LVS Homes Inc. and Norman Adams Insurance, both of Dahlonega, have joined the lineup of major sponsors for the 2008 Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, which will be held in Dahlonega from Friday through Sunday, April 18-20.
It was also announced that Larrivée Guitars USA is supporting the annual festival through several donations, including a new Larrivée guitar which will be on the list of items offered at the Live Country Auction on Friday night of the festivities.
Owned by Larry and Vicki Stouffer, LVS Homes will be the Workshop Tent Sponsor for the festival. LVS Homes is a company which utilizes progressive building techniques to provide homes which are not only energy efficient, but are environmentally conscious and provide a healthier living space for home owners. Founder Larry Stouffer began his career in the early 1970s doing colonial restorations along the Delaware seacoast. Moving to the Atlanta area in the 1980s, he continued in the construction business before returning with his wife to her home town of Blue Ridge, where they founded and operated LVS Homes Inc.  The Stouffers then made the decision to focus on homes which are not only energy efficient, but which are environmentally conscious and provide a healthier living space for home owners. Four years ago, they moved to Dahlonega and began building in Fern Park, a conservation community in Lumpkin County. The company's homes are now being marketed by Vicki Stouffer, who is a Realtor with Exit Four Seasons Realty.
The Food Court Sponsor is Norman Adams Insurance, located on the Historic Public Square in Dahlonega, which was founded in 1961 by Norman Adams. First housed at 32 North Park St., which is now the office of Dahlonega Bluegrass, the agency later moved into larger quarters next door at 30 North Park St. in space previously occupied by the chamber of commerce. While Adams is still involved in the business, since 2000 it has been run on a day-to-day basis by Donna Logan, who had been in Cotton States Insurance's corporate marketing department for 15 years before coming to Dahlonega. An exclusive Cotton States agency from the beginning, Norman Adams Insurance offers person lines of insurance, including life and health plans, as well as some commercial coverage. Plans call for broadening the commercial plans later this year. According to Logan, "we are committed to Norman's way of business, which was to treat people the way they should be treated and to represent the values of the Dahlonega area. Adams is also a major promoter of bluegrass festivals with seven planned in Southern states during 2008.
Other major sponsors for the 12th annual festival include Jim Ellis Audi of Atlanta, Corporate Sponsor; The Fudge Factory and The Crimson Moon Cafe, both of Dahlonega, Mainstage Sponsors; Hummingbird Lane Art Gallery of Dahlonega, Marketplace Sponsor; folk artist Billy Roper, Heritage Sponsor; The Pender Family, Founding Sponsor; and GetUWired of Dahlonega, Website Sponsor.
Dobbin Buck, who is in charge of marketing and sponsorships for the Bear on the Square Festival, said, "The Bear on the Square committee members are very excited to have Larrivée Guitars involved in this year's festival. Larrivée just happens to be the guitar of choice for one of our mainstage featured artists, Curtis Jones of Dahlonega." 
Community Sponsors are the Appalachian Studies Center at North Georgia College and State University, the Chestatee Regional Library, Stephanie Corn M.D., Rees Chapman Ph.D., Dahlonega Merchants Association, the Georgia Pick & Bow Traditional Music School, the Historic Holly Theatre, Jim Pittman, the Lumpkin Coalition, the North Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association, the Southeastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA), The Wiggins Group for Traditional Music, and The Smith House . Co-sponsor of the festival is the Convention & Visitors Bureau of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce.
Glenda Pender, president of the not-for-profit cultural arts organization which produces the festival each year, thanked all the sponsors for making the festival possible. “As Bear on the Square celebrates traditional mountain music and art, it helps to keep alive the heritage of these mountains,” she emphasized.
   The Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is an incredible weekend of music and art held each spring in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains. During the event, old time and blue grass music will fill the Historic Public Square in Dahlonega. Headlining the stage performances at Bear Central in Hancock Park are old-time music legends Norman and Nancy Blake and the dynamic Carolina Chocolate Drops with their exciting, authentic string band music. Jamming goes on day and night  around the square while other local, regional, and national musicians take the stage all day Saturday and Sunday. A juried artist's marketplace features traditional mountain art and crafts. Extensive music workshops, a Sunday morning Gospel Jam, a street dance, a live auction, children's activities, a heritage center demonstrating mountain traditions, and food complete the offerings, making Bear on the Square the perfect outing for the whole family. For more information, go online to www.bearonthesquare.org .
Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, Inc., which stages the show each year, is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit cultural arts organization whose mission is to preserve and celebrate the culture of the Southern Appalachians through the presentation of music, traditional craft, and folkways. Tax deductible donations are welcome and can be sent to P.O. Box 338, Dahlonega, GA 30533.