As the former box office assistant at The Strand since its opening in January of 2009, Cobb native Sam Jacobsen sold thousands of tickets to patrons. But in early 2010, he was promoted to facilities & bar manager. He can now be seen everywhere in the facility instead of just at the box office.

“What would we do without Sam?” said Earl Reece, Strand executive director. “He’s a perfectionist when it comes to maintenance, is unbelievably handy, and an all around great guy. As the facilities and bar manager, he has been an invaluable enhancement to the staff.”

Additionally, two public relations and marketing interns have been spotted at The Strand this summer. UGA graduate Andrew Cole and KSU senior Melissa Martin provide The Strand PR and marketing support. Martin is studying Public Relations with a minor in Professional Writing.

“Both Melissa and Andrew are intelligent people and hard workers,” Reece said. “After Andrew initially proved himself in his internship, we invited him to join our staff as our new events manager. We appreciate his strong work ethic, impressive customer service, and instant rapport he creates with our guests.”

Cole, a Kennesaw native, joined the Strand’s staff after graduating from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s in advertising and minors in music and theater this spring. Cole is currently enrolled at Kennesaw State University as a master’s student in Business Administration.

The Strand staff works with one to three interns each semester in the areas of public relations, fundraising, event planning, and elementary education support. For more information on the internship programs, please visit The Strand’s website and click on the “Education” link in the “About The Strand” section.

The historic Earl Smith Strand Theatre is a multi-use performing arts and events facility. The theatre is governed by the Friends of The Strand, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and depends on the financial support of private and corporate donors. It is The Strand’s mission to serve the community with cultural entertainment for a diverse audience and to promote economic health in the City of Marietta and Cobb County. For more information on interning at The Strand or for tickets, visit www.EarlSmithStrand.org or the Box Office at 770-293-0080 or 117 North Park Square, Marietta, 30060. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 12 PM; 1 PM to 4 PM; and two hours before the show.

Special Thanks to Adam for the excellent HD video footage

Description:
In addition to getting your favorite Georgia grown and produced products, you can get your signed copy of a book of facts commemorating Marietta’s 175-year history and meet the authors during a special book signing at the Marietta Square Farmers Market.

The book features more than 300 facts and pictures about the city from its founding in 1834 to the present including the city’s mayors and councils; Marietta’s cemeteries, museums and theatres on the Square; how the Kennesaw House was used as General Sherman’s headquarters during his March to the Sea; the history of the Marietta Fire and Police departments; Marietta’s post office; the courthouse; and how the current Hilton on Powder Springs Street was home of the Georgia Military Institute before the Civil War. Marietta resident Becky Paden and Alpharetta resident Joe McTyre compiled the facts and pictures for the book. Marietta resident Barbara Betts King created original artwork for the book.

Books will be available for $10 at the city’s tent at the corner of North and West Park Squares.

Mark your calendars for July 3, as the city celebrates America’s freedom with an Independence Day parade, celebration and fireworks on the Square.

Parade

The Marietta Independence Day parade is scheduled to include more than 115 entries with 44 floats and approximately 2,000 participants. Entries include marching units from the city of Marietta, Air National Guard Band of the South, civic organizations, beauty queens, scouts and local businesses. The parade begins at 10 a.m. at Roswell Street Baptist Church and travels west on Roswell Street, North on East Park Square past Glover Park and the Square, down Cherokee Street and ends at North Marietta Parkway.
Parade grand marshal

The parade grand marshall will be WellStar Kennestone Hospital, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Marietta.

Colgate Country Showdown

The Colgate Country Showdown continues the day’s festivities on the stage in Glover Park at noon. Contestants who have won their respective singing competitions around the state will sing for the chance to appear on Nashville Star, a country music version of American Idol.
Cool off in one of Marietta’s museums

If you want to take a break from the heat, you can cool off and relax in the Marietta Musuem of History, 1 Depot Street, the Gone with the Wind museum, 18 Whitlock Avenue, or the Marietta Welcome Center, 4 Depot Street. The Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art will be closed, and the other museums will have special holiday hours. For more information, call the Marietta Welcome Center at 770-429-1115.
Fireworks

The fireworks display is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. and will be shot from the First United Methodist Church parking lot. KICKS 101.5 will broadcast patriotic music during the fireworks. If bad weather is expected, the fireworks may begin a few minutes early to ensure the entire display is completed. If you want to watch the fireworks, make sure you get there early to grab a spot because traffic is expected to be heavy.

Rain date for fireworks is July 5 at 9:30 p.m.

Popular city market temporarily closed July 3

The Marietta Square Farmers Market, usually held along North Park Square, will be closed Saturday, July 3 as Marietta celebrates America’s independence. The market will return to North Park Square Saturday, July 10 from 9 a.m.-noon.

For more information, call Marietta’s Parks and Recreation Department at 770-794-5601.

2010 Glover Park Concert Series Schedule and Performers

* April 23: Modernaires Orchestra (Swing)
* May 28: Pieces of Eight (Beach)
* June 25: Soul Purpose (Oldies)
* June 26: Cobb Symphony Orchestra
* July 30: Bayside (R&B / Beach)
* August 27: Livin’ Large (Oldies)
* September 24: The Glow Band (Pop)

Address:
Glover Park
50 Park Square
Marietta, GA 30060

For more information, call (770) 794-5601.

Your thoughts?

Photo Credit: Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com

Bella Simmons, 3, from Marietta (right) splashes in the renovated fountain with Daniel Horne, 3, from Marietta. The Thursday Brown Bag concerts on the Marietta Square during May and September, a tradition for years, may be ending. The Marietta Square just underwent a four-month long renovation that included ornamental poles for lights and traffic signals, decorative lighting and consolidated signage, brick crosswalks, and a refurbished fountain.

Here’s the quote from the AJC on the issue:

At least, that was the way the Brown Bag Lunch Concert was supposed to work.

But few of the city and county employees headquartered just blocks away ever showed up with store-bought fare. In their place came moms toting dancing toddlers, said Mike Gabler, a city parks official.

“It rapidly turned into a moms’ day out type of thing,” he said.

Businesses complained about the parking spaces lost to the concert.

And the city finally relented to their appeals: after this month, Marietta will cancel the series, which has run at noon on Thursdays in May and September as long as Gabler can remember.

“The September concerts are canceled at this point,” said Gabler, the recreation services manager for the Marietta Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department. And it’s a “good assumption” that May will be canceled, as well, he said.

The concerts, which cost about $200 apiece, were not originally intended as merely an economic stimulant. They also were meant to provide cultural enrichment to the public, Gabler said.

Improvements
The city has installed ornamental poles for lights and traffic signals, decorative lighting and consolidated signage, brick crosswalks, a refurbished fountain in Glover Park, waterlines on three sides of the Square, more parking and battery backup for traffic lights.

Celebration Events
To celebrate the revitalization of the Square, the city of Marietta invites the public to a month-long celebration this May. Events include

* Go Girl Festival
* May-Retta Daze
* First Friday Art Walk
* “Chita Rivera-My Broadway” presented by Atlanta Lyric Theatre
* Scary-etta
* Glover Park Evening Concert
* Marietta Square Farmers Market
* Brown Bag concerts
* Spirits and Spirits Ghost Tour
* “His Eye is on the Sparrow” at Theatre in the Square
* “Little Shop of Horrors” presented by Atlanta Lyric Theatre

While you’re on the Square checking out the renovations, dine in a variety of restaurants, check out the shopping and visit museum including the Marietta Museum of History; Gone With the Wind Museum, Scarlett on the Square; Root House Museum; Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art; or the Marietta Fire Museum. Catch a ride on the Historic Marietta Trolley and discover the city’s historic neighborhoods. If you’re brave, check out the Ghosts of Marietta Tours.

For more information, call the Marietta Welcome Center & Visitors Bureau at 770-429-1115.

This year, the award-winning festival will surround the Square to accommodate the crowd.

Festival goers can take a break from the heat and visit one of the shops on the Square or learn about Marietta’s history in one of the city’s museums, located within walking distance of the Square. Festival goers can also catch a ride on the Historic Marietta Trolley and explore Marietta’s historic neighborhoods.

In addition to the food and fun, the family festival has outdoor entertainment all day, culminating with the Sunset Concert featuring “Banks & Shane.” The festival will also include cooking demonstrations at the SCANA Energy Cooking Stage; and “Kids Alley,” a children’s area complete with moonwalks, sand art and strolling characters.

Festival-goers can meet some of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers at “Sports Corner,” sponsored by 790 The Zone.

Admission
Admission to Taste of Marietta, which is a project of the Marietta Welcome Center & Visitors Bureau in conjunction with the city of Marietta, is free.

Parking
Parking is available in lots around the Square and at the Cobb County parking garage adjacent to the Square off Lawrence Street. Parking is also available at Marietta Middle School, and the Historic Marietta Trolley Company will provide free shuttle service to and from the festival. Handicapped parking is also available. Parking is not available in the church lots.

Entertainment schedule
Live bands perform will free concerts all day at four stages on the Square.

Evening concert tables may be reserved in advanced by calling the Marietta Welcome Center at 770-429-1115. Concertgoers can also bring their blankets for a picnic in the park.

Kicks 101.5 Food Court Opens, 11 a.m.
Kids Alley opens, 11 a.m.
Sports Corner opens, 11 a.m.
Biohazard, East Park Stage, 11 a.m.-noon
Black Cat Bone, South Park Stage, 11 a.m.-noon
Katelyn Pope, West Park Stage, 11 a.m.-noon
3 Way Street, Main Stage, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sam Huff BBQ demonstration, SCANA Energy Cooking Stage, noon-12:30 p.m.
700 South, South Park Stage, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Roger “Hurricane” Wilson, East Park Stage, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Ginny McCormick, author of Sundays in the South demonstration, SCANA Energy Cooking Stage, 12:45-1:15 p.m.
Men In Blues West Park Stage, 1-5 p.m.
Sam Huff BBQ demonstration, SCANA Energy Cooking Stage, 1:30-2 p.m.
Ginny McCormick, author of Sundays in the South demonstration, SCANA Energy Cooking Stage, 2:15-2:45 p.m.
Announcement of food awards, 3 p.m.
Sam Huff BBQ demonstration, SCANA Energy Cooking Stage, 3-3:30 p.m.
Hoosier Daddy, South Park Stage, 3-5 p.m.
Atlanta Rox, East Park Stage, 3-5 p.m.
Johnnie Gabriel cooking demonstration, SCANA Energy Cooking Stage, 4:30-5 p.m.
Banks & Shane, Main Stage, 5-7 p.m.

Food drive
In conjunction with Taste of Marietta, MUST Ministries will hold a food drive to help feed the hungry. Festival goers are encouraged to bring canned food items to help stock MUST Ministries’ pantry. As a thank you, each person who donates three cans of food will receive a free sample from Confection Perfection or Adrian’s Delectables. Cans may be dropped off at the MUST Ministries booth at the festival.

About MUST Ministries
MUST Ministries is a faith-based organization that, for 37 years, has been dedicated to providing services to people in crisis. MUST offers a range of services including emergency shelter, transitional housing, meals, groceries, clothing, job readiness and placement, financial assistance, children’s programs, community support groups and access to free healthcare.

Volunteers will meet at the Public Works Complex, 750 North Marietta Parkway, and receive trash bags, vests and a cleanup location, Keep Marietta Beautiful director Joan Ellars said. “Vests are required by law to be able to work on the roads.”
About Keep Marietta Beautiful

Keep Marietta Beautiful is a volunteer organization that works in the areas of litter prevention, beautification, community improvement and waste reduction. It is the mission of Keep Marietta Beautiful, the Marietta Clean City Commission, to generate environmental pride and a sense of ownership within the Marietta community.

The event is sponsored nationwide by Keep America Beautiful as part of the Great American Cleanup.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Keep Marietta Beautiful director Joan Ellars at 770-794-5606 or jellars@mariettaga.gov.