A Gold Peach Realty community guide · (770) 283-1223
Jasper · Pickens County · Georgia
2026 festival held Oct 3–4 · 2027 dates not announced yet
The Georgia Marble Festival, often called the Jasper Marble Festival, is the Pickens County Chamber of Commerce's yearly weekend of handmade crafts, music, a Main Street parade and marble quarry tours in Jasper, Georgia. The 44th ran October 3-4, 2026, at Lee Newton Park. The Chamber says it is held the first full weekend of October and has not announced 2027 dates. This is an independent guide.
What we know about 2027 Plan your trip
Independent guide, not the official festival site; the organizer is the Pickens County Chamber of Commerce. A Gold Peach Realty community guide
Film cut from real photographs of Jasper, Tate and Pickens County, a 1911 photo of the Tate quarry and the Georgia-marble Lincoln statue in Washington, D.C.; nothing in it is generated. Credits
As it ran
Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, 2026, as the Chamber published them. Treat it as the pattern for next year: the 2027 dates are not out yet.
Held Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Held Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The 44th festival, October 3 and 4, 2026, as published. Source: Know Pickens, checked Oct 18, 2026
Decision tool
Four quick questions, answered with how the 2026 festival actually worked: the day, the way you drive in, who is coming and what you most want to do. The 2027 dates are not announced yet, so treat the 2026 details as the pattern to confirm.
Which day would you go?
Which way are you driving in?
Who is coming with you?
What do you most want to do?
Saturday is the long day. In 2026 the parade came down Main Street at 10 a.m., the festival opened at Lee Newton Park at the same hour, and the grounds stayed open until 6 p.m.
Sunday is shorter and has no parade. In 2026 the grounds were open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the stage running from 11 a.m. to a 3 p.m. last act.
The Chamber's own directions: I-75 North to Exit 268 and I-575 North, which becomes GA 515 at the Pickens County line; at the third traffic signal turn right onto GA 53 East; Lee Newton Park and the Chamber building are about a mile on, on the left. On festival weekend, park free at either shuttle lot instead.
Ingles (festival shuttle parking)
One of two free festival parking lots, with free shuttles to the grounds and drop-off at the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
Chattahoochee Technical College – Appalachian Campus (festival shuttle parking)
The second free festival parking lot, with shuttles to Lee Newton Park and the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
Park free at either shuttle lot. Our routing estimates, without traffic: about 25 minutes from Ellijay and 43 minutes from Blue Ridge to the Ingles lot, a few minutes more to Chattahoochee Tech.
Ingles (festival shuttle parking)
One of two free festival parking lots, with free shuttles to the grounds and drop-off at the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
Chattahoochee Technical College – Appalachian Campus (festival shuttle parking)
The second free festival parking lot, with shuttles to Lee Newton Park and the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
The Chamber's directions take GA 53 West to Tate, a right at the 4-way stop in Tate, and GA 53 West on into Jasper. You pass straight through marble country on the way in, so the Tate stops on our marble trail are a natural detour.
Chattahoochee Technical College – Appalachian Campus (festival shuttle parking)
The second free festival parking lot, with shuttles to Lee Newton Park and the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
Ingles (festival shuttle parking)
One of two free festival parking lots, with free shuttles to the grounds and drop-off at the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
The Kids Zone was free in 2026, with a hay maze, bounce houses, inflatable slides, face painting and more. Children must stay with an adult the whole time.
The only accessibility detail the Chamber publishes is that the quarry-tour school buses are not wheelchair accessible. For anything else, call the Chamber before you go.
Seniors and veterans paid $3 at the gate in 2026, and seniors 62 and over paid $18 for a quarry tour instead of $20.
Leave the dog at home. The Chamber says no pets are allowed at the festival or on the quarry tours.
Tours are the reason many people come: the quarries open to the public for guided tours once a year, during the festival. In 2026 they cost $20 for adults and $18 for seniors 62+ and ages 6 to 12, and the ticket included festival admission.
The parade comes down Main Street in downtown Jasper at 10 a.m. on festival Saturday, opening with the National Anthem. Sunday has no parade.
Downtown Jasper / Main Street (parade route)
Walkable county-seat downtown and route of the 10 a.m. Marble Festival Parade. Also hosts Second Saturday (Mar-Oct) and Downtown Live.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
The Headliner Stage runs all day both days with bands, cloggers and dancers. Saturday 2026 ended with a 5 p.m. set; Sunday with a 3 p.m. set.
Every arts-and-crafts booth is handmade, from woodwork and marble sculpture to clothing and homemade jams, alongside food, retail and non-profit vendors. Sculptors work live in marble and with chainsaws.
Every line comes from the source it links to. Drive times are our own OpenStreetMap routing estimates without traffic, not published figures. 2026 details are the pattern, not a promise for 2027: confirm with the Pickens County Chamber, 706-692-5600.
Festival map
Where the 2026 festival happened and where visitors parked for free: two shuttle lots, the grounds, the Marble Museum and the parade's Main Street.
Streets and buildings from OpenStreetMap; the outlined block is Lee Newton Park, home of the Pickens County Visitor Center and the festival grounds. Pins come from each place's cited source. In 2026 parking was free at the two shuttle lots, with shuttles running all day. A planning map, not turn-by-turn directions; follow festival signs.
The official visitor center, inside Lee Newton Park, with free maps and guides. Also houses the Georgia Marble Museum's exhibits on Pickens County's marble history. The festival organizer's office.
Address: 500 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Jasper, GA 30143
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:00pm (Chamber 'Our Hours' and Marble Museum listing). The VisitPickensGA.com footer says Mon-Fri 9-4.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
Georgia Marble Festival grounds and home of the Pickens County Visitor Center and Georgia Marble Museum. Has a walking path and hosts the Saturday Jasper Farmers Market. Festival parking is at the off-site shuttle lots.
Address: Lee Newton Park, home of the Pickens County Visitor Center, 500 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Jasper, GA 30143
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
One of two free festival parking lots, with free shuttles to the grounds and drop-off at the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Address: 1449 W Church St., Jasper, GA 30143
Cost: Free festival parking and shuttle
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
The second free festival parking lot, with shuttles to Lee Newton Park and the quarry-tour check-in tent.
Address: 100 Campus Dr., Jasper, GA 30143
Cost: Free festival parking and shuttle
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
Walkable county-seat downtown and route of the 10 a.m. Marble Festival Parade. Also hosts Second Saturday (Mar-Oct) and Downtown Live.
Address: Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
1906 jail (used until 1982) with a rusticated marble front, porch columns and turrets; marble from the Southern Mill in Marble Hill. Listed by the Chamber under History & the Arts. Tour hours not verified.
Address: 141 N Main St, Jasper, GA 30143
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
Two-story, marble-veneered Stripped Classical courthouse (the NRHP form gives both 1949 and 1947). Working government building; no visitor hours published.
Address: 50 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143
Source: National Register (NPS), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
The guide
Each page answers one question with the organizer's own facts, dated and linked.
The one weekend a year the public rides into marble country: 2026 prices, departures, check-in and the rules nobody tells you.
Tour details
What is announced, what is not, and where the dates will appear first.
What we know
Two free lots, all-day shuttles and the organizer's directions.
Parking guide
From Long Swamp to the Lincoln statue, told straight.
Read the history
A self-guided day through the company town.
Build your trail
Handmade booths, two stages and the 2026 lineup.
See the lineup
Downtown, the marble courthouse, preserves and peaks.
Plan the weekendDecision tool
Tell us how long you have and what you like. We line up the sourced stops in driving order from Lee Newton Park, keep the visit time plus the driving inside your window, and hand you the route.
How much time do you have?
What are you into? Pick any.
The whole trail, in driving order from Lee Newton Park
From Lee Newton Park: 0 min drive · 0 mi
The Georgia Marble Museum shares the Visitor Center building in Lee Newton Park, with exhibits tying local stone to landmarks across the country. Weekdays only.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 3 min drive · 0.8 mi
The marble-veneered courthouse on North Main Street, listed on the National Register.
Source: National Register (NPS), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 1 min drive · 0.1 mi
The 1906 jail with a marble front, porch columns and turrets, a block from the courthouse.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 1 min drive · 0.2 mi
The walkable county-seat downtown and the parade route.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 8 min drive · 4.9 mi
The Georgia Historical Society marker at Tate Cemetery on GA 53 tells the company's story in one stop.
Source: georgiahistory.com, checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 1 min drive · 0.2 mi
The historic depot, now home to a model railroad society that opens for public viewings.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 1 min drive · 0.5 mi
Drive the company village along GA 53: the 1884 main office clad in white marble and the quarry country around it.
Source: National Register (NPS), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 6 min drive · 2.9 mi
The small city where the Georgia Marble Company built its finishing plant.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 13 min drive · 7.3 mi
The mountain community in eastern Pickens County and a gateway to trails.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 30 min drive · 18 mi
The 729-foot falls just over the line in Dawson County.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 21 min drive · 13.8 mi
A county-owned 900-acre preserve with three trails in the Long Swamp Creek watershed.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 12 min drive · 7.2 mi
A small historic railroad town known for antique shops.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
From the stop before: 12 min drive · 4.9 mi
A 210-acre conservation property with about 10 miles of trails.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026 · Directions
Nothing fits that combination. Pick more time or another interest.
Open this route in Google Maps
Read the Tate marble trail guide
Stops and their details come from each place's linked source. Visit lengths are this guide's planning allowances, not published figures. Drive legs are OpenStreetMap routing estimates without traffic (OSRM, computed Oct 18, 2026). The Tate House and the Polycor quarry are private and are not stops.
Who runs it
This guide is independent. The Georgia Marble Festival is organized by the Pickens County Chamber of Commerce, a not-for-profit membership organization, and its official pages are the authority.
Quarry to monument
The Chamber says the marble vein runs 5 to 7 miles long and up to 2,000 feet deep. Here is how it went from Long Swamp to Washington, every step sourced.
Carved by early hands
The New Georgia Encyclopedia dates the earliest known use of Georgia marble to about 1400, when native people carved effigies, bowls and points. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
Long Swamp
Irish stonemason Henry T. Fitzsimmons found surface marble in the Long Swamp Valley and opened the Long Swamp Marble Company. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
The railroad arrives
The Marietta and North Georgia Railroad reached Pickens County and gave the quarries a way to ship stone. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
The Georgia Marble Company
With investment from Northern capitalists, the Tate family created the Georgia Marble Company. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
The first true pink
The Etowah quarry opened and produced the first truly pink marble. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
Colonel Sam Tate
Sam Tate became the company's president and served until his death in 1938. (Georgia Historical Society)
Boom years
Georgia marble went into the Longworth House Office Building, the New York Stock Exchange and the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
The Lincoln statue
The Piccirilli brothers carved the Lincoln statue from 28 blocks of white Georgia marble. The memorial's exterior is Colorado marble. (NPS)
Marble, ground fine
The company's calcium products division began, and ground marble became its main product by the late 1980s. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
New owners
Polycor Inc. of Quebec City, Canada, bought the company, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
The 44th festival
Jasper celebrated the stone with the 44th Georgia Marble Festival on October 3 and 4, 2026. (Visit Pickens)
Photo: Unknown photographer; published in 'Advantages of Georgia for those desiring homes in a genial climate, 1906-7' (scan: Internet Archive Book Images) (public domain)
Make a weekend of it
Sourced stops within a short drive, from preserves and peaks to small railroad towns.
Outdoors
County-owned 900-acre preserve under a conservation easement, starting at 2,500 ft elevation, with three trails and seasonal wildflowers.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026
Outdoors
3,288-ft peak that was the original southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail (the terminus later moved to Springer Mountain). Public access details not verified.
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026
Town
Small historic railroad town with antique shops and a brewery in an old rail car. Hosts Talking Rock Heritage Days (32nd annual on Oct 17-18, 2026). About 8 miles by road from Lee Newton Park (computed).
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026
Outdoors
210-acre conservation property with a trail system of about 10 miles for bikers, runners and walkers (per the Chamber listing).
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026
Outdoors
In neighboring Dawson County. Home of the 729-ft Amicalola Falls and the trail to Springer Mountain. Managed by North Georgia Mountains Authority and Coral Hospitality. About 21.7 road miles from Lee Newton Park (computed).
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026
Historic site
Historic depot housing the Tate Depot Train Society's HO-scale model railroad, open for public viewings and open houses (one was listed for Oct 17, 2026).
Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026
Live here
A county seat of about 5,400 people (Census estimate, July 2025), some 60 miles north of Atlanta by the New Georgia Encyclopedia's count.
Gold Peach Realty listings
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Journal
Going for the first time? Plan around how the 2026 festival in Jasper, Georgia worked: Saturday had the 10 a.m. Main Street parade and…
Partly. The National Park Service says the Lincoln statue inside the memorial was carved from 28 blocks of white Georgia marble, but the building's…
Tate is the Pickens County, Georgia village the Georgia Marble Company built: company housing, schools and recreation, and a company power plant that made…
Questions
Sourced answers to what people ask most.
The 44th Georgia Marble Festival was held Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4, 2026, at Lee Newton Park in Jasper, Georgia. It is over; 2027 dates have not been announced.
Source: Visit Pickens, checked Oct 18, 2026
Adults paid $5, children 6-12 paid $3, veterans and seniors paid $3, and children 5 and under got in free, according to the 2026 Know Pickens listing. Parking, shuttles and the Kids Zone were free, and a quarry tour ticket included admission.
Source: Know Pickens, checked Oct 18, 2026
The Pickens County Chamber of Commerce had not announced 2027 dates as of October 18, 2026. It says the festival is held the first full weekend of October.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
Park free at Ingles, 1449 W Church St., or Chattahoochee Technical College, 100 Campus Dr., in Jasper. Free shuttles run throughout the day from both lots to the festival grounds.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
Lee Newton Park, home of the Pickens County Visitor Center, 500 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Jasper, GA 30143.
Source: Visit Pickens, checked Oct 18, 2026
For the 2026 festival, tours cost $20 for adults, $18 for seniors 62 and older, $18 for ages 6-12, and nothing for children 5 and under. A tour ticket included festival admission.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
No. The Chamber says the marble quarries open to the public for guided tours once a year, during the Georgia Marble Festival.
Source: Visit Pickens, checked Oct 18, 2026
The parade comes down Main Street in downtown Jasper at 10 a.m. on festival Saturday and opens with the National Anthem. In 2026 it ran Saturday, October 3.
Source: Pickens County Chamber, checked Oct 18, 2026
After the festival
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