Half Week of Tim Fain: Video 2 - Portals Trailer
Half-Week of Tim Fain - Video 1: Tim Fain in the movie Black Swan
Macon, Georgia has a lot to offer. A source of water, space for businesses, historic homes, entertainment, museums, and a great deal of Southern Charm!
I was talking to someone who had a friend visiting from out of town. The person was visiting from a bigger city and it made me realize that while Macon, Georgia is growing as a city, we are NOT trying to compete with Chicago or New York. We can’t offer giant museums, although our museums are great. We can’t offer a million places to eat, though what we have to offer is delicious. What we can offer is good food, a laid back environment (where you can sit out, enjoy your drinks, and unwind), and a lot of history.
What to Do When Visiting Macon: Part 2
11. The Ocmulgee River - The Ocmulgee offers lots of floating, feet dangling, and contemplation opportunities. And with warm- make that hot - weather for 8 out of 12 months, the citizens and visitors of Macon, Georgia have plenty of chances to take advantage of the river.
12. Bars & Entertainment - Whether you choose your favorite downtown bar, crosstown bar, or music venue, you will have plenty of chances for drink specials (Macon’s prices are much less than some of those big cities we can’t emulate), great music, and maybe even the chance to meet a local celebrity!
13. DJ Shawty Slim - We have plenty of local celebrities that are known across the world… Chuck Leavell and Robert McDuffie just to name a few. However, we happen to be a city where the local celebrities come out to play as well. From jazz and blue greats to hip hop artists, you never know who you’ll run into when you have a drink at the Hummingbird Stage & Taproom or Grant’s Lounge, including the official DJ for Grammy nominated artist B.O.B, DJ Shawty Slim.
14. Second Sunday at Washington Park - Of all the events that have begun uniting a city, the Second Sunday events, sponsored by College Hill Corridor, has brought people from all areas of town to enjoy music, food, and drinks in the park with family, friends, and pets.
15. Grant’s Lounge - You have to see The Wall, which shows the amazing history of music that has played within their walls. If you’re here on the right weekend, you’ll hear some amazing music as well.
16. The Museum of Arts & Sciences - We have a great museum with interesting collections, traveling exhibits, and original exhibits featuring the talents of locals. While it might not compare to MoMA or the Museum of Contemporary Art or Field Museum in Chicago in breadth, we also have the Mark Smith Planetarium. With the addition of the new lens, one of only three in the Americas, it projects images, photographs, visualizations of space, and more onto the third largest dome in the entire state (the largest in Central Georgia within 100 miles), and creates a virtual reality of space and other astronomy related programs for the thousands that visit every year.
17. Ocmulgee Indian Mounds - The Indian Mounds has the oldest living history record of anywhere in the United States and is one of Macon’s largest attraction. A visit would be remiss without taking your guest to the Indian Mounds.
18. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church - This Church is only one of many historical places in town that can be visited. The majesty and beauty of St. Joseph’s, the history and elegance of the Hay House, and other places like the Sidney Lanier Cottage. There is history in so many buildings. Taking a walk through downtown Macon can offer views like these.
19. Parks & Recreation - There are a lot of parks available for picnics, for reading, for relaxing… because if you’re visiting Macon, you’re here to see friends or family and you’re here to relax. Take advantage of those quiet times in some of our most beautiful open spaces.
20. The Allman Brothers Museum at The Big House - Here we are again with that musical legacy. We have a lot to be proud of and we have museums to show it. Plus, The Big House is beautiful, the back yard is phenomenal, and if you’re lucky, you’ll visit at a time when a band is playing.
Surprisingly, we’re not done! There’s much more to do when you visit Macon, Georgia.
I was talking to someone who had a friend visiting from out of town. The person was visiting from a bigger city and it made me realize that while Macon, Georgia is growing as a city, we are NOT trying to compete with Chicago or New York. We can’t offer giant museums, although our museums are great. We can’t offer a million places to eat, though what we have to offer is delicious. What we can offer is good food, a laid back environment where you can sit out, enjoy your drinks, and unwind, and a lot of history.
What To Do When Visiting Macon: Part 1
1. Rose Hill Cemetery - Set up on the Victorian idea of cemeteries being a place to gather, picnic, and enjoy, Rose Hill is a great spot for a run, to paint, for contemplation, or in homage.
2. The Grand Opera House - Nearly every week there is something going on at the Grand. Whether it is a Broadway Show, a ballet, or The Symphony, you’ll find some really great events!
3. Mercer University’s Townsend Hall and the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings - Great classical music happening much more often than you think. Visit mercer.edu to find out what’s going on.
4. The Golden Bough Bookstore - This requires a visit just because of the interesting collection of books about Macon or from Macon writers. Also, Eric Wakefield, the proprietor, knows a ton about books.
5. 2nd Street Record Store - Two words - Real Vinyl!
6. The Clubs of Macon - There are clubs for every musical taste, from country to jazz. You should visit at least one!
7. Tubman African American Museum - The largest museum in the southeast dedicated to African American art, history and culture. You should visit to see current art from the African American community and artistic portrayals of African American heritage and history.
8. Eateries - There are a great many places to eat in Macon. From American cuisine to Caribbean to Pho, we have many restaurants that will satisfy your most basic need to feed yourself or satisfy your need for high quality multicultural foods.
9. Mulberry Street Market - While this requires your visit to include a Wednesday, this is a great little market to visit. The vendors become friends, helping you find the best quality foods. They remember you and will save foods for you if they know you’re coming. While it is a small market, it is worth seeing and worth the reminder of how far we’ve come as a city.
10. Coleman Hill - While you might not be doing the sunrise yoga (though it’s a great way to greet the morning), Coleman Hill offers a great vantage point for viewing the city. Sometimes they are movies, or jazz, or just a free spot for picnicking. But definitely go for the view.
More photos and places to visit to come. If you’ve been to Macon, Georgia, do you have pictures of places out-of-towners should definitely visit? Add to our collection!
Come help Gateway Macon complete their vision by putting a ton of people on this 3-D bridge! Tomorrow from noon - 1pm or from 4pm-5pm, come have your picture taken with as large a group of people as we can get out! But don’t get chased across it like Jami Gaudet!
We had a lot of fun on this bridge. Let’s make it more fun and fill this bridge full of people and take pictures and videos to remember forever! We want to do it before the bridge “washes away”, so join the Gateway Macon Hot Heads from noon to 1pm and/or from 4pm -5pm and see if we can break a world record! Wait, is there a world record? Let’s just get as many people on that bridge and make a splash! But don’t get chased across it like Jami Gaudet!
Wild Pink Yonder
There I went, kicking and screaming, into the wild pink yonder. Just a few years ago, I was forced to face one of my biggest fears, flying without a plane or a parachute. Without much warning and with very little caffeine, I learned that, in less than an hour, I would be riding shotgun in the Macon Cherry Blossom Balloon Race. Although they didn’t have an actual firearm, my client (an official race sponsor) did have a contract with my ad agency, and succeeded in twisting my arm. At 5am, I didn’t have many options.
At least I had another co-worker, ready to hop on board. Of course, while I was looking for any way out, Vicki was irritatingly excited about the adventure. Like a good girl scout, she had actually volunteered to ride! So, looking just as glamorous as you might imagine, we headed to Wesleyan College under the cloak of darkness, to get this thing over with. We find our captain, who turns out to be a nice guy, and he gives us the lowdown.
More than 20 teams would compete for a coveted pink prize. After a shotgun start, we would drive with our deflated balloon in back of the van until we found an appropriate place to launch. Apparently, the aeronauts (that’s what they call people who fly hot air balloons) must use their keen wind and weather-predicting skills to navigate their way back to the starting point within a specific amount of time. Then, in a very scientific manner, the captain must drop a hand towel into a spray painted circle to finish the race.
Well, we ended up in a deserted dentist’s office parking lot somewhere and began to prepare for takeoff. Ready to watch this colorful spectacle unfold, I soon discovered that I was actually supposed to help fly this thing! I was officially a member of the crew. Bless their hearts! Even though I was terrified, I was still incredibly competitive. If I was going to die, I would die with a pink ribbon!
Hot air balloons may look as light as a feather, but that sucker was heavy! Amazingly, within just a few minutes, the loud hissing sound of a propane tank on steroids filled the air while it filled the colorful bubble with magic gas. The giant balloon with our department store name emblazoned on the banner was ready to ascend. If only I was!
Vicki and I climbed into the over-sized Easter basket and waited. As the captain boarded, the ground crew untied the ropes that safely tethered us to Sweet Mother Earth. Terrified, paralyzed and mesmerized, we began to fly. The world was eerily quiet, randomly shattered with short fiery blasts. It was awesome! I felt like Tinkerbell, with my wings and heart fluttering, as we glided undetected over historic neighborhoods and green pastures. Mind you, I was not ready to lie down in one of them. Everything looked different up there. Sparkly. Fresh. Magical. Before I was ready, the captain threw in the towel and we floated back down to reality.
On the ground, as we were told all new aeronauts do, Vicki and I knelled to thank the gods of the wind and sky for a safe journey. When we lifted our angelic faces toward heaven, we were suddenly showered with cheap champagne and presented with a new set of wings. With sticky hair, runny mascara and a huge grin, I proudly walked into the Waffle House, with my wingman, as an aeronaut.
Macon, Georgia. Music. Art. Photography. Live. Entrepreneur. History. Architecture. Water. Colleges. Museums. It's Hotter Here.
