Go To the Swan Drive-In Blue Ridge, GA   One of three remaining drive-in theaters in Georgia, offering first run movies on weekends. Call 706-632-5235 to see what's playing or see the Swan website at www.swan-drive-in.com. Located at 651 Summit Street in Blue Ridge.  02/27/2013

There's still time to beat the Winter Blues and have some fun at the Blue Ice Skating Rink in downtown Blue Ridge, GA, next to the BBQ pit in City Park. Bring the kids, the cost is only $10 and includes skate rental. For more information, please call 706-633-7433         Hours:Monday: 3pm - 8pmThursday: 3pm - 8pmFriday: 3pm - 8pmSaturday: 10am - 8pmSunday: Noon - 8pm       02/01/2013

Wood Duck Seminar Blue Ridge Bird Seed Company at Harvest on Main Second Floor of Harvest on MainSaturday February 2nd ** ** 9 - 10 AM at Harvest On Main Restaurant ** Seminars are free and interested kids ages 10+ are welcome. They serve refreshments, offer "seminar survivor" discount coupons and always have a few door prizes.   Wood Ducks - Featuring Ann Stewart Join Blue Ridge Bird Seed Company for a fun and very interesting seminar about the beautiful wood duck. Ann Stewart is a well-known expert on Wood Ducks and will share her knowledge and stories about the ducks she has raised in the Rome, Georgia area over the years. They hope to also have a cool "Duckumentary" about Stormy, a woodie who hatched too late to go with Mom & the kids and was raised by hand. You'll learn about the W... 01/31/2013

I have been looking and looking for a place to buy quality art supplies in the North Georgia Mountains and thanks to The Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association, I have found the Art Supply Station in Blue Ridge GA!   Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association The Art CenterGalleries on West Main420 West Main StreetBlue Ridge, GA 30513Phone: 706.632.2144Fax: 706.632.7785www.blueridgearts.netblueridgearts@gmail.comGallery Hours:10am - 6pm Tuesday - SundayClosed Monday       01/28/2013

Light Up Blue Ridge is an annual old-fashioned holiday celebration in downtown Blue Ridge!   Light Up Blue Ridge! is held the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. The downtown area  is filled with live entertainment throughout the day. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway at 11:15 a.m.. Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus and have  photos taken in the gazebo in downtown Blue Ridge, GA. Live reindeer, childrens trackless train rides, Tim the Magician and Butterfly the Clown, "Balloon Lady" Nancy Fangles and so much more. Make sure you don't miss the lighting of the "Great Tree"  at 6:00 p.m. too. Downtown shops will be open late so bring the whole family for a holiday of fun, perfect to start the season off right!   Proceeds from this event will benefit "Open Arms".  Fo... 11/22/2012

Looking for a gift for that person who has everything? How about the avid hunter or fisherman in your family? How about a gift certificate to Noontootla Creek Farms in scenic Blue Ridge, GA Noontootla Creek Farms is located in the beautiful mountains of Northwest Georgia, NCF is a privately held farm consisting of over 1,500 acres. Originally a large farm operation and then a private hunting club, NCF is now open to the public with over two miles of quality trout water and excellent quail hunting. They are open year around with the best hunting and fishing taking place from the Fall through Spring of the following year. An on-site farmhouse is available for rental. All fly fishing and quail hunts are by daily reservation at affordable rates. NCF’s fly fishing is more technical in nature... 11/19/2012

Fall Arts in the Park Downtown Blue Ridge City Park in Blue Ridge, Georgia 10AM-5PM on October 13th & 14th, 2012 Fine art, great food, fall colors on the trees and on the canvases. Peak leaf season in the mountains of North Georgia is mid-October. Enjoy the splendor of nature with a fine arts and crafts festival with 100's of artists from across the nation. Check out the children's section, stay tuned for live musical performances and enjoy the National Photography Exhibit in The Art Center Gallery. Downtown Blue Ridge has much to offer! Make a weekend of it and get a breath of mountain air while titillating the senses through this festival of fine art. Admission is $5 for adults/children free. Festival hours are 10 am to 5 pm both days. Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association706-632-2144 10/09/2012

Holiday, Green, Decorating, Eco-friendly Great Ways to 'Green' your Holiday Season With trees dressed in fall finery and homes adorned in holiday hues of silver, gold and red, fall and winter are colorful times. This year, why not “green” your holiday by adopting some eco-friendly traditions? From decorating Christmas trees to wrapping gifts in recycled paper, it's easy to find ways to celebrate the season and be kind to Mother Nature at the same time.Decorating with heartSome traditional holiday decorations can be less than friendly for the environment, but a cut tree is not necessarily one of them. Consider that the production of artificial trees consumes large quantities of resources and creates wasted by-product. Also, keep in mind most tree lots sell trees raised on farms, so natur... 10/04/2012

U-Pick Apples, Tractor Rides and U-Select Pumpkins at Mercier's Orchards 8660 Blue Ridge Drive Blue Ridge, GA 1.5 miles north of Blue Ridge on Hwy 5It's time to pick apples! Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come and spend a day at the farm, enjoy a tractor ride through the orchards. Great family activity.Mercier Orchards706-632-3411 U-PICK Apples   The family fun of taking a tractor ride out into the orchard and picking your own apples is underway. U-PICK is currently being hosted every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm. Be prepared to have a great time! Merciers is offering one bag---a peck size (holds 10-12lbs fruit). The cost of the bag is $10.00, you can purchase as many as you’d like. Fill the bag(s) you pay for and that is the cost of U-PICK. The tractor ride... 10/02/2012

North Georgia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad, Vacation and Recreation  "...a piece of railroad history" Come take a 13 mile, 3.5 - 4 hour trip on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad which will take you along the beautiful Toccoa River for most of the trip. As you start the ride you will leave the hustle and bustle of the town and ride the rails possibly seeing turkey, deer and an occasional beaver. As we make our way to McCaysville, GA/Copperhill, TN you will be told about some of the sites along the way. You’ll see the ‘Wye’ at Murphy Junction, the Kodak moment where you will get your first glimpse of the river and a view both up and down stream and also a fish weir better known as the fish trap. The trip takes 1 hour to arrive at our destination of McCaysville, GA/Copper... 09/29/2012

Blue Ridge, Georgia, Resort and Vacation, Second Home Real Estate, Retirement Communities Honored as one of America's Top Art Communities Blue Ridge, Georgia has long been recognized as a resort and 2nd home getaway.  Year after year the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce surveys visitors to find out the “why” behind the explosive growth in the area.  In addition to all of the outdoor activities visitors enjoy, a growing number of people flock to this area for the arts.  The Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association, located in the the building that once was the Fannin County Court House, has grown rapidly, even in the economic downturn.  Artists from around the country have discovered the magic behind this town and the energy of the expanding association.  Members of the Arts Association enj... 09/25/2012

Once 'flatlanders' discover our beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia, they are drawn back again and again, and eventually want to buy a cabin up here - either to use as a vacation home, or to retire to permanently.   Our curvy --and often unpaved -- mountain roads can be somewhat intimidating at the start, and I am often asked how the roads are to navigate in the winter. One of the beauties of our North Georgia  winters is that we get just enough snow -- but not too much. If we get an inch or two overnight, it is typically melted off by the next afternoon, so driving is usually not an issue. Of course, the winter before last was an anomoly -- we had a record-breaking 11 inches of snow on Christmas Day of 2010! The snow stuck around for several days and did cause some problems... 09/20/2012

Congratulations to The Sweet Shoppe of Blue Ridge owners Susan Catron and Nikki Gribble.  The Sweet Shoppe of Blue Ridge was selected to make their second appearance on Food Network’s show Cupcake Wars.  Last season the ladies did an excellent job coming in second place on their episode and now The Sweet Shoppe of Blue Ridge has been invited back for an encore performance!  The episode will air at 8pm on September 23rd on Food Network so make sure and mark your calendar and set your alarm so you don’t miss it! The main location at 576 East Main Street in downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia was opened in May of 2011.  After a very successful year baking their fantastic creations, the duo opened their second location at 100 Bridge Street in McCaysville, Georgia on September 1st of this year.    ... 09/15/2012

The overwhelming majority of properties that I sell here in Blue Ridge are vacation homes. With the historically low mortgage rates we are seeing right now, I have been asked by several of my clients if it makes sense to refinance. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' answer. Second-homes are considered riskier investments, so rates are slightly higher -- typically a quarter of a percentage point. But, if the home is rented more than two weeks out of the year it is considered an investment property and lending requirements become much more stringent and will undoubtedly be subject to higher rates. It can be confusing to know what your best option is when it comes to refinancing a second home, or if it is even a viable option. Hopefully, this article in today's New York Times can help provide... 08/23/2012

What to do in the Blue Ridge, GA mountains...Mercier Orchards   We're fortunate to live in Murphy, NC and be just minutes to the TN and GA state lines.  One of our favorite stops to make over in the Blue Ridge, GA area is at the Mercier Orchards for their famous Fried Pies. They have all kinds of flavors like... Peach, Guava, Cherry, etc... but Apple is still my favorite. Of course we usually leave with a box of fried pies and some Apple Bread and Cider too.       Mercier Orchards is a family owned and operated apple orchard. Started back in 1943 by Bill & Adele Mercier, Mercier Orchards is now celebrating 69 years of fruitful harvests. You’ll see Miss Adele in the store and back in the kitchen sometimes too! And my oh my has it grown over the years as they are always adding new items a... 06/15/2012

   A great afternoon in downtown Blue Ridge, GA and don’t be surprised as you stroll down the sidewalks and see Lady Liberty. The former Fannin County Courthouse used to be here in this building, but as Blue Ridge, GA has grown they built a new courthouse just down from this site. Lady Liberty now stands out to greet the passers-by and welcome everyone to the Blue Ridge Arts Association and Gallery.  There is always plenty to do in this historic downtown area filled with great restaurants, galleries, tons of antique shops and an assortment of other furniture, gift, clothing, toys, businesses and more. And let's not forget the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway  For more information about mountain living in north GA, western NC or east TNLee & Carol Barbour ~ The Mountain Living Team ~ www.LeeAn... 06/09/2012

LOCAL BLUE RIDGE RESTAURANTS   Print a Map for Blue Ridge Restaurants     Breakfast/Lunch Bumble Bee's Cafe5850 Appalachian HighwayBlue Ridge, GA30513(706) 946-2337     Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner   SerenityGarden Café (Try the homemade soups!) 657 East Main Street Blue Ridge, GA30513 (706) 258-4949   Village Restaurant (Country Cooking) 4131 East 1st Street ValleyVillageShopping Center Blue Ridge, GA30513 (706) 632-2277     Lunch/Dinner   Angelina's Gourmet Market & Deli(Menus/Info)(Try the Club Panini sandwich)3640 East First StreetBlue Ridge, GA 30513 (706) 632-3354       Blue Jeans Pizza & Pasta Factory 11 Mountain Street Blue Ridge, GA30513 (706) 632-6503       Blue Ridge Brewery(Menus/Info) 187 Depot Street Blue Ridge, GA (706) 632-6611     Blue Ridge Mountain Bar-B-Que(Menus/Info)3870... 05/23/2012

We attended a very special birthday at Dewar Wildlife in the north GA mountains today for Joe. At 49 years old, Joe is the third oldest male gorilla in a zoo setting and is Dewar Wildlife's iconic resident. Joe started life in Cameroon, Africa and has spent time in several zoos in the USA, but came to this wildlife facility in 2003 and in spite of his advanced age, enjoys tour visitors and the tranquility of the North Georgia Mountains. He certainly didn’t mind our group of 13 joining him in his Villa for his fruit birthday cake either!Dewar Wildlife (DW) is an advanced holding facility situated on 100 acres in the North Georgia (Blue Ridge) mountains for zoo gorillas that have special needs with potential facilities for gorillas and keepers in a private, secluded and temperate climate.... 04/04/2012

Go To the Drive-In, the Swan Theatre in Blue Ridge, GA, established in 1955One of only three remaining drive-in theaters in Georgia, the Swan offers first run movies on weekends. Call 706-632-5235 to see what's playing or see the Swan website at www.swan-drive-in.com. Located at 651 Summit Street in Blue Ridge, GA They have "The Hunger Games" playing this weekend (March 30th - April 1st, 2012) Admission:Adults $7.00 Children ages 4-11 $4.00 Under 4 Free  Cash ONLY 03/30/2012

We had the pleasure of attending the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce After Hours this week held at The Art Center Galleries On West Main in downtown Blue Ridge, GA. It was a fabulous evening filled with a festive atmosphere, touring and learning more about the Blue Ridge Mountains Art Association with Executive Director, Sarah Verner.  The vision of The Art Center is to act as an economic stimulus to put Blue Ridge, GA on the map as one of the Top Art Towns in the Nation. And that's just what they’ve done and the results have benefited the entire community. The estimated audience each year is 30,000+. The Art Center depends on its membership to keep it strong and its programs growing. They have tripled their membership in three years and have 1,000+ members - a solid, growing team of ... 12/23/2011