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DeKalb County Lifestyle Coverage

Travel

DeKalbites make TV debut on game and reality shows

Sherika Little of Lithonia chats with Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak.
“Are you ready for your close-up?” Apparently the answer was yes for several DeKalb residents who had their 15-minutes of fame recently through appearances on television game and reality shows. In April, at least three local families had their ap...

Dahlonega—there’s gold, history and wine in them thar hills

The Dahlonega historic square features many shops and restaurants in addition to the centerpiece, The Dahlonega Courthouse Gold Museum, far right. Photo by Travis Hudgons
Summer is almost here. Those looking for adventure, history and local flavor should plan a weekend getaway to Dahlonega. Located approximately 60 miles north of Atlanta, Dahlonega is a mountain town rich in history and charm. There’s still gold to ...

Travel misadventures are learning experiences

Champion LifeStyle editor Gale Horton Gay on her near-perfect January trip to Singapore before her travel woes began.
Listening to people talk about their travels abroad may lead one to believe it’s all sunshine and roses. However along with amazing photos, tales of exotic adventures and mysterious cuisine, there are often stunning stories of things gone wrong—s...

Hindu sacred site attracts tourists as well as worshipers

It’s difficult describing just what makes a visit to the Batu Caves in Malaysia so entrancing. Is it the towering Hindu statues, the dizzying height of the ascent to reach the caves or all those pesky monkeys that delight and terrorize visitors as ...

Yearlong program nurtures the greening of DeKalb

Stephanie Van Parys, executive director of the Oakhurst Community Garden, shares tips about transitioning to organic vegetable gardening at the Decatur Public Libary’s Your First Edible Garden lecture in February.
A green revolution has taken root and is growing rapidly in American cities. Even in the urban jungles of inner cities, people are growing their food. Urban farmers—as they have come to be known—are multiplying and planting edible gardens in the ...

The secret’s out:Decatur named one of top tastiest towns in the South

For anyone who has dined in Decatur and thought “I’m glad everyone doesn’t know how great the cuisine is here,” the jig is up. The treasures of Decatur’s dining scene now have a bright spotlight shining on them, thanks to Southern Living ma...

African student builds windmill to help family and villagers

Kamkwamba signs a copy of his award-winning book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, about how he built a windmill to bring electricity to his village. Photo by Daniel Beauregard
From an early age, William Kamkwamba was fascinated with how things worked. “I used to think that inside the radio there were tiny people who spoke,” Kamkwamba said. Kamkwamba later found a radio and pulled it open to see whether there really wer...

Hunts for eggs and holy services mark a special season

Trees are in blossom and flowers blanket the hills and roadsides. Spring is here and that means the Easter/Passover season can’t be far behind. This year, as they often do, Easter and Passover coincide. Passover, an eight-day celebration, starts th...

Blown glass is one of many artistic finds in Reading, Pa.

Leah Mendenhall, above, works hard to blow air into molten glass with instructor Scott Krenitsky guiding her every move at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Reading, Pa.
William Darras gave his girlfriend a present she couldn’t open, see or experience on Christmas day, but two months later when Leah Mendenhall was taken to the source of her gift she was nonetheless excited. Then she was put to work to create it. Da...

St. Patrick’s Day’s Saturday this year so folks can party hardy

Stone Mountain Highland Games and Scottish Festival
It is no surprise that St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal in Georgia. A significant portion of the state’s population, like the fictitious Scarlett O’Hara of Gone With the Wind, claim an Irish heritage. On March 17 ethnic heritage matters little a...

Obesity clinic enables teen to change his life

A Strong4Life patient and her mother are counseled by an exercise specialist at the Health4Life clinic at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Strong4Life is an effort to fight childhood obesity in Georgia. Photo provided
Reflecting, Gayla Grubbs recalled that her 15-year-old son, Sam, had a weight problem since he was in the third grade. “He gained weight gradually, and I didn’t realize until it was full blown,” she said. But the realization about Sam’s weigh...

Don’t overlook local museums for glimpse into lesser-known aspects of African-American history

Historian Frank Gilyard Sr., founder and president of the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum, provided many of documents and artifacts in the museum.
No one museum can fully tell the story of the struggles and triumphs of the African-American experience across the United States. Sure, some major museums do an excellent job of providing an overview from a national perspective or highlighting waters...

No need to roam far from home for late-winter getaways

Booth Museum
Georgia’s warming weather in February and March make it an ideal time to plan a quick in-state getaway. By staying in Georgia, one can keep costs and the time needed for a trip to minimum and possibly schedule more than one escape. I offer the foll...

Ronald McDonald Houses keep lights on for families with critically ill children

After a 10-month stay at the Ronald McDonald House, Brittney Crowell of Macon is especially grateful at this special time of year to celebrate the long-awaited homecoming of her 22-month-old twins Khloee and Karmella.
Brittney Crowell used to think that a Ronald McDonald House was a playhouse for children. However after her twins were born with a rare blood disorder, she learned how important a Ronald McDonald House can be for a family struggling with a long-term ...

Patriotic Philadelphia welcomes visits year ‘round

If the upcoming presidential holiday or the steady debate about who should lead the country for the next four years has sparked an interest in travel with a patriotic theme, Philadelphia fits the bill perfectly. This city of 1.5 million takes tremend...

Fighting the bulge of our portly pets

Today’s expanding waistlines are not limited to people. Many pets are also packing on the pounds. According to a recent survey reported on petMD.com, more than 50 percent of America’s pet population is either overweight or obese.   The study, c...

Bermuda: There’s a lot more than pink beaches to love about Britain’s oldest overseas territory

Among the misconceptions that many Americans have about Bermuda is that it’s a tropical island; some think it’s part of the Caribbean. Actually, the island grouping known as Bermuda is due east of North Carolina—much north of the Caribbean—an...

Monks welcome visitors for spiritual reflection retreats

Now that a stressful, demanding and exhausting holiday season is over, it’s time to turn the focus inward. Imagine finding a place where leaving the distractions of the world behind is possible and pursuing inner peace is tantamount. Across the cou...

Residents recall the highs and lows of 2011 as they prepare to enter the new year

        As the sun sets on 2011, it is only natural to reflect while looking forward to the new year. One cannot help but wonder whether this was a good year for other DeKalb residents and what plans or resolutions they have made for 2012.  Geli...

Odysseo is a first-rate horse-of-a-different-color show

Photo by Donna S. Turner/BrownGirlNextDoor.com
Spectacular. Fantastical. Mindblowing. None of these come close to adequately describing the otherworldly experience that is Cavalia’s new equestrian adventure Odysseo. Housed under what’s billed as the “world’s largest touring big top” at ...

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