Larrivée Guitars USA has announced that it will provide support for the 2008 Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, which will be held in Dahlonega from Friday through Sunday, April 18-20.
The guitar maker 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. 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, a highly accomplished musician who recently moved to Dahlonega." 
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; GetUWired of Dahlonega, Website Sponsor; LVS Homes of Dahlonega, Workshop Tent Sponsor; and Norman Adams Insurance of Dahlonega, Food Court Sponsor.
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 detailed 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.