On most Friday nights this fall, 415 Highway 53 East is home to a trivia game at The Garage. Starting Friday, October 23, the same address becomes the center of the 59th Annual Mountain Moonshine Festival. On November 21, it hosts Dawsonville's Christmas parade, tree lighting and Jingle Market. One stretch of downtown carries almost the entire season, and the busiest days of the year all land on October 23 through 25.
For anyone who lives here, the fall plans worth making come down to timing and to which road gets you there.
One address, three seasons of use
The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame and Dawsonville City Hall's Main Street Park host the Moonshine Festival, which KARE for Kids organizes. Destination Dawsonville says attendance is free and that parking runs on donations of $10 to $25, depending on the lot. Free shuttles are also available. According to KARE for Kids, the festival runs October 23 through 25, rain or shine, and the proceeds support local children.
The Garage at 415 Highway 53 East, Suite 130, runs Grandaddy Mimm's Trivia Night every Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. Downtown then hosts the Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting & Jingle Market on Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 8 p.m. The event is free. The Jingle Market opens at 2, the parade steps off at 4 and the tree is lit at 6.
So the festival is the season's loudest moment at that address, but it happens in a place locals already use.
The festival weekend, day by day
KARE for Kids posted a flyer with the schedule. It lists vendors, arts and crafts, food, live music, kids' games and a silent auction across all three days.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, Oct. 23 | Car show registration 8 a.m. to noon; car show 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Moonshine Run check-in 9 a.m., departure 10 a.m. from Bearden's | Car show continues |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Festival opens 8 a.m.; entertainment 9 a.m.; parade 10 a.m.; opening ceremony and National Moonshiner's Hall of Fame induction 11 a.m. | Live music noon; car show judging ends 1 p.m.; awards and live concert 3 p.m.; closes 5 p.m. |
| Sunday, Oct. 25 | Festival opens 8 a.m.; live music 10 a.m. | Car show awards 3 p.m.; 50/50 raffle drawing and silent auction close 4 p.m.; closes 5 p.m. |
The Saturday concert is "Don't Tell Danny," and Destination Dawsonville names Danny "Chocolate" Myers as this year's Grand Marshal. The schedules disagree on a couple of times. Destination Dawsonville lists the concert at 4 p.m., while the flyer says 3, and Explore Georgia puts the parade an hour earlier than the flyer does. If you're planning around one moment, a quick check with KARE for Kids is the safe move.
The flyer also lists a few rules. Tents must be anchored, only service dogs are allowed, and loud music is not permitted.
The Friday morning Moonshine Run is the one item here that requires signing up. KARE's Moonshine Run page says this 18th annual run will follow a different route this year. The cost is $100 per car plus $60 for each additional rider, and that price includes lunch and museum entry.
Where the festival parks, and why it matters on Highway 9
KARE's festival details page tells general visitors to come in on Highway 53 East or Highway 9 and follow the signs. Its directions run from those highways via Perimeter Road to Allen Street. The organizer's list of official parking lots, also posted on its parking page, includes:
- Dawson County High School, 1665 Perimeter Road
- Robinson Elementary, 1150 Perimeter Road
- Dawson County Junior High, using the GPS address of the Bowen Arts Center at 334 GA-9, with no public parking on the Allen Street side
- Head Start Pre-K, 409 Allen Street
- Bailey Tower, 32 Jack Heard Drive
- Dawson County Public Health Department's old building, 54 Highway 53 East
- Grace Presbyterian Church, 170 Highway 9
- Dawson County Board of Education, 28 Main Street
- Dawson County Library, 342 Allen Street
KARE says every lot has handicap spaces and that buses will run all day Saturday and Sunday between the lots and the festival grounds. Destination Dawsonville points to a shuttle drop-off zone at Main Street and Memory Lane. The festival details page also says lot addresses "will be posted soon," so confirm the final list with KARE before you leave the house.
Roads around downtown may change too. In a September 21 council work session, city staff presented a request to close Allen Street and portions of Main Street for the festival, according to a report on that meeting. Anyone with Saturday errands downtown should plan for that area to be busy.
The Junior High lot is the one to watch. Its GPS address, 334 Highway 9 North, belongs to the Bowen Center for the Arts, and the Bowen is running its own event that same weekend.
The same weekend, a little farther out
The Bowen's Fall Market runs Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 334 Highway 9 North. It features handmade and local vendors indoors and outdoors, rain or shine. Both the market and the festival open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, which puts two crowds on the same Highway 9 address at the same hour. If the market is your main stop, a Sunday visit lets you skip the parade-morning rush.
Farther west, toward Amicalola Falls, the weekend continues after dark. Moonlight Zipline Tours run Saturday, October 24, and again on Halloween night, October 31, from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at 418 Amicalola Falls Lodge Road. The tour covers nine ziplines and three sky bridges and costs $74 per person. That makes a full Saturday possible. Catch the festival before it closes at 5, then take the zip tour once the sun is down.
The ranger-led hike at Amicalola Falls State Park runs that weekend as well, and its best dates come after the weekend.
The quieter stretch is the better deal
Amicalola in Autumn: Guided Waterfall Hike is a 1.5-mile ranger-led walk from the Visitor Center to the falls. Along the way the ranger talks about native plants, wildlife and park history. Georgia State Parks rates the trail moderate to strenuous. It runs from 9:30 to 11 a.m., costs $12 plus a parking fee, and starts at 280 Amicalola Falls State Park Road. The park's calendar lists it every day through November 9, weekdays included.
Weekdays matter here. The Georgia State Parks Leaf Watch page names Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge among its popular fall-color parks and suggests weekday visits, because parking can fill to capacity and limit access. When you live 20 minutes away, a Tuesday morning hike is a small detour. For visitors who have to plan a weekend trip around it, it's a much bigger ask.
Burt's Pumpkin Farm has a longer season than most people expect. The farm sits at 5 Burts Pumpkin Farm Road. Its visit page lists the patch and store as open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in October, then 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 10. Admission and parking are free. Hayrides cost $10 per person, and children under two ride free. New this year, hayride guests can visit Autumn & Gordy's Harvest House, a drive-through pumpkin. The farm lists its November hayride dates as to be determined, so if a hayride is the reason for the trip, the last week of October is the more reliable window.
The Friday before Halloween has a free stop closer to home. Trunk & Treats at Pointe Grand Dawsonville is listed for Friday, October 30, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 1679 Pointe Grand Place. It has decorated trunks, food trucks, pumpkin painting, treats, costumes and music. Trivia at The Garage starts at 7 p.m. on Fridays, so one evening can include both.
A calendar built around timing
Put together, the dates follow a clear pattern:
- Oct. 23–25: Moonshine Festival downtown, the Bowen Fall Market on Highway 9, and a moonlight zip tour on Saturday night.
- Weekdays through Nov. 9: ranger-led Amicalola waterfall hikes, when parking pressure at the park is lower.
- Oct. 30–31: Trunk & Treats at Pointe Grand, Friday trivia, and the Halloween moonlight zip.
- Through Nov. 10: Burt's Pumpkin Farm on shorter November hours.
- Nov. 21: Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting and Jingle Market back at 415 Highway 53 East.
Hospitality has always been the center of how we work, and it's part of why we love seeing downtown fill up for a weekend like this one. If you'd like to talk through anything about life around Dawsonville, from which festival lot is closest to your street to how the Highway 9 corridor feels on a busy Saturday, the team at Joe Sells GA is glad to share what we know. Contact Us anytime, and we hope to see you downtown over festival weekend.
