Following two days of school field trip visits on Thursday and Friday, the annual Azalea International Folk Fair will be geared up to receive the public at a Community Festival on Saturday, March 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
What began as a small attempt to bring a taste of the world to Valdosta has blossomed into an event that brings together people of all cultures to enjoy music, dancing, culture and food from around the world.
Powered by the determined Serena Huang, the festival is a feast for the senses and a wonderful way to learn about the world outside our own.
On Saturday, the cultural exhibits will be open and guests will be treated to the Fifth Annual World Culture Folk Dance Competition. Or you can match wits with seventh graders in “World Geography: Are You Smarter than Seventh Graders?” plus a robot technology and invention competition.
Students from the Philippines and Taiwan will be traveling to Valdosta to compete in the youth invention competition.
For more information about the festival, see www.gainternationalfolkfair.org.
Business Roundup
The Hibachi Grill and Buffet on Baytree Road is opening tomorrow, March 1, and I understand the inside has been extensively remodeled, getting it ready for the new restaurant.
Beijing Cafe in the plaza by Harveys and Books-a-Million is holding a grand opening and ribbon cutting Wednesday for its expansion. The owners will now have a large banquet room available to customers.
Shoe Carnival is running ads saying they will be open in their new location by mid-March, between BAM and Best Buy, but I haven’t seen much activity in the building yet.
Speaking of shoe stores, it looks like Nine West will be reopening its shoe store in the Lake Park outlet mall in the next month.
There is a new Laws Furniture store on Bemiss Road by Cuz’s and the Asian market, and new owners have bought the former Electric Sun by Mambo restaurant farther down Bemiss, making it California Sun after some renovations.
And if you missed it, there’s a new Daylight Donuts open in the strip mall on Bemiss by Submarina.
The Krystals on Bemiss at Castle Park closed last week, very suddenly, and no one I’ve asked seems to know why. The best guess is that their lease was up, but if anyone knows the real story out there, call me.
No word yet on the Hibachi Express on North Ashley Street. Lots of signs up, but no activity inside.
If you haven’t heard yet, the Park Avenue Bank has sold five branches to Heritage Bank, including the branch in Adel, so you might want to plan accordingly depending on where you bank in the area. None of the branches in Valdosta were affected.
On a final note, Wild Adventures is getting ready to reopen with a number of big concerts and events planned this year, so check it out.
That’s all I have this week that’s new, but if there’s something I missed, please let me know!
Business
Related Photos
-
Valdosta Middle School drama students perform a hula dance at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center last year during the Azalea International Folk Fair.
Business This Week: Celebrate Azalea International Folk Fair this weekend
- Business
-
-
Gayla’s Grits: A Taste of the South
What started as a unique Christmas gift for family and friends has turned into the go-to business for the best grits in town and, possibly, the world.
Gayla’s Grits, owned by husband-and-wife duo Kevin and Gayla Shaw, began in 1997 while grinding naturally grown white corn for personal consumption. -
Graduates heading into the real world
Over the last week or so, thousands of high school students in our area have graduated and are preparing for their next step in life. Some are going straight to college, others are seeking military careers, some are going straight to work, and there are most likely quite a few who have no real plans or idea what to do next.
-
Have A Happy Free Birthday!
The only thing better than a birthday is a free birthday. I would know, because my birthday was on Friday and, yes, I am absolutely using the newspaper as a platform for a free birthday ad because Facebook just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
-
Valdosta Shared Office Space
VALDOSTA — Though Valdosta Shared Office Space is not new to Valdosta, it is newly green. The first and only shared office space in Valdosta owned by Gino Fina, just became the first Downtown Valdosta business to work with the Georgia Cities Foundation’s Green Communities Fund to implement environmentally friendly, energy-efficient improvements, reducing energy consumption upwards of 50 percent. -
Downtown businesses to be mobbed this week
A few years ago, when everyone started talking through social media, flash mobs became the new in thing to do. Primarily in the big cities, although VSU did their own a year or two ago, a designated place and time would be set and masses of people would descend on these sites, sometimes dancing, sometimes singing, sometimes acting obnoxiously.
-
Keep tails wagging when your budget is lagging
I have a problem. Though I am a tight-wad when it comes to spending my money, I cannot resist the calling to buy adorable toys, collars and, yes, even clothes for my three cuter than all get out fur babies.
-
The Valdosta Mall: Revamped and Ready for Business!
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Mall has made tremendous strides since its rebranding away from Colonial Mall in 2007 and it’s refocus in 2008 when it made a move from serving the community to being a part of the community.
“We had taken for granted our place in the community for a long time,” said Jerry Weller, general manager of the Valdosta Mall. “We don’t do that anymore.” -
Keep your clothes looking fab to avoid looking drab
As I get older, I’m beginning to learn that there are more important things than clothes. Ugh! It pains me to even form that sentence; however, it’s true.
-
Business This Week: Happy Mother’s Day!
Today is the one day a year dedicated to celebrating mothers, although we all use their guidance and wisdom every day. But for this one day, their sacrifices, kindness, love, and advice are recognized, hopefully, by the children they raised or helped to raise. It might not even be those born to them, as most mothers don’t limit their love and it flows over onto their children’s friends, family members, and the children they influence in the classroom, in Sunday school and in volunteer activities.
-
Downtown will have a new beat this week
The Brown Bag Concert Series produced by Valdosta Main Street will begin again on Monday and last all week.
- More Business Headlines
-
