Published Saturday, September 04, 2010

Annual festival begins 3-day run

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Newnan Times-Herald

The 40th annual Powers' Festival kicks off today at 9 a.m. and continues until 5 p.m. Monday.

Located on the grounds of the historic Powers' plantation, just off Ga. Hwy. 34 West near the Coweta/Heard county line, the festival showcases fine arts and crafts, heritage crafts, demonstrations, food and entertainment.

Admission is $7; children under 5 enter free. Parking for the festival is also free.

The event is hosted each year by Coweta Festivals Inc., which consists of five nonprofit organizations: the Newnan-Coweta Art Association, the Coweta County 4-H Club, the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce, The Pilot Club of Newnan and the Newnan-Coweta Jaycees.

The profits from the festival are distributed to the five groups, who then give back the proceeds to the community in various ways.

But members of Coweta Festivals aren't the only area nonprofits who benefit from the Powers' Festival.

Organizations and churches from Coweta and Heard counties cook up the majority of the food for sale at Powers'.

Probably the most famous is Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church, which serves beans, greens and other traditional Southern food cooked in huge kettles over open fires. There are also the famous sausage biscuits of Elim Baptist Church, as well as funnel cakes, fried pies, and all sorts of festival food from various groups.

Many of the Coweta Festivals groups get in on the cooking, too. The 4-H barbecue chicken is a Powers' tradition, and the Jaycees hamburgers win rave reviews each year as well.

For the past few months, the Coweta County 4-H Livestock Club, the Coweta Poultry Club, and the Horse and Pony Club have been busy cleaning and painting the children's area for Powers' Festival.

Hopes are that Clover Country -- the new name for the children's area -- will spotlight the great 4-H programs offered in Coweta County. The 4-H'ers have learned how to paint and dig fence post holes. The age range for the young people in the Livestock Club is 15 months to 18 years old, and the programs 4-H offers to the youth of Coweta help build self-esteem and leadership skills.

More than 100 exhibitors were busy Friday setting up their display booths along the tree-lined paths that have welcomed festival-goers since 1971.

The festival location is 4766 West Highway 34, Newnan, GA 30263, which is 12 miles west of Newnan. Information can also be found at the website, www.powersfestival.org