Georgia

This Is The Friendliest Small Town in Georgia

Published

2 months ago

April 27, 2026

This Is The Friendliest Small Town in Georgia

Every April since 1922, the whole town of Thomasville turns out for the Rose Show and Festival, with flower floats rolling past the 1858 courthouse, classic cars lining the square, and local chefs sneaking rose petals into cupcakes and cocktails. On the second Saturday of every month, the arts center throws its doors open for free. The 345-year-old Big Oak in Elizabeth Ireland Poe Park has a gazebo beneath it where people gather to sit, talk, and take each other’s picture (the camera mounted on a phone pole across the street will email it to you for free). Thomasville makes a strong case as the friendliest little town in Georgia, and the case rests on how much of life here happens together.

Downtown Thomasville

View of downtown Thomasville in Georgia. Editorial credit: Allard One / Shutterstock.com

Downtown Thomasville turns on the Thomas County Historic Courthouse, an 1858 Greek Revival building that anchors the central square. The courthouse plays its biggest role each April during the Rose Show and Festival, a two-day community gathering that sets the social calendar for the year. The festival’s signature events run on volunteers and neighbors recognizing each other across booths: rose displays from local growers, three additional flower shows, live music, and an artisan market where most of the vendors come from a few counties over.

The Orchids on Parade kicks the weekend off with floats from schools, clubs, churches, and small businesses. The Show and Shine Car and Truck Show fills the square with more than 100 vehicles, most of them shown by their owners, who stand around answering questions all afternoon.

The Thomas County Courthouse in Thomasville, Georgia. Image credit: Roberto Galan / Shutterstock.com.

The festival pulls in restaurants and shops the same way. Because roughly 90% of the roses grown locally are edible, businesses around the square work them into the menu for the weekend. Liam’s Restaurant Lounge and Cheese Shoppe, a New American spot with European leanings, mixes a Rose City Cocktail with rose water and vodka. Sweet CaCao Chocolates, which uses local ingredients across its seasonal lineup, layers vanilla cupcakes with rose petal icing and turns out vanilla-rose macarons. None of this is mandated by the festival board. It just happens, the way most things happen here, because everyone is in on it.

Historic Landmarks That Bring People Together

“The Big Oak” tree in Thomasville, Georgia.

The Big Oak does most of the work for itself. Standing at the corner of Crawford and East Monroe Streets, the southern live oak (registered with the Live Oak Society in 1936 as the 49th member) reaches 68 feet tall, has a trunk circumference of 26.5 feet, and a limb span of more than 165 feet. It dates to around 1680, which makes it older than the town. The tree sits in Elizabeth Ireland Poe Park with a Victorian gazebo beneath it, and most days you’ll find people sitting on the bench, taking pictures, or watching strangers take pictures. A camera mounted on a telephone pole across the street will email a snapshot to anyone who calls the posted number, and that small detail is part of why people end up chatting with whoever’s there.

The Jack Hadley Black History Museum holds 4,669 artifacts of African American history, with exhibits running from slavery and the Buffalo Soldiers through Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The museum runs guided tours and educational programming designed to bring small groups through together. Scavenger hunts pull families and visitors into the same conversation, and the docents lean into that, because the museum’s whole approach is built on people processing history out loud rather than reading panels in silence.

The Thomasville History Center, founded in 1952, is one of the oldest historical societies in the state. Its main building is the historic 1923 Flowers-Roberts House, with eight buildings spread across 3.3 acres. Tours and educational programs run six days a week, all of them free, which makes the center one of the easier places in town to walk in alone and walk out having met someone.

Thomasville’s Arts Scene

The Thomasville Center for the Arts opens its galleries free of charge year-round. The work on display rotates through local, regional, and state artists across multiple media, and the center programs around community engagement deliberately. Free 2nd Saturday is the most visible piece: every second Saturday of the month, the doors open with themed activities, art stations, and hands-on crafts that draw families, retirees, and first-time visitors into the same room. There is no admission charge and no expectation that you stay for any particular length of time, which is part of why it works.

The center’s annual Due South benefit concert, held each April at the Ritz Amphitheater downtown, has run since 2012 and brings performing, visual, and culinary arts together for one evening. The Thomasville Antique Show, which celebrated its 37th year in 2026, draws exhibitors from across the country to show antiques, fine art, and contemporary design alongside design lectures and hands-on workshops.

Friendliness in Thomasville is the kind of thing the town has built infrastructure around. The Rose Show pulls in restaurants, schools, clubs, and chefs in a structure where everyone has a part. The arts center keeps the doors open without charging at the threshold. The Big Oak gives strangers a reason to stand still in the same spot for a few minutes. Each of these is a small mechanism, but stack them together and a town that knows how to talk to itself is what comes out the other side. That is the version of Georgia that Thomasville is actually selling.

Source link

Georgia

Zuckerman eyes MLB Draft after superb baseball season at Georgia Tech

Published

31 minutes ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

Zuckerman eyes MLB Draft after superb baseball season at Georgia Tech

Ryan Zuckerman is last on the alphabetical list of the 335 college and high school baseball players attending the June 22-27 MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix.

What the 2023 Pennsbury graduate did in his lone season at Georgia Tech has garnered him plenty of attention from MLB scouts regardless of where his name is on a list that includes Holy Ghost Prep grad Aiden Robbins, a Texas outfield standout who is expected to go as early as late in the first round, fellow Pennsbury graduate Joe Tiroly, an infielder from Virginia, and Pennsbury senior right-handed pitcher Keller Bradley.

MVP of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament for the conference champion Yellow Jackets, second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and leader in home runs (23) and RBIs (79, tied for eighth in the country) for the high-powered Georgia Tech offense are just a few of Zuckerman’s notable accomplishments heading into the July 11-13 draft. He is projected to go toward the middle of the 20 rounds.

“It’s pretty surreal for sure,” said Zuckerman, 21. “It’s something I dreamed of my whole life.”

In a season filled with memorable moments, perhaps most impressive was Zuckerman being named ACC Tournament MVP after hitting three home runs with six RBIs and batting .571 (8 for 14), culminating in a 13-6 championship game win over North Carolina in Charlotte. He also was a first-team All-ACC selection at third base.

Zuckerman and Georgia Tech went into the NCAA Atlanta regional as the nation’s No. 2 seed. Though the 50-11 Yellow Jackets ended up being eliminated by losing twice to Oklahoma, including 8-7 in 10 innings for the regional title, Zuckerman can only rave about his experience at Georgia Tech.

“If you would have told me that’s how the season for me and each of us on the team would’ve gone, I would’ve been extremely happy,” Zuckerman said. “It was probably the best decision I ever made in my life.”

After a solid sophomore season at Pitt in which he hit .295 with 16 doubles, 13 home runs, 48 RBIs and 48 runs scored, Zuckerman believed transferring would help him develop into a more pro-ready player and allow him to win more games. And Georgia Tech checked all the boxes

In addition to his career-best home run and RBI numbers, Zuckerman led Georgia Tech in 2026 with 24 multi-RBI games while establishing career-highs in batting average (.345), runs (71), hits (80), walks (37), slugging percentage (.720) and on-base percentage (.438). He batted fifth in the order.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Zuckerman, who always had a strong arm, also worked hard to improve his defense at third base, resulting in 15.99 defensive runs saved for the season, which was the 13th-highest total in college baseball.

“I like to say I’m arguably the best third baseman in the country,” he said.

As a senior playing third at Pennsbury, Zuckerman hit .465 with an on-base percentage of .563, plus six doubles, six home runs, 23 RBIs and scored 26 runs.

“In high school, he was incredible for us,” said Pennsbury head coach Joe Pesci. “(A year ago), he decided to go from a mid- to low ACC team to the best team in the ACC. Surrounding himself with amazing players at Georgia Tech, he’s kind of elevated his game.”

Since the conclusion of the collegiate season, Zuckerman has been working out in preparation for the MLB Draft Combine and, ultimately, the draft. He’s been splitting his time between Yardley and Atlanta.

MLB teams have indicated Zuckerman’s power bat and defense are two of his strengths, while he’s focusing on improving his swing selection and making more contact at the plate.

Zuckerman is looking forward to hearing his name called by one of the 30 major league clubs. Whether a team views him as a third baseman, first baseman, corner outfielder or even second baseman doesn’t really matter to him.

“I think right now I’m in a great position to go and play professional baseball and start my journey up to the big leagues,” Zuckerman said. “The goal is not to get drafted – it’s to play MLB.”

Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly is a sports columnist for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.

Source link

Georgia

Georgia pair charged with murder after bartender’s dismembered remains found in lake outside Atlanta

Published

11 hours ago

June 21, 2026

Press Room

Georgia pair charged with murder after bartender’s dismembered remains found in lake outside Atlanta

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A Georgia pair have been charged with murder after allegedly slaughtering a bartender and dumping his dismembered remains in a lake, according to authorities.

Mario Andre Barber, 46, and Brittany Amber Baker, 42, were arrested on Monday for allegedly murdering Jamal Rashad Parker, 37, in a home outside of Atlanta, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

Investigators discovered Parker’s remains in May in the Dog River Reservoir, located about 30 miles outside Atlanta.

Parker’s identity was confirmed using DNA comparison technology after his father contacted authorities to report that the victim’s tattoos matched his son’s ink, local station WSB-TV reported.

MINNESOTA MAN ACCUSED OF DISMEMBERING GIRLFRIENDS, HIDING BODIES IN STORAGE UNITS ENTERS PLEA

Mario Andre Barber, 46, and Brittany Amber Baker, 42, are charged with murder. (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators believe the two suspects killed Parker inside a home in Douglasville where Baker lived.

Late last month, investigators were observed leaving the home with a reciprocating saw and cleaning supplies, according to WSB-TV.

Police have not disclosed if Parker knew his alleged killers. However, a GoFundMe created by a family member described the pair as “people he knew and trusted.”

SUZANNE SIMPSON’S DNA FOUND ON MURDER SUSPECT HUSBAND’S SAW THAT CAN CUT METAL

A family member described Jamal Rashad Parker as a bartender, musician and artist with “a beautiful soul and spirit.” (GoFundMe)

The suspects pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday and are being held without bond. Both have lengthy criminal records, according to reports.

“I want them to be punished. And I don’t even think a life sentence is good enough,” Parker’s dad, Charles Parker, told WSB-TV outside the courthouse.

“It’s the kind of stuff you see on TV, but I mean … they had no remorse,” he added.

In addition to bartending at Ms. Icey’s Kitchen & Bar in Atlanta, the victim was a musician and artist with “a beautiful soul and spirit,” according to the GoFundMe page created to cover burial costs.

Investigators believe the two suspects killed the victim inside a home in Douglasville. (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“He loved life and the people he met along his journey in life. He was a musical artist, visual artist, and a professional bartender who enjoyed creating new drinks. This has totally devastated our family and friends and has left us heartbroken,” the fundraiser reads.

Source link

Georgia

Georgia football trying to flip Grayson CB recruit

Published

21 hours ago

June 21, 2026

Press Room

Georgia football trying to flip Grayson CB recruit

The Georgia Bulldogs are trying to flip cornerback recruit Preston Glasco just over a week after he committed to the Connecticut Huskies.

Glasco, a member of the class of 2027, announced his commitment to UConn on June 10. Since committing to UCONN, Georgia has hosted Glasco on an official visit and offered him a scholarship (back on June 18).

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound cornerback has excellent length and size. Glasco has impressive athleticism and ran a 4.47-4.57 second 40-yard dash (hand timed) during a recent workout with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Glasco plays high school football for Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. He’s unranked as a recruit, but that’s bound to change soon. The unranked cornerback plays against a stout level of competition at Grayson, who is a Georgia high school powerhouse.

Glasco has scholarship offers from Army, Yale, Boston College, Penn and more. He’s a great student and appears to be healthy after he was recovering from a surgery around this time last year. The talented Grayson cornerback has also gone on recent visits to South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Coach Kirby Smart and Georgia currently don’t have any cornerback commitments in the class of 2027.