Fall Frenzy fun for all

Downtown Milledgeville’s First Friday event continued in the month of October with the theme “Downtown Fall Frenzy.”

The event was held downtown on Oct. 5 from 6-9 p.m. The First Friday events began last month and offer the community an alternative to their normal Friday night routine.

“We want to create an atmosphere of activity for the community and one that is welcoming to everyone,” Carlee Shulte, director of Milledgeville Mainstreet, said. “That’s why we have different themes and activities.”

Each month has a unique theme and offers something different for guests to do each time. At the Fall Frenzy event, there were activities ranging from music to arts and crafts that were all pertaining to fall. Different bands played varieties of music throughout the festivities. Carlos Toombs & The Reception Band played old school hits while TP & Sandra Hollowman played bluegrass.

“I thought this month’s event was not as student-oriented as last month but more community oriented,” Ian Agnew, junior physics major, said.

Keeping the theme of fall in mind, there was a Trucks and Treats section for children and adults to enjoy. Equipment such as a fire-truck, tractor, back hoe, Hum V and a lifted truck were featured and able to be toured. This was a favorite for students of all ages. “I liked seeing all the different trucks they had displayed,” Agnew said.

These events are an opportune time for people to explore the shops downtown and see what Milledgeville has to offer. “It promotes economic activity and gets people downtown and in the shops and restaurants to buy things,” Shulte said.

At 7 p.m., a candy drop occurred in which piles of candy, donated by Piggly Wiggly and Kroger, were lifted up by a backhoe and then dropped. The pile was dropped to the ground and children were able to run and grab as much candy as they could and put it in their bags. Pumpkin painting was also available for children to participate in.

Compassionate Crafts was one of the many booths at Fall Frenzy. They sold hand-made Halloween crafts, and each month they choose a different charity organization to give their profits to. All of the money from their items sold at Fall Frenzy went to the Sakoma school in Haiti.

“We love to paint, and my mom is retired and was bored. I was getting ready to go on a trip to Haiti, and I did this as a fundraiser,” Dianna Perdue, co-founder of Compassionate Crafts, said. “Now we do it and donate the money.”

First Fridays have helped their business boom. “We have a Facebook page and that’s really the only other way to promote,” Perdue said. “We were at the last event and it has helped a lot. We might do Christmas crafts for the next event.”

All of the First Friday events are held on the first Friday of every month and will feature a different theme. The next upcoming event will be in November and the theme will be “Giving thanks downtown” and December’s theme will be “Downtown holiday.”

Posted by Mallory Chapman on Oct 18 2012. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.