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Moonshiners are coming to town
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Thousands of pedestrians will roam the streets of downtown Dawsonville this weekend. The 44th Annual Mountain Moonshine Festival is almost upon us. The festival will begins Friday, Oct. 21 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 23.

Were very excited about this weekend, said Calvin Byrd, president of KARE for Kids. We look forward to it all year long.

This years grand marshal is Rex White, who is NASCARs oldest living champion. White earned the title in 1960. The parade will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Cars are a big part of the Moonshine Festival every year and this year is no exception. Byrd is expecting more than 1,500 classic and show cars to visit Dawsonville over the weekend.

Well have car shows on Saturday and Sunday, as well as the cruise-in on Friday night which has really grown over the past couple of years, said Byrd. The Ford Galaxy National Banquet is also going to be in town over the weekend, so visitors can expect to see quite a few Galaxys running around.

Byrd said that festival goers can also expect to see a lot, more than 150, of 40 Fords - which was the car of choice for hauling moonshine because it was one of the first cars with a V8 engine - and vintage racers.

This year KARE for Kids - the primary sponsor of the Moonshine Festival - partnered with the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce to help spread the word.

This year were pretty excited about the fact that weve teamed up with the Chamber, Byrd said. The Chamber has helped us get our name out in to new locations. We feel like the advertising has been better, thanks to the Chamber, and we hope that means a big crowd.

This year the festival has spread its reach even further and will also be reaching the city hall area.

The city hall area has turned into its own event, Byrd said. There will be car shows, a swap meet and lots of other activities going on the other side of downtown. Were hoping that people will take the time to explore both areas.

More than 300 vendor spaces have been purchased so far, which should offer a wide variety of shopping and eating experiences.

This weekends forecast calls for highs in the low to mid-60s with sunshine all weekend.