On September 15th  downtown Greensboro will host the annual Rock and Roll classic car cruise-in. This very popular event, which draws over 100 cars and 1000 spectators each year, will take place in the historic downtown area. It will feature awards and door prizes for participants, live music by the Terance Lonon and the Untouchables for both participants and spectators and plenty of food at local restaurants. The Cruise-In will run from 4-8 pm, so come join the fun on what is expected to be another great evening in Greensboro.

All spectators are free and will enjoy classic cars from the pre-50’s, muscle cars from the 60’s and 70’s and a variety of sports cars. The shops of Downtown Greensboro will stay open late to welcome visitors from as far away as Macon, Atlanta and Augusta.

The Terance Lonon and the Untouchables, based out of Aiken, SC, is an energetic, experienced group of musicians whose charisma and enthusiasm packs the dance floor while keeping their audience groovin’ to the beat!  The band’s strong vocals added to the driving rhythm of the percussion and  brass gives the group a full sound and allows them to play a wide range of  memorable tunes from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.  So, dust off your dancing shoes, practice your “cool moves” and plan to dance the night away under the stars in downtown Greensboro!

The Georgia Classic Cruisers Car Club has been hard at work planning this event along with the help and support of the Greensboro Better Hometown Program and are looking forward to another successful cruise-in. The Cruise-in is sponsored by Jimmy Britt Chevrolet-Buick-GMC and The Yesterday Café.  Support from these sponsors make possible the much anticipated Cruise In awards for participants.

Please add September 15th from 4-8 pm to your calendar and plan to support another great community event.  For questions you can contact Greensboro Better Hometown at (706) 453-7674 or Ron Hazzard at (706) 467-9306.

Downtown Development professionals learn about Festival Hall

Representatives from the City of Greensboro were invited to share the success of Festival Hall at the Georgia Downtown Conference in Lagrange with a presentation titled “Greensboro’s Festival Hall: Bringing a Main Stage to Main Street”.

The Georgia Downtown Conference is the annual training and networking conference for Downtown Professionals from across the state.  The conference hosts more than three hundred participants and representatives from state and local government in Georgia. 

“We were thrilled to be invited to present at this year’s Downtown Conference,” says Greensboro’s Better Hometown Director, Cail Hammons.  “I have learned a great deal about downtown development by hearing lessons learned from other communities.  It was an honor to be able to talk about the success of Festival Hall with other leaders from across the state and hopefully help other communities as they deal with similar issues in their towns.”

A panel discussion about the hall was lead by Hammons along with Festival Hall House Manager, Gene Yaws and Better Hometown Event Coordinator Kendrick Harris.

Greensboro’s presentation focused on the planning efforts that took place over the years for Festival Hall, forming partnerships, fundraising, and the day-to-day operations of the hall. 

“We heard so many positive comments about what Greensboro has accomplished with Festival Hall,” says Harris.  “People are especially impressed that a smaller city like Greensboro is able to bring about a project like Festival Hall.”

Festival Hall is a performing arts facility and event venue located in the heart of downtown Greensboro.  The hall is owned by Greensboro’s Downtown Development Authority was rededicated to the arts in 2010 after a $2.5 million renovation project.  The renovation of Festival Hall pulled together groups from across the community including Reynolds Plantation, the Oconee Performing Arts Society, the Greene County Board of Commissioners, the City of Greensboro, and the One Georgia Authority.   In addition, more than $500,000 in private donations was raised from the community. 

Today, Festival Hall provides a home for area arts organizations, enhances the quality of life for area residents, and serves as a vital tool towards Greensboro’s downtown revitalization efforts through support of the surrounding business community.  The hall is available for rent as a venue space for private events including weddings and business meetings.

For more information about Festival Hall, contact Gene Yaws at (706) 453-0905 or visit www.festivalhallgreensboro.com