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Paddle, Play, Party

LIFE + STYLE

fifth annual Betty’s Bash Paddle Race & Music Festival at Riverside ParkPaddle in the morning, play at the park in the afternoon and party into the night. It’s another fun-filled lineup for the fifth annual Betty’s Bash Paddle Race & Music Festival at Riverside Park.

“It’s a chance for us to give back to the community and thank everyone for supporting us,” says event organizer Andy Colbert, who owns Outdoor Augusta. “It’s also a celebration of the park.”

The race will begin at 9 a.m. at Betty’s Branch after racers unload at the park and then paddle out to the train trestles on the Savannah River. Looping around Germany Island on a 6.2-mile course, the competition will begin and end at the train trestles.

fifth annual Betty’s Bash Paddle Race & Music Festival at Riverside ParkThe race is open to kayaks, canoes and standup paddleboards in several categories, and trophies will be awarded to the winners of each division. An overall winner will earn a prize as well. The park will remain open to the public during the event.

Safety boats and markers will be on the course to provide directions.

“There’s plenty of room on the water for everybody,” Colbert says.

A free festival and concert will follow the paddle race. Food trucks and beer vendors will be onsite, and the music will begin with a DJ at 4 p.m. Live bands will play at night, and The Mason Jars will close the show.

Registration is required for the race at outdooraugusta.com.

If You Go:

What: Betty’s Bash Paddle Race & Music Festival

When: 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday, June 21

Where: Riverside Park

How Much: Free festival and concert; $30 per person for race

More Info: outdooraugusta.com

Simply Fin-tastic

Buzz

The Landsharks perform live at Columbia County’s annual Summer Beach BlastLive music, dancing and dining will be on deck for this annual summer kickoff party

Fins to the left, fins to the right.

Parrotheads, shaggers or anyone who just loves summer can dig their heels in the sand when The Landsharks perform live at Columbia County’s annual Summer Beach Blast.

The Landsharks, the premier Jimmy Buffet tribute band the late singer hired to be the house band at his Margaritaville Café, won’t be the only bait in town, however.

Food vendors, games and activities will be circling around as part of the festivities for a feeding frenzy of family fun as well.

You may never sit down at this action-packed event, but bring your beach chairs just in case.

If You Go:

What: Summer Beach Blast

When: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday, June 7

Where: Evans Towne Center Park

How Much: Free admission

More Info: Columbia County Parks, Recreation & Events Facebook page

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Literary Loop

Bestselling author Fredrik BackmanBestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with a funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life 25 years later.

Most people don’t even notice them — three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into 18-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it.

The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this testament to the timeless power of friendship and art.

Branching Out

Georgia
Georgia State Parks

Photos courtesy of Georgia State Parks

Gators and tortoises, black bears and birds. From sun-drenched swamps to blooming mountain trails, Georgia State Parks provide an abundance of opportunities to connect with nature and witness wildlife in action.

This year the parks and their residents also are a viable alternative to Clarks Hill Lake, where some amenities are unavailable because of damage caused by Hurricane Helene. Guests can see snakes and turtles in many of the visitor centers as well, and park rangers present wildlife programs throughout the summer.

If there’s not enough time to see everything in a day trip, many parks offer accommodations for overnight stays. Whether guests prefer a cozy lakeside cabin, a fully equipped cottage, a group lodge or a peaceful campsite under the stars, there are options for every type of traveler. Camping areas include RV-friendly sites, walk-in tent campsites and yurts. plan your overnight adventure, visit GaStateParks.org/Reservations.

While some of these parks have been affected by Hurricane Helene, repairs are in progress and they are open for business. To plan an overnight adventure, visit GaStateParks.org/Reservations.

Gopher Tortoise Trek
Reed Bingham State Park, Adel
Warm-weather sunshine brings Georgia’s state reptile out of its burrow at Reed Bingham, and visitors can spot gopher tortoises moving slowly along sunlit trails. They can enjoy a guided paddle through the park’s cypress-lined 375-acre lake, where alligators and softshell turtles often make their first appearances of the season. Overnight stays in the campground let people experience the sounds of nature as night falls.

The lake also is popular with boaters and skiers, and fishing for bass, crappie, catfish and bream is excellent. Paddlers can rent canoes and kayaks to explore the lake, which is lined with fragrant water lilies and tupelo trees. Guided pontoon boat tours sometimes are offered during events.

The beachside pavilion, picnic shelters and group shelters are scenic spots for parties, reunions and other celebrations. Most trails have been re-opened as debris has been cleared. Damaged boardwalk sections remain closed as repairs continue. GaStateParks.org/ReedBingham

Black Bear Sightings
Fort Mountain State Park, Chatsworth
When wildflowers bloom across the North Georgia mountains, black bears become more active as they forage along wooded trails in Fort Mountain. For panoramic views, hikers can explore the park’s historic stone fire tower, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and an ancient rock wall. This mysterious 855-foot-long wall is thought to have been built by early Indians as fortification against more hostile Indians or for ancient ceremonies.

Some of the most beautiful trails in Georgia wind through the park’s hardwood forest and blueberry thickets. The trails cross streams and circle a lake, where visitors can cool off beachside during the summer. Horseback riding currently is unavailable due to trailhead access work.

Sitting at 2,850 ft above sea level, Fort Mountain is a great destination for hiking and history lessons alike. The area in and around the park was home to the Cherokee Indians for hundreds of years, and their legacy is still felt throughout North Georgia today. GaStateParks.org/FortMountain

Coastal Birding Hotspot
Crooked River State Park, St. Marys
With painted buntings, great egrets and ospreys in abundance, Crooked River is a must-see for birdwatchers. Visitors can enjoy the park’s bird blind and scenic salt marsh trails, and the park also is the perfect spot to enjoy the Intracoastal Waterway and maritime forest.

The park’s nature trail winds through forest and salt marsh, and hikers may see gopher tortoises, fiddler crabs, herons and other birds. A nature center features fish, snakes, turtles and other animals native to coastal Georgia. Visitors also can explore the nearby ruins of a tabby mill, built around 1825 and later used as a starch factory during the Civil War.

Campsites are surrounded by palmettos and Spanish moss-draped oaks, while cottages are set near the tidal river. A boat ramp is popular with anglers who often take to the water before sunrise. Just down the road is the ferry to the famous Cumberland Island National Seashore known for secluded beaches and wild horses. GaStateParks.org/CrookedRiver

Alligator Encounters
Laura S. Walker State Park, Waycross
Located near the northern edge of the mysterious Okefenokee Swamp, this park is home to fascinating creatures and plants, including alligators and carnivorous pitcher plants. Walking along the lake’s edge and nature trail, visitors also may spot a shy gopher tortoise, saw palmettos, yellow shafted flickers, warblers, owls and great blue herons.

The lake offers fishing, swimming and boating, and kayaks and bicycles are available for rent. The Lakes 18-hole golf course features a clubhouse, golf pro and junior/senior rates. Each fairway and landing area is defined with gentle, links-style mounds that accent the course’s three lakes.

While there is a lot to explore in the park, as of press time the Boardwalk on Big Creek Trail and Group Camp Cabin #10 remain closed until repairs can be made. Check GaStateParks.org/LauraSWalker for updates.

Hidden Birding Retreat
Panola Mountain State Park, Stockbridge
Just outside Atlanta, Panola Mountain offers a summertime escape with its “Power of Flight” area that attracts colorful songbirds like indigo buntings and yellow-throated warblers. Visitors can picnic while children work off energy on the playground. The park also offers archery, geocaching, orienteering and birding programs. A paved trail is open for biking, roller blading, jogging and dog-walking, while forested fitness trails attract hikers and runners.

Designated as a National Natural Landmark, Panola Mountain is a 100-acre granite outcrop similar to Stone Mountain but smaller and more pristine. Park visitors will see the outcrop and its rare ecosystem just as Native Americans did centuries ago. Ranger-led hikes teach about the rare plants and animals found in this habitat, but reservations are required.

With its unusual natural beauty and intriguing cultural changes, this park is the crown jewel of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, one of only three National Heritage Areas in the state. Through the years, this area has been home to early settlers, immigrant rock cutters, freed slaves and even Trappist monks. Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area is a partnership among the state of Georgia; DeKalb, Henry and Rockdale counties; the Monastery of the Holy Spirit; numerous communities and public-private partners. GaStateParks.org/PanolaMountain

Deer and Wildflower Meadows
Hard Labor Creek State Park, Rutledge
When the meadows of Hard Labor Creek are painted in bright hues, they become a prime location for spotting grazing deer in the golden light of dusk. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Hard Labor Creek also offers a wide range of recreational opportunities in a wooded setting. Visitors can explore the tranquil Brantley Trail or enjoy a quiet paddle on Lake Rutledge.

A lakeside beach is popular with swimmers during summer months, and more than 24 miles of trails are available for hikers and horseback riders. Horse owners even have their own private camping area near stalls. With so many ways to relax, it is ironic that the park’s name is thought to come from slaves who tilled summer fields or American Indians who found the creek difficult to cross.

Located between Madison and Covington off I-20, The Creek Golf Course provides one of Georgia’s best golf values, along with a pro shop, driving range, rental carts and special rates for seniors and children. The 18-hole course is a favorite for its challenging layout and well-maintained greens in a pristine, natural setting.

As of press time, the beach bathrooms are under renovation, but temporary restrooms are available nearby. GaStateParks.org/HardLaborCreek.

By Morgan Davis

SABLE, fABLE by Bon Iver

Listen To This

Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE While some songs hit like sunscreen in the eyes, others drift in like a popsicle drip on your wrist — unexpected, a little sticky and totally unforgettable. The kind of tunes you stumble into on a sun-baked afternoon when time slows and shoes come off. Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE is exactly that — a summer soundtrack of barefoot truths and golden-hour feelings cast in warm falsetto and cicada harmony.

If For Emma, Forever Ago was the sound of winter heartbreak and i,i the autumn of inner reckoning, then this is a lush and beautiful summer bloom — an album that glows like golden-hour fireflies on the longest day of the year. It is equal parts campfire confession, polaroid dream and sonic lemonade stand.

Side A offers the shade of canopy trees and tender nostalgia. Tracks like “Things Behind Things Behind Things” and “Awards Season” blow in gently like the sway of a lazy hammock between memory and mystery.

Side B arrives like a dip in the pool — sudden, refreshing and impossibly alive. “Everything Is Peaceful Love” is a sunbeam you can dance to, unguarded and wide-eyed. “Walk Home” feels like riding a bike with no hands — wind in your shirt, nowhere to be. And Dijon and Flock of Dimes bring their backyard lawn-chair warmth to “Day One.”

SABLE, fABLE feels recorded in a treehouse — still Bon Iver, but here it breathes differently. It exhales. Not the loud summer, but the quiet one: butterflies over tall grass, long drives, the scent of rain on hot pavement. It doesn’t just soundtrack summer — it is summer.

– Chris Rucker

Burn Ban Reminder

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An outdoor burn ban will go into effect on May 1 and continue through September 30 in 54 Georgia counties, including Columbia and Richmond.An outdoor burn ban will go into effect on May 1 and continue through September 30 in 54 Georgia counties, including Columbia and Richmond.

The burn ban prohibits citizens and businesses from burning yard and land-clearing debris during the summer ozone season to avoid air quality issues.

The ban is in addition to the year-round, statewide prohibition against burning household garbage. Recreational activities such as campfires and grilling are exempt from the open burning ban.

Blackwater Bliss

Travel
Carolina Heritage Outfitters in St. George, South Carolina offers outdoor adventurers the opportunity to paddle a two-person canoe along the cypress-lined, rapid-free, blackwater Edisto River to three private treehouses for overnight stays.

Photos courtesy of Discover South Carolina and Carolina Heritage Outfitters

Leave your cares behind on a leisurely downriver paddle to this secluded destination.

Spending a day on the water with your closest friends. Camping overnight in a rustic, secluded treehouse. Unwinding around a campfire at the end of the night.

If this sounds like the makings of the perfect day that your adolescent, Huck Finn-inspired self would have loved, then your adult self will jump at the chance to recreate these treasured childhood memories.

Carolina Heritage Outfitters in St. George, South Carolina offers outdoor adventurers the opportunity to paddle a two-person canoe along the cypress-lined, rapid-free, blackwater Edisto River to three private treehouses for overnight stays.

“It’s a great way to escape from the day-to-day grind and get away from civilization,” says Chris Burbulak, owner. “It’s a great way to recharge and unwind.”

Carolina Heritage Outfitters in St. George, South Carolina offers outdoor adventurers the opportunity to paddle a two-person canoe along the cypress-lined, rapid-free, blackwater Edisto River to three private treehouses for overnight stays.Life in the Slow Lane

The Edisto is the longest free-flowing blackwater river in the United States, winding 250 miles from South Carolina’s Sandhills region to the tidelands at the Atlantic Ocean. It’s labeled a blackwater river for its distinctive tea-colored hue created by tannins leached from decaying leaves of trees and vegetation that grow along the river’s edge.

Slow-moving and scenic, the waterway runs through an ecological landscape featuring cypress-tupelo swamps, forest lands and vast floodplains.

The area also supports a diversity of wildlife that includes several nationally threatened and endangered species such as the peregrine falcon, red-cockaded woodpecker and wood stork.

Blackwater Bliss Leave your cares behind on a leisurely downriver paddle to this secluded destination. HammocksIn addition, paddlers might encounter a hawk soaring overhead or any number of the dozens of turtle species that live in the river. Great blue herons, egrets, pileated woodpeckers, wood ducks, wild turkeys, deer, muskrats and raccoons also call the 150-acre Edisto River Refuge home.

Don’t let the peaceful, serene nature of the surroundings fool you, however. Adventure awaits.

“The trips are all unguided. That’s what makes it more of an adventure,” Burbulak says.

Carolina Heritage rents two-person canoes and kayaks for overnight and day trips. The outfitter sends off its adventurers with a vessel, paddles, personal flotation devices, safety orientation and directions.

“We want people to have fun, but we also want them to be safe,” says Burbulak.

Traveling through the largest private wildlife refuge on the river, adventurers can access the treehouses only by canoe. The canoes can hold more gear than kayaks, and they are more adept at handling the Edisto’s sharp curves.

While the paddles are open to novice and experienced outdoor enthusiasts, spring and fall trips require more canoeing skills. The water is higher and faster during those seasons than in the summer.

Because the outfitter has only one treehouse shuttle per day to the launch site upstream, time is of the essence as well. Overnight adventurers must meet at the outpost by 9:30 a.m. to have plenty of daylight to reach the treehouses.

This two-day downriver adventure totals 23 miles. The paddle covers about 13 miles on day one from the put-in to the treehouses and 10 miles on day two to return to the outpost. The first-day paddle takes four to five hours, and the second-day trip takes three to four hours.

Although most visitors stay one night, additional overnights can be arranged.

Inside the treehouse Blackwater Bliss Leave your cares behind on a leisurely downriver paddle to this secluded destination.Towering Treehouses

To spend the night, guests can choose from three treehouses that are located on an 80-acre island within the private refuge. Positioned out of sight from each other, the wooden structures rise from the swamp 

to tower 15 to 20 feet above the forest floor.

The treehouses sleep up to three, six or eight people, and they’re available from March 1 through the end of November.

Guests only need to bringfood, drinking water, sleeping bags and personal belongings such as pillows, towels and rain gear – just in case. Otherwise, the treehouses are stocked with anything else they’ll need for their overnight stay.

Amenities include a kitchen area with a table and chairs, propane stove, pots and pans, plates, utensils, a dining deck with an outdoor gas grill, benches, camp chairs, torches, oil candles and rechargeable lanterns.

A screened sleeping loft has one or two futon mattresses, depending on the size of the unit. Futons on the main level also fold out to accommodate an additional sleeping area.

Blackwater Bliss Leave your cares behind on a leisurely downriver paddle to this secluded destination.While the treehouses have no electricity or running water, outhouse facilities are located near each unit. Campers can wash up in the river.

Entertainment opportunities are boundless. Guests can swim, fish for bass or bream, lounge in a rope hammock, enjoy the river view, listen to the running water, read a book, play cards or board games, cook or – gasp – just talk to each other.

The island also includes walking trails for exploring. A trail leads to each treehouse, and the main trail to the road is a 1-mile hike round-trip.

Once the sun goes down, campers can gather around a fire pit to tell stories, relive the day’s adventures, start a sing-along and roast hot dogs or marshmallows. Rustling trees, croaking frogs and hooting owls can serenade them to sleep.

The surround sound of the habitat at daybreak is just as vocal as the last call at night. “When you wake up in the morning, you can hear nature come alive,” says Burbulak.

Overnight guests have other sleeping options besides the treehouses as well.

“We have spots on our property for primitive camping,” Burbulak says. “If the water is low enough, there are plenty of sandbars where people can pull up and camp as well.”

However, the outfitter’s most popular canoe rental is a 10-mile day trip. Adventurers meet at the outpost on Highway 15 to catch the shuttle to the launch site and meander down the waterway. In the summer, the Edisto is relatively shallow, and its banks are sandy and forgiving – ideal conditions to take a dip in the spring-fed river or to stop for a picnic lunch.

This trip takes three to four hours – or all day for those who can elevate relaxation into an art form, and it ends at the outpost parking lot.

Far and Wide

While most of the clientele is from South Carolina, North Carolina or Georgia, others have come from up and down the East and West coasts, Alaska and even Australia and Europe. Children who make the trip should be at least 11 years old.

Regardless of how far and wide his customers travel to explore the Edisto, Burbulak wants them to have an unforgettable experience.

“They’re out in the middle of nowhere. We want them to enjoy the sense of adventure and camaraderie with each other,” he says.

By Morgan Davis

Free CPR Courses

Buzz

Columbia County Fire Rescue is now offering a CPR course each month at the Columbia County Emergency Operations Center on Ronald Reagan Drive in EvansColumbia County Fire Rescue is now offering a CPR course each month at the Columbia County Emergency Operations Center on Ronald Reagan Drive in Evans.

The course begins at 6 p.m. and lasts approximately two hours. Classes will be held:

May 22
June 26
July 21
August 20
September 24
October 14
November 13
December 8

In addition to the regular CPR courses, two CPR and First Aid courses will be held June 7 and September 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for individuals with limited or no medical training who require a CPR and AED completion card to meet job, regulatory or other requirements.

All courses are free to the public. To register, please email DBLESSING@columbiacountyga.gov.

Tuning In

Buzz

This month the symphony is offering three sessions of Tuning In, a free program that combines guided mindfulness practices with live music experiences. If you need a little self-care, then Augusta Symphony can help. This month the symphony is offering three sessions of Tuning In, a free program that combines guided mindfulness practices with live music experiences.

The symphony’s music therapist and select orchestral musicians will help participants be in the moment and be in the music.

The sessions, which take place on Monday evenings from 6:45 p.m. until 7:30 p.m., are open to community members on May 5, 12, and 19 at the Knox Music Institute at Miller Theater.

Registration is limited and required. Each session includes educational material, experiential self-care and discussion and reflection.

For more information or to register, visit augustasymphony.com.

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian

Literary Loop

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly MustianFrom acclaimed author Kelly Mustian comes a lyrical and haunting Southern story about memory, family secrets and fierce and fragile love.

For nearly 30 years, Nell has kept a childhood promise to never reveal what she and Evie found tucked inside a copy of Jane Eyre in their mother’s bookcase ― a record of Evie’s birth naming a stranger as her mother. But lately Nell has been haunted by hazy memories of their early life in Mississippi, years their reclusive mother has kept shrouded in secrecy.

Evie recalls nothing before their house on Clay Mountain in North Carolina, but Nell remembers abrupt moves, odd accommodations and the rainy night a man in a dark coat and a hat pulled low climbed their porch steps with a very little girl ― Evie ― and then left without her.

From a windswept ghost town long forgotten, to a river house in notorious Natchez Under-the-Hill, to a moody nightclub stage, Evie’s other mother emerges from the shadows of Depression-era Mississippi in a story of hardship and perseverance, betrayal and trust and unexpected redemption in a world in which the lines between heroes and culprits are not always clearly drawn.

IS by My Morning Jacket

Listen To This

IS by My Morning JacketSome albums exist. Others insist. And then there’s My Morning Jacket’s latest release, IS, which simply… is. It doesn’t ask for your attention; it absorbs it. With lyrics that dance between cryptic poetry and gut-punch truths, IS plays like a collection of postcards from the edge of the cosmos.

From the opening hum of “Out in the Open” you’re not just listening — you’re traveling. Tracks like “Everyday Magic” radiate warmth, with guitars shimmering like desert heatwaves, while “I Can Hear Your Love” submerges listeners in a dreamlike haze. And then there’s “Die for It,” a raucous anthem that demands to be shouted from the rooftops — preferably under a full moon.

But it’s not all astral projection and existential ponderings. My Morning Jacket still knows how to get your feet stomping. “Squid Ink” crashes in like the wild lovechild of jam-band chaos and arena-rock grandeur. Then, just when you think you’ve found your footing, the ambient closer, “River Road,” whispers like a secret you’re not quite sure you were meant to hear.

If you find yourself cruising down a Georgia backroad, windows down, air thick with honeysuckle, let IS be your soundtrack. It’s the perfect companion for the kind of springtime that hums with possibility and drips with nostalgia.

– Chris Rucker

Tribute to the Troops

Buzz

Thunder Over Evans on Saturday, May 17It’s time to show your true colors – that would be red, white and blue, of course – and honor those who protect and defend our nation at Thunder Over Evans on Saturday, May 17.

Bring blankets and chairs to this Armed Forces Day celebration that includes music, an extreme fireworks show and other entertainment. Activities kick off with a military salute that includes the posting of the colors, a message from the Fort Eisenhower Command, a veterans procession and singing of the national anthem.

Food vendors also will be up and running when the gates open so that visitors will have time to get their dinner and find seating before the celebration begins.

Festival-goers also are encouraged to bring ear protection and sunglasses or eye protection for the extreme fireworks show. In addition, anyone who suffers from PTSD or has a negative reaction to loud noises or bright flashes of light, should leave the event by 9:15 p.m.

Tents or canopies as well as pets are not allowed, but soft carry coolers are permitted. The event will be held rain or shine.

If You Go:

What: Thunder Over Evans

When: 6 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. Saturday, May 17; gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Evans Towne Center Park

How Much: Free admission

More Info: thunderoverevans.com

Mimosas on Main

Buzz

Harlem Merchants Association holds its annual Mimosas on Main Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Calling all moms, women teachers, businesswomen, servicewomen and ladies 21 and older. Harlem is raising a glass to them with an invitation to explore the city’s downtown district when the Harlem Merchants Association holds its annual Mimosas on Main Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

During the festivities, guests can visit shops and businesses to enjoy brunch, bubbly and live music. Along the way there also will be registration for pop-up giveaways.

There is a one-time wristband charge of $5. Registration, wristbands and event guides are available at Reeves Realty and the Harlem Library plaza. For more information, visit visitharlemga.com.

Garden Festival

Garden Scene

the annual Sacred Heart Garden FestivalFor serious and novice horticulturalists alike, there is another spring event (besides the golf tournament) that they have grown to love – the annual Sacred Heart Garden Festival.

This year’s event is scheduled for 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26 at Sacred Heart Cultural Center.

Friday and Saturday activities include a vendor market in the Great Hall, educational speakers, food trucks and more. Plant and garden vendors will join the festival outdoors on Saturday.

Festival-goers can learn more about local public gardens as well. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 during the event. For more information, visit sacredheartaugusta.org.

Flying High

Buzz

Air Dot Show U.S. Navy Blue AngelsEnergetic, elite aerobatics will fill the skies at a popular air show

The Air Dot Show is back. This year, however, the show is coming to town a month earlier than usual as Augusta is the first stop on the eight-destination tour that celebrates military and civilian aviation excellence.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will headline the show with a combination of solo and formation maneuvers. The performance also will include an A-10 Thunderbolt II Close Air Support Demo, a P-51 Mustang Demo with Scott “Scooter” Yoak, the SOCOM Para-Commandos, the Georgia State Patrol, aerobatic pilot Michael Goulian and more.

A variety of aircraft will be on static display inside the event site as well.

Spectators can bring sunscreen, ear protection and up to a one-liter sealed bottle of water. Those who purchase general admission or lawn box tickets also should bring their own chairs. However, no tents, awnings or canopies will be allowed. Backpacks, bags, wagons and strollers will be permitted.

Tickets can be purchased in advance or on the day of the event. However, all tickets must be purchased before arrival at the show.

If You Go:

What: Air Dot Show Augusta

When: Noon – 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27; gates open 9 a.m.

Where: Augusta Regional Airport

How Much: Seating options and prices vary; children ages 5 and under are free in general admission section

More Info: augustaairshow.com