Thursday, September 25, 2025–10:10 a.m.
-Staff reports-
Paper Doll Parade and 5K
Get ready to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month with the Paper Doll Parade and Breast Cancer Awareness 5K, sponsored by Atrium Health Floyd.
This year’s event, organized by Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at Ridge Ferry Park in Rome. The 5K – a Peachtree Road Race qualifier – will start at approximately 9 a.m. with the 2-mile Paper Doll Parade health walk beginning at 9:15 a.m.
Atrium Health Floyd’s iconic dolls – symbols of breast health, breast education, and the belief that knowledge is power – will again be on display in fashionable running apparel around the park.
A dollar from every entry will go towards Floyd Healthcare Foundation’s scholarship fund to financially assist women who can’t afford a mammogram. You can also donate online at https://www.floyd.org/foundation/Pages/Make-a-Donation.aspx and select the Breast Center as the Giving Program.
A costume contest will be held at 8:45 a.m., and breast cancer survivors will be recognized after the walk and race are over.
Teams are encouraged to:
- Form teams for a worthy cause.
- Come up with a fun name.
- Design your own Paper Doll costume to wear or deck out in pink from head to toe.
BBQ and car show in Cave Spring
The Cave Spring Pig Out & Car Show is also on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Rolater Park.
“If you want to participate in the tasting of all of the delicious barbecue, I just recommend that you get there early,” said Kristi Kent with the Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism. “They do tend to sell out their tasting tickets. It is $5 to taste the barbecue, and you submit your People’s Choice vote. Also, this year, they are allowing you to vote for People’s Choice in the car show as well.”
PorchFest in Oakdene
On Sunday from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., PorchFest will take place in the Oakdene Place neighborhood.
“They actually have live music performances on the porches in that historic neighborhood,” Kent said. “They do 20-minute performances, and there are a lot of different bands.”
Performers include:
- Bourbon & Ginger
- The Common Reeds
- D Bell & the Beauticians
- Dylan Lester
- Lowell and Friends
- Matthew Grant
- Rahu Music Collective
A variety of food trucks will round out this fun new community festival experience.
General admission tickets are $10 each.
All proceeds will directly benefit The Bloom Closet, a nonprofit program that provides free clothing, toiletries, school supplies, and more to children in foster care.
