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🛤️ Downtown Norcross welcomes fall
Friday, Sept. 25 — Hey, it’s Hayden with my weekly Norcross newsletter. I may have used the railroad track emoji before, but I’m not sure. I use a lot of emojis in my line of work, and it’s one of my favorites.
The track running through a wooded area reminds me of Norcross, and must be what it looks like to approach downtown via rail. Those green trees are about to start changing; the low today is 55.
🍂 The fall slate of events truly kicks off next weekend, with the First Friday Concert on Oct. 2 at the community center, followed by the Norcross Art Splash Festival at Thrasher Park on Saturday and Sunday.
⬇️ Quick roundup of things to know:
🎥 Next week’s Movie Monday is “Selena,” showing at the Norcross Cultural Arts & Community Center at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
🍑 The Oct. 5 deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 midterm election is less than two weeks away. Here is a voter registration guide to ensure you’re up to date and ready to go.
🏈 The Norcross Blue Devils varsity football team plays Brookwood High School at home tonight at 7 p.m. The 5-0 Broncos are a tough Class 7A regional matchup for the 2-2 Blue Devils.
🗳️ The Georgia Recorder reported that Gwinnett County was listed on an internal memo from the Department of Homeland Security of jurisdictions across the country that offer election materials in languages other than English. Federal law requires the county to print ballots in Spanish, and it has voluntarily translated sample ballots.
Have a great weekend,
🖖 Hayden
☀️ Atlanta’s liveliest cemetery music festival returns to Oakland for its 48th year! The iconic Sunday in the Park ft. Tunes from the Tombs festival is back Sun., Sept. 27. Live music, history, and family fun in one unique experience. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Norcross council considers citywide 25 mph speed limits
🛣️ To reduce crashes and improve safety on city-owned streets, Norcross Council Member Bruce Gaynor is proposing a citywide ordinance that would lower speed limits to 25 mph on all city-owned streets.
“Almost all of our streets are already 25 [mph],” Gaynor said. “One of the things we’re trying to do is make streets safer. And part of what we’re ending up with is traffic calming, lower speed limits: less speeding in the city.”
The Norcross City Council also discussed other topics at its Sept. 21 policy work session, including honoring the late Marshall Cheek, the Piedmont Pathway park project, and the ongoing moratorium on historic demolitions.
🚘 Read about the speed limit discussion and work session here.
The Ultimate Fall Getaway Guide to Lake Oconee
SPONSORED BY VISIT LAKE OCONEE
🍁 The first cool morning of fall changes everything at Lake Oconee. Steam rises off the water, the golf courses are at their best, evenings end around a fire with s’mores, and the trees surrounding the lake slowly turn shades of amber and crimson.
If you’re ready for an easy fall escape from Atlanta, there’s no better time to visit.
🍂 Whether you’re looking to unwind, reconnect, or explore, Lake Oconee is Georgia’s hidden gem for fall getaways. Find your reason to linger longer with this Ultimate Fall Getaway Guide.
Experienced candidates to face off at Norcross City Council debate
🏛️ The Norcross PDC community group is hosting a city council debate on Oct. 6 at the Norcross Cultural Arts & Community Center, starting at 7 p.m., introducing two well-known candidates vying to fill the unexpired term previously held by Marshall Cheek.
Two former elected officials, Jeffrey Allen and Bucky Johnson, qualified during the official Sept. 14-16 period.
Cheek, a local business owner, industrial engineer, and one-term council member, passed away in June after a battle with cancer. A special election to fill his seat is on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Norcross City Hall, with early voting at select times from Tuesday, Oct. 13, to Friday, Oct. 30.
🗳️ Read more about the upcoming city council debate here.
☀️ Atlanta’s liveliest cemetery music festival returns to Oakland for its 48th year! The iconic Sunday in the Park ft. Tunes from the Tombs festival is back Sun., Sept. 27. Live music, history, and family fun in one unique experience. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Nonprofit Concrete Jungle fights food insecurity by harvesting surplus produce
🍇 On a Saturday morning in September, a collection of cars began lining up along one of the gravel roads in Adam’s Vineyard. Concrete Jungle volunteers arrived at the vineyard in the Norcross neighborhood from around metro Atlanta and Athens to pick muscadines for a local church to help fight food insecurity.
By 12:30 p.m., the volunteer group had picked and packed nearly 700 pounds of grapes for Cross Pointe Church and its CarePointe program in Duluth.
According to the USDA, more than a third of the country’s available food goes to waste. Concrete Jungle Director of Programs Virginia Ruiz Lawley said the statistic is startling, especially given the recent rise in food insecurity.
👩🌾 Learn more about the nonprofit’s harvesting in Norcross.
PICTURE THIS: Betty Mauldin Park and the Elm
🏞️ Betty Mauldin Park, a small public greenspace downtown next to Norcross City Hall, honors former City Clerk Betty Mauldin, who served Norcross for more than three decades. The great-looking tree in the middle of it is famous.
The Georgia Forestry Commission named the park’s 80-foot-tall beauty as the state’s No. 1 Champion American Elm in 1999. The roughly 300-year-old elm is now thought to be the second tallest in Georgia, according to Discover Georgia Outdoors.
Before the introduction of Dutch elm disease a century ago, the trees were common along city streets across the U.S. Thankfully, Norcross has a great one still standing.
🌳 See the Tour Trees of Norcross here.
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