It’s always been a community festival
The first Suwanee Day festival was a half-day event attended by about 75 people and held behind the current Gwinnett County Fire Station #13 in May 1984, the year before Suwanee got its first traffic signal. As the Suwanee area has grown over the years (and gotten many more traffic signals), so has the festival, but the emphasis always has been on community, thus our “Celebration of Community” theme.
“It was just us home folks,” says longtime Suwanee resident Loretta Roberts, who served on City Council when the first festival was held. A lot of people were beginning to move in to Suwanee and didn’t know what the City did, Roberts notes, adding that “I suggested that we have a ‘show and tell,’ some kind of event where people could demonstrate their talents or skills. The focus was on getting people involved in the City.”
After a few consecutive rainy spring celebrations, the May festival was moved to September in 1990. And, in 1995, the festival was moved from its Buford Highway location to Main Street and historic Old Town in order to make way for the current City Hall. The festival moved again in 2004 after Town Center Park was opened.
The Suwanee Day festival, now held on the third Saturday of September each year, features arts and crafts exhibitors, children’s activities, parade, food vendors, and free entertainment. In 2001, BodyPlex Fitness Adventure hosted the first annual Suwanee Day 5K Classic, which originally was run from the McGinnis Crossing Shopping Center on the Friday before the festival. Now the race begins and ends at Town Center Park on the second Friday of September.
In recent years, the Suwanee Day festival has had a few close calls. In 2001, despite being scheduled only four days after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Suwanee decided to continue on with its festival. The opportunity to come together as a community seemed to be just what everyone needed as that year’s festival was attended by 10,000 people, the largest crowd ever at that time. Today, about 30,000 people attend Suwanee Day. In 2004, the festival was delayed two hours due to Hurricane Ivan.
Rain, shine, or hurricanes, the Suwanee Day Festival offers a fun opportunity to shop … play … eat … and be entertained.
