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He said Americus' long tradition of glass blowing seemed like the perfect fit for the festival. "We brainstormed ideas for a unique event that could be hosted in downtown, and a cra beer festival came up," Willis said. "We learned that cra beer festivals are everywhere, and we asked, 'If we hosted a festival, what does Americus have that is unique to our region?' at's when mobile glass blowing came up." Phil Vinson is the CEO of Americus' Mobile Glassblowing Studios, which manufacturers portable glass blowing equipment. He said glass blowing has been in Americus for almost 50 years thanks to Georgia Southwestern State University. "Glass blowing has been available for study locally at GSW since about 1971, which started a long history of art glass in our area," Vinson said. "Our president, Chuck Wells, is also the glass blowing professor at GSW, and he saw his graduating students leaving the university without many opportunities to continue blowing glass. Our equipment is much smaller and more affordable than most larger glass working studios and helps to fill that gap for students, professionals and hobbyists alike." Festival organizers expect at least 30 glass blowing artists from around Georgia and the U.S. at this year's festival, happening April 4. "We use a number of our Mobile Glassblowing Studios Dragon furnaces and equipment to provide simultaneous demonstrations at eight or nine different stations, which allows us to host a wide variety of artists from around the country for this event," Vinson said. "It is a wonderful way to utilize the mobile aspects of our equipment and to showcase the talents of so many unique artists." Artists also display and sell their handmade works. At the 2019 festival, dozens of tables were lined with hundreds of unique, colorful sculptures and housewares – everything from hand-blown wine glasses to intricate glass figurines. Aer checking out the glass blowing demonstrations, festival attendees can sample beers from nearly two dozen breweries, including Macon's own Macon Beer Co. ere also will be food from regional food trucks, and several Georgia-based distilleries M ACO N M AG A Z I N E.CO M 8 7