It’s a beautiful day to show your support for the city we love and make your voice heard.  There are four City Council posts on the ballot. Voting will take place at City Hall, 330 Town Center Avenue, from 7 a.m-7 p.m.

The Council posts up for election and the candidates running for each are:

Take advantage of the off-site parking and free shuttle service from several off-site parking lots to avoid the congestion and endless search for parking at the park.  Come out and have great time as always – Play Hard, Live Well, Smile More.

Highlights of Some Upcoming Events

Community Garden Plan Approved – City Council approved the master plan for Suwanee’s community garden on July 28.  Team Agro-Engineers created the plan with help and input from City staff members and citizens on the Founders Committee. The first 50 garden plots of the project’s phase one should be available in time for planting in spring 2010.

Free community concerts – There will be two big concerts in the Suwanee Town Center Park amphitheater during the month of August.

Magic 107.5/97.5 Suwanee Summer Concert Series presents Sol Factor along with Naturally 7 and PJ Morton on Friday (August 7th) starting at 6:30 PM.

August 15th – Suwanee will host Los Angeles-based, Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling recording artists, Tonic at the Town Center Park amphitheater.  Come out to hear their new music along with their 1998 hit “If You Could Only See,” from the band’s debut album Lemon Parade.

Team Argo-Engineers gave the attendees a brief introduction to the team members and review of their experience with similar projects, then moved into explanations and examples of what a community garden really is and the variety of options available for the Suwanee project on the selected 7-acre tract between Buford Hwy and White Road.  Farmer D (Daron Joffe) and Bobby Wilson (UGA Cooperative Extension Agent and President of American Community Gardening Association) led a very informative discussion of gardening in general followed by explanations of both plot-type community gardens and community farm concepts.  They pointed out that the Suwanee site could potentially support both concepts. Their presentations and their answers to citizen questions always provided great foundational information but emphasized that the final decisions for the garden development and on-going management will be made by the Community Garden Committee (CGC) to be formed in the coming weeks as the first step in the project. Sean Murphy, SEI Landscape Architecture Director, gave an overview of the project’s timeline to include the importance of the selection of the CGC members.

Those in attendance learned that a community garden is about so much more than growing food. As described by Bobby Wilson based on his experience with the Atlanta Urban Gardening Program, a community garden promotes physical exercise and health, education, community leadership and community fellowship, while providing fresh produce to the community and often to charities as well.  This community garden is another example of Suwanee’s focus on citizen-oriented projects and innovative ideas to promote sustainable growth while maintaining the character of our community. Come join us in the garden.

Mark Lukehart, a third-grade teacher and “Relay For Life” coordinator at Sycamore, has been heavily involved in the event every year and loves to see the students, staff, parents and community get involved to create the “big-game” atmosphere for such a worthy cause.  The game will have all the festivities of a big high-school or college rivalry game, including consessions, banners and signs, national anthem, presentation of the colors by North Gwinnett High School Junior Air Force ROTC and special half-time free-throw competition between the opposing school principals.  Check out this article in Tuesday’s Gwinnett Daily Post (by Heath Hamacher).

Steve Williams, a representative from the railroad helping to oversee the underpass construction, explained that they are currently driving pylons deep into the embankment on the Town Center side of the tracks and installing a wooden retaining wall to support the railroad embankment to avoid disturbing the tracks during the actual digging.  Because of the limited embankment depth and close proximity of the tracks, the digging cannot be done with typical heavy equipment mechanical boring, but will actually be completed using hand-held equipment.   As the soil is dug out from under the tracks, steel support walls will be progressively bolted together in sections and installed in an arch beneath the tracks.  The fabrication of the steel support walls is one of the many components of the project which has been taking place off site and behind the scenes for some time.

The City of Suwanee, Georgia’s ability to obtain a $1 million dollar grant and, more importantly, obtain approval from the railroad to construct this pedestrian underpass is more evidence of the tremendous foresight and tenacity of the government and business leaders in this community.  This project demonstrates Suwanee’s total committment to providing sustainable economic growth while retaining and revitalizing the existing historic and natural beauty of the our hometown community.

Keyboardist Brian Clay is a WJZZ on-air personality, who also performs throughout the Atlanta area with a blend of smooth jazz grooves and urban rhythms.  Melvin Miller is a creative trumpet player and prolific performer, who was a featured artist at Town Center Park earlier this summer.  His latest CD release titled Here’s to Life is receiving rave reviews from the jazz community.  In addition, he is a member of the contemporary R&B/Jazz ensemble group, 5 Men on a Stool, where they blend a combination of various genres ranging from classic soul and jazz to hip-hop. Jeff Sparks‘ is a Jazz/Christian artist, whose soprano saxophone has also been featured on the Town Center Park stage during the 2008 season.  Jeff’s new CD is titled Havin’ Fun and will be available at tomorrow night’s concert.

The evening promises to be a perfect finale to a great season of wonderful music and fun in the beautiful Town Center Park.  As always, there will be plenty of activities for young and old throughout the park, including food and drinks, games for children and the variety of retail shops and restaurants surrounding the park.  The cool fall evening provides a comfortable backdrop for the great music and other activities.

The parade kicks off the festival activities at 10 a.m. The parade route begins at the corner of Russell St and Buford Highway traveling north on Buford Highway to Suwanee Dam Rd, then south along old Main Street to the finale in front of Pierce’s Corner for a total 1.25 miles.  (Buford Hwy will be closed from McGinnis Ferry to Suwanee Dam Rd from 9:15 – 11:30 tomorrow morning for the parade and festivities).

The parade’s Grand Marshall will be Michael Phelps, no not the guy going fast in the pool, but the guy going MUCH FASTER on the race track.  Michael Phelps drives the #45 Bowen Family Homes race car competing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series.

The City of Suwanee along with BodyPlex Family Fitness sponsored the races to promote next week’s Suwanee Day event and community fitness.  BodyPlex also conducted one of their “BodyVibe” workout classes from the amphitheater stage for anyone interested in participating after the races.

A total of over 600 runners participated in the two races with first, second and third place times awarded for numerous age and gender categories for each race.  The fastest time for the 5K race was just over 16 minutes and the fastest time for the 10K was around 36 minutes.  The overcast skies and slightly cooler temperatures gave the runners a welcome break from the normal summer heat.   Check out this video of photos from this mornings activities……ENJOY!!

Photos taken 9/13/08 –

In addition to the annual 5K run on September 13, BodyPlex Family Fitness is offering a 10K route along the Suwanee Greenway. Participants may run in one or both races for the same entry fee. Registration is now $20, and T-shirts will be provided while supplies last. On-site registration will be available race day beginning at 6:30 a.m. The 5K race will begin at 7:30 a.m. The 10K starts at 8:30 a.m. Both races begin and end at Town Center Park. Awards will be given to approximately 70 individuals in various age groups and kids 12 and under who complete the course. For more information, contact BodyPlex of Suwanee at 770/614-6140.

The annual parade kicks off Suwanee Day at 10 a.m.; this year’s parade theme is, of course, “Totally ’80s.”

Visitors can expect to find nearly 100 vendors with a wide array of arts and crafts ranging from stunning jewelry and sculpted “face” candles to handbags and folk art.  Young children will be captivated by the “city” of inflatables to encourage active play, while “tweens” and teens enjoy this year’s new addition of interactive gaming experiences.

The activities include a full-day of free entertainment on the amphitheater stage to include local favorites the Everett Brothers, Suwanee Academy of the Arts, and North Gwinnett High School drum line.  The final concert, sponsored by 94.9 The Bull, will feature The Lost Trailers with special guest Ricochet to cap off a full-day of fun.

More information – including applications for the September 13 Suwanee Day 5K & 10K Classic, parking information, and volunteer sign-up – is available at SuwaneeDay.com.