Linda Tinsley started sewing doll clothes at the age of five.

Before long, she was making her own dresses, and now she spends her free time keeping the age old tradition of hand quilting alive.

"My grandmother sewed until she died at the age of 82. It's just something I've always enjoyed," she said Saturday during Dawsonville's inaugural Heritage Days.

Held at the Georgia Racing Hall of fame and presented by the Dawsonville Moonshine Distillery, the two-day event gave visitors a chance to take a step back in time to bygone days of the past.

Local veterinarian Ed Holton and his twin sons, Matthew and James, had a couple of their prize cows on display during the festivities to show that small farms and dairies continue to flourish locally.

"We sell the fresh milk to individuals for their animals," Matthew Holtain said, adding that the Jersey cows are milked twice a day at the family farm in Dawsonville.

Other Heritage Day activity stations included wood sawing and chopping demonstrations, local honey, handmade soaps and an active beehive.

There was also face painting, a farmers market and watermelon slices that were shipped in from south Georgia for the event.

The festivities coincided with the distillery's ability to begin offering visitors the opportunity to take home a bottle of Dawsonville's signature spirits.

A new law took effect July 1 that allows distilleries to charge a fee for tours, which would serve as a means to give a souvenir bottle of their product to 21 and older visitors.

Before, those wanting more than a taste of Dawsonville's legal white lightning or apple pie moonshine had to drive a half mile away and shop at the local package store.