World Gold Panning Competition

Festival Location: Dahlonega, GA, USA

Festival State: Georgia Festivals

Festival Type(s): Community Festivals, Miscellaneous Events

By: © Nelson Taylor 2009

In 1849, 20 years before the California Gold Rush, fortune seekers descended upon Dahlonega beginning what locals call "America's first real gold rush." This small Appalachian Mountain town is proud of its past. There are several 250-foot deep working goldmines open to tourists that brochures say produce "some of the purest gold in the world." And there is also a Gold Museum for those interested in the history.

But Dahlonega's claim to fame, at least as far as this book is concerned, is the World Gold Panning Competition, which has occurred every 3rd Sunday in April since 1988. Whether you're a local round-belly with a handle-bar mustache or a 10-year old city slicker from San Francisco, you can compete for the title of "World Champion Gold Panner." All you have to do is sift sand away from nuggets of gold faster than the Hatfields or McCoys.