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PAGE 6 B THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008 STATE'S TOP ATTRACTION Stone Mountain is the state's most visited attraction, as well as the world's largest piece of exposed granite rock. Just an hour drive away, it makes a perfect get-away for North Georgia residents. Stone Mountain celebrates 50th anniversary Remastered lasershow, 'sky hike’ among new features BY ANGELA GARY Flowers are blooming, the weather has warmed up and it’s the perfect time for a visit to Stone Mountain Park, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Stone Mountain is the state’s most visited attraction, as well as being the world’s largest piece of exposed gran ite rock. Just an hour drive away, it makes a per fect get-away for North Georgia residents. Some of the long-time favor ites, including the sky bucket ride to the top of the mountain, a scenic train ride around the park and a riverboat ride, are still musts for any visit to the park. However, there are a lot of new attractions for adults and chil dren alike to enjoy this summer. New attractions include a digitally remastered lasershow spectacular and a new million dollar attraction called sky hike. The 25th anniversary season for the lasershow will be observed this summer with new scores featuring music from “Star Wars,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Indiana Jones” and “High School Musical.” Guests can relax on the huge grass lawn and enjoy this fantastic show. New this summer will be Sky Hike, RIDE TO THE TOP The Summit Skyride high speed cable car takes guests 825 feet to the top of the mountain. where children of all ages will be able to climb along a quarter mile course in the treetops. Three courses with different levels of difficulty are offered. Other plans for the summer include: a new musical review called Rock Solid Country, the Backyard Circus, appear ances by the Veggie Tales, a new train show and street artist performances at Crossroads. While lots of exciting adventures are planned in the coming weeks, we enjoyed some of the long-time favorites on a recent visit. My 6-year-old nephew spent hours during our day-long visit in The Great Barn. Climbing structures, interactive games, super slides and tram poline floors are fea tured. We also enjoyed a train ride through the park, a sky bucket ride to the top of the mountain, a round of putt putt at the Great Locomotive Chase Adventure Golf and a riverboat ride. These are things I have enjoyed doing since I was a child and it’s great to see another gen eration of the family get joy from them. Plenty of festivals are planned through out 2008 at Stone Mountain, including: Memorial Day Salute to the Troops, May 24-26; Summer at the Rock, June 7-Aug. 3; Gospel Celebration, June 14; Atlanta Fest, June 19-21; Fantastic Fourth Celebration, July 3-5; Yellow Daisy Festival, Sept. 4-7; Chili Cook Off, Sept. 27; Home School Day, Oct. 3; A Tour of Southern Ghosts, Oct. 15-19, 22-26 and 29-31; Highland Games, Oct. 18-19; Indian Festival and Pow Wow, Nov. 6-9; Christmas Celebration, Nov. 8-9, 14-16, 21-23, 25-30 and Dec. 5-7, 12-14, 19-23 and 26-30. The fee is $25 for adults and $20 for children ages 3-11. Parking is $8. For more details, visit www.stonemountainpark.com. CROSSROADS AT STONE MOUNTAIN Crossroads shows visitors what an 1870s Southern town was like with demonstrations, special shows, shops and restaurants. Live entertainment can also be found in the village. While lots of SCENIC RIDE A scenic train ride around Stone Mountain Park has long-time been a favorite of visitors. It provides a great close up view of the mountain, as well as a look at the park. A narration gives some history of the mountain. BALLOON ARTISTS Youngsters lined up at Stone Mountain during the spring festivi ties to get a balloon animal display.