Currahee Military Weekend officially starts today
The 17th annual Currahee Military Weekend officially starts today.
According to Currahee Military Museum Director Brenda Carlin says this weekend will be filled with lots of events for history buffs and veterans to enjoy.
The festivities are in full swing, following last night’s special pre-weekend show at the Historic Ritz Theatre with a performance by Joe Gransden.
Gransden set the tone for this WWII inspired weekend with his show, Songs of Sinatra and Friends.
Today activities will include the annual BBQ at the National Guard Armory, sponsored by the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber President Julie Paysen says the cooking starts this morning.
“Friday morning volunteers will cook 1,000 half-chickens and by mid-morning they will be delivered to the Armory,” Paysen said. “And we will also have volunteers packing up 1,000 BBQ plates which we will serve at the Armory, but we will also be delivering hundreds throughout the community. So, if you would like to provide lunch for your employees, we will be happy to deliver to your place of business.”
And Friday night will once again feature the annual Swing Dance, which Paysen says will be held at a different venue this year.
“This year it will be at Reflections at Lake Toccoa. It looks like the weather will be nice so we’ll be able to open the doors to the lawn and we’ll have live entertainment. Food will be available at Ping’s Grill. Everyone will be dressed in 40s attire. The evening will be a great night of fun and entertainment,” she said.
Tomorrow will start with the Currahee Run 5K up the mountain, then WWII re-enactors will do demonstrations and encampments.
There will also be a Veterans Parade.
And on Saturday evening is the annual Meet & Greet and Currahee Banquet and Auction, which Carlin says will feature guest speaker Vincent Spiranza.
“Our guest speaker is Vincent Spiranza. Vincent was actually with the 501st. He will be quick to tell you that he didn’t train with the men at Camp Toccoa, but that he served with a fine group of men. He is very interesting and does a great program. We had him here before for our Veterans Coffee and he was such a big hit that we wanted him to come back and speak at the banquet.”
To get more information or a list of events each day, you can go online to toccoahistory.com.