Ocilla's Sweet Taters

478-227-7126

OCT. 27, 2017

Tifton, Georgia

www.tiftongrapevine.com

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Sayles Unlimited Marketing

'TAKE ME HOME' TO OCILLA'S

SWEET POTATO FESTIVAL

"Country Roads ... Take Me Home" -- that's the theme of t he 57th Annual Georgia Sweet Potato Festival this weekend hosted by the Ocilla-Irwin Chamber of Commerce.

The all-day festival Saturday in Ocilla includes a 5K and one-mile Tater Trot (beginning at 7 a.m.), an Arts and Crafts Fair (beginning at 9 a.m.), the Georgia Sweet Potato Festival Parade (11 a.m.), an antique vehicle show, a Gospel and Secular Bluegrass Concert in the Park and Wing Cook-off in Cumbee Park (2-7 p.m.).

This year's festival is dedicated to the memory of Dusty Vassey, who died unexpectedly last month from complications of cancer.

Vassey, raised in Irwinville, was a locally known reporter for the OcilIa Star and a former journalist at The Tifton Gazette.

The Ocilla-Irwin Chamber hosts the Sweet Potato Festival on the last Saturday of October every year. The festival began in 1960 to promote Georgia sweet potatoes and recognize Georgia sweet potato growers.

TRICK OR TREAT! HOW ABOUT

SOME ... SWEDISH FISH?!

All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween, is Tuesday, and the Tiftarea will see its share of ghosts, goblins, witches, Spidermen and princesses.

In Downtown Tifton, merchants and the Main Street program will once again be participating in trick or treating between 5 and 6 p.m. for costumed children aged 12 and under and accompanied by an adult.

In Downtown Ashburn, the downtown celebration will be from 6-8:30 p.m. on Halloween.

Sylvester city officials recommend that trick-or-treaters only go house to house between 6:30 - 9 p.m. on Tuesday.

And according to one study, the top selling candy in Georgia for Halloween is (drum roll, please) "Swedish Fish."

Swedish Fish? That f ish-shaped chewy, gummy candy originally developed in Sweden? Can that be true? Online candy retailer candystore.com analyzed 10 years of sales data to determine the top three selling candy brands in each state for Halloween. In Georgia, the top seller was

Swedish Fish, followed by

Hershey Kisses and

Jolly Ranchers.

" Georgians love to fish -- deep sea fishing off the coast of Savannah and in

the many lakes surrounding Atlanta and other areas. They fish for Atlantic fish and Georgian fish, and they eat Swedish Fish . Over 130,000 pounds of Swedish Fish, last year's top candy as well. Making waves though are Jolly Ranchers, the new No. 3 candy in Georgia, supplanting Lemonheads ," the candy retailer noted on its web site.

According to the study, the top selling Halloween candy in Florida is Skittles. In Alabama and South Carolina, it is candy corn.

The National Retail Federation estimates that shoppers will spend $2.7 billion on Halloween candy this year.

Juvenile Judge Render Heard, left, with new CASA volunteers Jo Garrick, Sharon Strangward, Debbie Scarborough, Kelly McCord and Kimberly Davis.

CASA ADDS NEW VOLUNTEER ADVOCATES

Coastal Plain CASA recently had five new volunteers sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocates for children. They are now ready to take a case where they will be advocating -- being a voice -- for a foster child or sibling group who may not be able to speak up for themselves.

With these newest volunteers sworn in, Coastal Plain CASA in Tifton says it now has the largest volunteer team since 2010.

Tifton city march participants, along with Mayor Julie Smith holding the trophy for raising the most money.

WALKING A MILE 'IN HER SHOES'

MEN WEAR HIGH HEELS TO SUPPORT WOMEN, MARCH AGAINST ABUSE

More than 150 men squeezed into high heels Tuesday to "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" -- a men's march against violence toward women.

The event, held on the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College campus, raised more than $4,000 for Tifton's Ruth's Cottage and PattiCake House, a n on-profit organization and temporary shelter whose mission is to end domestic and sexual violence, as well as child sexual and physical abuse.

The City of Tifton won the award for raising the most money during the event -- $2,018.10; members of the Tifton Police Department, Fire Department and the city manager participated in the high-heeled walk.

"Supporting Ruth's Cottage and the PattiCake House and what they mean and what they do for ladies and kids is just a blessing to have in our community, and we want to be able to support them in any way possible," Fire Chief Bobby Bennett told WALB-TV.

In photo at right, Tim Cooper of the Tifton Fire Department tries on a pair of department-approved high heels.

TIFTON'S BOWEN NAMED UGA McGILL FELLOW

Sara Katherine "S.K." Bowen of Tifton is among 12 undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Georgia who have been named McGill Fellows by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.


	S.K. BOWEN

Bowen, a senior studying journalism and finance, is the daughter of William and Kelly Bowen.

The students were selected by a faculty committee "for their s trength in academics, practical experience and leadership," said Diane Murray, public service faculty and director of the McGill Program in Journalistic Courage , who chaired the committee.

As McGill Fellows, they will p articipate in the McGill Symposium, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors. The McGill Fellows will also help select the ninth recipient of the McGill Medal, awarded annually to a U.S. journalist whose career has exemplified journalistic courage.

This is the 11th class of McGill Fellows.

For nearly 40 years, the McGill Lecture has brought significant figures in journalism to UGA in honor of Ralph McGill's courage as an editor. McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the "conscience of the South," using the newspaper's editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for "long, courageous and effective leadership."

NORTHEAST STUDENTS

NAVIGATE 'TEEN MAZE'

Approximately 650 ninth-grade students at Tift County High's Northeast Campus participated this week in the annual "Teen Maze."

In the Maze, students are faced with making "real-life decisions" on their way to graduation. They "experience" some of the consequences of making bad choices and how those decisions can derail future plans.

'YES' GROUP MEETS IN TIFTON

Last weekend, the Ga. Department of Human Services' Youth Empowerment Series, or "YES," met in Tifton with a group of students. Guest speakers Rhonda John, Mary Ann Griffin, Hope Hodges, Sonya Carlisle, Ishmael Rouse and Myia Miller helped YES participants plan for their future by encouraging them to declare their own destiny.

Participants created mission statements describing their long-term goals and brainstormed ways to have an impact on their communities. YES is an opportunity for high school students to become agents of change.

The Youth Empowerment Series is an outreach program that seeks to develop a generation of young people who are engaged in the needs of their communities and are equipped to educate and recruit others to help DHS build " Stronger Families for a Stronger Georgia."

If you're interested in applying for YES next year, Click Here! or contact Deshane.Velasquez@dhs.ga.gov

'GREATER TUNA'

COMES TO

ABAC STAGE

The Baldwin Players at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is presenting the play "Greater Tuna" at 7 p.m. tonight (Friday) and Saturday in Howard Auditorium.

Tickets are $10 for the public and free to ABAC faculty, staff and students.

The performers include, at front, Cady Ray as Jody; sitting at table, Amanda Zehner as Pearl; standing, from left, Hannah Moseley as Bertha, and Jannah Zinker as Stanley.

Dr. Brian Ray is the director of the Baldwin Players.

CRAZY SOCKS FOR RED RIBBON WEEK

Among Red Ribbon Week activities at Charles Spencer Elementary School this week was "Crazy Socks Day." Other actives included "Hat Day" and "Unity Day."

This week marks Red Ribbon Week across the nation, during which students learn about the dangers of drug abuse and drug trafficking.

'GO LIGHT UP YOUR WORLD' EVENT SHOWS UNITY

Luminaries were lit at more than 70 sites around Tift County on Wednesday night in support of l ocal youth.

The "Go Light Up Your World" event was coordinated by the Tift County Commission on Children and Youth to showcase the community's commitment to ensure that Tift County youth have a safe and caring environment.

YOUR WEEKEND

. ..at a Glance

FRIDAY, OCT. 27

Haunted Theatre! Return to the Madness!, 6:30 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
"Greater Tuna," 7 p.m., Howard Auditorium, ABAC
Tiftarea Academy Panthers football playoff @ Frederica Academy Knights, 7:30 p.m., St. Simons Island

SATURDAY, OCT. 28

Trick or Treat in the Village, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Ga. Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village, Tifton
Georgia Sweet Potato Festival, 9 a.m., various locations, Ocilla
Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
Unionville Strong unity cookout, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 607 Short St., Tifton
Trunk or Treat, 5:30 p.m., BAM family Fun Center, Virginia Avenue, Tifton
Haunted Theatre! Return to the Madness!, 6:30 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
"Greater Tuna," 7 p.m., Howard Auditorium, ABAC