Danielle Dickey prepares materials for the children’s activities that will held at the Backyard BBQ on the South Lawn of the Booth Western Art Museum. SKIP BUTLER/The Daily Tribune News
The event's hosts, the Booth and the Bartow History Museum, will be working in conjunction with the Cartersville Downtown Development Authority to draw more people into the downtown area Saturday evening. Immediately following the Backyard BBQ, the 2010 Century Bank of Georgia Summer Concert Series will continue with a performance by Still Cruzin'.
"If they haven't ever been to the Booth museum or they don't know much about the Bartow History Museum [this will be a] fun opportunity to come by, play some games, network, get a bite to eat and hopefully tour the [Booth] museum," said Tara Currier, director of marketing for the Booth, a 120,000-square-foot Smithsonian affiliate that opened in 2003 at 501 Museum Drive in Cartersville. "We realize a lot of people who live in Cartersville think that they have ample time or opportunity to come see the [Booth] museum so many people haven't yet stepped foot inside the museum. So we just wanted an opportunity to hopefully entice them to come up and just hang out with friends and family and enjoy corn hole and face painting or kids activities and then hopefully take a glimpse inside Georgia's second-largest art museum."
During the event, patrons also will be able to visit the Bartow History Museum's future home, the 1869 Courthouse. Museum representatives and renderings will be located outside the building at 4 E. Church St. On Thursday, the BHM closed their exhibit space at its North Wall Street site to prepare for its relocation at the end of the year.
Serving as Bartow's courthouse from 1869 to 1902, the two-story brick building was utilized for a variety of purposes in the 1900s, some of which include a roller skating rink, furniture store and warehouse. Sitting vacant since the 1980s, the 1869 Courthouse was acquired by the city of Cartersville in 1995 and was renovated with $1.7 million in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds.
Outside the 1869 Courthouse, cotton candy and ice cream also will be available to visitors for $1 each. At the Booth's nearby south lawn, barbecue plates consisting of a barbecue sandwich, baked beans, potato chips and a drink will be sold for $7 plus tax or $5 plus tax for Booth members.
Following the Backyard BBQ, the festivities will continue from 7 to 9 p.m. at Friendship Plaza beside the Cartersville train depot. Still Cruzin' will headline the third free show in the Summer Concert Series that is hosted by the Cartersville DDA.
"This is their third year here," said Penny Davis, special events coordinator for the Cartersville DDA, about Still Cruzin'. "Folks always want them to come back. They're very entertaining. They do a lot of things with the crowd. They get the crowd going early and get everybody up dancing. There's a lot of interaction with the audience.
"They're out of Anderson, S.C., so they travel a good bit to get here but they love coming back to Cartersville each year. They do a lot of Carolina beach music and shag, and they also play today's hits so they are very versatile."
The Summer Concert Series will wrap up on Aug. 14 with The Tams. For financial reasons, the concerts will be offered on the same night as the Tom Clayton Memorial Car Cruise next year, Davis said.
For more information about the Summer Concert Series, contact the Cartersville DDA at 770-607-3480. Details about the Backyard BBQ can be obtained by calling 770-387-2833 or visiting www.boothmuseum.org.