DAWSONVILLE - Alcohol and automobiles don't mix; it's a recipe for regret. But legendary cars and legends of moon-shining coalesce well; case in point, the annual Mountain Moonshine Festival held Saturday and Sunday in Dawsonville.
The story goes that on a beautiful October afternoon 43 years ago, a local man named Fred Goswick, set up two tables on the downtown square and began selling produce and locally crafted souvenirs.
This all coincided with the fact that hundreds of people would come to Dawsonville from across the area, including Atlanta, to spend the day leaf-watching.
But because Dawsonville had somehow gotten the reputation as being a place where moonshine was made, Mr. Goswick was frequently asked (usually in a subdued whisper) what he knew about the legends of "White Lightning".
Notwithstanding the fact that Dawsonville's reputation was probably warranted, that mystique - legends of moonshiners and their ability to out-drive the authorities in hot pursuit - fascinated visitors. That mystique would provide the seminal moment for this weekend's Mountain Moonshine Festival and the 100,000-plus people expected to be in attendance.
Dawsonville, once known to many as the "Moonshine Capital of the World", now embraces those legends of moonshine-running.
Bootleggers from Dawsonville's checkered past may not have realized it at the time, but their breakneck driving talents evolved into the cultural phenomenon that is NASCAR, the most spectator-attended sport in America.
Grand Marshall for this year's Festival is David Pearson, legendary NASCAR driver and an inaugural member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He and Dawsonville's own Bill Elliott greeted each other warmly before climbing the steps leading to the stage where they would share a few memories publicly with the huge crowd.
"He was definitely my hero when I was growing up as a kid. I still look up to him. This man has done more than we ever thought about doing in auto racing," Awesome Bill said proudly as he introduced Pearson on stage.
"I really enjoy coming down here," Pearson said. "Anybody who has ever been here (Moonshine Festival) always comes back. That's the reason the crowd keeps gettin' bigger and bigger every year."
All the revenues generated by the event benefit "KARE for Kids", a local organization which states on their website that their main focus is "providing the opportunity for every child in Dawson County to have a Christmas they deserve."
"The crowd looks to be more than last year. We've got over 350 vendor spaces sold; over 500 (vintage) automobiles for the actual car show. I think it's going to be a good weekend," KARE President Calvin Byrd stated with ardor.
One of the stalwarts of the Mountain Moonshine Festival is Gordon Pirkle. "I'm a seventh generation native of Dawson County on both my mother's and my father's side," is his claim.
Pirkle has been quoted as saying, "We're not really celebrating alcohol so much as we're celebrating what it led into - the 100 million dollar industry of NASCAR."
Rumored to have been one of the area's better moonshine-runners, Pirkle was hesitant to admit directly to any such involvement. "If you're from Dawsonville and as old as I am, you might have participated in some way," Pirkle said with a twinkle in his eye.
Asked what his involvement might have been, Pirkle paused, looked at the ground, and said with a chuckle, "I don't know whether the Statute of Limitations might have ran out or not."
Whatever the truth might be, Pirkle, as he signed another autograph, apparently is a hero around Dawsonville.
The Festival runs through 5PM Sunday.
Monday
June 23rd, 2025
11:54PM
