Extent:
7 box(es)
(4.25 linear feet, 1.1 gigabytes, and 3 audiovisual items)
Collection Number: RBRL378
Repository:
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Abstract: The Winterville Marigold Festival is an annual event held in Winterville, Clarke County, Georgia that started in 1971 to celebrate the community and raise funds for city improvement projects. The records consist of planning documents, promotional materials, scrapbooks, photographs, T-Shirts, posters, and digital files.
The Winterville Marigold Festival is an annual event held in May or June in Winterville, Clarke County, Georgia. Founded in 1971 to celebrate the community and raise funds for city improvement projects, the festival typically has featured a parade, crafts and food vendors, a beauty pageant, a 10K race, a car show, and live music. The festival ran annually until 2002, began again in 2009 and remains active.
The first Chairs of the Marigold Festival Committee were Joan Biles, who later bacame Winterville's first female mayor in 1979, and Sybil Deacon. Biles remained a festival coordinator for many years.Throughout its history, festival leadership has included a number of chairs and managers as well as boards of directors and planning committees: Ray Shockley (festival manager, 1992-1995); 1996 board of directors (Palmer Rehberg, Mary Quinn, Joan Biles, Donny Seagraves, Jay Staines, Jack Beach, and Lisa Nash); Winterville Mayor William H. Harris (board chair 1997); Palmer Rehberg (board of directors president, 1998-2002). Recent festival directors have been Emily Eisenman (2009-2012), Ron Weatherbee (2013-2014), and Diane Hartle and Dave Campi (2015-2016). Currently, an executive board and an advisory board oversee the festival planning.
The Marigold Festival has succeeded in funding many community improvement projects, including the fountain on the square, park playground equipment, renovations to the library and the train depot, a fire truck, a bandstand, the doctor's museum, the surrey house, and the trackless train the Marigold Express. Festival proceeds also contributed to the Marigold Festival Pageant Scholarship Fund.
The Winterville Marigold Festival Records document the planning, organization, and promotion of the festival since its founding in 1971. The records include correspondence, planning documents, promotional publications, membership records, clippings, programs, scrapbooks, pageant audiovisual materials, vendor records, photographs, T-Shirts, posters, and digital files.
The records are arranged in seven series: I. 1971-1979; II. 1980-1989; III. 1990-1999; IV. 2000-2002; V. 2009-2016, Series VI. 2019, and Series VII. Websites.
Series V. 2009-2016 contain digital files. To access these files, please request the folders you would like through the finding aid using your research account. An archivist will be in contact with you to explain how to access the files. Please note that not all file formats are currently supported by the library for research use.
Winterville Marigold Festival Records, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.
Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.
