These Small Georgia Towns Are Celebrating Big Birthdays in 2025

Georgia’s 2025 events calendar reads like a history-lover’s wish list. From a humble Georgia Mountains agricultural fair that put a small village on the state map to railroad boomtowns bragging (rightfully) about a century-and-a-half of progress, small communities across the Peach State are preparing pageants, parades, and pop-ups to celebrate their unique stories.

Because most events are community-run, visitors can look forward to usually free (or at least reasonably priced) admission and ample opportunities to sample local food and hospitality, as well as some truly authentic Georgia experiences. Visit one or visit them all, and you’ll find these small Georgia towns rolling out the red carpet as they celebrate big birthdays in 2025.

Douglasville

As the main town in Georgia’s Douglas County, Douglasville traces its beginnings to the arrival of the Georgia Western Railroad in 1870. Soon after, local merchants were meeting at the modest Douglasville Depot to lobby the state legislature for a charter. That incorporation, dated February 25, 1875, forms the foundation for the theme of the town’s 150th anniversary celebrations: Discover, Delight, Dream.

The community began planning for the big occasion back in 2023 by crowdsourcing residents’ photographs for use in a pop-up archive at the Douglas County Museum of History & Art. From now until August, a mobile exhibit titled “Rail Lines & Lifelines” will put in appearances at everything from parks to neighborhood block parties. Highlights of the exhibit include an old steam-engine bell for kids to ring, and volunteers on hand to explain how everything from telegraph poles to depot offices influenced the local economy.

The main 150th anniversary bash is slated for Saturday, September 13. This much-anticipated event takes place at the GreyStone Amphitheater, with food trucks serving traditional collard-green egg rolls and peach barbecue. The Mighty Marching Jaguars will lead a themed parade along Church Street.

Swainsboro

Established in 1875 at the fork of two important stagecoach routes, Swainsboro experienced early prosperity thanks to its being “The Crossroads of the Great South.” This proud designation will be on display at various events across town, including during the Community Family Fun Day on September 27, 2025, at First Baptist Church. In addition to pie and homemade ice cream competitions, this celebration of the town’s 150th anniversary will also offer prizes for the best beards reminiscent of those worn by the early founders.

Downtown storefronts along West Main Street are being encouraged to dress their windows with period merchandise, while local artisans will occupy pop-up stalls selling unique products made from local staples, including traditional goods such as pine soaps and pecan pralines. The town is also encouraging visitors to visit George L. Smith State Park. Just 20 minutes west of town near neighboring Twin City, it showcases 19th-century gristmill technology against a backdrop of cypress-ringed millponds.

Hiawassee

The tiny town of Hiawassee is this year rolling out the red carpet for visitors to the Georgia Mountain Fair, which in 2025 is celebrating its 75th anniversary. First staged in 1950 as an agricultural exhibition on the shore of Lake Chatuge, the event’s permanent grounds opened to great fanfare in 1978 and have been hosting this popular event in the Blue Ridge Smoky Mountains region ever since.

The fair’s diamond jubilee will consist of nine action-packed days from August 15 to 23, plus a free preview evening on August 14. Gates swing open for the preview at 4 p.m. with carnival operator Amusements of America, the world’s largest traveling amusement park, marking the occasion with rides priced at just 75 cents a go. This fun evening will be rounded off with a spectacular lakeside fireworks display.

Other highlights include a 75th-Anniversary Parade on August 16 featuring vintage tractors and floats honoring the 2025 theme of “Mountains, Music, Memories.” Headlining music acts include Herman’s Hermits, starring Peter Noone, contemporary Christian act Crowder, and bluegrass phenom Molly Tuttle. Fun, free concerts are also included with fair admission.

Senoia

And now for something completely different. The small town of Senoia became instantly famous on Halloween 2010 when the AMC TV network premiered its much-anticipated show, The Walking Dead. For the show, Senoia was transformed into the on-screen communities of Woodbury and Alexandria, and a global audience wanted to learn more about the town and the landmarks that were used as backdrops for the smash Zombie apocalypse series.

Now on its 15th anniversary, the connection between this hit show and Senoia has only gotten stronger. Local businesses are doubling down on the town’s Hollywood of the South branding, with groups like the Georgia Tour Company offering extended tour options to sets and filming spots to mark the anniversary. Several Main Street shops are getting in on the fun, too, with businesses such as The Woodbury Shoppe selling official “TWD” merchandise. Displays related to the show in the store’s mini museum also promise to add a layer of intrigue.

A block away, Nic & Norman’s burger-and-bourbon eatery, co-owned by the show’s Norman Reedus and producer Greg Nicotero, offers themed yummies. Try to get a patio seat, and keep an eye out for actor Reedus, who often makes an appearance. If staying a night or two, the Veranda Historic Inn was built in 1906 and boasts a dedicated TWD-themed room that’s perfect for fans.

Thomasville

The 1825 legislative act establishing Thomas County sparked development around a new courthouse square that ultimately evolved into modern Thomasville. To interpret two centuries of transition from River Creek hunting grounds to Gilded-Age resort town, the Thomasville History Center is joining forces with the Pebble Hill Plantation and the Jack Hadley Black History Museum on a year-long series of exhibits to commemorate 200 years of Thomas County.

Things kicked off in January with the town’s timeline on display inside the center’s restored Flowers Bakery, a heritage building dating back to 1919. In addition to incorporating archival maps and photographs, a series of documents to be digitized is also on display.

The Final Word

There’s no doubt Georgia’s 2025 anniversaries have something for everyone. From Douglasville’s railroad-town roots to the Zombie-strewn streets of Senoia, these small Georgia communities have plenty to celebrate and be grateful for this year. Go beyond Atlanta and include these towns in your travel itinerary, and you are guaranteed to find no end of fun as you join in some of the most unique experiences on offer in the Peach State in 2025.