By JOHN THOMPSON
Coweta Editor

With fall looming just over the horizon, the Senoia Downtown Development Authority shelved plans Tuesday night to stage a large fall festival.

Instead, Mayor Joan Trammell suggested the authority focus its efforts on staging a festival next spring and let the city stage a small celebration this year that could see children walking down the streets dressed in garbage bags or jangling cans.

The DDA had considered throwing a fall festival Oct. 17 that would include a parade, food, games and arts and crafts. Last month, the group abandoned the idea of a parade and settled on having a celebration in the city park.

But with just two months to go until the planned event, Trammell said she didn't think there was enough time for the DDA to stage a celebration that would be the group's first major activity since it was established late last year.

"I want your first festival to be a success," said Trammell.

The city is not going to let the fall pass by without a celebration, though, and Trammell wants to stage a small Halloween festival Oct. 24. The mayor envisions having a small parade of all the children in their Halloween costumes down Main Street and may even throw a unique spin on the parade.

The city has received a grant to inform children about the importance of recyclables, and Trammell suggested the kids make their costumes out of recyclable materials.

City Councilwoman Dianne Cleveland suggested the city also stage some old-fashioned games, such as bobbing for apples, as part of the festival. The mayor said she planned to go to the council and seek suggestions for some other activities the city could stage at the festival.

In other news, Trammell told the DDA that a grant application was due by the first part of October for possible sidewalks, landscaping and signage for the city. The city applied for an $18,000 grant last year to improve the streetscape, but lost out to other cities.

This year, DDA member Gary Gruby suggested the city investigate who was awarded the grants last year and see if the city could follow their model. If awarded the grant, the city would add more landscaping on Main Street and build sidewalks from the railroad tracks at the end of Main Street down Broad Street to Ga. Highway 16. The city would also place signs at the city's entrances on state highways to help draw visitors into the town.

Trammell asked the DDA to have anything they wanted to include in the grant package, such as letters of support, ready by the group's next meeting on Sept. 8.