City of Suwanee, Georgia

Now, more than ever, our local businesses need our help. And let's face it it, if you've waited this long to do your Christmas shopping, delivery isn't going to cut it anyway.

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! DAY 3: Today we're giving away a $50 gift card to Living Well Farmers Market! Living Well is your go-to source for real, clea...n and healthy foods and products! Enter by clicking the link below. Contest window closes tonight at midnight. Winner will be announced in the morning. Good luck! Enter now: https://bit.ly/3qBic4y

Area residents may drop off their former living Christmas trees at Sims Lake Park, located at 4600 Suwanee Dam Road, from December 26 through January 9. Decorations, lights, and stands should be removed from all trees prior to donating. Last year, mulch from nearly 1,200 former Christmas trees was spread in Suwanee parks.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Congrats to Veronica Pennington for winning the gift card to Ensemble Boutique! 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! DAY 10: Today we're giving a...way a $50 gift card to Ensemble Boutique in Suwanee Town Center! Enter by clicking the link below. Contest window closes tonight at midnight. Winner will be announced in the morning. Good luck! Enter now: https://bit.ly/3gUhKd3

The Georgia Municipal Court Clerks Council recently named Suwanee Municipal Court Program of the Year for their efforts involving COVID-19 implementations, including a state-of-the-art queuing platform. The Suwanee queue system was implemented in conjunction with a recent building renovation to meet the needs of court staff and customers alike by managing the flow of court participants during check in and tracking other customers that come into the lobby on non-court days, in...cluding defendants reporting to the private probation company housed in the building. The queuing system also allows customers to check-in remotely and wait in their vehicles until contacted by their mobile devices. A dashboard provides real time insights that lead to instant solutions, such as opening another check-in window when the number of customers exceeds a certain limit. The queuing system allows us to minimize the number of people in the building and practice social distancing while still providing necessary services to our citizens, said Jessica Roth, Director of Business Services at the City of Suwanee. Beyond COVID-19, the system offers the ability to wait somewhere other than a waiting room, shortening the perceived wait time. The system also allows for employees to work remotely. In addition to the queue system, and in response to the pandemic, the Suwanee municipal court implemented contactless document scanning, allowing visitors can provide documents to staff without ever having to exchange physical documents. A scanner was also added to the courtroom, allowing attorneys and customers to share documents with court staff. Scanned documents are transmitted directly to the judge’s monitor. These new systems have immeasurably improved wait times and brought a more sophisticated level of organization to our processes by giving court staff a better way to move court participants through the building, while enhancing the customer experience as a whole, said Court Service Administrator Mariza Abdeljawad.

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! DAY 2: Today we're giving away a gift basket from Town Center's Pooch N Paws Pet Boutique & Bakery valued at $50 and jam-pack...ed with treats, toys and other goodies for the furry BFF in your life! Enter by clicking the link below. Contest window closes tonight at midnight. Winner will be announced in the morning. Good luck! Enter to win: https://bit.ly/36PIM1X

Santa loved seeing all of the good boys and girls (and the rest of you...) at Santapalooza! A special thank you to everyone who donated canned food - local high school student Avery Tam collected and delivered over 1,000 items to the North Gwinnett Cooperative as part of his Small Town Big Heart project! Way to go, Suwanee!

CAREFUL! Gnomes are generally considered harmless but mischievous and may bite with sharp teeth. Keep your eyes peeled in City of Suwanee parks and trails - we're hiding two gnomes every day in November for some lucky person to find and keep! #ArtonaLimb2020

A group of rock legends are permanently playing the Suwanee Town Center Stage, thanks to a local artist. Muralist Kim Pitts donated his piece entitled ‘Suwanee Rocks’ to the City of Suwanee’s permanent art collection. The mural depicting musicians Elton John, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Prince, Blondie, Paul McCartney, Elvis, Aretha Franklin, and Billy Joel was installed on October 23, 2020 on the back of the Town Center Stage. I pass Suwanee all the time d...uring my daily travels, and I saw that the city really committed itself to the arts. I’ve always loved the amphitheater and wanted to do a piece for it, said Pitts. Pitts approached the city about displaying his work. The artist proposed the location on the back of the stage wing after noticing the space while eating outside at Brown Bag Deli. The 5’ x 10’ mural is painted on Dibond metal with heavy-bodied acrylic paint and has a value of $5,000. The inspiration for the piece came from Pitts’ 64-year-old brother Tommy, who can still be found rocking out with his band on the weekends. The little bird nestled in amongst the musicians is Pitts’ signature, and can be found on all of his work. It represents a little metal wind-up toy that was the artist’s favorite as a child. A Georgia native, Pitts works out of his home studio in Buford, where he resides with his wife and two daughters. For more information about his work, visit KimseyArt.com. For more information regarding the City of Suwanee’s public art initiative, visit Suwanee.com.

Originally, gnomes were thought to provide protection, especially of buried treasure and minerals in the ground. They are still used today to watch over crops and livestock, often tucked into the rafters of a barn or placed in the garden or in City of Suwanee parks and trails! People are finding Art on a Limb all over Suwanee; keep an eye out at our city parks and on our trails for a gnome! #ArtonaLimb2020

No, we still haven't talked Chief into a canine unit. This cutie's name is Faith, and she's a therapy dog. Our friends at Canines for Christ brought her over for a little stress relief for our police officers!

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! DAY 8: Today we're giving away a $50 gift card to C.C. Liquidations! Enter by clicking the link below. Contest window closes tonight at midnight. Winner will be announced in the morning. Good luck! Enter now: https://bit.ly/3gQg0St

A balanced diet is a Christmas cookie in each hand, but even the staunchest holiday baker needs a break! We want you to tell us your go-to to-go place in Suwanee for when you just can’t in the kitchen anymore. Nutty for nachos? Crazy for calzones? Silly for sushi? Tag your favorite local restaurant in the comments below and tell us your favorite order for a chance to win a limited edition Suwanee ornament!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Congrats to Kevin Leftwich for winning the Aveda gift basket from Revival Salon. We've reached out! 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! DAY 7: T...oday we're giving away an Aveda Gift Basket from Revival salon totaling more than $100! The basket contains Cherry Almond Shampoo, Cherry Almond Leave-in Conditioner, Cherry Almond Travel Shampoo, Cherry Almond Travel Conditioner, Cherry Almond Hand Relief, and Aveda Comforting Tea (total value: $106). Enter by clicking the link below. Contest window closes tonight at midnight. Winner will be announced in the morning. Good luck! Enter now: https://bit.ly/3n6nEdw

Explore Gwinnett, the county’s convention and visitors’ bureau, has awarded the City of Suwanee Public Arts Commission a Gwinnett Creativity Fund project grant. Explore Gwinnett’s Creativity Fund Grants provide support for arts and cultural initiatives within Gwinnett County in 2021. The City of Suwanee will use their grant, totaling $10,000, to create an approximately 180 feet long by 10 feet high public art mural on a brick retaining wall at the intersection of Buford High...way and Town Center Avenue in the heart of downtown. Matching funds for the mural will be provided by the Suwanee Public Arts Commission. We pitched the idea for this large scale mural to bring joy to our residents and visitors during this pandemic. We envision a fun, vibrant, colorful, whimsical design that will be worthy of one million Instagram posts! said City of Suwanee Assistant City Manager Denise Brinson. Local nonprofits Suwanee Arts Center and Suwanee Performing Arts also received Gwinnett Creativity Fund project grants. Explore Gwinnett awarded a total of 12 grants to Gwinnett County non-profit arts organizations for a total of $80,700. Explore Gwinnett is honored to administer the Gwinnett Creativity Fund and we are looking forward to seeing these unique arts projects come to fruition, said Lisa Anders, Executive Director of Explore Gwinnett. For more information regarding Explore Gwinnett’s Gwinnett Creativity Fund, please visit GwinnettCreativityFund.com.

Gnomes are known as symbols of good luck, which you obviously have if you find one of our Art on a Limb pieces this year (self-fulfilling prophecy!). Keep your eyes peeled in City of Suwanee parks and trails - we're hiding two gnomes every day in November for some lucky person to find and keep! #ArtonaLimb2020 #GameofGnomes

Stay in-the-know when severe weather is on the way or an emergency situation arises by signing up for the City of Suwanee’s CodeRed emergency notification service. The service provides subscribers with emergency and general notifications via phone calls, email, and/or text. Subscribers can indicate contact and information preferences. Weather notifications are generated through the National Weather Service and are geocoded so that only subscribers in impacted areas are notified. Emergency notifications are issued sparingly and only in instances when the situation requires awareness or action in order to ensure the safety and well-being of residents. Suwanee residents may sign up for the service at Suwanee.com or by texting SUWANEE to 99411.

Final reminder! City Hall will be open for in-person voting until 7:00 pm for the city municipal election ONLY (Suwanee City Council Post 5); if you are casting your vote in any other election (Presidential, U.S. Congressional, State Congressional, Judicial, School Board, County, etc.), you will need to locate your assigned polling site by visiting www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Congrats to Kirsten Grothe for winning the $50 gift card to Ippolito's! We've reached out! 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! DAY 6: Today we...'re giving away a $50 gift card to Ippolitos Suwanee Town Center! Enter by clicking the link below. Contest window closes tonight at midnight. Winner will be announced in the morning. Good luck! Enter now: https://bit.ly/2IF08W2

Happy Election Day! City Hall will be open for in-person voting from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm. City Hall is a polling site for the city municipal election ONLY (Suwanee City Council Post 5); if you are casting your vote in any other election (Presidential, U.S. Congressional, State Congressional, Judicial, School Board, County, etc.), you will need to locate your assigned polling site by visiting www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.

We are pleased to announce a new vendor who started today! Come try this! You can thank us later. Ginger Yums sells ginger drinks that are oh so yummy! Show them some love, Suwanee! Winter market hours are 9 am to 11 am.

Join the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children for Parent CONNECT, a five-part virtual child safety series every Tuesday, starting November 10 at 7pm. Designed for busy parents, each 30-minute session will focus on a child safety topic including online trends and safety risks facing children today: November 10 - COVID 19 and Online Safety November 17 - Talking to Teens about Sexting November 24 - Live Streaming and Online Enticement ... December 1 - Cyberbullying December 8 - Child Sex Trafficking Registration is FREE and allows admittance to all five sessions. https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/

Tomorrow is Election Day! Be sure you know where to vote. Only eligible voters (registered voters residing within the Suwanee city limits; please visit Suwanee.com to find out if you reside in Suwanee city proper) may vote at City Hall in the city municipal election ONLY (Suwanee City Council Post 5). Those wishing to vote in any other election (Presidential, U.S. Congressional, State Congressional, Judicial, School Board, County, etc.) should check GwinnettCounty.com for early polling sites and times.