Downtown Dawsonville was the place to be Friday and Saturday.

Thousands of people gathered behind city hall to clap their hands and stomp their feet to the music of bands from all over Northeast Georgia.

Another festival has come and gone and what an event it was, said Mayor James Grogan, who attended both days of the festival. The weather finally worked in favor of the promoters. There was much fun to be had by all. If you didnt come this time, you missed a great event. Attendees heard music from Kurt Thomas, Across the Wide, Johnny Awesome, Southern Accent, Alex Hall, Radford Windham and Step Back Cadillac, Jacob Bryant and Twisted Whiskey. They also sampled food from a variety of vendors and wet their whistles with offerings from several local breweries.

Folks traveled from Dahlonega, Cumming, Atlanta and even North Carolina to enjoy the festivities.

Events like the Dawsonville Music and Beer Festival are excellent opportunities to showcase our community and our unique attributes to visitors, Chamber of Commerce President Christie Haynes said. They also have a positive financial impact in terms of overnight stays and gas, food and retail purchases.

Grogan agrees. It brings a lot of dollars into our city and gives us a chance to show off our wonderful community, he said. All the feedback has been positive and everyone wants it to continue.

Georgia Racing Hall of Fame President Gordon Pirkle said the festival brought new people to the museum.

We got lots of exposure, he said. There were people from surrounding counties that didnt know we were here. We had a good weekend. It was really good for us to get that much exposure.

Emergency Services and the sheriffs department received no calls from the festival.