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gainesvilletimes.com
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Grinch Run
5K seeks
funds, food for
local families
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
If you’re looking to feel a little less guilty
when Christmas dinner rolls around, down
town Gainesville has the 5K for you.
For the second year, Fundracers will be
hosting its Christmas Movie Run — this time
with a Grinch theme.
The Grinch Run 5K will begin at 8 a.m. Dec.
22. A 10K starts at 7:45 a.m and a fun run for
the kids at 9. The cost is $30 for the 5K and $40
for the 10K. The fun run is $15.
“We really try to just make it a fun commu
nity event so people can get out there and be
with their friends and neighbors and kind of
promote health and wellness as well as give
back to the community,” said Sarah Glynn,
race director at Fundracers.
This year’s beneficiary will be the Gaines
ville Community Food Pantry, a collabo
ration of St. Paul United Methodist Church,
Grace Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian
Church, First United Methodist Church and
First Baptist Church. It serves about 2,400 fam
ilies each year.
“We decided we wanted to do something
that could reach more people and get the word
out more, and so I stumbled upon them, and it’s
five huge churches there ... that all feed into
this,” Glynn said. “And I thought how neat it
would be for all of these people to come and
give back there.”
Part of the proceeds from the race will go
back to the food pantry along with all of the
protein-rich canned food items they’re asking
everyone to bring.
Fundracers, based out of Gwinnett, hosts
5K races and fundraisers for many different
causes in many different places. Last year, its
Elf Run in Gainesville benefited the Georgia
Mountain Food Bank.
There will be plenty of Christmas music and
hot chocolate to go around at The Grinch Run
— and snow, thanks to a snow machine at the
looped start and finish lines. Glynn said they
will have a photo booth with props for guests
and a blow-up Grinch to loom menacingly over
the whole event.
There are more than 250 registered for the
race, and Glynn thinks it could reach 400 by
the time the race starts. Registration is open
through the morning of the event.
“It’s definitely not the Peachtree (Road
Race), but I feel that the market is so saturated
with 5Ks right now, that to even get 100 people
at a race is a good thing,” Glynn said. “It’s like
anything, like a concert or a party, the more
the merrier. And the energy, it’s kind of pal
pable. You can almost touch it because every
one’s all excited.”
Each participant will get a long-sleeve shirt
for the event and the first 100 will get gift bags.
The course will start on the square and
travel down Maple Street, onto Oak Street
and then to Woodsmill Road. Racers will go
around Gainesville High School’s campus, then
through Wilshire Trails Park and Rock Creek
Veterans Park, ending up back on the square.
Even though Fundracers is based in Gwin
nett County, Glynn said they try to help organi
zations in the area the race takes place.
“We really want to keep it local,” Glynn said.
The Times file photo
Celebrate the holidays
in style as 2019 nears
Whether it s learning to make wine or seeing Santa, there’s fun for all
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHATEAU ELAN I For The Times
Chateau Elan is offering a winemaking course this Christmas season for those interested in a
crash course on how it’s done.
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
If you’re looking for some
thing to do while the kids are
out of school, we’ve got you
covered.
You can go see Santa, cel
ebrate New Year’s Eve a bit
early with the kids, do some
good for animals or learn
how to make a glass wine.
Whatever you choose, it’s
time for the holiday season,
so go celebrate with every
one you know as 2019 comes
around.
Winemaker Wannabe
It takes a lot of knowledge
to make wine, but in Janu
ary have the opportunity to
learn the ins-and-outs of what
it takes to get the job done at
Chateau Elan’s Winemaker
Wannabe class. The class
aims to give guests an inside
look at what winemaking is
all about (along with a tour
and tasting) with the price of
admission, which is $75 per
person.
The first class will be from
8 to 10 p.m. Jan 4, at Chateau
Elan.
Following the tasting,
guests will have the chance to
blend their own wine, while
asking questions about the
process.
“This is a class geared for
those who have always won
dered about the winemaking
process and they kind of want
to experience that firsthand,”
said Emily Truax, marketing
manager at Chateau Elan.
She said they’re hoping the
tour gives guests a little more
behind-the-scenes action
on the entire process, help
ing them understand how it
happens. Guests are often
curious about it, Truax said,
so classes are important for
Chateau Elan to offer.
After spending time blend
ing their own bottle of wine,
guests will get to design their
own label for the wine and
take it home with them after
the class
“Obviously, anytime you
have wine and cheese and
a tasting, it’s always going
to be really fun,” Truax
said. “But this is also a way
to really understand the
behind-the-scenes of wine
making, and really make
that an approachable thing
for people and help them
understand that on a really
personal level as they craft
their own bottle.”
For more information on
the event, call Chateau Elan
at 678-425-0900.
New Year’s Noon Day
Celebration
If you’re looking for
something a little more kid-
friendly, the Hall County
Library has you covered. It
will be hosting a New Year’s
Noon Day Celebration espe
cially for children who can’t
stay up until midnight.
The event will go from 11
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dec. 31
at the library and is free to
attend.
“The children are out of
school, so we want to provide
an opportunity for them to
participate in the New Year’s
Day celebration without hav
ing to stay up until midnight, ”
said Gail Hogan, outreach
librarian.
She said there will be sto
rytime with some of the best
books of 2018.
Adrianne Junius, youth
services director, said she’ll
be reading some of her favor
ites from the year, including
Kevin Henkes’ “Winter is
Here.”
There will also be snacks
and craft stations.
The moment everyone will
be waiting for comes at noon.
After gathering everyone
together, children will count
down the final seconds until
noon, until a balloon drop
sends balloons falling from
above.
“When the schools are
closed and a lot of preschools
are closed, we like to do
something fun,” Junius said.
“We like to be able to provide
something for them to do
and encourage them to read
during the Christmas break,
which sometimes doesn’t
happen as much as we’d like
it to.”
For more information, call
the Hall County Library at
770-532-3311
Toys for Spots
Animals need presents,
too, this Christmas.
Lucky for them, the
Humane Society of Northeast
Georgia is hosting a Toys for
Spots event with Downtown
Drafts from 2 to 6 p.m. Dec.
23.
For each item guests bring
to Downtown Drafts, they’ll
be given a ticket to win prizes
from the bar and from Bark-
Box, a subscription service
that delivers goods for dogs.
Donated items can be
dropped off anytime until the
event.
In order to receive a ticket,
the donated items must come
from a list provided by the
Humane Society. The list
includes everything from
peanut butter to dog toys to
cleaning products.
Jekyll Brewing will also be
at the event and will donate
all of its proceeds from its
Flightless Fowl IP A brew to
the Humane Society.
For more information,
call the Humane Society at
770-532-6617.
Cirque Du Sleigh
If you want a show, Left
Nut Brewing Co. is the place
to be Friday, Dec. 20. From
6:30 to 9 p.m., the brewery
will host Cirque Du Sleigh in
its taproom.
The event promises to be
an “evening of aerial enter
tainment, live music and
drinks all around,” according
to Left Nut Brewing.
The event is free and the
taproom is open from 1-10
p.m.
Cirque Fit will perform
each hour using silks hang
ing from the rafters in the
taproom.
A last chance for Santa
You don’t have a lot of time
left if you’re wanting to go
visit Santa Claus on the down
town Gainesville square.
The last two chances are
4 to 6 p.m. Dec. 21 and 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 22 at
Main Street Market, so grab
the kids, grandkids or one of
your friends and head to the
square to celebrate Christ
mas by sitting on Santa’s
knee.
Photos by Celestial Studios
are $25.
Peach Drop moving back to Underground Atlanta to ring in 2019
Associated Press
ATLANTA — The Peach Drop is moving back to Under
ground Atlanta.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms confirmed Wednesday that
the city’s New Year’s Eve celebration will return to Under
ground Atlanta after moving to Woodruff Park last year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the move to
the park just north of Underground Atlanta came after more
than 25 years of merriment at Underground.
Details about this year’s downtown celebration have not
been released, but officials have historically held a large
party with music, food and the lowering of the 800-pound
peach at midnight. Thousands of people usually attend to
ring in the new year.
People celebrate as 2018 arrives
Dec. 31,2017, with Peach Drop
2017 at Woodruff Park in Atlanta.
The Peach Drop is moving back to
Underground Atlanta,
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
confirmed Wednesday, Dec.
19, that the city’s New Year’s
Eve celebration will return to
Underground Atlanta after moving
to Woodruff Park last year.
BRANDEN CAMP I Associated Press
