In a unanimous vote on Thursday night, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners approved a proposal for Dawson County's newest music, art and food festival, Hippie Fest, which will be held at Uncle Shucks Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze on Bannister Road next month.
Hippie Fest, a self-described "family-friendly music and arts festival featuring vibrant entertainment for all ages", will be held in Dawson County during the weekend of March 14, kicking off a run of festival dates in other states throughout the east coast and mid-west.
According to www.hippiefest.org and proposal documents filed in Dawson County, Hippie Fest will feature live music from nine bands, bohemian shopping, a vintage hippie car show, a giant bubble garden, sideshow performers and kids activities. Food will reportedly be provided by multiple different food trucks, but no alcohol will be allowed at the event.
During Thursday's meeting, commissioners quickly moved to approve the festival's proposal after noting that all of the requisite plans and steps had been followed, asking Uncle Shucks Owner Mathew Hughes only a few questions concerning the festival's plans in case of rain.
But at a previous work session on Feb. 6, commissioners discussed the festival proposal in much more detail, asking Hughes questions regarding the festival’s theme, plans and purpose.
"Is parking going to be an issue? If there's over 200 vendors and maybe 140 campers, is that enough room," asked District 1 Commissioner Sharon Fausett.
"Parking will not be an issue, we have 48 acres total and about 23 acres of parking," Hughes answered.
Hughes said that on the corn maze's busiest day they have been able to park about 500 vehicles and bring roughly 5,000 people through their gates, and this event won't top those numbers.
Both Hughes and county staff emphasized during the work session that Hippie Fest is not related in any way to the Rainbow Family Gathering which came to Lumpkin County and North Georgia in 2018.
Hippie Fest will be held from noon to 7 p.m. on March 14 and 15. More information can be found at www.hippiefest.org.
Second Amendment rights resolution approved
Commissioners also approved a simplified version of a proposal to make Dawson County a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County," which was presented at their previous work session.
At that work session, County Attorney Angela Davis told the board that the original proposal would seek to bar any state or federal firearm law deemed unconstitutional by the county, but because any ordinances or laws pertaining to firearms are not under direct control of the board, the proposal would need to be reworked.
At Thursday’s meeting, District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines said that the reworked resolution which had been drawn up by county staff provided the strongest support for the second amendment that the board of commissioners could offer, while retaining their commitment to the rule of law.
"We were brought this by Seanie Zappendorf and the Republican Party, and I just want to tell those folks we have all spent a lot of time looking over this, I've spent many, many hours looking at the different options in the languages that are provided." Gaines said.
The new resolution, which omits the “Sanctuary County” designation, declares the Dawson County Board of Commissioner’s support of the Second Amendment and states that the county stands opposed to any law that would undermine the protections afforded by it.
After a full reading, the resolution was unanimously approved.