Dawson Co. opening new welcome center

DAWSONVILLE - Dawson County is opening a new regional welcome center.

A weekend-long grand opening and celebration is planned starting Friday, October 8, hosted by the Dawson County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It will include free apple cider, a visit from a Cabbage Patch Kid, displays from local attractions, including pumpkins and fall decorations from Uncle Shuck's and Bradley's pumpkin patch, souped-up race cars like you would see at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville and kayaks and horses from North Georgia Outfitters, and lots of information about local and regional attractions in the North Georgia Mountains.

"More than 30,000 cars pass our new Welcome Center every single day," says Marty Williams, vice president of the Dawson County Convention and Visitors Bureau and board member of the Northeast Georgia Travel Association. "We want to capture that traffic volume and expose people to all the attractions in Dawson County and the North Georgia Mountains."

The new welcome center includes local art decorating the walls and lots of racks stocked with brochures, flyers, maps and festival and event information for the entire Georgia mountains region. It also has a homegrown/homemade in Dawsonville retail area for visitors with books by local artists and local products like Moonshine Jelly, among other items.

As part of the grand opening, businesses joining the Chamber of Commerce during October will receive a 10-percent discount off their membership fees. Existing Chamber members who renew their membership for 2011 during October will receive a 10-percent discount off their membership renewal fees.

The visitors center is on Georgia 400 and will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, contact the Dawson County Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-877-302-9271 or www.dawson.org.