Get Around this Halloween by Foot or on a Scooter

I received e-newsletters from two local shops today. Both pertain to the current season. One is helpful and the other is humorous. I thought you’d appreciate both, so here’s what they had to say:

Twist ‘n’ Scoot considers fall the best riding weather and provides the following Five Tips for Fun Fall Scootering:

1.) Check your tire pressure often with the changing outdoor tempts. The rule of thumb for most scooters – tire pressure should be from 26-28lbs on the front and 28-32lbs on the rear.

2.) During rainy, wet weather have your scooter routinely serviced to reduce condensation buildup in the fuel tank and air filter box.

3.) Use your scooter weekly so the battery doesn’t deplete or make sure you have a scooter-specific charger. Automobile chargers can overheat and destroy smaller scooter batteries.

4.) Now that oil companies are adding more ethanol, 91-93 octane is recommended as the best grade of gas for scooters.

5.) Stay warm! Twist ‘n’ Scoot recommends a pullover “balaclava,” a one-piece hood and neck cover.

Big Peach Running Co. is sponsoring three races this Halloween (Beat the Street for Little Feet 5K, 2nd Annual Big Pumpkin Run 5K and 9th Annual Silver Comet Half Marathon). In honor of all this running fun, BPRC has drafted “A Halloween Poe-m,” with apologies to Edgar Allan Poe:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious collection of running shoes galore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some runner,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door;?Only this, and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I grew sober, as it was late October,?And each separate dying ember wrought another race to run for sure. Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow?time for my heart to follow, the wealth of races galore. Quoth the Peachy, “run some more.”

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

8th Annual Decatur Wine Festival Almost Here!

The Decatur Wine Festival is fast approaching and tickets are selling fast! You may want to get yours now.

 Thanks to the hard work of Herb Chereck at Decatur Package Store, there will be over 350 wines available for tasting.  Price of admission includes a commemorative wine glass, food sampling from local restaurants and great musical entertainment. Ernie Quarles and Shaun Anderson kick off the day with some great soul and R&B, followed by the Heaven Davis Band.

The Wine Festival is a fund raiser for the Decatur Arts Alliance, which offers the Decatur Arts Festival free to the community every Memorial Day weekend.

Hope to see you at the festival. This is one of my favorites!

Weekend Fun in Decatur

Wow, a weekend in Decatur and no festivals. What will we do? No fear- there is “always something fun to do in Decatur”.

On Friday night, plan on attending the Decatur High School Homecoming Parade, unless the rain moves in. We will keep you updated. If not raining, the Parade begins at 5:30 pm. Meredith fills us in with the details in the previous blog.

For the readers that are shoppers (and even those who are not) visit the shops in Downtown Decatur as they celebrate Fourth Friday. Discounts, refreshments, and more. Great time to begin your holiday shopping, support our local businesses, and have fun all at the same time!

Glennwood Academy’s Great Pumpkin Extravaganza will be held all weekend long! Many types of pumpkins will be available for purchse. Check the dates and times below.

Friday, October 16th and 23rd:   3 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Saturday, October 17th and 24th:   10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Sunday, October 18th and 25th:   Noon until 6 p.m.

Decatur Active Living invites the community to participate in a Pumpkin Carving Contest on Saturday from 10:30 am until 1:30 pm at the Decatur Recreation Center located at 231 Sycamore Street. Clean and carve your pumpkin for Halloween! Dress for the event and join the fun. For more information contact Lee Williams, Lee.Williams@decaturga.com, 678-553-6551.

On Saturday evening, Our House presents  “A Night in Tuscany”, a fundraiser for the organization. The event will be held at Callawolde Fine Arts Center from 6:30 until 11 pm. For more information, click here.

On Sunday, from 2 until 4 pm, join the community at Woodlands Garden for “Music in the Garden” featuring acoustic musicians Don Fay and George Eckard of “The Unusual Suspects”. For more information, click here.

Little Shop of Stories invites everyone to its Coraline Movie Screening tonight at 7 p.m. Get into the Halloween spirit early this year by joining the Little Shop folks for some popcorn and a screening of a favorite super creepy (and well-made) movie, Coraline, based on the book by Neil Gaiman. Read more about this event here.

The Annual Church Street Fall Fest is this Sunday. For more information, see our previous post on the festival.

Have a great weekend in Decatur!

DHS Homecoming Parade

Decatur High School will be holding it’s homecoming parade at 5:30 p.m. today. 

The route is as follows:
North on Commerce Drive from the School
East on West Ponce DeLeon Avenue
South on Church Street.
West on E. Trinity Place
South on South McDonough Street to the School

Please note that this area will be congested and some areas will be closed off while the parade is in motion. Use extreme caution in these areas until 6:30 p.m.

 If you have any questions, please call the Decatur 911 Center at 404-373-6551.

Reminder: Electronics Recycling Day this Saturday

That’s right folks, Decatur’s bi-annual Electronics Recycling day is this Saturday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Decatur High School parking lot (corner of N. McDonough St. and Howard Ave.). Almost anything with an electrical cord can be recycled. TVs can be recycled for a $10 cash-only fee per set with exact change. There is no charge to recycle other items.

For a complete list of recyclable items, visit the Electronics Recycling Day webpage.

Community Workshop: Railroad Crossing Improvements

As part of the capital improvements program, the City of Decatur is looking at options for improvements on the railroad crossings at Candler and McDonough streets and needs your input. If you are available, come to the City Commission meeting room at City Hall (509 N. McDonough St.) on Thursday, Nov. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. for a community workshop to discuss the railroad crossing improvements.

For more information, see the RR Crossings Improvement webpage.

Decatur Pumpkin Carving Contest

Greg White over at Active Living wanted us to remind everyone that they’ll be hosting a Pumpkin Carving Contest this Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Decatur Rec.

Clean and carve your pumpkin for Halloween, dress for the event and join the fun! For more information please call Lee Williams at 678-553-6551.

Church Street Fall Fest

The shops on Church Street are hosting their annual Church Street Fall Fest this Sunday, Oct. 25, 1-4 p.m.

Mingei World Arts, Java Monkey, The Yogurt Tap, The Seen Gallery, Hoopla and Taste are celebrating the season with fortunetelling, balloon animals, treats, crafts, a bundt-cake bake-off and prizes.

So remember to go to Church (Street) this Sunday!

Mark Malkoff Receives Key to the City

Mark Malkoff and Mayor Floyd with Key to the City

The City of Decatur had a special visitor today, Mark Malkoff. As you may remember, Mark gained publicity for spending 30 days on an AirTran plane and breaking a Guinness World Record for most flights taken in a 30-day period: 135 flight segments! You can read more about Mark and his exploits here.

Interviewing Mayor Floyd

Mark was visiting Decatur as part of his new project: visiting and collecting a “Key to the City” from 100 cities. In exchange for the keys, Mark performs a small community service in each city. We are number 33 on his mission. Mayor Floyd was interviewed and presented Mark with the Key to the  City of Decatur. Mark’s service was to assist with trash collection. Sanitation Supervisor Kelvin Davis assisted him with his mission. Mark asked Kelvin, “So, I stay in the truck while you get the trash, right?” to which Kelvin replied, “No sir, the opposite!” Mark was provided a pair of work gloves and rain jacket for his task.

Mark Picking Up Trash Next to Railroad Track

 

Kelvin and Mark Emptying Trash Can

 

Mark caught on quickly to throwing trash in the truck!

 

Kelvin Davis and Mark Malkoff

Date Correction for Historic Resource Survey Public Input Meeting

Oops! 

 The wrong date was cited in the October Decatur Focus for the Historic Resource Survey Public Input Meeting.  The correct date for the meeting is Wednesday, November 4th and it will be held in the City Commission Meeting Room at City Hall starting at 7 p.m. 

Thanks for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you Wednesday November 4th.!  If you have any questions, contact Regina Brewer at regina.brewer@decaturga.com.

Thank you, thank you very much….

Regina