Camilla's Gnat Days Festival kicks off Friday

CAMILLA, GA (WALB) - They're some of south Georgia's biggest pests, but this weekend they'll be the stars of the show.

Gnat Days Festival kicks off in Camilla on Friday night.

Festivities begin with a 5K with registration at 5:30 p.m. and line-up at 7. Children under 10 are invited to participate in the Gnat Dash starting at 5:30. Following the 5K, the public is invited to enjoy "Under the Oaks," a dance with music by DJ Joe. All food vendors will be local restaurants.

Saturday's festivities kick off early with a bike race at 8:15 a.m. There will be live entertainment all day.

Organizers say this year will have more vendors than years past, with more than 80 vendors signed up to line Camilla's downtown streets selling a variety of different goods and food. They say this is the result of moving the festival from the first weekend in May to the second.

"We always, as far back as I know, we've always done it the first Saturday in May," said Jennifer Burnum with the Camilla Chamber of Commerce.

"We had several other festivals that go on around locally, we thought maybe we did some research, there's not as many that go on the second Saturday so we thought maybe we'd push it a weekend and with our vendor number having increased so much, we're thinking that maybe helped."

For more information on the Gnat Days Festival, visit the Chamber of Commerce website.

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