🍎 Make It a Mountain Weekend: Your Guide to Picnic on the Farm in Blue Ridge

Looking for the perfect excuse to sneak away to the mountains before fall hits full swing? We’ve got you covered.

Picnic on the Farm is headed to Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge on August 23, and we’re making a weekend out of it. If you’ve never been to Blue Ridge—or even if you have—this is the kind of trip that’s good for the soul. Here’s how to turn a Saturday picnic into a full-blown weekend adventure:

Friday Evening – Hit the Road

Leave after work, roll the windows down, and head north to the mountains. Blue Ridge is just a few hours from most parts of Georgia, and the views are worth every mile.

✨ Where to stay (affordable but great):

• Comfort Inn & Suites Blue Ridge – clean, walkable, and convenient

• Blue Ridge Rustic Inn – a charming roadside option close to town

• Or rent a cozy cabin with friends or family → Find cabins here

Saturday Morning – Fuel Up Before the Fun

Start your day with a local breakfast and mountain air.Top picks:

• The BumbleBee Café – a cozy local favorite for classic breakfast plates, biscuits, and good coffee

• Serenity Garden Café – charming spot with outdoor seating and Southern-style breakfast

• The Trailer Drive-In – a true local gem with no-frills breakfast and early hours

  
  

Saturday Afternoon – Picnic on the Farm at Mercier Orchards

Here’s the main event:

• Hard cider + wine tastings

• Picnic lunch, homemade at Mercier's farm market + Mercier's Famous Fried Pies

• Live bluegrass music

• U-pick apples

Whether you come for the food, the music, the views, or just to take a deep breath and reconnect, you’re going to leave feeling good.

📍 Mercier Orchards | August 23 | 1 PM - 4 PM (12 PM VIP Early Entry)

🎟️ Ticket deadline: August 8 → https://www.gafoundationag.org/picnic

Saturday Evening – Wind Down in Downtown Blue Ridge

After the picnic, take a stroll through downtown Blue Ridge, shop a bit, and grab dinner and drinks at some local favorites:

• Browse local boutiques and shops. Be sure to swing by Oyster Fine Bamboo Fly Rods. A one-of-a-kind stop where you can watch artisan fly rods being handcrafted

• Enjoy dinner and drinks at Harvest on Main, Black Sheep, The General Ledger, Chester Brunnenmeyer’s Tavern, or Blue Ridge Brewery, all walkable, and perfect for relaxing after a day on the farm

Wherever you land, you’ll find good food, great drinks, and a welcoming vibe to wrap up your mountain weekend.

Sunday Morning – Coffee + One Last Stop

Before heading home, slow down and soak up the mountain air:

• Start your morning with coffee at Das Kaffee Haus, where you can sip from the balcony and watch the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway roll by

• Grab a sweet treat from The Sweet Shoppe of the South, yes, the Cupcake Wars winners!

• Pop into Huck’s General Store for nostalgic snacks, old-fashioned candy, and small-town charm

• Or try something unexpected at the Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company. Taste your way through specialty oils and vinegars and take home a foodie souvenir

A slow Sunday stroll through downtown is the perfect way to close out your Picnic on the Farm weekend.

Plan Your Trip Checklist

1. Buy your Picnic on the Farm tickets here by August 8th

2. Book your stay in Blue Ridge

3. Save your favorite stops from this guide

4. Invite a friend or two

5. Pack your farm-chic picnic outfit & a good appetite

Ready to join us?

Tickets are on sale through August 8, and this is one of our biggest fundraising events of the year. Purchase tickets or learn more here.

All proceeds support agricultural education, student scholarships, farmer mental health resources + disaster recovery, and Georgia Farm Bureau programs like Ag in the Classroom and Young Farmers & Ranchers.

Turning Fallen Trees into Lasting Support for Georgia Farmer

Donor Spotlight: Georgia Woodturner Thom Suddreth

After Hurricane Helene, woodturner Thom Suddreth of Kennesaw, Georgia, drove to the Dublin area to collect pecan wood from a property where 15 trees had been lost in the storm. What began as a routine materials trip quickly became something more.

“While we initially went just to get some pecan wood, seeing all the storm damage in the area left a profound impression on us,” Thom shared.

Inspired to give back, Thom and his wife, Cheryl, created the Helene series, a collection of handcrafted, live-edge pecan bowls made from trees damaged beyond agricultural use. Each signed and numbered piece is sold at art shows across the state, with a portion of proceeds donated to the Weathered But Strong: Hurricane Relief Fund.

This spring, Thom donated the proceeds to support ongoing recovery efforts. Donations to the Weathered But Strong Fund continue to support long-term recovery efforts for farmers, future disaster relief initiatives, and critical programs focused on farmer mental health.

While the initial $1.7 million raised through the Weathered But Strong campaign has been fully distributed to those impacted by Hurricane Helene, ongoing contributions allow us to extend support beyond financial recovery, investing in mental health resources, training, and resilience tools that help farmers weather more than just the storm.

Support the fund at https://www.supportgeorgiafarmers.org/donate-now.

Explore Thom’s work at https://www.georgiawoodturner.com/.

Learn more about the Weathered But Strong Fund https://www.supportgeorgiafarmers.org.

About Georgia Foundation for Agriculture:

The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture is a 501(c)(3) organization that prepares the next generation of Georgia leaders for success in agriculture and also supports programs that address the challenges facing agriculture and works to preserve the future of farming. Donations to the Weathered But Strong: Hurricane Relief Fund go to the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture and are tax-deductible under IRS 170(b)(A)(VI). Learn more at GAFoundationAg.org. GFA is a registered charity under the Georgia Secretary of State (Georgia Registered Charity Number: CH015635; EIN: 47-2035360).

Finding the Right Fit: Strengthening Mental Health Support for Georgia’s Farmers

At the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture, we recognize that mental health support isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why we’ve spent years testing different training programs to find the best fit for Georgia’s farmers—programs that respect their time, meet them where they are, and provide real solutions.

Recently, our Executive Director, Lily Baucom and Fundraising & Events Assistant, Whitney Sangster—participated in COMET (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory) training alongside other founding organizations of the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance. This hands-on training focuses on having real conversations with those who may be struggling—helping people engage early before a situation escalates into crisis.

Through our HARVEST Program, we are building a mental health support system tailored to the unique realities of farming. Over the years, we have participated in and evaluated multiple training programs, each offering valuable insights:

• Mental Health First Aid – A broad mental health awareness course that teaches people how to recognize early signs of anxiety, depression, or substance use disorders.

• QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) – A suicide prevention training focused on identifying warning signs, directly asking about suicidal thoughts, and referring someone to help.

• Community Resiliency Model (CRM) – A program that helps people manage chronic stress and trauma through self-regulation techniques, making it a valuable tool for those under constant pressure.

• COMET Training – A conversation-based model that fits well with the way farmers connect—practical, direct, and relationship-driven.

Each of these programs has contributed to our understanding of what works best for Georgia’s farming community. As we move forward, we are taking the most effective aspects from each training to develop a statewide approach that truly serves our people. This includes creating new training opportunities and a resource guide to help communities better reach and support farmers.

Ongoing Support for Georgia’s Farmers

After Hurricane Helene, many of Georgia’s farmers are still in the recovery process, and long-term support is critical. Through our Weathered But Strong Georgia Hurricane Fund, we are not only providing financial relief but also ensuring that farmers have access to the mental health resources they need to navigate these challenges.

🔗 Donate today to help us continue this essential work.

We know our farmers. We know what works. And we’re committed to getting it right.