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Published Friday, November 06, 2009 in Local

Downtown Newnan weekend bringing glimpse of holidays

By Elizabeth Richardson

The Times-Herald

The decorations have gone up in downtown Newnan and Main Street is kicking off the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season with its annual Holiday Open House on Sunday.

Additionally, this is a weekend packed full of downtown activities, including the Christmas Artist Market that opens today. Saturday's schedule includes the Carnegie's family day block party, the Autumn Chase road race, Market Day and the Old South Marching Festival at Newnan High.

The Holiday Open House is Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and will feature in-store specials at participating merchants. Everyone is invited to Newnan to get a jump on Christmas shopping and enjoy some live entertainment. The 2009 Christmas Ornaments featuring Central Baptist Church will also be available for $12 at select downtown businesses.

Entertainment will be on South Court Square. The Georgia Youth Ballet will perform from 12:30 to 1 p.m. and again from 2:30 to 3 p.m. Star Dance Studio will perform from 1 to 2 p.m., with the Sharpsburg Country Western Line Dancers 2 to 2:30 and Rachel's Clog Dance Company 3 to 4.

Main Street will be collecting non-perishable food items at Scott's Bookstore during the open house event for the Coweta Community Food Pantry, according to city Business Development and Main Street Director Linda Kee.

Several Main Street promotions will begin during Open House, including registration for the second annual cruise giveaway for two. Visitors can register for the drawing with merchants. To win, they must be present during the drawing on Christmas Eve at noon on South Court Square.

Visitors can also purchase $1 raffle tickets for the chance to win two tickets to Chubby Checker's Nov. 22 concert at The Alamo. All proceeds go to Main Street's red box, which benefits local children at Christmas.

Children can also begin registering to win tickets to Santa's VIP party following the Main Street Festival of Lights on Dec. 19.

Main Street will have a special post office on the square this year for children to mail their letters to Santa. The idea was inspired by a letter discovered last year from a child that wrote: "Dear Santa, I want a train for Christmas."

"I thought it was the sweetest thing," said Kee. The letter had no name on it and it was discovered after Christmas in one of the Court Square decoration mini buildings. This year, Kee is encouraging children to put their names and addresses on their letters, and then Santa's "elves" at Main Street will mail a special gift back before forwarding the correspondence to Santa.

Today through Sunday, the Newnan-Coweta Art Association (NCAA) is holding its 41st annual Christmas Artist Market at the Historical Train Depot, located between East Broad and East Washington streets two blocks from the Court Square.

Friday, the artist market is open noon until 7 p.m. On Saturday, the hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

This annual exhibit features fine art, jewelry, photography, sculptures, a great selection of crafts and special gift items made by the local artists.

The NCAA is a non-profit organization that, in addition to encouraging local artists, presents scholarships to local art students and provides local schools with funds for art supplies.

Saturday will kick off with the Autumn Chase road race, which includes a 15k, 5k and 1-mile fun run/walk. The event, a certified race route and qualifier, begins 8 a.m. at the Greenville Street Park. Registration will take place the morning of the event. Anyone with questions can call 770-254-3550. Presented by Piedmont Newnan Hospital Wellness Center, the Autumn Chase supports the Wellness Center's senior citizen programming and facility enhancements.

The Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation holds its family block party on West Broad Street Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event will include games, jump houses and other activities for children. It was originally planned as part of the library's grand reopening celebration in September, but it had to be rescheduled because of rain.

During Saturday's festivities, the Carnegie will be open to the public.

"I look forward to being open every first Saturday of the month," said Media Coordinator Amy Mapel. "This will give patrons additional time to utilize the building."

Main Street will also hold a Market Day on the Square in downtown Newnan Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendors will set up around the Court Square and offer a variety of home grown, homemade and handmade items.

Saturday is also the 30th annual Old South Marching Festival at Newnan High School's Drake Stadium. High School bands from across Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina will be performing all day beginning at 12:45 p.m. through the last performance -- an exhibition by the Newnan High School Band -- about 8 p.m. Awards will be presented at 8:20 p.m.

[Correction: The time of the Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation family block party has been corrected in this story]

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