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Fasching festival includes shots and a soak in the Chattahoochee
Bavarian winter party fills streets of Helen with colorful revelry
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Sautee resident Dottie Johnson, blows a plastic horn in the annual Helen Fasching River Parade held Saturday. Johnson, three weeks from her 78th birthday, was the event’s oldest participant to float down the freezing waters of the Chattahoochee River. - photo by Alexander Popp
HELEN — When most people think of Mardi Gras, they think of New Orleans, brightly colored costumes and elaborate floats crowded with people flinging beads and candy into the crowd. The annual Fasching River Parade and Party held in Helen each year is its own early Mardi Gras holiday, a time to put on your most outrageous costume, pour a glass of schnapps and tube down the Chattahoochee River. At Saturday’s festival, participants and attendees left green, yellow and purple feathers, beads and other accessories in their wake.
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PHOTOS: Hundreds rally in Gainesville in 'Hands Off' protest against Trump, Musk
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Hundreds turn out to the square in downtown Gainesville Saturday, April 5, 2025, to take part in the "Hands Off " protest of the Trump administration. The protest was part of a national mass activation day against the administration.

by Scott Rogers
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