Southland Jubilee invites the community to the first steering committee meeting on February 4 at 10 a.m. at Greensboro City Hall.

Are you looking for a way to get involved with this year’s annual Southland Jubilee? Would you like to get a behind the scenes glimpse of planning Southland Jubilee? The steering committee is the perfect place and is looking for more volunteers to join the team in hosting the 16th Annual Southland Jubilee.

“Being a part of the Steering Committee for Southland Jubilee give a first hand look of what goes on behind the scenes for the event,” said Greensboro Main Street Event Coordinator Kendrick Harris. “If you have ever wanted to help with vendor check in, fundraising or even decorating, this is the team to join.”

The steering committee meeting will take place on Feb. 4, in the conference room at City Hall, located at 212 North Main St., Greensboro, Ga. 30642.

Volunteers are invited to come get involved in the town’s biggest event, drawing in approximately 8,000 guests to Greensboro’s annual community festival. During this family-friendly festival, visitors can expect to find many activities including various children’s activities, vendors with handmade arts and crafts, a classic car show, agriculture and wildlife awareness exhibits, live entertainment from local performers, funnel cake and more festival-favorite foods.  

For more information regarding the festival, please visit www.southlandjubilee.com.

About Southland Jubilee

Southland Jubilee is a day-long heritage arts festival that takes place in the heart of historic downtown Greensboro. Southland Jubilee is produced by the Greensboro Better Hometown Program and the Greensboro Downtown Development Authority with support from the City of Greensboro. Since its beginning in 1998, this annual spring festival has been downtown Greensboro’s main community event and has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. The festival’s goal is to attract people to the town with the hope that they will return to the community and future events.  

Historic downtown Greensboro kicks off the Easter weekend with the 16th Annual Southland Jubilee on Saturday, April 19, 2014.

From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., visitors from near and far will parade the streets of downtown Greensboro to participate in an array of family-friendly festivities including a classic car show, children’s activities, vendors with handmade arts and crafts, agriculture and wildlife awareness exhibits, live entertainment from local performers and your favorite festival foods.

 “Southland Jubilee is the ‘Everything Festival’,” said Kendrick Harris, Greensboro Main Street Event Coordinator. “ Our festival has something for every age and is fun for the whole family.”

At this year’s festival, you can expect to find unique vendors that will line Main Street with handmade art and crafts and your favorite festival snacks of funnel cakes and cotton candy. The car show will feature numerous classic, hot rod and other special interest cars and trucks stretching over four blocks long. Agricultural exhibits allow guests to hold a small baby chick, ride a pony and visit the petting zoo. The Southland Jubilee offers something for everyone and is fun for the whole family.

This festival is unlike any of its kind. Along with exposing visitors to the charm of Greensboro and providing attendees with a day full of fun, it is also a day that brings the community together.

As the Southland Jubilee continues to grow each year, it has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival.

Southland Jubilee is now accepting vendor applications. Vendor applications can be found by visiting www.southlandjubilee.com/vendors.

For more information regarding the festival, please visit www.southlandjubilee.com.

About Southland Jubilee

Southland Jubilee is a day-long heritage arts festival that takes place in the heart of historic downtown Greensboro. Southland Jubilee is produced by the Greensboro Main Street Program and the Greensboro Downtown Development Authority with support from the City of Greensboro. Since its beginning in 1998, this annual spring festival has been downtown Greensboro’s main community event and has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. The festival’s goal is to attract people to the town with the hope that they will return to the community and future events.  

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (GDCA) announced today that Greensboro along with Bainbridge, Rome, Toccoa and Valdosta, all Georgia Main Street cities, will progress to the Georgia’s Exceptional Main Street (GEMS) program. This pilot program for Georgia’s Main Street network provides advanced technical assistance to communities who have been proven leaders in their field of downtown development.  

“The selection of these cities for the GEMS program is a wonderful opportunity for them to build on their successes by taking a step to the next level of downtown development,” said Gretchen Corbin, Commissioner of GDCA, which houses the Main Street program. “Our record of instituting innovation and best practices like this pilot program is a big reason Georgia has been a longtime leader in the national Main Street program.”

Fourteen of Georgia’s 96 Main Street communities applied to the 2014 GEMS program. The five cities selected represent 114,778 citizens and five service delivery regions of the state.

These cities will work closely with the Georgia Department of Community Affair’s Office of Downtown Development over the next three years to develop innovative technical assistance in meeting specific community needs, making these communities more attractive for private investment and economic growth. They will focus on specific targeted projects to advance their programs in one of four core areas: organization, economic development, promotions and design.

“These pilot programs truly do represent the gems of the Georgia Main Street Network,” said Billy Peppers, Director of the Office of Downtown Development. “The selected communities have developed an approach to downtown development that not only focuses on the core points of the program, but encompasses the community as a whole. In these programs the local government, businesses, volunteers and citizens have all played a role in the downtown’s success. This is something that we hope can be modeled for all of our programs across the state.”

Greensboro began its downtown development efforts as a Better Hometown city in the late 1990’s.  Since that time the city has worked to facilitate building rehabilitations and encourage investment in the city’s historic commercial center. 

“I am proud of the work that Greensboro has completed through the Main Street program,” comments Greensboro Mayor Glenn Wright.  “Our town benefits from downtown development projects such as Streetscape, the Bickers and Goodwin building rehabilitation and Festival Hall.  I am looking forward to continued progress through the GEMS program.”

The Main Street Four-Point Approach® is a proven methodology that empowers communities to utilize their distinctive assets, such as their independent businesses and historic character, to revive their commercial districts, strengthen local economies and increase civic engagement. Since 1980, the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to downtown revitalization has been used by more than 2,000 communities nationwide to stimulate more than 235,000 building rehabilitation projects and create 475,000 jobs.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (GDCA) partners with communities to help create a climate of success for Georgia’s families and businesses. GDCA does this through its three core functions: community and economic development; local government assistance; and safe and affordable housing. Community and economic development programs include a variety of resources and incentives designed to help communities spur private sector job creation and to help them meet their development goals. Local government assistance programs include planning, research, rural development, downtown development, volunteerism, building codes, and solid waste reduction. Housing programs include special financing for first-time homebuyers, development resources and rental assistance to benefit low and moderate income Georgia families and seniors, and homelessness prevention. For more information, visit the GDCA website at www.dca.ga.gov.