FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Stefanie Paupeck
Georgia Department of Economic Development
404-962-4075
spaupeck@georgia.org

New attractions unveiled this summer in Georgia
Come see what all the buzz is about

ATLANTA, June 18, 2009 – New wineries, museums, and outdoor activities are cropping up all across Georgia.  If you haven't stopped to appreciate your surroundings in a while, then it's time to take a break and see what's new in the peach state.

Last month, north Georgia added a new winery to its roster- the Cohutta Springs Winery in Crandall just north of Chatsworth.  At the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains this winery and vineyard features homemade breads, artisanal cheeses, and of course, wine samples.  Also new to the region is Yonah Mountain Vineyards' tasting room on Highway 17 in Sautee-Nacoochee that will feature samples of the vineyards' cabernet sauvignon blends and other wines.  South Georgia's wine industry is also growing.  The region recently celebrated the arrival of two new wineries- the Horse Creek Winery in Nashville, near Valdosta, and Shannon Vineyards in Sylvania, near Statesboro.  Both wineries feature wine from muscadine grapes and offer tours, tastings, and events space.  Shannon serves dinner on Thursdays and Fridays. 

Another new place to grab a drink is the Magnolia & Ivy Tearoom in the Rosalynn Carter Tea Parlor at the Windsor Hotel in Americus.  Serving up tea with a "dash of Southern hospitality," Magnolia and Ivy's offers 60 varieties of tea, as well as small sandwiches, soups, pastries and quiches. Further north, another Carter location will also be sporting a new look.   Former President Jimmy Carter's Presidential Museum in Atlanta will reopen in October 2009 after getting a $10 million redesign and renovation.  The museum will chronicle President Carter's life before, during and after his term as president, including his work with the Carter Center to improve democracy and advance human rights around the world.  Also in Atlanta, the National Museum of Patriotism reopened in April in its new location downtown across the street from the Georgia Aquarium.  The new museum space features a "Patriotism in Entertainment Exhibit" to honor entertainers such as Lee Greenwood, Bob Hope, and Patti La Belle, who have long supported U.S. soldiers.

U.S. soldiers' experiences in combat will be the focus of the new National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center that opens in Columbus on June 19.  The state of the art museum will feature eight major galleries and an IMAX theater that will detail the history of infantry battle since the country's inception.  Also new in Columbus is the Water Witch, a real-to-life replica of a Civil War-era battleship that is located near Port Columbus, the National Civil War Naval Museum.  The ship opened to the public in April.  The Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau also recently debuted its SpiderLily River Tours that employs a 44-foot catamaran to carry up to 49 passengers along the Chattahoochee River.

The Chattahoochee Nature Center's new Interpretative Center and Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion in Roswell that open June 20 offer another way to explore the Chattahoochee.  The new center will tell both the ecological and political stories of the river- offering information about the local watershed and its wildlife, as well as details about the various public and private organizations that are working to protect it.  Further east, the Reed Creek Wetlands Park and Interpretive Center in Martinez, provides another opportunity to learn about Georgia's watershed. It recently opened a new boardwalk that gives visitors walking access to the area's floodplain forest.  Cartersville's Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum is another way to learn about nature.   This hands-on museum that opened in January showcases the earth sciences, physics and biology through four main exhibits that include a mineral gallery, a fossil gallery, and a "science in motion" exhibition.

Question the laws of physics from a slightly different perspective, and hop on the newly opened zip-line canopy tour at Historic Banning Mills near Carrollton.  This country inn retreat and conservation center that was built in a former mill town, offers a half mile 300-foot high zip line tour above Snake Creek.  The center also features horseback riding, a birds of prey show, a spa and a restaurant.  Outdoor adventure seekers might also stretch their legs at "Beat the Heat," a newly organized July 18-19 athletic event at the Falling Waters community near Ellijay.  Founded to fight child obesity, this new summer event includes a 5K run-walk, a 7 mile run, a 100K bike ride, as well as organized games of golf, softball, soccer and other activities for kids.  A trip down the Wahee Cyclone, a new funnel-shaped water ride at the recently renovated water park at Wild Adventures in Valdosta is another fun option for the family, as is the Neptune Park Fun Zone on St. Simons Island that recently opened with a children's water park, miniature golf course and a playground.  And Augusta's Parks and Recreation Department opened a Splash Pad in Wood Park this summer that offers kids under age 12 an outdoor place to get wet other than a pool. 

Also, don't miss a chance to become a fan of one of Georgia's newest teams- the Gwinnett Braves.   A triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves that started its first season in Lawrenceville this spring, the Gwinnett Braves play in a newly built 10,099-seat stadium. Games are scheduled through September.

Georgia's arts scene has also had a flurry of new activity in recent months.  Atlanta's High Museum of Art opened an exhibit featuring Claude Monet's water lilies as a part of a five-year collaboration with New York's Museum of Modern Art, which houses the loaned masterpieces.  The water lily exhibit is complemented by a selection of photographer Richard Misrach's aerial beach scenes that consider mankind's delicate relationship with life and the planet earth.  Both the Monet and Misrach exhibits will run June 6-Aug. 23.   On June 12, the Atlanta Civic Center welcomed the "America I Am" exhibition that chronicles African Americans' contribution to the United States over the past 400 years.  It will run until September 6.

In Northeast Georgia, the Land of Spirit Folk Life Play, a theater production in Lavonia that uses true stories to celebrate the area's local culture, debuted "Gas, Sugar, Nylons and Chocolate Bars," that will play Thursdays-Saturdays until July 3.  Nearby, the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is presenting "Headwaters: Birth, Death and Places In-between," a play about families, friends, in-laws and outlaws that will play Thursdays-Saturdays, July 9-26. 

Ashford Manor in Watkinsville launched its annual summer concert series in May that will feature nine live outdoor performances until the beginning of September.  Edgar's Bistro in Macon also kicked off regular live music performances with its Free Music Fridays that give patrons a chance to listen to local musicians as they enjoy dinner or appetizer items from a European-inspired menu.  And both Cleveland and Eatonton are preparing to welcome tourists this fall.  Cleveland's Babyland General Hospital, birthplace of the Cabbage Patch Kids, is moving its museum "hospital" to a new 70,000 square-foot location to open in the fall, while Eatonton will hold its first annual Briarpatch Arts Festival that will showcase local artisans and musicians in October. 

Georgia is brimming with new activities for vacationers of all ages and interests.  Learn how to visit them and other popular Georgia attractions at www.exploregeorgia.org.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.

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Ashford Manor
http://www.ambedandbreakfast.com/

Atlanta Civic Center: "America I Am"
http://www.atlantaciviccenter.com/view_event.asp?event_id=629

Babyland General Hospital
http://www.cabbagepatchkids.com/index.html

Beat the Heat
http://www.beattheheatga.com/

Chattahoochee Nature Center
http://chattnaturecenter.org/

Cohutta Springs Winery
http://cohuttaspringswinery.com/

Eatonton's Briarpatch Arts Festival
http://www.eatonton.com/calendar.html

Edgar's Bistro
http://www.edgarshospitality.com/

Falling Waters
http://www.fallingwatersclub.com/

Gwinnett Braves
http://gwinnett.braves.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t431

High Museum of Art
http://www.high.org/

Historic Banning Mills
http://www.historicbanningmills.com/canopy.html

Horse Creek Winery
http://horsecreekwinery.com/

Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/

Land of Spirit Folk Life Play: "Gas, Sugar, Nylons and Chocolate Bars"
http://landofspirit.org/

Magnolia & Ivy Tearoom
http://www.magnoliaivy.com/index2.php?page=2\

National Museum of Patriotism
http://www.museumofpatriotism.org/index.html

National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center
http://www.nationalinfantrymuseum.com/

Neptune Park Fun Zone
http://brunswick-goldenislesnews.blogspot.com/2009/05/neptune-park-fun-zone-opening-this.html

Reed Creek Wetlands Park and Interpretive Center
http://www.columbiacountyga.gov/index.aspx?page=2469

Shannon Vineyards
http://www.shannonvineyards.com/

Sautee Nacoochee Community Association's "Headwaters: Birth, Death and Places In-between"
http://www.snca.org/performingarts/headwaters.html

SpiderLily River Tours
http://www.visitcolumbusga.com/pressDetails.aspx?id=1309

Splash Pad
http://www.wjbf.com/jbf/news/state_regional/georgia/article/making_a_splash/14037/

Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum
http://www.weinmanmuseum.org/

Waterwitch
http://www.portcolumbus.org/exhibits/waterwitch.php

Wild Adventures
http://wildadventures.net/

Windsor Hotel in Americus
http://www.windsor-americus.com/

Yonah Mountain Vineyards' tasting room
http://www.yonahmountainvineyards.com/