Georgia Magazine - June 2018 - 21

COURTESY GREAT WOLF LODGE

From left, LaGrange City Councilman LeGree
McCamey, then-City Councilwoman Norma
Tucker and Mayor Jim Thornton enjoyed a
media-day, hard-hat tour of Great Wolf Lodge
Georgia during construction in October 2017.
Kids can stay busy for hours crossing the water on large, floating lily pads in Great Wolf
Georgia's Big Foot Pass.

Tacos, Hungry as a Wolf handcrafted pizza and pasta,
and Barnwood restaurant, which serves farm-to-table
cuisine. Buckets Incredible Craveables offers a poolside menu of burgers, hot dogs, chicken strips, salads
and vegetables, plus desserts that include the Tipping
Bucket, a souvenir bucket layered with soft-serve vanilla
ice cream, brownies, cookies and candy, all topped with
chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Wider impact anticipated
LaGrange Mayor Jim Thornton predicts that the local
impact of Great Wolf Lodge Georgia will be significant.
"Thousands of tourists will be visiting our community annually-primarily to stay at Great Wolf, but
we believe that many will venture into the community
to visit other attractions, support local businesses and
generally boost our local economy," he says.
Great Wolf guests who do venture outside the resort
to explore LaGrange will discover a historic city that
lives up to its reputation for hospitality.
History enthusiasts can tour Hills & Dales Estate, the
historic home and gardens of Fuller E. Callaway, as well
as Bellevue, a Greek Revival mansion built in the 1850s
by Benjamin Harvey Hill for his wife, Caroline Holt Hill.
The Biblical History Center brings an ancient era to

When you go
Great Wolf Lodge Georgia is located off of Interstate
85 at 150 Tom Hall Parkway, LaGrange. For reservations,
call (844) 473-9653. For more information, visit greatwolf.
com/georgia.
June 2018

life through archaeological replicas, lectures and other
activities. Guests can sit in a goat-hair tent like those
used by ancient nomadic shepherds, explore tombs similar to the ones in which Abraham and Jesus were buried,
visit a village that demonstrates what life was like 2,000
years ago and dine on a Passover meal similar to what
Jesus ate at the Last Supper.
"Only a handful of museums in the world have a
collection of artifacts like the Biblical History Center.
Hundreds of pieces from the Holy Land are thousands
of years old, from the time of Jesus and earlier," says
Katie Mercer Van Schoor, communications and marketing manager for the city of LaGrange. "You don't want
to miss the one-of-a-kind special events that take place
throughout the year, like Roman Army Day in May,
[which] features a dramatic presentation from Legio XI, a
group of Roman soldier re-enactors. It's truly a fascinating place."
Museums in LaGrange include the Troup County Archives and Legacy Museum on Main. The facility houses
an exhibit gallery featuring West Georgia history and a
rotating gallery that contains archives collections and
nationally recognized traveling exhibits. There's also the
LaGrange Art Museum, which has special events, permanent collections and traveling exhibitions.
Entertainment venues in the historic downtown area
include Wild Leap Brew Co. and Sweetland Amphitheatre at Boyd Park. Wild Leap's state-of-the-art brewery
features a tasting room, a large event space and an
outdoor beer garden. Sweetland Amphitheatre hosts performances and community events in an outdoor venue
that includes table, lawn and stadium seating for 2,500
spectators.

More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2018