Fulton County: Varied events planned for weekend activity

9/28/2005

Fresh baked apple dumplings and a freshly finished library addition will be served up to visitors this weekend during special events in this Fulton County community.

Delta Chamber of Commerce's 14th annual Apple Dumpling Festival, featuring local community talent, food booths, crafts, art display, and children's play area along Main Street, will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Throughout the day, runners will bring hundreds of hot-from-the-oven apple dumplings, baked at the local school, to the downtown serving area.

Traditionally, proceeds from the fall event are used to purchase holiday decorations for the downtown, but this year proceeds will be donated to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, said Karen Miller, festival cochairman. Marcy LeFevre also is a cochairman. Mrs. Miller noted that proceeds were donated to the Sept. 11 disaster relief funds in 2001.

New to the festival lineup this year: a dunk tank with local celebrities on the hot seat and a cruise-in with 30 to 50 vehicles expected to participate, Mrs. Miller said.

A "Chamber Connections" area will be set up to highlight chamber members whose businesses are off Main Street. "This will give them a chance to show off what they have," Mrs. Miller said.

At the Delta Public Library on Main Street, staff members and library board of trustees will show off the expanded and renovated facility. An open house is slated from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday with a brief dedication ceremony set for 10:30 a.m.

In recent days, crews have been caulking, painting, and tackling other finishing work, said Patricia Grover, library director.

The $285,000 renovation and expansion project got under way in April, and the library remained open during the work except for three weeks this summer. The library reopened Aug. 22. "Most people come in and say 'Wow. It looks so much bigger.' They say they like the way it looks," Mrs. Grover said.

That presence is linked to an eye-catching 20-foot glass tower entryway. The tower was designed to serve as a beacon and to add special architectural significance to the building. A gift from the estate of the late Darleen Frank, a former library patron, made it financially possible to include the tower in the project that expanded the library by 1,070 square feet and increased the size of the front entry foyer.