectly with the love for family, food and fiestas that characterize many Latino traditions. “We have made it our holiday,” Covarru bias said. “We take it as family time and we integrate both cultures.” Covarrubias said he is expecting about 30 relatives at his home on Thanksgiving, so he was using his grocery, which includes a butcher’s shop and restaurant, to prepare some of the food. So, it’s turkeys and tamales. It’s classic stuffing paired with barbacoa and tortillas. And it’s pumpkin pie alongside fried pastries topped with cinnamon and sugar. “There’s endless possibilities,” Covarru bias said. Nataly Morales Villa, a student at the Uni versity of North Georgia in Gainesville and a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in ■ Please see TAMALES, 8A scon ROGERS I The Times Guadalupe Torres covers a pot of tamales Tuesday, Nov. 20, before steaming them at Carniceria Tapatia in Gainesville. Tamales are a popular item for Thanksgiving among Latinos. Hall County re-evaluates parks programs to adjust for growth, community need BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County is mapping out its future plans for parks, and offi cials want your input. Residents can go online and take a survey about the parks and facilities they currently use, as well as what they would like to see more of as the county expands its parks programs and looks at how to move forward. “That input would include what people are thinking about the programs we offer right now, what they’re thinking about ath letic programs, how they feel about the parks and community centers themselves, and their opinions and ideas for what they would like to see in the future,” said Becky Ruffner, who works in marketing for Hall County Parks and Leisure. Ruffner said as of Tuesday afternoon, about 1,100 people had already taken the survey. There will also be four public meetings where people can pro vide input in person or ask ques tions about the master plan. “The master plan is really kind of a road map of sorts that is a plan for our future for the next 10 years or so for parks and leisure,” Ruffner said. “It’s criti cal to have public input, whether you have it through the survey or through public meetings.” The last time the county did a parks master plan was in 1999, and that plan was updated in 2009. According to Census data, Hall’s population was about 134,000 in 1999, compared to ■ Please see PARKS, 8A Businesses ready for holiday shopping season BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com Kristen Redmon was busy this week staking signs around the downtown Gainesville square encouraging people to buy local this holiday sales season. It’s an initiative that has broad ened in recent years as Main Street Gainesville, the city’s marketing arm for downtown that Redmon manages, looks to unite local businesses and entice customers to treat Black Fri day and Small Business Saturday as an experience that includes shopping, din ing and family time. “We’re all about economic develop ment downtown,” Redmon said. “And what we’re doing this year is a little bit different than what we’ve ever done before.” Main Street is offering a coupon book for $5 that offers deals at shops and restaurants on the square. For example, Upsy Daisy, an inspi rational gift shop whose motto is “shop for the soul,” is offering 30 percent off fall items and 20 percent off one Christ mas item. It’s an incentive with a “little special touch to it,” said owner Dawn Parks. “If people are looking for deals, which we all are, we want to be able to give that to our customers,” she added. The buy-local campaign has united downtown businesses, who are encour aging patrons to make an experience of the shopping season. “And when they come to see us, we hope they’ll shop at all the other local shops,” Parks said. “We can feed off of one another.” Naomi Gnome, manager at Atlas Pizza on the square, said the vener able restaurant has never advertised or offered specials because the place is always busy and the prices reasonable. But, Gnome said, “We want to ■ Please see SHOPPING, 8A Main Street Gainesville coupon book Shoppers can purchase a coupon book with special deals at retailers and restaurants on the downtown Gainesville square for $5 by visiting the city’s tourism and marketing office at 117 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Suite 100. The revenue generated from the coupon book is pumped into Main Street Gainesville’s event planning and fagade grant programs. The coupon book comes with a shopping bag, map of local establishments and visitors guide. 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