New Years Eve in Helen, Georgia

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.”

Melody Beattie

Are you wanting to do something completely different for this New Years Eve? That is what Joe and I did last year. Joe heard about the celebration in Helen, Georgia and we thought we would give it a try. Helen is an easy drive from Augusta and a very pretty drive. We drove all country roads all the way and enjoyed driving through the quaint towns along the way. When the mountains start to come into view it is so elating. They seem to project their energy on me and revitalize my soul. The closer we get, the more majestic they stand.

On the way to Helen, we stopped in the small town of Clarksville. We had stopped there before when we discovered a wonderful pizza place called the Copper Pot, that makes stone hearth pizzas. The staff was lovely and depending on the weather, there is outside seating. Today was cold outside, so we ate inside. Their pizza is excellent and we really enjoyed them. On Sundays, they always run a two for one pizza deal. That works great for us as we always have some at the restaurant and take the rest home. Clarksville is such a quaint southern town with a nice square that is store lined. This town is not far from Helen and is a good stop to make on the way there.

Just on the edge of the town of Helen is the Habersham Winery located right on Main Street. It was established in 1983 and is one of Georgia’s oldest and largest wineries. We had to wait for awhile for a tasting but in the meantime we shopped in their lovely gift shop with all kinds of unique items to check out. There is also a huge antique shop right next door to check out if the wait is real long. They give you a buzzer so you just wait till your buzzer goes off and run in for your tasting. The staff serving the tastings were very pleasant and informative. We enjoyed the tasting as their wine was very good. They have a good variety of wines and we left there after buying a couple bottles to take to our hotel room for the night. Check them out at: habershamwinery.com.

Helen is a very unique town located along the Chattahoochee River and back in the day was an old logging town. During the gold rush in the Nacoochee Valley, back in 1828 the town was a boom town for a short while. Then there was a long period of time that Helen was just a sleepy town that no one would stop and would just drive through. In 1969, the people of the town got together and passed a zoning mandate to make all the homes and businesses to be constructed in the southern German Style. When you drive through this town it looks just like you entered a town in Bavaria Germany.

We stopped at our hotel in town to rest before the nights activities. We stayed at the America’s Best Value Inn which is right in the middle of Helen and convenient to the stores. It was a nice clean room. It was nothing fancy but the bed was comfortable and there was a refrigerator and microwave for our pizza. It felt good to rest for a few before heading back out.

It was a freezing day in Helen. We didn’t realize how cold until we decided to walk to the Oktoberfest Festhalle where tonight’s activities were taking place. At 7:30, we walked out of the hotel room all bundled up for our stroll. It was a bitter cold night that was made worse by the gusts of wind blowing on us around every building. It took our breath away. I was so cold, I made Joe stop at the Huddle House on the way to buy a large hot tea to carry with me help keep my hands warm. Even the Huddle House has a German front to it, keeping with their tradition here in Helen.

The town was beautifully decorated with all the Christmas lights and looked gorgeous. They had lights everywhere you looked. The buildings were outlined in white lights and looked so festive and bright. The down town had some people walking around but not like usual. We walked down Main Street and over the bridge and looked down on the Chattahoochee River below us and saw the ice covering the rocks and the water rushed by. We felt even colder then so we continued on. 

We got to Festhalle early since it was so cold and we could bear to walk around town no more. It cost us $35 for the two of us to get in and if we brought children 6 – 12 are half price and under 6 get in for free. It is a family event and they welcome all.

The Festhalle was decorated up lovely and very festive and since we got there early, we had a choice of sitting anywhere. We decided on a raised section so we could have a good view of the band and everything that was happening in the main section. The band started playing Om Pa music as the people filed into the building. It was lovely being warm and listening to the German music.

We ordered a wine and a German beer for Joe. We sat and relaxed. A lovely couple came in to join us. We found out they were from the small town of Tallapoosa, Georgia near the Alabama border. They were telling us about their town and the traditions they have their on New Years Eve. They do a possum drop at midnight. They told us there used to be a live possum in a cage but they now do a stuffed replica. We laughed about that. It sounds like that would be quite the adventure. Maybe another year we could branch out and see that. They say it is quite the event.

After chatting for a while, they announced the food was ready. We walked up after being called by tables to go towards the kitchen area where they had set out tables and tables of home made food. They called the food light hor dourves but we thought it was more like a meal. What a spread and everything was wonderful. It was a lot of food.  

We went back to the table to eat and watch the entertainment that included dancing and singing. It was a fun night and we enjoyed spending it with our new friends. Then about fifteen minutes till midnight, they announced it was near the time to watch the Edelweiss drop, so everyone bundled up to head outside. It was a large crowd outside celebrating even in the cold which didn’t feel quite as cold now since we were all huddled together. The crowd yelled the countdown - 10, 9, 8,…...1 Happy New Year! We saw the Edelweiss drop to the bottom of the pole. Everyone started sing in unison, “Old Lang Signe.” It felt magical.

After that everyone filed back into the hall for a champagne toast. It was a memorable night. As we walked back to the room on the lower part of town, we felt cold but just a little warmer from the unity we felt with strangers and the joy of a new start – a new year.