Jackson-Butts County Georgia

September is here and with it, autumn returns on the 22nd, bringing with it all of the changes in the year that so many of us look forward to, especially as the hot summer temperatures give way to the cooler breezes of the season. A few trees are already beginning to show a little color and the days are becoming noticeably shorter. It’s a busy time of the year, especially around here, because fall doesn’t just mean a change of season but it means the start of one of the best times of the year in Butts County and all our cities and communities.

First off, this article marks one year that this website has been up and running and as of this writing, we’ve had over 15,000 unique visitors to check out jacksonbuttscounty.com since we launched, plus a lot of repeat visitors too. We’ve covered the major community events such as festivals, cook offs, camp meetings and fairs, special events and more, as well as launched a community calendar that you can see at the bottom of our main page. We’ve hosted the Tourism Product Development Team from the State of Georgia for two days of concentrated learning about our community and the unique opportunities we offer here to Georgia tourism.

Our local Tourism Board has been actively involved with this process and we look forward to hearing the results of the Tourism Product Team visit and their findings in October when they come back to present them to the community. Using their recommendations as a roadmap, our board can more effectively fine-tune our marketing strategy for Butts County and continue to grow our tourism product offerings. Autumn is the best time to do that because it is such an active time for festivals and events in our community.

I mentioned the calendar above but another way to keep up with things is to find our Facebook and Twitter sites and subscribe to them. The links to both are included included on this website in different places. So let’s see what all we have cooking up for you on the menu….

Although it’s officially still within the summer, the Annual Native American Festival has always been the kickoff event for the season and it will return for the 28th year in a row on September 9th and 10th at the historic Indian Springs Hotel, running from 9AM to 5PM both days. Dovetailing off of this, the 11th Annual Seven Islands Artifact Day is scheduled for October 7, an event which has become the unofficial “Antiques Roadshow” for Butts County. Articles about both are on our main webpage and these events are both sponsored by the Butts County Historical Society and heavily supported by the Village at Indian Springs.

On September 16th, beginning at 10AM, is the Miss Flovilla Pageant, which will be held at the Old Flovilla Schoolhouse, with proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The entry form has all of the times for different age groups and the categories. Check out this fun event, held by the City of Flovilla each year!

Also happening the same day, will be the Indian Springs State Park Trick or Treat Trail, beginning at 5PM at the State Park, the first of several events planned over the next few months, and a busy day at Dauset Trails Nature Center, who is also getting geared up for autumn with both a blacksmithing exhibition, called a “Hammer In” and an outdoor “Movie Under The Stars” event. All of these are scheduled for October 7th. The “Hammer In” begins at 9 AM, while the film “Lego Batman Movie” will be shown on a big outdoor movie screen that evening beginning at 7:30 PM. Best of all, these events are FREE to all. Be sure to bring your chairs and a blanket for the movie! Concessions will be sold on the premises.

Next comes the longest running annual event of the year, the Butts County Fair, which has come each autumn for over half a century. Cooler temperatures, earlier sunsets and more always make the Fair a special time of the year for families and kids of all ages to enjoy the thrill of a small town carnival. This year, the Fair is wholly within the month of October, kicking off on Tuesday, October 10th and running through Saturday, October 14th, from 6AM to 11PM each day.

One of the cool things about the Butts County Fair is the exhibits, featuring some prizewinning works of art, interesting and creative display booths, homegrown vegetables, botanicals and much more. The Exchange Club of Jackson manages to pull all of this off, year after year, bringing a great show to our community as well as a great fair. Thrilling rides, candy apples and cotton candy, games of chance and the opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new friends all are on the menu each year. It’s an exciting event that you won’t want to miss!

Before you head to the Fair though, be sure to check out the City of Jenkinsburg’s 2nd Annual Bar-B-Choo-Chew Fall Festival, which also is being held on Saturday, October 14th, from 9AM to 4PM in the City Park behind City Hall. Last year’s event was a big success and this year’s festival promises to be even better. Returning this year will be a barbecue cookoff contest and a cornhole tournament, along with entertainment, food, arts and crafts and lots for the family to do. Check out our separate article on our homepage about this event!

Downtown Jackson will also be busy on October 28th, with the upcoming Jackson Alive Fall Festival and the Halloween on Second Street, which used to be two separate events, both sponsored and organized by the Butts County Chamber of Commerce. In recent years, they have been joined into one daylong festival celebrating Autumn and Halloween together and this really makes for an awesome festival in downtown Jackson.

Beginning at 9 AM on October 28th, vendors will be set up around the downtown square and all along Second Street. Arts, crafts, vending, farm produce for sale, musical entertainment and a small parade are usually part of the planned festivities, which will go on until 4PM. Then at 6PM, Halloween Trick-Or-Treating will begin with the Halloween on Second Street event. This event, which the Chamber began several years ago, provides a safe and controlled environment for children to trick-or-treat in, and an opportunity for parents to enjoy socializing with other parents. Our downtown businesses really put out the candy and this event draws a lot of children from the surrounding counties, as well as from our own.

Speaking of downtown Jackson, there have been several new places that have opened up for dining and drinks, including Bradley’s Tavern, a bar and restaurant on the corner of Oak and 2nd (ages 21 and older only), 3rd Street Station, a restaurant located a block west of the square on West 3rd street, and most recently, Lucy Lu’s Coffee Shop, on the corner of 2nd and Mulberry. Downtown Jackson is really coming to life with eating places, supplemented by new stores and more! There is really a lot to see and do and you should run by and check them out.

Moving into November, Dauset Trails will bring us the National Interscholastic Cycling Association Mountain Bike Race, held on the weekend of November 4th and 5th, as well as the Cane Syrup Festival on November 18th.

Autumn in our community is probably the best time of the year…and it’s certainly my favorite time of the year, not just because of the changes we see around us, but because it’s a time for people in our community to come back together after a summer of being scattered in many different directions. It’s a time to renew old friendships and to experience events that bring families together for fun and fellowship, and this fall there are a lot of opportunities for that available in the community. I hope to run into some of you soon at one of these events.

Have a wonderful autumn season and be sure to check back often for news and updates!

Michael 🍁🍁🍁

PS. Be sure to check out our Facebook and Twitter feeds on the right side of the page and subscribe to follow along with updates and news!