HOT CORNER FESTIVAL CELEBRATING 25 YEARS DOWNTOWN ATHENS 6/9-6/15
Date and Time
Monday Jun 9, 2025
June 9th -11th @ 6 p.m-8pm
June 12, @ 6:30p.m -8 p.m
June 13th @ 6 p.m.- 8 p.m
June 14, @ 11 a.m. - 11 p.m
June 15, 2025 11 a.m.
Location
June 9th -11th @ The Historic Morton Theatre12
June 12, @ Cine' - Appreciation Day for Sponsors & Festival Participants
June 13th @ First A.M.E Church 527 North Hull St. - The Annual Gospel Extravaganza Concert
June 14, @ The Hot Corner Festival - Hull & Washington St. Downtown Athens, GA
June 15, 2025 @ Sunday morning worship. Waggoners Grove Baptist Church - Colbert, GA
Contact Information
Barbara Sims
Description
The 25th annual 2025 Hot Corner Celebration will take place June 9th- 15th. The grand celebration is being held on Saturday the 14th at the corner of W. Washington Street and Hull Street directly in front of the historic Morton Theater. This district is also known as “Hot Corner”. The Hot Corner Fest is a family festival that is free and open to the public. There will be vendors on hand selling food, apparels, and sharing valuable information.
In the early 20th century Hot Corner was the heart of Black commerce in downtown Athens. Pink Morton brought prosperity to downtown when he built the Morton Building in 1910. It housed the Morton Theatre, a black-owned and operated vaudeville house, which later became a cinema until a small fire shut it down in the 1950s. Big names constantly toured through Hot Corner, such as Duke Ellington, Louis ‘Armstrong, and Cab Callaway. The first black state-licensed dentist opened in the building along with a drug store, which blazed the way for other black businesses to open their doors on the Hot Corner. Hot Corner became the hub of Athens’ black community. Everything from an undertaker, a lawyer, a pool hall, a record shop, and a life insurer could all be found on Hot Corner.
The Hot Corner Association, a nonprofit organization with the mission of preserving the history of Hot Corner organizes this annual festival to keep history alive and present. Every year, the community comes together to present a wide variety of music, culture, art, kids’ entertainment and soul food, all to commemorate the history and heritage of the black community in Athens.
Printed courtesy of www.athensga.com/ – Contact the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce for more information.
246 West Hancock Ave, Athens, GA 30601 – (706) 549-6800 – info@athensga.com