Living for the Brand Cowboy Church invites area residents to support neighbors in need by donating at the Carter BloodCare drive from 8:30 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 19. Eastern
As North, Central and East Texans resume regular activities this spring, Carter BloodCare reminds residents to put blood donation at the top of their to-do lists.
Cold water and cold drinks: What to expect at Helen s 2021 Fasching festival Participants in the Fasching River Parade and Party ride tubes down the Chattahoochee River in Helen, Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. The Fasching celebration is a Bavarian version of Mardi Gras. - photo by Austin Steele
Dozens of people dressed in vibrant green, gold and purple attire will brave the freezing Chattahoochee River in the name of revelry and German tradition during Helen’s 10th annual Fasching festival.
The sidewalk and tubing parade will flow into the alpine village from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6.
The festival, which serves as something like a German Mardi Gras in Northeast Georgia, includes celebrations and drinking ahead of Ash Wednesday and the 40-day season of Lent and fasting observed in some Christian traditions.
File/Rob Moore
HELEN – Helen’s annual Fasching events will continue citywide, despite the required cancellation of the Helen Chamber of Commerce’s annual gathering in the Festhalle.
Newly sworn Mayor Pro Tem Fred Garmon and other city officials stressed the events planned around town for the weekends of Jan. 29-31 and Feb. 4-6 will continue as planned.
The large-scale gatherings at the Festhalle, however, have been cancelled due to Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive order regulating venues during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Helen Festhalle, operated by the Helen Chamber of Commerce, is classified as a venue.
Fasching, celebrated in Austria, Bavaria and Berlin, features pre-Lenten festivities celebrated in grand style. People traditionally celebrate in costumes at various Carnival community events and individual parties.