Community Calendar – Aug. 1, 2025

Published 8:30 am Friday, August 1, 2025

Today

• Performances of “Big Fish” / Friday, Aug. 1 / 7:30 p.m. curtain / Dalton’s Artistic Civic Theatre. Performance is a musical adaptation of Andrew Wallace’s 1998 novel and a 2003 film. Tickets are available at artisticcivictheatre.com, by calling (706) 278-4796 or at the door.

• Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office hosting a Backpack Giveaway / Fri., Aug. 1 / 9 a.m. / Sheriff’s office, 805 Professional Blvd., Dalton / 300 backpacks with school supplies will be given away to the first 300 people at the sheriff’s office. The child must be present. This is “first-come, first-served.” The giveaway will last until every bag is passed out or it becomes too hot outside. Should the weather become intolerable, the remaining bags will be donated to Whitfield County Schools.

• Morning Pointe of Calhoun hosting a Blood Assurance Blood Drive / Fri., Aug. 1 / 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. / 660 Jolly Road N.W. / The event is open to the public, and walk-ins are welcome or appointments can be scheduled through Blood Assurance. For more information, call (706) 629-0777.

• Free gallery opening and artist reception / Fri., Aug. 1 / Reception begins at 5:30 p.m. /  Creative Arts Guild, 520 W. Waugh St., Dalton. / Featured exhibits are “Here is Also Now” by Kait Steward in FIVE20, and in Gallery ONE11, “Rooting for the Ridge: An Indelible Vision,” a display of Tony Carlson’s photos of Rocky Face Ridge, presented by the Dalton Resilient Communities team. For more information, contact davidg@creativeartsguild.org or (706) 278-0168.

• Tennessee-based funk and soul band Three Star Revival (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri., Aug. 1 / Music starts at approximately 6:30 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park  / Indie rock band Chasing Streetlights and singer-songwriter Ben Honeycutt also performing.

• Georgia Open 3-day golf tournament / Fri., Aug. 1 / The Dalton Golf and Country Club / The tournament includes many of the top golfers in the state. There will be a cut to 60 players on Saturday and Sunday. Representing the country club are local Georgia Hall of Fame golfer David Noll and professionals Steve Kibare and Ethan Day. The country club’s assistant professional golfers Jack Guipe and Reed Johnson are also participating. The Farm golf professionals Richard Rene and Mathew Cleary are also in the field. Spectators are welcome.

Tomorrow

• Work day at the Lucy Hill/Mission spring and a community-wide litter pickup in Spring Place / Sat., Aug. 2 / 9 a.m. / Sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club. 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.

• “Dare to Fight Fascism” protest / Sat., Aug. 2 / 9:30 to 11 a.m. / In front of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Dalton office at 702 S. Thornton Ave. / Local organizers are Families Against Marjorie (FAM) and RAIZ (Roots) with Whitfield Democrats. For more information from FAM, call Carmen Shuler (706-537-0067); from RAIZ, call Armida Vicente (706-980-0518).

• Dalton High School cheer car wash / Sat., Aug. 2 / 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. / American Legion, 1118 N. Glenwood Ave., Dalton.

• Southeast Whitfield High School cross country car wash / Sat., Aug. 2 / 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. / Advanced Auto Parts, 1005 S. Thornton Ave., Dalton / All donations go to the cross country program.

• Friends of the Library Book Sale / Sat., Aug. 2 / 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. / Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library.

• Big band dance / Sat., Aug. 2 /  7 p.m. /  American Legion Post 95, 3329 Ringgold Road, Chattanooga /  Features 15-piece Glenn Miller-style dance band, the Legionnaires / $5 cash at the door gets refreshments and a door prize. The dance is open to the public. Some people dress fancy; most do not.

• Closing performance of “Big Fish” / Saturday, Aug 2. / 7:30 p.m. curtain / Dalton’s Artistic Civic Theatre. Performance is a musical adaptation of Andrew Wallace’s 1998 novel and a 2003 film. Tickets are available at artisticcivictheatre.com, by calling (706) 278-4796 or at the door.

• Georgia Open 3-day golf tournament / Sat., Aug. 2 / The Dalton Golf and Country Club / The tournament includes many of the top golfers in the state. Spectators are welcome.

Sunday

• Final day of Georgia Open golf tournament / Sun., Aug. 3 / The Dalton Golf and Country Club / The tournament includes many of the top golfers in the state. Spectators are welcome.

Wednesday

• Georgia Mountain Chapter 1125 NARFE quarterly meeting / Wed., Aug. 6 / 11:30 a.m. / Double L Restaurant in Ellijay / All federal employees, retired or active, are invited to attend the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) meeting. 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.

Thursday

• Highland Rivers Foundation Board of Directors / Thurs., Aug. 7 / 2:30 p.m. / Northside Hospital Cherokee – board room, 450 Northside Cherokee Blvd., Canton / The meeting is open to the public. For more information or directions, please call (706) 270-5000.

Upcoming

• The Air Force Jazz Band (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri., Aug. 8 / Music starts around 6:30 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park, downtown Dalton.

• Dunagan Cemetery Work Day / Sat., Aug. 9 / 8 to 10 a.m. / For more information, contact Kim Pickens at (706) 270-3301.

• Grand opening ceremony for Varnell’s new Clyde Williams Pavilion / Sat., Aug. 9 / 6 p.m. /  City Park, 422 Ruritan Drive, Varnell. Hosted by the City of Varnell, with a ribbon cutting, pizza, drinks and music. The public is invited. There will also be a mayor and council meeting. For more information, call (706) 694-8800.

• 2025 Cherokee Cultural Celebration / Aug. 9-10 (Sat-Sun) / 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day / Red Clay State Historic Park, 1140 Red Clay Park Road S.W. in Cleveland, Tenn. / The history and culture of the Cherokee people will be featured through demonstrations, dancing, music and more. $5 per vehicle per day cash at gate. Handicap-accessible parking will be available through the main park gate.  For more information, call (423) 478-0339.

• Powerpop band Jason Lyles and the Legitimizers  (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri.. Aug. 15 / Music starts around 6:30 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park, downtown Dalton. Opening acts: Ben Van Winkle and Andrew Witherspoon.

• 28th annual Spring Place Community Festival “Treasured Memories” / Sat., Aug. 16 / beginning at 8 a.m. / Old Spring Place Methodist Church. Highlighting the day is the 10 a.m. auction including artist prints, collectibles and historical memorabilia, furniture, rugs, antiques and gift cards donated by area businesses. The festival is co-sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club and commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Ruritan Club and the 150th anniversary of this particular Methodist Church building. Proceeds from the festival will go to the church preservation fund of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. Other festival events include a used book sale, breakfast biscuits, a bake sale, an indoor flea market, a raffle and more. For more information, contact (706) 280-5535 or (706) 264-3968.

• First National Community Bank 50th anniversary /  Mon., Aug. 18 / 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. / All 11 branches, including two in Dalton. The celebration will include food, refreshments and giveaways at the branches and a commemorative ceremony at the founding Chatsworth office featuring a tribute to the bank, which opened for business on Aug. 18, 1975.

• “State of Healthcare” / Thurs., Aug. 21 / 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. / Dalton Convention Center / Presented by the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce. Local representatives from the area’s “healthcare system” will “share key updates, provide insight into ongoing initiatives and discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping care in our community.” The cost is $35 for chamber members and $50 for non-members. To register, visit business.daltonchamber.org/events/.

• Atlanta singer-songwriter Suzy Jones (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri., Aug. 22 / Music starts around 6:30 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park, downtown Dalton. Opening acts: Austin McBryar and Atlanta blues group The Jesse Williams Band.

• Dalton Convention Center board / Wed., Aug. 27 / 8 a.m. / Dalton Convention Center.

• North Carolina musicians The Shed Bugs (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri., Aug. 29 / Music starts around 6:30 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park, downtown Dalton. Opening acts: singer-songwriter McKinney and local artist Charlsey Etheridge.

• Music City Stones, a Rolling Stones tribute act, and ZZ Top Notch, a ZZ Top tribute band (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri., Sept. 5 / Music starts around 6:30 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park, downtown Dalton.

• Dalton Whitfield Murray Retired Educators Association (DWMREA) / Thurs., Sept. 11 / Buffet at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and 12:15 p.m. for the program. / Yellowstone Steak & Buffet / The program will consist of Becky Oliver, Area 16 Georgia Retired Educators Association Director, Association Member Benefits Advisors and DWMREA business items.

• Descendencia Texana and Dalton’s Los Del Sexto (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri., Sept. 12 / Music starts around 6:30 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park, downtown Dalton.

• Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority / Mon., Sept. 15 / 3:45 p.m. / Council chamber of Dalton City Hall.

• Rubik’s Groove (Off the Rails Summer Concert Series) / Fri., Sept. 19 / Music starts around 5 p.m. / Burr Performing Arts Park, downtown Dalton. Opening act: Southern rock group the Band Waleska.

• “The Wooblers” Book Launch / Sat., Sept. 20 / 2 to 4 p.m. / Harris Arts Center, 212 S. Wall St., downtown Calhoun, in the second floor Community Room. / The author and illustrator are L.G. Bridges and Tammie J. Walters. Organizers say “Bring a friend. Or share … with anyone with a reader ages 9 to 12.” For more information, visit “Wooblers” on Facebook and “wooblergals” on Instagram.

• Dalton Convention Center board / Wed., Sept. 24 / 8 a.m. / Dalton Convention Center.

• Dalton Whitfield Murray Retired Educators Association (DWMREA) / Thurs., Oct. 9 / 11:30 a.m. for lunch and 12:15 p.m. for the program / Yellowstone Steak & Buffet / Health insurance update, December auction preview, legislative update, DWMREA business items.

• Dalton Convention Center board / Wed., Oct. 22 / 8 a.m. / Dalton Convention Center.

• Dalton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau board / Tues., Oct. 28 / 8:30 a.m. / Dalton Convention Center.

• Dalton Whitfield Murray Retired Educators Association (DWMREA) / Thurs., Nov. 13 / 11:30 a.m. for lunch and 12:15 p.m. for the program. / Yellowstone Steak & Buffet / Estate planning, December auction preview, DWMREA business items.

• Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority / Mon., Nov. 17 / 3:45 p.m. / Council chamber of Dalton City Hall.

• Dalton Whitfield Murray Retired Educators Association (DWMREA) / Thurs., Dec. 4 / 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. / Dalton Golf and Country Club / Christmas luncheon and auction to benefit the DWMREA scholarship fund.

• Dalton Whitfield Murray Retired Educators Association (DWMREA) / Thurs., Feb. 12 / 11:30 a.m. for lunch and 12:15 p.m. for the program. / Yellowstone Steak & Buffet / Dalton Public Schools update with the superintendent and DWMREA business items.

• Dalton Whitfield Murray Retired Educators Association (DWMREA) / Thurs., March 12 / 11;30 a.m. for lunch and a social time and 12:30 p.m. for the program. / Edna’s Restaurant / Driving tips for seniors, DWMREA business items.

• Dalton Whitfield Murray Retired Educators Association (DWMREA) / Thurs., May 14 / 6 p.m. for a covered dish supper and 6:30 p.m. for the program. / Whitfield County Schools District Office / Scholarship presentations, remembrance, member awards.