5 WAYS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL GEORGIA DAY

FACTS ABOUT GEORGIA:

OUR HISTORY:

Of the 13 original colonies, Georgia was the only one to prohibit slavery. The prohibition lasted 15 years. Three delegates from Georgia signed the Declaration of Independence: Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett and George Walton. There are Georgia counties named to honor each of them. 

Although Georgia was the last of the 13 colonies established in America, we were among the first to join the Union.  Once the U.S. Constitution was written and signed, Georgia became the 4th state to become part of the United States of America on January 2, 1788. 

Georgia’s founder, James Oglethorpe, settled the colony’s first capital, Savannah. Georgia would go on to have three more capitals, Augusta, Louisville, and Milledgeville before Atlanta became the permanent capital in 1868.

OUR MASCOTS:

• State Bird: Brown Thrasher
• State Fish: Large Mouth Bass
• State Insect: Honey Bee 
• State Flower: Cherokee Rose 
• State Tree: Live Oak 
• State Song: Georgia on my Mind by Georgia native, Ray Charles.

FAMOUS GEORGIANS:

• Jackie Robinson- Baseball Hall of Fame 
• Ty Cobb-  Baseball Hall of Fame
• Cam Newton- football Heisman Trophy winner  
• President Jimmy Carter- 39th president of the United States
• Martin Luther King, Jr- Civil Rights Activist 
• Clarence Thomas- the first black Supreme Court Justice 
• Rebecca Latimer Felton- the first woman US Senator 
• Julia Roberts- actress 
• Margaret Mitchell- author of Gone With the Wind
• Juliette Gordon Low- founder of the Girl Scouts

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalGeorgiaDay:

Georgia is known for many things, not the least of which is southern hospitality and great food. We love any excuse to get together with friends and family and eat just about anything fried, including okra, green tomatoes, chicken, catfish, seafood and hush puppies.  We are also very fond of grits, field peas and collard greens.

Known as the Peach State, if you have ever taken a bite out a ripe one and let the juice run down your chin, you know why we love them! Enjoy a cold Coca-Cola, it was invented in Atlanta. Both Chick-fil-A and Waffle House also call Georgia home. From salty boiled Georgia peanuts to sweet Georgia pecan pie, we are nuts about our nuts!  Made with tomatoes (you can't beat vine-ripened Georgia tomatoes), onions, lima beans, corn, okra, potatoes, and chicken, beef or any game to be had, Brunswick Stew is another unusual Georgia specialty and it is usually paired with some of the best BBQ in the country. By the way, those onions must be Vidalia Onions, grown nowhere else in the world but in Georgia. And if you grew up here, you probably slathered your biscuits with Mayhaw Jelly, another delicacy you can't get anywhere else but Georgia!

• Georgia Aquarium- the largest indoor aquarium in the world outside China.
• BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir- largest Hindu Temple outside India
• Amicalola Falls- the tallest cascading waterfall in the Southeast
• Okefenokee Swamp- Wildlife refuge & North America's largest blackwater swamp
• Kolomoki Indian Mounds- an archaeological site of largest Native American city north of Mexico
• Providence Canyon-  the "Little Grand Canyon"
• Radium Springs- a frigid 68 degrees year-round, it is Georgia's largest natural spring
• Stone Mountain- a granite monadnock with the largest bas-relief carving on the planet
• Tallulah Gorge- 2 miles long, over 1,000 feet deep & contains 5 spectacular waterfalls
• Summerville Depot- one of the last working train turntables in the country
• Biblical History Center- an authentic archeological replica of biblical Middle Eastern life
• Helen Alpine Village: the longest running Oktoberfest in the United States

Atlanta, Georgia: Cool Stuff Every Kid Should Know by Kate Boehm Jerome
What surprised the city of Atlanta on March 14, 1993? (Hint: There was no sign of Hotlanta weather on that day!) Which event was called the Celebration of the Century in Atlanta? Find these answers and more in this interesting little book about a very special place on the planet! A  fun, colorful, easy-to-read books for children ages 7-11 featuring inviting conversational style content and vivid full-color images of landmarks and geography.

I'm Reading About Georgia by Carole Marsh
This is a 48-page colorful book that helps students K through 3, learn what makes Georgia unique.  The colorful illustrations, bold, vibrant art, kid-friendly text and photographs help bring the state to life.

The Creek and the Cherokee by Kelly Rodgers
Learn about the fascinating history of two of Georgia’s Native American tribes: the Creek and the Cherokee. This high-interest reader for ages 6 to 8 years, explores the history, culture, customs, and traditions of the Creek and the Cherokee Indians.

The Kids' Guide to Birds of Georgia: Fun Facts, Activities and 87 Cool Birds by Stan Tekiela
This book features: 

• 87 of the most common and important birds to know
• Species organized by color for ease of use
• Full-color photographs and a full page of information for each bird
• Field marks, favorite hangouts, calls/songs, a range map, and Stan’s cool facts, making identification a snap!

P Is For Peach: A Georgia Alphabet by Carol Crane
As you travel through the Okefenokee Swamp, keep an eye out for Tiger Swallowtails and Brown Thrashers, and be sure to pick some Yellow Confederate Daisies before taking a nap under a Live Oak Tree. At the same time the rhymes entertain and inform younger readers, Crane's in-depth expository text will appeal to older ones, creating a two-tiered teaching tool for kids 6 to 9 years old.

Georgia on My Mind: True Tales from Around the State by Lisa Cooper
Thirty true tales for teens and adults from the state’s history that went viral in their day but are long forgotten or only told occasionally in the areas where they occurred. In this book you will find tales involving:

• a moonshiner who ruled his own kingdom with fear and intimidation
• two battles – one involving breakfast while another involved a jail
• how one Georgia county lost dozens of young men in a single day during World War I
• how a cannonball fired at Ft. Sumter in April 1861 wound up at one county’s courthouse square
• how one Georgia man continually escaped from the state’s jails and prisons from the time he was 18 until he was in his sixties
• how a Comanche Indian maiden took her last breath in a teepee at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park

Other stories include boll weevils, a popular medicine in its day known as a female regulator, a poltergeist, and a ‘possum hunt for a U.S president.

• Enjoy some gorgeous mountains and waterfalls! See HIKING TRAILS AROUND ATLANTA AND NORTH GEORGIA for as list.

• Share what your family loves about Georgia on our FACEBOOK PAGE.

Click for more FUN DAYS IN AUGUST TO CELEBRATE WITH YOUR FAMILY!