Thousands turned out to downtown Clarkesville Saturday for the 60th-annual Mountain Laurel Festival, and organizers said it was one of the largest yet.
The event drew to more than 100 vendors, with new vendor space this year being added off the west side of the square.
The parade was a mixture of floats, walking groups, and emergency and specialty vehicles, and lasted nearly an hour.
The festival, named for the flowering plant native to the eastern U.S., was the brainchild of then-Mayor Amilee Graves, Clarkesville's first female mayor.
Mountain Laurel remains one of the state's oldest outdoor festivals, and continues to draw thousands of people each year.
There was entertainment throughout the day, food, and arts and crafts, along with Volunteers For Literacy Rubber Duck Derby on the Soque River.
