DAHLONEGA, GA.- The third weekend in October is Gold Rush weekend in Dahlonega, the festival takes over the square for three days with booths and live events.

Gold Rush takes place the third weekend of October, this year it fell on October 16 and 17. The festival is used as a means of fundraising by the group that hosts it.

“Our goal is to make a positive impact in the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County area through various outreach and philanthropy projects, small business support, the preservation of local history, and the promotion of Dahlonega tourism.” the website for Gold Rush stated.

Starting the Friday before, the vendors that have preregistered set up their Gold Rush booths for the weekend. Once they start their set up the square is closed to vehicle traffic until Sunday afternoon once all booths have been cleared away. The University of North Georiga offers parking as well as their Corp of Cadets to assist with directing traffic while on campus. The Corp also marches in the parade.

The festival has live events on the main stage in front of the visitor’s center all weekend beginning at 10:00 a.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Before the booths opened on Saturday there was also a 5K at 8:00 a.m.

Some of the events that took place on Saturday were the beard-growing contest, the hog calling contest, Kelli’s school of dance and conservatory, Nealy Webster singing, the old-time fashion show, the Raven Welch Band, and many more. Sunday had similar events such as Chuck Bell, Ryan Little Eagle, Cross-cut saw competition, Doc Johnson’s Magic Show, and Synergy Cloggers.

The winners of the contest were decided by popular vote. The audience shouted out for the one they like the best.

The beard-growing contest winner was Alan from Dahlonega, second place was Clearance from Clarksville, Ga., and third place was Greg from Clarksville, Tn. The winner for the hog calling contest was Austin, second place was Lillie, and third place was Carl.

There was also the crowning of the King and Queen at 2:00 p.m. and a Parade at 3:00 p.m. Saturday. The 1884 Jail was also open for visitors as well as the Gold Museum. The businesses on the square were also opened during the event. Traffick was also directed around so that early voting could take place safely.

For the kids, there was an assortment of bounce houses and face painting. Not only were the restaurants on the square open but the festival also had its own food court booths set up. For more information or to sign up to be a vendor for next year’s Gold Rush visit https://goldrushdaysfestival.com/