Bert Carithers - Realtor

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Bert Carithers - Realtor I will help you obtain the Georgia property you’ve always dreamed of by focusing all efforts on your individual style, needs, and budget.

I enjoy helping you, to be able to help others and give back to the community. I started my real estate career on the fast track in 2020, in 2021 I received the Rookie of The Year award and in 2022 I created MRC Realty LLC. Come with me and let’s make it happen!

🏎️🥃 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND DAWSONVILLE'S MOUNTAIN MOONSHINE FESTIVAL?This North Georgia tradition started with s...
09/25/2026

🏎️🥃 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND DAWSONVILLE'S MOUNTAIN MOONSHINE FESTIVAL?

This North Georgia tradition started with something as simple as a few tables beside the courthouse!

🍂 The festival traces its beginnings to 1967, when Dawson County native Fred Goswick set up a small display for travelers passing through Dawsonville during the fall.

Goswick knew the area's moonshine history firsthand and realized Dawson County had a story worth preserving.

And what a story it was!

🥃 During Prohibition and the Great Depression, making and transporting illegal liquor became a way for some North Georgia mountain families to earn a living.

But delivering moonshine required something else...

FAST CARS. 🏎️💨

Moonshine runners modified their cars to carry heavy loads while still being fast enough to escape law enforcement on winding mountain roads.

That helped create a strong connection between Dawsonville's moonshine runners and the early days of stock-car racing.

Names such as Raymond Parks, Roy Hall and Lloyd Seay became part of that racing history.

Over the years, Goswick's small roadside display grew into the Mountain Moonshine Festival, celebrating Dawson County's moonshine, automobile and racing heritage.

Today you'll find:

🏎️ Historic race & moonshine cars
🥃 Moonshine history
🎨 Arts & crafts
🎶 Live music
🚗 Car shows
🥁 A race-car parade
🍗 Festival food

But one of the best parts is what the festival does for the community.

💛 Today the event is organized by KARE for Kids, with proceeds helping Dawson County children with clothing, school supplies, medical needs and Christmas gifts.

📅 2026 MOUNTAIN MOONSHINE FESTIVAL
October 23–25
📍 Dawsonville, Georgia

2026 marks the 59th annual festival!

Pretty incredible that something that started with a few tables in 1967 grew into one of North Georgia's longest running fall traditions. 🍂🏎️🥃

📌 Save & share with someone who loves North Georgia history!

⛏️🍂 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND DAHLONEGA'S GOLD RUSH DAYS?Gold Rush Days has been a North Georgia tradition for more...
09/24/2026

⛏️🍂 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND DAHLONEGA'S GOLD RUSH DAYS?

Gold Rush Days has been a North Georgia tradition for more than 70 years, but the history it celebrates goes back nearly 200 years!

🪙 Around 1828–1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, helping spark what is generally considered the first major gold rush in the United States, about 20 years before California's!

There's also an important side to this history. The gold was discovered on Cherokee lands, and the rush of prospectors became part of a period that eventually included the seizure of Cherokee lands and their forced removal.

🏛️ Gold became so important to the area that the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega opened in 1838. Before closing in 1861, it produced nearly 1.5 million gold coins!

Here's another neat connection. In 1958, Dahlonega area gold was used to help cover the dome of the Georgia State Capitol.

🍂 Gold Rush Days began in 1954.

Madeleine Anthony was one of the driving forces behind the early festival, helping promote Dahlonega's history and tourism.

Those early celebrations included

🪚 Crosscut-saw competitions
💪 Arm wrestling
🧔 Beard-growing contests
🐷 Hog calling
👗 Old-fashioned clothing
🎶 Music & entertainment

👑 The Gold Rush King & Queen tradition also began in 1954. Today, the honor recognizes local residents age 60+ for their service to the community.

What started as a hometown celebration has grown into one of North Georgia's best known fall festivals, filling historic downtown with arts & crafts, food, music, a parade and gold-mining history.

📅 2026 GOLD RUSH DAYS
October 17–18
📍 Historic Downtown Dahlonega, GA

⛏️ From America's first major gold rush to a festival tradition that's lasted more than 70 years, there's a lot of history behind Gold Rush Days!

📌 Save & share with someone who loves North Georgia history! Drop a comment or a picture from past Festivals below!

🎨🍂 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND BLUE RIDGE'S FALL ARTS IN THE PARK?This North Georgia tradition actually traces its ro...
09/23/2026

🎨🍂 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND BLUE RIDGE'S FALL ARTS IN THE PARK?

This North Georgia tradition actually traces its roots all the way back to America's Bicentennial in 1976!
That year, a small group of local artists, educators and art supporters came together in Blue Ridge to create a community arts festival.

The first Arts in the Park was held in Blue Ridge City Park and was much smaller than the festival we know today. It featured local and student artwork along with demonstrations of traditional Appalachian crafts such as quilting, woodturning and carving.

🎨 The little festival was successful enough to return the following year and eventually helped inspire something much bigger. After several years of community work and support, the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association was officially established in 1980, with more than 200 founding members signing its original charter.

And here's something pretty neat:

📜 That original charter is still displayed at the Art Center in Blue Ridge today!

For years, the organization didn't even have a permanent home. Eventually, the historic 1937 Fannin County Courthouse was transformed into an Art Center, with the association holding its first exhibit there in 2007.

🍁 So when did the FALL festival begin?
The original Arts in the Park tradition dates to 1976, but Fall Arts in the Park was added in 2011 as a second annual festival.

Today, the Arts in the Park festival series attracts more than 20,000 visitors each year and brings artists and craftsmen from around the region to downtown Blue Ridge.

🎨 Painting
🏺 Pottery
📸 Photography
💍 Jewelry
🪵 Woodworking
🧶 Fiber arts
⚒️ Metalwork
🍂 And plenty of North Georgia fall scenery!

2026 FALL ARTS IN THE PARK

📅 October 10–11
⏰ 10 AM–5 PM
📍 Downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia
💰 Adults: $5
👧 Kids 12 & under: FREE

2026 marks the 16th Annual Fall Arts in the Park, but the arts tradition behind it has now been part of Blue Ridge for 50 years!

Pretty amazing to see what can grow from a small group of people who simply wanted to showcase their community's artists and Appalachian heritage. 🎨🍁🏔️

📌 Save this one if you're looking for a North Georgia fall day trip!

🍎 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND ELLIJAY GEORGIA'S APPLE FESTIVAL? 🍂The Georgia Apple Festival has been a North Georgia ...
09/22/2026

🍎 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND ELLIJAY GEORGIA'S APPLE FESTIVAL? 🍂

The Georgia Apple Festival has been a North Georgia fall tradition for more than 50 years, but the story behind it goes back even further!

🌳 Ellijay's apple growing history dates back to the early 1900s, with John W. Clayton credited with planting one of Gilmer County's earliest commercial apple orchards around 1906.

Then came the boll weevil.

During the 1920s, the boll weevil helped devastate Georgia's cotton industry. As cotton declined, apple orchards became increasingly important to Gilmer County's economy.

🍎 Apples weren't just another crop, they became an important part of the area's economic survival and eventually helped give Ellijay its identity as Georgia's apple country.

So in 1971, the first Georgia Apple Festival was held in Ellijay to celebrate the apple industry and the role it had played in the community.

The festival was organized through the Ellijay Lions Club and Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce, which continue to present the event today.

What started as a relatively small arts & crafts show grew into one of North Georgia's best known fall traditions.

Today you'll find:

🍎 Apple pies, fritters, c***r & other apple treats
🎨 Hundreds of arts & crafts vendors
🎶 Live music
🔨 Craft demonstrations
🥁 The annual Apple Festival Parade
🏃 Apple Festival 5K
🍂 And plenty of North Georgia fall scenery!

Another interesting piece of history after being held annually for decades, 2020 became the one year the festival was canceled. It returned the following year and the tradition continued.

🍎 2026 marks the 55th Annual Georgia Apple Festival!

📅 October 10–11 & October 17–18
📍 Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds
💰 $10 admission | Children under 12 FREE

It's pretty amazing that a festival that started in 1971 to celebrate an important local crop has grown into a North Georgia tradition that still brings thousands of people to Ellijay each fall.

🍂 Sometimes there's a lot more history behind our local festivals than we realize! Drop a picture or a comment below! 👇

It's the first DAY OF FALL! I think we are all ready for some cooler temperatures!
09/22/2026

It's the first DAY OF FALL! I think we are all ready for some cooler temperatures!

🍁 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND HIAWASSEE'S GEORGIA MOUNTAIN FALL FESTIVAL? 🏔️The tradition behind this North Georgia f...
09/21/2026

🍁 DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND HIAWASSEE'S GEORGIA MOUNTAIN FALL FESTIVAL? 🏔️

The tradition behind this North Georgia favorite goes all the way back to 1950!

The original Georgia Mountain Fair was started by the Towns County Lions Club and local officials as a three-day agricultural exposition at the local high school. Two of the men credited with getting it started were Herbert “Tall” Tabor, president of the Lions Club, and E. N. Nicholson, the county extension agent.

The idea was simple, showcase the agriculture, crafts, music and traditional way of life found in the North Georgia mountains.

Around 2,000 people attended the first fair, but it didn't stay small for long.

🎻 Country, bluegrass and gospel music became a major attraction.

🔨 Visitors could watch blacksmithing, woodcarving, soap making and other old mountain skills.

🥃 Historical exhibits even included a working moonshine still!

🎤 Conway Twitty performed at the fair in 1969, and the Oak Ridge Boys were among the performers appearing in a gospel sing that same year.

By the 1970s, attendance had grown to nearly 100,000 people, and the fair had outgrown its original home.

🌊 In 1978, the Georgia Mountain Fair moved to its current location on beautiful Lake Chatuge, where the Georgia Mountain Fairgruonds remains today.

One of the neat parts of the modern Fall Festival is Pioneer Village, which continues the original mission of preserving North Georgia mountain history with historic buildings and demonstrations of the "old ways."

🍂 Today, the Georgia Mountain Fall Festival carries that tradition into the fall with arts & crafts, live music, food, carnival rides and demonstrations celebrating the history and culture of the North Georgia mountains.

📅 2026 Georgia Mountain Fall Festival
October 9–11 & October 15–17
📍 Hiawassee, Georgia

Pretty amazing that something that started as a small agricultural fair at a local high school more than 75 years ago grew into one of North Georgia's longstanding mountain traditions! 🍁🏔️

✨If you have any pictures of past Festivals, please share them! We would love to see the History!

Helen’s Oktoberfest has a surprisingly interesting backstory because it grew directly out of the town’s effort to reinve...
09/19/2026

Helen’s Oktoberfest has a surprisingly interesting backstory because it grew directly out of the town’s effort to reinvent itself. Short History Notes 👇

🍺 How Helen Oktoberfest Got Started

Helen Oktoberfest began in 1970, only about a year after Helen transformed itself from a struggling former lumber town into the Bavarian-style village we recognize today. The Greater Helen Area Chamber of Commerce now describes it as the longest-running Oktoberfest in the United States, and 2026 marks the 56th annual celebration.
A key figure behind the festival was Pete Hodkinson, a local businessman who was heavily involved in Helen's transformation. Historical accounts credit Hodkinson with establishing Oktoberfest in 1970 as a way to bring more Bavarian culture and more visitors to the newly redesigned town.

🏔️ But the story really begins before Oktoberfest

Helen wasn't originally a German settlement. The town developed around the lumber industry in the early 1900s. After much of the surrounding timber had been harvested, the lumber industry declined, and Helen's economy suffered for decades.
In 1968, local businessmen Pete Hodkinson, Jim Wilkins and Bob Fowler began discussing ways to revive downtown Helen and convince tourists traveling through the mountains to actually stop there. they turned to regional artist John Kollock.

Kollock had served in Germany during his military service, and Helen's mountain setting reminded him of the Alpine villages he'd seen there. He created watercolor drawings showing how Helen's ordinary storefronts could be transformed with Bavarian style facades, balconies, shutters, trim and other architectural details.
Local businesses embraced the idea, and renovations began in January 1969. Instead of tearing the town down and rebuilding it, they largely transformed the existing buildings.

🍻 Then came Oktoberfest

Once Helen looked like a Bavarian village, creating a German-style festival was a natural next step.
Hodkinson established the first Helen Oktoberfest in 1970. What started as a relatively modest event grew into Helen's signature fall celebration, with German-style music, dancing, food, b**r and traditional festivities.

🍂 2026 NORTH GEORGIA FALL FESTIVALS 🍎🎃It's Almost Time! Cooler weather is coming, although temps today will still be in ...
09/18/2026

🍂 2026 NORTH GEORGIA FALL FESTIVALS 🍎🎃

It's Almost Time! Cooler weather is coming, although temps today will still be in the 90's. Are you looking for something fun to do this fall? Here are some of North Georgia’s biggest upcoming festivals, SAVE this list! 👇

🍺 Helen Oktoberfest | Helen
📅 Sept. 10–13, 17–20, 24–27 & Oct. 1–Nov. 1
German food, live music, dancing & downtown Helen.
💰 Adults $10–$15 | Sundays FREE
🏨 Stay: Downtown Helen hotels & cabins

🍁 Georgia Mountain Fall Festival | Hiawassee
📅 Oct. 9–11 & 15–17
Arts & crafts, live music, food, Pioneer Village & mountain scenery.
💰 $10 | Kids 12 & under FREE | Free parking
🏨 Stay: Hiawassee/Lake Chatuge

🍎 Georgia Apple Festival | Ellijay
📅 Oct. 10–11 & 17–18
Arts & crafts, food, live music and apple season in the mountains.
💰 Gate admission applies
🏨 Stay: Ellijay cabins, rentals & B&Bs

🎨 Fall Arts in the Park | Blue Ridge
📅 Oct. 10–11 | 10 AM–5 PM
Arts, handmade crafts, food & downtown Blue Ridge.
🏨 Stay: Downtown Blue Ridge or nearby cabins

⛏️ Gold Rush Days | Dahlonega
📅 Oct. 17–18
Hundreds of vendors, food, crafts & entertainment in historic downtown.
💰 FREE admission
🏨 Stay: Downtown Dahlonega

🏎️ Mountain Moonshine Festival | Dawsonville
📅 Oct. 23–25
Classic cars, vendors, food, music & Dawsonville’s moonshine/racing history.
🏨 Stay: Dawsonville/GA-400 area

🍂 FALL TIP: October weekends in Helen, Ellijay, Dahlonega and Blue Ridge can get packed, so arrive early and book lodging ahead of time!

📌 SAVE & SHARE this list with someone who loves fall in North Georgia!

Which festival are you planning to visit this year? 🍎🍁Is there a festival not on this list that is one of your favorites?

Today, we remember and honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and the heroes who showed incredible courage that day...
09/11/2026

Today, we remember and honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and the heroes who showed incredible courage that day. Never forget.

Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone gets a chance to relax, enjoy some good food, and spend time with family and friends toda...
09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone gets a chance to relax, enjoy some good food, and spend time with family and friends today!

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3730 Village Way
Braselton, GA
30517

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