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Then
Entertainment for the pioneers was primarily limited to what we call today “jamming sessions”─playing banjos, guitars, accordions, pump organs, fiddles, and dulcimers at home and at community gatherings. Irish jigs and other dances were usually performed until later years, when square dancing evolved out of folk dancing and became popular.
Since the 1920s, movies and live musical performances were the most popular forms of entertainment in the County, sometimes occurring together. First, in the early 1920s, a silent movie theater was started by Ed Curtis and Frank Herbert, Sr. but operated for only a few years. And during the 1940s through the 1950s, the local high school was a venue for famous traveling country music groups, such as Lester Flat and Earl Scroggs, Carl Story, Minnie Pearl, and Hank Williams. From the 1940s to the 1960s, Roger Curtis operated the Hayesville Theater, where often, at the end of the movie, a traveling country music band performed. A member of one band, Paul Westmoreland, introduced a song he had written on his way to Murphy, entitled, “A Muddy Road Ahead,” which later became a classic Country Music hit. From the 1930s on, Hayesville High School, nearby Young Harris College, and John C. Campbell Folk School, west of Hayesville in the Brasstown Community, have been popular venues for live plays and musical productions.
Now
In the early 1970s, using the high school, a local talented group began presenting Broadway plays, such as “Brigadoon.” In 1977, this group formed the Licklog Players and continued to present stage plays that often compared to Broadway productions, including comedies, dramas, and musicals. Built in the early 1980s, the Peacock Theater in Hayesville has been the major entertainment facility in the county. Since their beginning, this group has produced over 80 plays in the new theatre.
John C Campbell Folk School, home of the Brasstown Concert Series, offers a variety of musical programs, such as nationally known pianist Fred Moyer and the Patchwork String Band. Young Harris College also hosts internationally known lecturers, symphony orchestras, and student plays and musicals. (For more information about the John C. Campbell Folks School’s offerings, see Chapter on Schools and the folk school’s web site: www.folkschool.org/
Several other entertainment opportunities in Clay County are offered locally throughout the year for public enjoyment, such as the annual second week-end in July arts Festival on the Square, sponsored by the Clay County Historical and Arts Council. In connection with this Festival, the Chamber of Commerce sponsors a rodeo held in Shooting Creek Community on that Saturday night. At the 2007 event, the winner, Haley Reaux, age 11, won first place awards in three categories!
The Clay County Community Revitalization Association (CCCRA) also sponsors activities, which include: Chili Cook-Off in April; the Car-B-Que in June, featuring antique cars and barbeque; “Lies and Pies” in September, which features story telling, a pet parade, and a baked pie contest; and Concerts in the Park, held in an area close to the town square in late summer and early fall and feature local talents. (See Chapter on Service and Civic Organizations for more information about the CCRA.)
Many Clay County musicians, dancers, artists, and craftsmen participate with those from all over the South in the summer and fall Crafts Fairs held at nearby Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Towns County. This fair is a Lions Club Project that has hosted internationally known country music stars, such as Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette, and George Jones. Overlooking Lake Chatuge, the Hamilton Memorial Garden is located within the fairgrounds and offers walking trails where visitors in the spring can view over 5,000 blooming rhododendron plants and other native shrubs.
A short diving distance from Hayesville in Hiawassee, Georgia, is Fun World, a complex that offers entertainment for the entire family, from billiards to pinball machines, miniature golf, and a choice of movies in six theatres.
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