Bear on the Square

The 13th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival will be an incredible weekend of music and art held around the Historic Public Square in Dahlonega, Ga. which is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains.

From April 17-19, old time and bluegrass music will fill the downtown square and nearby Hancock Park.The festival opens on Friday as the musicians for the street jams start gathering around the Historic Public Square around noon.There will be on-stage performances on Saturday and Sunday at the MainStage Tent in Hancock Park by local, regional, and national musicians with headline acts including the Claire Lynch Band, The Freight Hoppers, and the duo of Beverly Smith and Carl Jones.

The Mountain Marketplace around the square is being sponsored this year by John C. Campbell Folk School and will include a juried artists’ market of traditional crafts, artists demonstrating their craft throughout the marketplace as well as a heritage folk life area featuring John C. Campbell Folk School artists demonstrating such crafts as blacksmithing, basketry and more.

Extensive music workshops, the Sunday morning Gospel Jam, a street dance, the Live Country Auction on Friday evening, family activities, and of course, food, complete the offerings during the festival. For more inform ation about the festival, including event times and locations and a complete list of sponsors, visit www.bearonthesquare.org.

Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, Inc., which stages the show each year, is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit cultural arts organization whose mission is to preserve and celebrate the culture of the Southern Appalachians through the presentation of music, traditional craft, and folkways. Tax deductible donations are welcome and can be sent to P.O. Box 338, Dahlonega, GA 30533.