Education

Pages, People, and Possibility

Inside the renovation redefining what a Cherokee County library means for your family. Article by Mark O'Donnell | Photography by Katie Nielson It started in 1922 with a borrowed room behind a jewelry store on Canton's Main Street and a collection of donated books tended by a volunteer two days a week. More than a century later, the Sequoyah Regional Library System has grown into one of North Georgia's most quietly essential institutions: eight locations, more than 1 million checkouts, and...

Sports + Recreation

Putting for Glory

A Canton ten-year-old wins one of junior golf's most storied titles Article by Glenn Lazarus | Photography by Provided by Sarah Burris The crowd surged toward the eighth green before the ball even stopped rolling. Cole Burris, ten years old and standing in the middle of his biggest golf moment, had just made the putt that mattered most. Not a practice round. Not a warm-up. The championship putt, on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff, at one of the most storied junior golf tournaments in...

Life + Culture

Books Born From Love

Local author Brittany Petish writes for kids but reaches everyone Article by Woodstock City Lifestyle | Photography by Provided by Brittany Petish She spends most of her weekends at a table full of books, with a golden doodle named Tate working the crowd beside her. There is usually a story time somewhere on the calendar, a new partnership in the works, and at least one moment that stops her in her tracks and reminds her exactly why she started. Brittany Petish has called Cherokee County home...

Local Services

Helping Children

“Hugo’s Brave Bite” launched to Support Families at the Table Article by City Lifestyle For many families, mealtimes are meant to be moments of connection. But for parents of children with feeding challenges, they can be filled with stress, worry, and uncertainty. Local pediatric feeding therapist Charlene Kurkjian, OTR/L, knows this reality well — and she's bringing hope to the table in a new way with the launch of her children's book, Hugo's Brave Bite. Charlene is the founder of Happy...

Food + Beverage

Berry Banana Sunshine Smoothie

A quick, naturally sweet smoothie kids love — packed with fruit, no added sugar, ready in 5 minutes. Article by Woodstock City Lifestyle Between school drop-offs, snack negotiations, and the never-ending laundry pile, breakfast doesn't always get the love it deserves. This smoothie is built for that chaos — five minutes, one blender, and a glass full of fruit your kids will actually drink without a fight (yes, even with the spinach hiding in there). Because some mornings, "healthy and fast"...

Sports + Recreation

Atlanta'a newest Powerhouse Sport

How a local youth rowing club quietly became one of the best! Article by Valeria Shephard | Photography by Jeremy Estroff For years, Atlanta has built a reputation as a powerhouse sports city. Friday night football lights up fields across Woodstock, baseball diamonds stay busy all spring, and soccer, basketball, and lacrosse continue producing incredible athletes. But now there’s another sport making waves… and quite literally doing it on the Chattahoochee River. Atlanta is officially on the...

Local Services

Saving Lives One Home at a Time

Rescue, Repeat: Woodstock organization does things differently and the animals are better for it Article by Woodstock City Lifestyle There is no building with kennels. No rows of cages. No shelter in the traditional sense at all. What Cherokee Humane Society has instead is something far more powerful: a community of people who open their homes, their hearts, and their lives to animals in need and have been doing so for nearly 50 years. Founded in 1975 and based right here in Woodstock...

Life + Culture

The Last of the Thirteen

From 13th Colony to 4th State, Georgia’s Place in the History of these United States Article by Bruce Baker | Photography by History Cherokee and City Lifestyle The Utopia that General James Oglethorpe envisioned for the Georgia Colony has been a long time in coming, but we're getting closer. Slavery, initially outlawed, crept in quickly and took almost 100 years to eradicate, over the objections of Georgia Governor and Canton resident Joseph Emerson Brown. Alcohol restrictions would take even...

Life + Culture

A Brotherhood Built on the Water

Veterans find healing, camaraderie and connection through their shared love of fly fishing. Article by Wendy Edwards War is h*ll. The adrenaline rush that fills your ears and gives you super hero abilities dulls after battle and you are left with a mixture of relief, exhilaration, exhaustion and a guilty nausea that doesn’t leave. Battle after battle it builds. Like a stack of books, it builds higher and higher until, one day, a slight disturbance or a passing breeze in the auto parts aisle at...

Travel

Scenic Georgia

Dramatic landscapes within easy reach of metro Atlanta Article by Decatur City Lifestyle Summer in Georgia makes it easy to look for places that feel a little outside the normal routine. Within a few hours of Decatur, some landscapes range from colorful canyon walls to deep river gorges and clear mountain streams. These places stand out because of how unusual they look compared to most of the state. Here are four outdoor destinations that are especially striking for a July day trip. A...