Community Calendar

Published 8:15 am Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Ongoing

• The Varnell Farmers Market is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the picnic area on Main Street in Varnell through Sept. 30.

• The Downtown Dalton Farmers Market, which is sponsored by the Downtown Dalton Development Authority, takes place on Dalton Green, 117 N. Selvidge St., from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays through Oct. 6.

Wed. June 18

• Nana’s Family Fun Day, part of the Dalton-Whitfield NAACP’s Juneteenth celebration, will be from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Mack Gaston Community Center. There will be music, bounce houses and food vendors and the community center splash pad will be open.

Thurs. June 19

• The Dalton Public Works Committee meeting scheduled for this day has been canceled.

Fri. June 20

• The public is invited to attend “Stories We Carry,” a community storytelling event focusing on the local environment. Authors will read stories at 6:30 p.m. at the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, 715 Chattanooga Ave., Dalton. The public will be invited to vote on the best story. The top stories will be considered for publication in the Dalton Daily Citizen. The stories will be about what the land and water mean to the authors and what could happen if they aren’t protected. The event is hosted by PFAS Georgia and the Finley Law Firm of Columbus. PFAS Georgia is a legal team and advocacy group focused on PFAS contamination in Georgia, particularly in Northwest Georgia. PFAS are per- and polyfluorinated substances.

• Corey Brown and the TCB Band are the featured act at this week’s Off the Rails Summer Concert Series performance in the Burr Performing Arts Park in downtown Dalton. This event is sponsored by the Dalton-Whitfield NAACP as part of its Juneteenth celebration, The group performs neo-soul, jazz and hip-hop. Rhythm and blues act Auntie Bunny and DLY2 will also perform. The evening starts around 6:30 p.m.

Sat. June 21

• The Living Bridge Center, the North Georgia Health District’s Ryan White HIV Clinic program, will host a special community event in Dalton from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mack Gaston Community Center. Free HIV rapid testing will be offered, and the first 20 people to get tested will receive gift bags.

• There will be a fish fry and spades tournament at the Kultur Cigar Lounge, 314 S. Pentz St., Dalton, as part of the Dalton-Whitfield NAACP’s Juneteenth celebration. The fish fry starts at 3 p.m. and the spades tournament at 4. The entry fee for the tournament is $40 per team. The winning team will receive a $200 cash prize and bragging rights for an entire year. To enter a team in the tournament, contact Marisa Kelley at (913) 426-7870 or mekelley@hotmail.com. The signup deadline was June 14.

Sun. June 22

• Whitfield Baptist Church will have missionary Josh Sullivan and his family as the church’s guests for Friends and Family Day at 10 a.m. Sullivan is one of the missionaries the church supports. “He is very close to our church because of his partnership with three missionaries directly out of our church serving in South Africa — the Jeremy Hall family, the Kevin Hall family and the Mark Coffey family, all (who are) from Dalton and graduated from Northwest and Southeast high schools and were trained in our church,” said Pastor Wayne Cofield. On April 10, Sullivan was taken hostage at gunpoint during his church service in front of his wife and six children. After spending five days in captivity, he was rescued. Sullivan will share his testimony about his rescue in the main sanctuary of the church, 2134 Dug Gap Road, Dalton. He will also preach during the 11 a.m. service. Cofield invites everyone; a nursery and preschool church will be provided for the 11 a.m. service. For more information, call (706) 278-6776 or refer to the church webpage at whitfieldbaptist.com.

June 23-24, 26-28

• Smyrna Baptist Church in Murray County will sponsor a gospel singing school June 23-24  and June 26-28 at the church at 1918 Smyrna Church Road south of Chatsworth. Attendees can participate in one or more nights. Sessions will start at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings concluding by 8:30 with snacks provided. The school is free, but a love offering will be received. Teaching the school will be Eric Tippens of Ball Ground, a teacher at the Alabama School of Gospel Music. Murray County still hosts a quarterly singing convention at Smyrna. The next convention will also be the closing of the music school on Saturday, June 28, at 3 p.m. For more information, call (706) 280-5535 or check the Smyrna church website and Facebook.