Highway 101

The annual Alapaha Station Celebration kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Alapaha gym with the Miss Alapaha Station Beauty Pageant. The pageant is open to all young ladies from ages 1 to 19.

This year’s theme is “Hometown Sports Heroes”; T-shirts are available in Alapaha.

A concert starring Todd Herendeen & His Follow That Dream Band will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 at the Alapaha gym. There will be a special segment for Herendeen’s gospel fans and a cake auction at intermission to benefit the celebration fund. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $7 for adults and $4 for children.

All day Saturday, Nov. 12, there will be various activities for children to participate in and food vendors. That morning, there will be arts and crafts downtown. Clogging will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Alapaha Post Office with Flat Creek Cloggers of Nashville and State Prison Cloggers of Reidsville. Afterwards, there will be a gunfight at 10 a.m. presented by Southern Gunslingers of Andersonville.

The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m., featuring floats, beauty queens, antique cars, bands, cartoon characters and more. Floats wishing to be judged should follow the theme. All entrants must complete a parade application form.

The grand marshal for the parade will be Miss Georgia 2011 Michaela Grace Lackey of Marietta. She has achieved several awards and her ambition is to obtain a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance and a masters degree in arts management. She hopes to be a dancer, choreographer and director of her own professional dance company. Lackey is a senior at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She will also appear on the entertainment stage and sign autographs following the parade.

Live entertainment will begin at 11:30 a.m. with Highway 101 performing at 4 p.m. Other performers include South Train Band of Tifton, Berrien High Band of Nashville, Danny McCorkle of Nashville, Tenn., and more.

Highway 101 is known for their unique country/rock & roll style, which all began after Warner Brothers Records heard their song, “The Bed You Made For Me,” turning their singles recording contract into an album deal. The group has performed at numerous events, such as festivals, conventions, clubs, town celebrations and fairs, and has been nominated for several awards. The members are Nikki Nelson, Cactus Moser, Curtis Stone and Andy Gurley.

A street dance featuring South Train Band will begin at 7:30 p.m. in downtown Alapaha.

The celebration will end with a community worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 at the Alapaha gym with Brother Stanley Luke, who is the pastor of Nashville First Baptist Church in Nashville. Music will be presented by Nashville First Baptist Church.

Later that day, there will also be a dedication of Alapaha City Hall’s new city hall complex at 3 p.m.

For more information on the celebration, call 532-6115, 532-6191 or 532-7475. For more information concerning the pageant, contact Belinda Horten at 532-4660 and for booths at the arts and crafts fair downtown, call 686-0803.

To contact reporter Latasha Everson, call 382-4321.