PARTY TIME!

Alpine Helen’s 50th anniversary celebrations continue this Friday, Sept. 20, with a birthday party for the Bavarian-themed village.

The event will feature music, food, a birthday cake and special recognition.

“I think it’s important for folks, if they’re able to come, just to hear a little more about our history and also see the proclamation of a gentleman who really helped us jumpstart Helen as we know it today, which is Mr. Robert (Bob) L. Fowler,” says Jerry Brown, executive director of the Alpine Helen/White County Georgia CVB. “So we will be doing a dedication and proclamation for him on that day. We’ll also have some folks from the past talk a little bit about the history and things that happened.”

During the event, new trashcans covered in the Oktoberfest commemorative posters from over the years will be revealed.

The birthday party is the second event celebrating the 50th birthday of Alpine Helen. The first was a street dance held in August that drew a large crowd to the marketplatz in downtown Helen.

“The street dance was phenomenal,” Brown said. “We had, it depends on who you listen to, but between 1,500 and 2,000 people.”

The birthday party is free and open to the public. The doors will open to the Helen Festhalle at 9:30 a.m., with the event running from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

“We’re very excited that we are doing the celebration,” says Helen Mayor Cinnamon Spurlock. “You’ll also notice throughout town that we’ve had some wonderful banners going through town letting everybody know that we’re celebrating our 50th.”