Community Calendar – July 23, 2025

Published 8:30 am Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Fri. July 25

• The Gordon County Chamber of Commerce will present its annual State of Industry event from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Calhoun Campus Conference Center. Chuck Easley, professor of the practice at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business, will be the keynote speaker. His presentation is titled “Gordon County Industry Outlook 2025: Innovation, Intelligence and Industry | Exploring the Strategic Role of Artificial Intelligence in Advancing Manufacturing, Logistics and Workforce Development.” For more information, please contact Kathy Johnson at (706) 625-3200 or kjohnson@gordoncountychamber.com.

• Cameron Rainey, a local singer-songwriter whose website says he is inspired by George Jones and Kurt Cobain, headlines at the Burr Performing Arts Park in downtown Dalton as part of the Off the Rails Summer Concert Series. Singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne opens, and folk singer Nina Ricci will also perform. The music starts around 6:30 p.m.

Sat. July 26

• The Whitfield County Democratic Community Outreach Committee will host its inaugural Community Appreciation Day Festival at the Mack Gaston Community Center at 218 N. Fredrick St. in Dalton from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Organizers say the festival will feature music, dancing, games, prizes, local artisans and speakers in celebration of the people of the community. Admission is free and open to all, including nonresidents of Whitfield County. No alcohol or drugs allowed. “We want to create an inclusive and united community event where we reach out to one another and extend our hand inviting all citizens whether born here or having come from far away lands seeking refuge and a new life,” the Whitfield County Democratic Community Outreach Committee said in a press release.

• The Hooper family reunion and covered dish luncheon will be at noon at the Hiawassee Senior Citizen Building. Relations of Absalon and Clemmons Hooper and Susan Hooper Stephens are invited to join the family. For more information, text Barbara at (706) 581-2016.

• The Murray Arts Council holds a fundraiser, 1980s Prom, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Fairy Valley Venue in Crandall. Tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased on the council’s website at murray-arts.com.  Some tickets may be available for purchase at the door. The 1980s Prom is for ages 21 and older. There will be a cash bar and light “high school prom” refreshments, in addition to non-alcoholic beverages. Guests will dance to 1980s music provided by deejays Jake Sane and Chris Bentley. There will also be a prom photo backdrop for attendees to have “prom photos” taken. Guests in attendance will be able to vote for Prom King, Prom Queen, Biggest 80s Hair, Best 80s Ensemble and Best Overall. Unique trophies have been created for these awards. For more information on the 1980s Prom or the Murray Arts Council, please visit the MAC website at murray-arts.com or visit its Facebook page @murraycountyartscouncil.

Sun. July 27

• Free book bags with school supplies will be available from 4 to 7 p.m. at Emmaus Baptist Church, 4268 South Dixie Highway, Resaca.

Tues. July 29

• Dalton Lodge #105 F&AM and Dalton Lodge 238 PHA will hold a community blood drive from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Mack Gaston Community Center. The event aims to bolster the local blood supply and help save lives in the Dalton community and surrounding areas. Organizers also hope to raise awareness of the particular need for donations for sickle cell disease.The blood drive will be conducted in partnership with Blood Assurance. Donors should be at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent in Georgia), weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health. All donors will receive a $20 E-gift card. O-negative and AB plasma donors will receive a $25 E-gift card. For preregistration, contact Blood Assurance at 800-962-0628, text BAGIVE to 999777 or register at https://donor.bloodassurance.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/171970.

• Kids Library Lab, 4 to 5 p.m. at the Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library, 310 Cappes St., Dalton. Open to 1st-5th grades. Participants learn to make a variety of crafts. This week’s craft is Fidget Art.

Fri. Aug. 1

• Tennessee-based funk and soul band Three Star Revival will perform at the Burr Performing Arts Park in downtown Dalton as part of the Off the Rails Summer Concert Series with indie rock band Chasing Streetlights and singer-songwriter Ben Honeycutt also performing. The music starts around 6:30 p.m.

Sat. Aug. 2

• The Spring Place Ruritan Club is sponsoring a work day at the Lucy Hill/Mission spring and a community-wide litter pickup in Spring Place. Volunteers will gather at the spring at 9 a.m. and divide into teams to clean out the spring which is on Lucy Hill School Street just off Ellijay Street in the center of the township. Volunteers will also spruce up the grounds and pick up litter along Ellijay and Elm streets to make the town look better before Vann House Day later this month and the Spring Place Festival in August. For more information, contact Tim Howard at (706) 280-5535.

• There will be a big band dance at 7 p.m. with a 15-piece Glenn Miller-style dance band, the Legionnaires. The dance floor is spacious, $5 cash at the door gets refreshments and a door prize, and the music is great for both ballroom dancing and listening, organizers say. The dance is open to the public. Some people dress fancy; most do not. The dance is at American Legion Post 95, 3329 Ringgold Road, Chattanooga.

Wed. Aug. 6

• The Georgia Mountain Chapter 1125 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) will hold its quarterly meeting at the Double L Restaurant in Ellijay. The meeting and Dutch treat lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. All federal employees, retired or active, are invited and encouraged to attend. A guest speaker will discuss benefits and what NARFE has done and is doing to help members. For more information, call Willard or Mary Jones at (706) 276-2728 or Ray Hanson at (706) 528-4672.