The FIFA World Cup 2026 was hosted in USA, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, with Atlanta as one of its host cities. Eight matches were played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (temporarily renamed Atlanta Stadium for the matches): June 15, June 18, June 21, June 24, June 27, July 1, July 7, and July 15. The July matches were all knockout rounds, and Atlanta had the honor of hosting one of two semi-finals on July 15, Argentina v. England!

In order to promote the state of Georgia to this captive, once-in-a-lifetime audience, Explore Georgia decided to set up a showcase of destinations throughout Georgia in the Georgia World Congress Center while fans were in town. The activation, called “Georgia the Whole Day Through,” was open for all match days plus a preview day on June 11. This preview day also served as a VIP and Media event, with Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp in attendance along with dignitaries from embassies and consulates who have offices in Atlanta.

DMOs from across the state were invited to submit a pitch to be part of Explore Georgia’s activation. They wanted exhibits to be experience-oriented, and represent a diverse range of what Georgia has to offer. Selected destinations would be provided with a minimum 10'x10' booth free of charge. 

Visit Forsyth GA submitted a pitch to Explore Georgia and was granted a 10'x20' space to showcase Americana Summer/ "FORSYTH the Whole Day Through" in their activation. We were one of 16 partner exhibits in the activation.

The Story Behind Our Booth

The vision for Visit Forsyth GA’s 10'x20' exhibit space was to make visitors to feel like they were stepping into a moment in Forsyth where they could unplug and chill awhile. A space that makes you go, “Ahhh...”, just like Forsyth!

To accomplish this, the team produced four 10' backdrops, each with a full-size image of one of Forsyth’s nature scenes. Within the space framed by this imagery, Visit Forsyth GA created sitting areas with laidback games like tic tac toe, checkers, and ring toss. We also created photo op opportunities with cane fishing pole props and a face cut-out frame where visitors can opt to pose as a fisherman with his/her latest catch, an outdoorsman with a bald eagle, or a turkey!

Our booth was as dynamic as it was thanks to collaborations with our partners and volunteers!

Volunteers Misty Sparks and Cynthia Griffin from the 1823 Artisan Guild painted ladybug and bumblebee rocks for our tic tac toe board.

Travis Huff from the City of Forsyth cut bamboo from behind the American Legion Hall that Jeff Mooney of All Seasons Guide Service made into cane fishing poles for us. Jeff also made us a stand for the poles to rest in and was the photographer for our sunset backdrop photo!

Nipper Bunn contributed tools for the project, while Abbie Bunn spent time at the Welcome Center helping us pack and label booth materials.

Nolen Howard of the Monroe County Historical Society lent sandbags to help us keep the backdrops upright. Taylor Alexandria volunteered hours to help us set up on June 9, and returned to help man the booth on June 21 and 27 exhibit days.

Bridget Daniel, President & CEO and Tiffani Dean, Member Coordinator, of the Forsyth-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce came to Atlanta and generously volunteered their time at the Visit Forsyth GA booth on July 1.

While the Visit Forsyth GA team exhibited in Atlanta, several local partners stepped up to volunteer and help keep the Welcome Center open to visitors back home! On June 9, Daniel Kerr kept the Welcome Center open from 11AM to 1:30PM, helping several visitors and accepting an important delivery (the bar for our exhibit!). Dr. Denise Buff volunteered from 10AM to 2PM on July 15, and Winifred Berry and Lois Allen volunteered from 10AM to 3:30PM on July 16. These three ladies helped stuff and address 350 visitor guides and envelopes to fulfill recent visitor leads for the CVB. 

A Lasting Impact

Is the world interested in visiting the City of Forsyth and Monroe County? YES!!!



Tons of fans coming through Atlanta for the World Cup 2026 spent some time in Forsyth while in the area. According to our partners, we had people staying in our hotels to commute to the Atlanta matches, staying overnight on the way to/from Atlanta and Miami for matches, as well as making the trip to enjoy Forsyth’s award-winning restaurants, scenic natural attractions, and movie-famous Juliette. From the conversations the Visit Forsyth GA team had with visitors at the Georgia World Congress Center, we expect to see continued visitation in the months and years to come from domestic travelers and returning international travelers.

Want to read more stories from our time at the World Cup? Click the button below for the full report!

Bronze & Briars Has Moved!

You may remember back in our May newsletter, we introduced you to Becca at Bronze & Briars in Juliette. We are delighted to provide an awesome update, Bronze & Briars has moved! Becca has taken up residence in Ruth & Idgie's House at 446 McCrackin St., just across from The Whistle Stop Cafe!

Stop in and pick up some handmade soaps, dried floral art, and of course, a Juliette Bucketlist!

History is in the Details: What's In a School Name?

By: Ralph Bass, local historian

As students return to school, they enter buildings named for men and women whose families played a role in public education in Monroe County.

Samuel E. Hubbard (1905-1978), the son of the Forsyth educator William Hubbard, graduated from Lincoln University in 1927, returning to his hometown permanently in 1937. Two years later when the state closed the State Teachers and Agricultural College in Forsyth, the Monroe County Board of Education established the Hubbard Training School on its campus. Samuel Hubbard served as its principal until the close of Hubbard Elementary and High Schools in 1970 with full integration. He then served on the Board of Education until his death.

Mary Persons (1850-1928). Although she never taught school in Monroe County, she was a teacher in Fort Valley, earning money to provide for her two sons after their father’s early death. When those sons, George Ogden and Robert Turner Persons, settled in Forsyth, their mother followed them. The sons established the Farmers Bank in 1910. George Ogden served in the Georgia legislature and became a superior court judge in 1923. The brothers were interested in public education and once proposed the construction of a high school on their property. That plan did not work out nor did a suggestion in 1921 to change the name of Forsyth High School to Mary Persons High School. When, however, a new high school was built, the Board of Education named it the Mary Persons High School. Ironically, the Forsyth capitalist Hugh H. Hardin bought the bonds to construct the building, not the sons of the educator for whom the school was named.

T. G. Scott (1828-1896) became in 1870 Monroe County’s first school commissioner after the Georgia legislature created a public school system. By then he was already an experienced educator. A graduate of Oxford College, he taught first in Sparta and then in Eatonton before becoming principal and teacher in the Hilliard Male Academy in Forsyth in 1858. By then he had also become an elder in the Methodist church. As school commissioner he was responsible for examining teachers in Monroe County to determine if they were qualified. To prepare them better for the classrooms, he arranged summertime–and required–institutes. One year the state ordered him to take a census of school-age children as well as determining how many in Monroe County were "blind and deaf and dumb.” Scott’s salary–$250 for the year 1885–was inadequate to support his family, so he farmed and also conducted his own school called “Pleasant Grove.” In addition to preaching, teaching, and farming, he also collected Monroe County meteorological data which was published in the Forsyth newspaper.

Katherine Woodward Boulware Sutton (1885-1974) Sutton’s connection with Monroe County spanned thirty years from when she began teaching students Latin and history at the Banks Stevens Institute in 1916 until her retirement as county school superintendent in 1946. In 1928, eight years after the ratification of the 19th amendment ensuring for women the right to vote, she entered the race for county school superintendent. Dr. T. D. Thurmond defeated her in that election but four years later she defeated him and then again in 1936 with 1,191 votes to 628. She oversaw schools during a time when the Great Depression slashed budgets and communities resisted the consolidation of community schools into those in Forsyth. In 2009, the Monroe County Board of Education named a new elementary school on Highway 83 N after her, calling it K. B. Sutton. A traditional Southern lady, she doubtlessly would have preferred the school’s name to be Mrs. J. P. Sutton Elementary School.

4 Ways to Unplug In & Around Forsyth

As much as we love being connected 24/7 with our cell phones and tablets, sometimes we need to escape the digital world. That's when it's time to seek out a getaway in a serene natural environment, where families can unplug and reconnect with each other.

The City of Forsyth is your perfect Basecamp for making outdoor connections. You can find great food and hotel accommodations in Forsyth for your getaway plans. Use Forsyth as your Basecamp for these four relaxing attractions and reconnect with those who matter the most in your life.

Located just 15 minutes north on I-75 at exit 198 is High Falls State Park. It boasts three hiking trails through the woods and along the Towaliga River including the all-access Historic Trail. The 650-acre High Falls Lake is a showstopper and features the tallest cascading waterfall south of Atlanta! You can rent canoes, kayaks, and safety equipment for the lake and visit their park office to shop for souvenirs.

Head on over 15 minutes east to Juliette, home of the Whistle Stop Cafe from the iconic film, Fried Green Tomatoes. McCrackin Street looks just like it did when it was a movie set in 1990! You will have time to wander through the shops and hear some stories, while you wait for your table at the Cafe. 

Don't want to venture out of Forsyth? Then gather the crew for a Fox Hunt! You heard that right, you can pick up your clues at the Welcome Center or find them on our website. While on your hunt for the brass foxes hidden downtown be on the lookout for delicious dining options and unique shops along the way! Once you have found all eight foxes, stop by the Welcome Center for your very own fox to take home!

Looking for a way to get the kiddos outdoors but also incorporate learning? Then head to Country Club Park or the Monroe County Recreation Department to check out the two different Storywalks here in Forsyth! 

You can't go wrong with some low key fun. It's a great way to unplug for a while and reconnect with the ones you adore! 

Mrs. Samantha Trevitt is Monroe County Teacher of the Year!

Monroe County Schools is proud to recognize Mrs. Samantha Trevitt as the 2026–2027 Teacher of the Year. An art teacher at Mary Persons High School, Mrs. Trevitt brings creativity, passion, and inspiration to her students and colleagues every day, making a lasting impact both inside and outside the classroom.

The CVB is proud to be one of the many sponsors for Monroe County Schools Teacher of the Year. We are equally proud to have collaborated with Mrs. Trevitt and her art students on a number of public art projects over the years. Those public art installations can be found all over town.

Jarrell Plantation Celebrates 50 Years!

Jarrell Plantation is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a State Historic Site! You can hear all about it from Mr. Derek Jackson, Jarrell Plantation’s Assistant Historic Site Manager, on the latest episode of Monroe Today with Ms. Gilda Stanbery. 

Jarrell Plantation, located just outside Juliette on the other side of the Ocmulgee River, is a historic cotton farm owned for over 140 years by a single family, the Jarrells! The family donated the farm to the state in 1974, and two years later, it was open to the public as a Georgia State Historic Site. 

“What's really interesting there, is that we have all of the original items,” shared Mr. Derek. “So the farm buildings are still where the Jarrell family built them, but they're also filled with the original furnishings, tools, and equipment. We can talk about when they industrialized the farm and brought steam-powered equipment and show how that works. You really get the sense that this is exactly how it was set up. This is exactly how they lived. When you get to see all of those things, I think it really stays with you. It's not a bunch of empty buildings.”

...Keep reading, or listen to the radio episode, on our blog!

What is Buckarama?

The Georgia Wildlife Federation's Buckarama is one of the oldest hunting and outdoor shows in the southeast and remains a favorite with sportsmen and women. This family-friendly event features a multitude of vendors, door prizes, an annual deer head competition, retriever demos, snake shows, falconry experts, and other wildlife encounters.

Why do we go?

Exhibiting at events like Buckarama or the FIFA World Cup (see the spotlight story for more on our experience!) allows us to interact with diverse groups of visitors and share all that the City of Forsyth and Monroe County have to offer!

Visit Forsyth GA interacted with 1300+ visitors at last year's event and we can't wait to see familiar faces and meet some new ones at this year's event.

If you're in Perry August 14th-16th come by the Fairgrounds and say hi to the Visit Forsyth GA Team and our tourism partner Jeff Mooney of All Seasons Guide Service!

From Annie's Memoirs: School Days in Cabaniss

By: Nicole Newsom, great-granddaughter of Annie Bridges

My great-grandmother, Annie Sutton Bridges, was born in 1896 and lived to be 103 years old. She spent her whole life in the Cabaniss/Berner area. Some of my favorite stories from her memoirs are from her school days, of which she wrote many!!

My school days began by age a little sooner than my schoolmates. When school started in Oct. of that year 1900 I wasn’t 5 years old, but since our neighbor had children 6 years old starting, I begged so hard they consented for me to begin school too. Then there was no set time as to the age when one could enter. 

It was a long 4 ½ miles walk for me to Cabaniss school. We had to get up early and have our long blond hair plaited (braided) each morning before we were bundled up for the long walk. We carried our lunches in a school basket. Time had no meaning for us and we played along the way to school. 

Once we sat our lunch baskets down to chase a baby rabbit and one child forgot about their basket until we had gone about ½ mile, then she raced back and found a hog had gotten into the basket, ate all the food and trampled the basket. 

We had to cross a creek on our way to school, and the only way was to walk a foot log. I wasn’t too good at that, and Papa built a hand rail on the foot log to hold to, to get us safely over the creek. 

Our first teacher was Mr. Elizah Taylor. His daughter Miss Kitty was his assistant. The one room school had an enrollment of 100 pupils. The room was heated by one pot bellied stove. The beginners were taught from a chart. Doubt any child today has ever seen a school chart. They are obsolete today.

Water was drawn by a bucket from a well in the school yard. All children drank from a bucket with one dipper, placed on back bench of schoolroom — no wonder there was so many colds and every kind of contagious disease. When a disease started, it went thru the whole school. We never missed anything — chicken pox, whooping cough, measles and everything. And we knew nothing of sanitation or hygiene. If one pupil had a piece of chewing gum, it was passed from one to the other all day. When one was chewing it, they knew who was supposed to chew it next, and it passed back and forth all day until it was given back to the original owner at the close of the school day. 

Our school was located only a few yards from Cabaniss Baptist Church. To me it seemed there were so very many funerals in that church, and the teacher dismissed school during the hour of the funeral, and all pupils attended. To me, when I was real small that was a dreaded thing, because I didn’t want to see that black coffin and hear so many people crying. The family held back no tears and the loud noise of crying upset me. 



Our school had handmade desk that seated two pupils. So you had to have a desk mate. My neighbor, a bosom friend Cosie Watts, was always my desk mate. Tho I was more than a year younger than others in my class, I kept up work in their grade. It didn’t require much studying for me as it did for some of the others. I would have stood at the head of the spelling class had there not have been a couple of more excellent spellers. If you missed spelling a word and the next one below you spelled it, he would move up above you and finally he could reach the head of the class if he got a chance. 

The teachers believed in using the switch and rarely a day passed that some boy didn’t get a whipping. We were told that if we got a whipping in school we would get another one when we got back home. The parents backed the teachers 100% in those days and most of the whipping was the result of incidents that happened on the school yard. The pupils as a rule were rather well behaved. The teachers were strict. I never recall a girl getting a whipping at school. 

Mr. Taylor taught school at Cabaniss for many years and all three of his daughters became his assistants at one time or another. First Miss Kitty, then Miss Alice, and then Miss Rebecca. 

The county built a school at Blue Ridge and since it was about 1 ½ miles nearer we then entered that school: 1905. Miss Lizzie Ogletree was the teacher who was followed later by Mrs. Marilyn Hightower, who later became Mrs. Tullis. Many boys at Blue Ridge were hard to control and gave the teachers plenty of trouble. There were some very nicely behaved boys. The worse ones were from broken homes and had never been controlled. We attended Blue Ridge school 2 terms.

—From Annie’s Memoirs

Savor Nominations Are Open!

As part of the CVB's mission to promote Forsyth, we do our job covering what Forsyth and Monroe County has to offer the state's culinary scene. We need your help making nominations, which will help tremendously in our efforts to highlight our culinary community.

Nominations close at noon on August 20th.

Click the link below to nominate your favorite restaurant or after hours spot!

Hello Neighbor!

Do you know someone who is new to Forsyth or Monroe County? Make sure to send them to the Welcome Center to pick up their Hello Neighbor packet! It's filled to the brim with must have information including a Visit Forsyth GA Visitors Guide, Shop & Dine Like a Local coupons, a laminated Important Numbers sheet, and much more!

2027 Hello Neighbor Sneak Peek: We are working with the Monroe County Schools to create a curated Educators Edition for the 2027 school year. The CVB is also working with our partners to create a New Business Edition to launch in 2027.

A sincere thank you to all our partners who help bring it together!

Last Chance to Splash!

Looking for a way to cool off in the afternoons or over the weekend? Don't miss your chance to check out the splash pads at Country Club Park and Kynette Park before they close for the season on Labor Day!

The Welcome Center and Forsyth Convention & Visitors Bureau office will be closed on the following dates:

• Friday, August 14, 2026 for Buckarama setup and opening day
• Monday, September 7, 2026 in observance of Labor Day

We will reopen the following business day with our normal hours of operation.