Georgia JugFest Celebrates History and Heritage

KNOXVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – This weekend’s rain didn’t stop Crawford County from celebrating one of its best kept secrets.

The county is known for rich clay. For hundreds of years, the Middle Georgia mud has been molded in the hands of potters from around the world. On Saturday, the town of Knoxville celebrated that history and heritage at the 9th annual Georgia JugFest.

Dozens of local artists came out to sell the hand crafted jugs and jars created using the county’s clay.

“We have potters and descendants of potters’ families,” said Patti Temple, director of Roberta-Crawford County Chamber of Commerce, “these jugs go way back in our history. Originally they were used for the ‘white lightening’ or the ‘moonshine’ and they needed something to put it in”.

The jugs are now considered antiques and collectors items. The vendors sold several originals and replicas using the same technique and clay that was used years ago. In addition to the many vendors, this year’s festival included a lawn mower race and a 5K run. Temple said they have even bigger plans for the 10th annual festival and will announce those closer to the date.

For more information visit the Georgia JugFest website.