Dixie Highway's 90-Mile Yard Sale

Awaits June 6-8 in NW Georgia

Chenille bedspreads, pecan logs, fruit stands, and sweet ice tea fueled many local economies along the Dixie Highway between 1929 and the mid 1970’s. Now during the first weekend each June, the Dixie Highway route will once again attract thousands of visitors as it gears up to sell nostalgic souvenirs, antiques and much more during the Dixie Highway 90-mile Yard Sale. The next yard sale is June 6-8, 2008

Northwest Georgia’s Dixie Highway Yard Sale follows much of the original 90-mile stretch from Ringgold to Marietta, known as The Battlefield Route. The yard sale celebrates the revitalization of the Dixie Highway and attracts visitors to simpler times, giving communities along the route an opportunity to promote their individuality and hidden gems.

There are 13 Dixie Highway communities participating in the yard sale. They include: Ringgold, Tunnel Hill, Rocky Face, Dalton, Resaca, Calhoun, Adairsville, Cassville, Cartersville, Emerson, Acworth, Kennesaw and Marietta.

A committee of regional Visitors Bureaus and Chambers formed Georgia’s Dixie Highway Association (GDHA) in 2001 to promote revitalization of tourism trade in nostalgic areas of their communities. A mega-yard sale was suggested as a great way to promote this historic driving tour. The concept complemented the original nature of the route.

Many yard sale sites will be marked with “Official Dixie Highway Yard Sale.” Other sales are sure to spring up along the route, too.

This year, Marietta’s “Treasures from the Attic” Bazaar will join forces with the Dixie Highway Yard Sale and be held on the same weekend. Some of the unique items sold last year included authentic chenille bedspreads, a dirt-track stock car, and a kitchen sink. Enterprising residents baked cakes, smoked barbecue and erected old-fashioned lemonade stands.

New in 2008 is the fact that the yard sale has also been extended to include not just Saturday and Sunday but also Friday. 

In addition, the GDHA coordinators have developed an official line of souvenirs that will be sold at Visitor Information Centers and Chambers of Commerce along the route. Interested travelers should have little trouble finding the Dixie Highway because it has many accessible points from Interstate 75

“Drivin’ the Dixie – A Nostalgic Guide to Georgia’s First Interstate Highway” is a free visitors guide that features attractions old and new, plus a map and driving directions. To order  a copy or for additional yard sale details, contact 800-733-2280, 770-387-1357 or visit www.dixiehighway.org.