The City of Clarkesville is getting ready for its biggest event of the year. The 55th Annual Mountain Laurel Festival takes place Saturday.
The festival kicks off with the Mountain Laurel Parade at 10 a.m. This year’s theme is Hometown Heroes. The Grand Marshal is Habersham EMS Director Jack Moody.
Other festival activities will include live entertainment, an antique car show, kids fun zone, and more than 120 vendors set up on the Clarkesville Square displaying and selling their arts & crafts, food and other items.
The City of Clarkesville will use its new outdoor speaker system to broadcast the parade and live entertainment throughout the city, throughout the day. You can also watch art come to life as a muralist paints Clarkesville’s new mural on the Kollock building facing the old county courthouse on Monroe Avenue.
Just down the road from the there, at 3:30 p.m. in Pitts Park, Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County will host the its 6th Annual Rubber Duck Race to raise money for literacy programs in Habersham County.
The Mountain Laurel Festival ends at 5 p.m.
How to get around during the festival
The City of Clarkesville will begin closing off streets and parking lots at midnight Friday to prepare for the festival. Drivers should keep the following in mind:
- Parking on both sides of the downtown square and along Washington Street will be closed at midnight on Friday, May 19th. Any cars left at 6am on Saturday, May 20th will be towed.
- Washington Street will close to traffic at 9:45am for the parade. It will reopen after the parade ends. During this time, Jefferson and Madison streets can be used for thru traffic. Note that West Water Street from Madison to Washington will be closed during the daytime festival. This is to accommodate the overflow of vendors.
- The old courthouse parking lot will be closed to host the kids activities, antique auto show and vendors.
- Complimentary Shuttles will run from 9am -3pm on Saturday. Shuttle stops are indicated on the map (see below), and also include Clarkesville City Hall, the downtown square and the Mauldin House Gardens.
- Parking is available on a first come-first served basis at public city parking lots; additional parking is at the Mill, which serves as a shuttle stop. The Madison Street parking lot will also be open this year.
