Metro Market Media will host the inaugural Flavors of North Georgia — a community event dedicated to food and some of the best cuisine Dawson County and the surrounding area has to offer — on Saturday, June 12, in Dawsonville.

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park, 186 Recreation Road in Dawsonville, with food trucks parked around the back football field and other vendors set up under the large rear pavilion. 

The event will provide attendees an opportunity to taste food from local restaurants, according to Alexander Popp, editor of the Dawson County News, a sister publication of The Times. 

“They may have heard of local restaurants like Big Reds or Ruby’s Recipes, local favorites, but never tried it,” Popp said. “So this is a way to come out and try all of them all at once — get a little bit of a taste here and there.”

Entry to the event will be free, and food from vendors will be priced between $1 and $4. Restaurants that draw the biggest response during the event will be awarded prizes. 

Flavors of North Georgia will also include a hot dog eating contest, an acoustic set from local musician Chris Motes and a best homemade pie contest with judges from the community. There will also be drawings for door prizes throughout the event. 

According to Dawson County Parks and Rec Director Matt Payne, holding the Flavors of North Georgia at Veterans Memorial Park is beneficial not only for the newspaper and local businesses but for the parks and recreation system, too. 

“We’re excited about having it at Veterans Park; we’re thinking it’s going to be a great community event,” Payne said. “I think it’s a great event especially for Veterans Park with the new additions to our park — the new pavilion and the new area that’s been renovated out there.” 

Currently, vendors are still needed for Flavors of North Georgia. Popp said becoming a vendor is a great way to get your name out in the community as well as be part of a fun event. 

“Tell your favorite restaurants to sign up and come and join us,” Popp said. “Because it’s going to be a really great way for people to experience new things.”

Allen Cerinetti, owner of the local restaurant Ruby’s Recipes, is among the vendors who will be at the event. Cerinetti said he’s hoping his participation in the event will help get his name out in the community a little more.

“I’m looking forward to bringing my home recipes to even more of the people of Dawson County and surrounding areas so they can really see what we’re doing here,” he said. “And since we’re in a kind of off-the-beaten-path location, I think that’ll really help us out, and I’m really looking forward to the community camaraderie.” 

To sign up for Flavors of North Georgia as a vendor, contact Tim Anderson, DCN advertising representative, at tanderson@morrismultimedia.com. 

Those wanting to sign up for the hot dog eating contest can do so by reaching out to Megan Lewis at mlewis@gainesvilletimes.com. The contest will be for teams of three, competing against each other in a timed round to see who can eat a set number of hot dogs the fastest. 

To participate in the judged pie baking contest, bring your made from scratch pie to the park the day of the event for registration. Only one pie entry per person will be allowed. 

Popp said Flavors of North Georgia will be an event you won’t want to miss. 

“There’s such a wide range of flavors and foods in North Georgia, so it’s going to be a really great way to try all of these foods all in one spot,” Popp said. “It’s going to be a really fun time.”

This article originally published in the Dawson County News, a sister paper of The Times.