Dahlonega Events & Festivals

Dahlonega’s largest festival of the year, Gold Rush Days transforms the Public Square and surrounding streets into a vast outdoor celebration every third full weekend of October. First held in 1954, the festival draws an estimated 200,000 visitors over its two-day run, according to organizer and local estimates. For the parade time and route, see the Gold Rush Days parade guide.

The Dahlonega Visitors Center counts more than 300 art, craft, and food vendors lining the streets around the square, alongside live bluegrass and Americana across multiple stages, a Saturday-afternoon parade, gold panning demonstrations, children’s activities, and traditional Appalachian craft demonstrations.

Practical note: Gold Rush Days coincides with peak fall foliage season. Accommodations book out well in advance. Plan lodging early and consider arriving Thursday or Friday to enjoy the town before the weekend crowds peak on Saturday.

Each spring, old-time and bluegrass music fills Dahlonega’s Historic Public Square at the Bear on the Square Mountain Festival. First held in April 1997 in memory of Dr. Gene Wiggins, a beloved local scholar of Appalachian music, the festival has become Dahlonega’s signature springtime event, with a full weekend of performances in the heart of downtown.

The atmosphere is the heart of it — old-time and bluegrass music carries across the square all day Saturday and Sunday, and the whole town turns out for it. Admission is free.

Presented by Chestatee Artists on the third weekend in May, the Dahlonega Arts & Wine Festival fills the Public Square and nearby Hancock Park with more than 70 artists and crafters, a wine garden pouring regional vintages, craft beer, and live jazz — the organizers bill it as the official start of summer in the North Georgia mountains.

Dahlonega’s Old Fashioned Christmas turns the historic district into a month-long holiday celebration. The season opens the day after Thanksgiving with the Lighting of the Square and Tree ceremony at 6 p.m. — confirm the ceremony evening on the official calendar. The Public Square’s white lights then glow nightly into early January. December brings a downtown Christmas parade, visits with Santa on select weekends, carolers, and holiday shopping among the decorated storefronts. Southern Living has featured Dahlonega among its holiday destinations.

From May through October, the Dahlonega Farmers Market sets up in Hancock Park, a block off the Public Square, bringing together local farms and makers with seasonal produce, baked goods, honey, cut flowers, and handcrafted items. Saturday morning is the fullest market of the week; a smaller Tuesday-afternoon market runs through the same season.

Warm-weather weekends bring free music downtown. The First Friday Night Concert series runs through the summer, and Saturday-afternoon Appalachian jams gather in front of the Gold Museum on the Historic Downtown Square — bring a lawn chair, or an instrument. The Summer Movies Under the Stars series rounds out the season.

Dahlonega’s wineries host events throughout the year — live music on weekends, wine dinners, and release parties for new vintages. Late summer and fall is harvest season across the Dahlonega Plateau, when tasting rooms pour the newest releases; if you visit then, ask about harvest events. Check individual winery calendars for current schedules — Frogtown Cellars, Three Sisters Vineyards, and Wolf Mountain Vineyards all sit within a short drive of the square.