Touring a beautiful historic home where workshops on wreath-making and other garden crafts are offered, an evening of wonderful music from the Sons of Lafayette Male Choir and a night of hilarious good times at the New Horizon Community Theatre. Thrown in shopping in the unique shops in the charming downtown and enjoying some culinary delights and you will have the perfect girlfriend get-away.
LaGrange and Troup County, located in Central West Georgia just one hour’s drive past Atlanta, is a great destination for North Georgia residents. Arts, culture and architecture are all to be found.
We started our long weekend off with the annual Christmas performance of the Sons of Lafayette Male Choir. The performance was amazing with all the voices raising together in classic and traditional Christmas selections. Don’t worry if you missed it, the group has a spring production coming up.
The annual “Christmas With The Sons” was presented in the beautiful First Presbyterian Church, which provided a lovely backdrop for the evening of music. The 32-member choir, directed by Loren Pinkerman who is in his last year with the group, was accompanied by organist David Kocsis and pianist Eve McKibben. Violinist Callie Hammond joined the group for several selections.
The next morning was spent at Hills and Dales estate where we joined in a wreath-making worship and toured the home and grounds. Garden craft workshops are offered year-round and are lots of fun for groups or individuals.
We gathered around a table in the garage of the home where festive holiday music was playing and plain wreath forms were waiting for us. Greenery had been gathered from the grounds and was stacked in wheelbarrows and tables. We all had different ideas for our creations and gathered some of the greenery and colorful accents and got to work. One hour later, we all had very different, but all very lovely, live wreaths to take home with us. It was so much fun and there was lots of laughter and smiles as we worked on our wreaths.
We also spent some time touring the 1916 home and the grounds. Executive director Carleton Woods led our tour of the home and he provided some fun and interesting facts about the Fuller family and some of their pieces that are on display. It’s a great house tour because there are no ropes and barriers and you can check out everything in each room. All three floors of the home are open for the tours.
The home was used by the several generations of the family from 1916 through 1998 and there is an eclectic mix of furnishings and décor. A favorite room of visitors is the spacious library which features a huge live tree with family ornaments on it during the Christmas season. In addition to the family ornaments, old-fashioned style silver tinsel adorns the tree.
Plan to spend some time in the charming downtown LaGrange area, where the fountain and sculpture of Marquis De Lafayette are the center piece. There is a custom that your wish will come true if you take one penny and stand back to back with the statue. Toss it over your shoulder and make a wish. Then, stand face to face with the Marquis and toss a second penny forward while making another wish.
Santa was sitting in a buggy in front of the fountain and we couldn’t resist stopping for a photo and telling him what we want for Christmas. None of those long mall lines and no charge for a quick photo.
Be sure to stop in at the folk art exhibit at the LaGrange Art Museum on Main Street. It provides some wonderful folk art from Georgia and Alabama that had been in private collections. Unique displays from local and national artists are also in the museum and you will enjoy roaming around and experiencing it all.
Our last night in town, we drove over to West Point, also located in Troup County, for dinner and a show. “Hallelujah Girls” was playing at the New Horizon Community Theatre and it was hilarious. The cast did a great job bringing this fun tale to life and it made for a fun night out.
We made the Country Inn & Suites are headquarters for the weekend and it’s a great property. Centrally located to all of the attractions, it has large rooms and a spacious lobby with a library area and breakfast room. A free hot breakfast buffet is include in your stay. There is also an indoor pool and fitness center.
To start planning your visit, check out the website at www.lagrangechamber.com. There’s always something going on, so be sure to check out the calendar of events. Coming up soon is the 17th annual Azalea Storytelling Festival on March 1-3. The event will feature nationally acclaimed storytellers, Donald Davis, Carmen Deedy, Eric Litwin and Ed Stivender.
Angela Gary is an editor with MainStreet Newspapers Inc. She can be reached at AngieEditor@aol.com.
