Cumming Arts, Theatre, and Museums
The City of Cumming initiated a revival of Georgian theatrical traditions for residents of Cumming and Forsyth County when city tax funds provided by a special purpose sales tax were used to renovate the Cumming 1923 Historic School property so that it could be placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Owned by the City of Cumming, the structure houses the Historical Society of Forsyth County, the Col. Hiram Parks Bell Center for Southern History and Genealogical Research, and the Cumming Playhouse.
During the renovation of the original Cumming School building, the auditorium’s tongue and groove wood floor and exposed beam vaulted ceiling were beautifully restored and refinished, the stage was refitted with state of the art lighting and sound, and it became the 184-seat Cumming Playhouse in July of 2004. Since that time, theater lovers have enjoyed a wide variety of plays, musicals, classical music, jazz, country music, blues and bluegrass music concerts that are presented at the Cumming Playhouse throughout each year. The Cumming Playhouse is located at 101 School Street and the contact phone number is (770) 781-9178.
Museums and art centers within 15 miles of Cumming
The Lanier Museum of Natural History at 2601 Buford Dam Road in Buford, 770-932-4450, is about 12 miles from Cumming. This quaint museum showcases Georgia’s natural environment with wildlife exhibits, a reptile collection and a butterfly garden, and provides classes, programs and field tours for both children and adults. About the same distance from Cumming in Dawsonville is the Bowen Center for the Arts at 334 Highway 9 North, (706) 216-2787, where people can enjoy new fine arts exhibits each month and take art classes.
Another local art center is the Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, (770) 623-6002. The original 14,000 sq. ft. art center that included 4,000 sq. ft. of gallery space and the 28,000 sq. ft. Weeks Sculpture Garden has been expanded with an additional 20,000 sq. ft. Children’s Art Museum. Special exhibits in the Children’s Art Museum include a do-it-yourself puppet theater, a magic kaleidoscope, an 8 ft. tall harp whose strings play chords when plucked, and a foot powered, giant keyboard on the floor that allows children to dance on it to create original melodies.
For those who enjoy America’s #1 fan-followed sport, the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, also known as Thunder Road USA, is about 13 miles from Cumming. In February of 1999, the Georgia State Legislature approved $15 million to renovate the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame at 415 Highway 53 East in Dawsonville, (706) 265-5076, where the history and technology of stock car racing is showcased.