History and Heart will be featured downtown in Feb.
♦ A lineup of special events is announced during the monthly Coffee Break.
Business leaders got a chance to see Aventine — Rome’s newest restaurant, at 401 W. Third St. — during the monthly Downtown Coffee Break on Friday.
The business community also learned that there will be plenty of things happening in Rome during the month of February.
The new restaurant has been open for just two months and is still experiencing strong crowds, to the point where reservations are a good idea.
Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism Communications Director Kristi Kent said the Rome Area History Museum, now being operated by the tourism office, will host a free lecture Thursday night.
It features author William Matson and Elder Floyd Clown, a Lakota relative of Crazy Horse. The lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. and Matson will have copies of his book “Crazy Horse: The Lakota Warrior’s Life & Legacy” to sign.
The museum will be open Feb. 9 for a special Super Museum Sunday. Admission is free from noon to 4 p.m. Cave Spring’s welcome center, log cabin, Fairview School and Hearn Academy also are participating in the statewide observance.
A Susan B. Anthony traveling exhibit will be featured at the Rome Area History Museum Feb. 15-29. The exhibit, from the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum in Massachusetts, is called “The Suffrage Wall.” It focuses on her work in the effort to win women the right to vote and feminist issues.
Later in the month, on Feb. 27, the museum will host a Lunch and Learn with Larry Lester, the founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
The program will be held at noon and there is a $10 fee for the lunch. Reservations can be made by contacting the tourism office at 706-295-5576.
February is Heart Month and it’s kicking off with the hanging of special Heart Art by 28 local artists in the openings of the Third Avenue parking deck, facing the Forum River Center.
The annual Heart of the Community Awards will be presented at the Forum on Saturday, Feb. 8. Earlier that day, at 9:30 a.m., a Heart Walk will be held from the Town Green. During that event, the Heart of the Community Foundation will reveal its 2020 grant recipients.
Thursday, Feb. 13, is Movie Night With Heart at the Desoto, sponsored by Redmond Regional Medical Center, the Historic Desoto Theatre Foundation and Rome Area Council for the Arts.
Admission to see “When Harry Met Sally” is $25, which covers desserts and drinks as well the movie. Desserts and drinks are at 7 p.m. with the movie slated to start an hour later. Tickets are on sale at www.romearts.org.
Tracy Hellriegel also updated the downtown business leaders on the new Rome Shakespeare Festival River Arts District playhouse.
The venue, to be known simply as The RAD, is opening at 233 N. Fifth Ave. The first presentation will be “Godspell,” with show dates of March 6-8 and 13-15. Tickets are available by calling 706-331-1006.