The 65th Pine Tree Festival will be held from Saturday April 24, 2010 to Wednesday May 5, 2010. The 3 "big days" for the event will be from Thursday April 29 2010 to Saturday May 1 2010 at the Swainsboro / Emanuel County Recreation Complex.

Last year’s festival was an unqualified success evidenced by the 10,000 folks that attended last year’s events. This was a dramatic increase over the previous year. The festival was a huge economic boost for our city and county with filled hotel rooms, restaurants, and increased expenditures by visitors.

"This year's committee is pleased to announce one of the most exciting line-ups of events ever," according to Athen Walden, Co-Chairman of the Pine Tree Festival.

Breaking News: Bucky Covington and Jimmy Wayne in Concert at Pine Tree Festival.

Leading the way will be FMX Freestyle Motorcycle Exhibition Stunt Show. The high-energy show features the fastest growing action sport of the new millennium and is described as a combination of suspense, thrills and danger. Each show is staffed with professional motorcycle riders who have competed in the world famous ESPN X-Games. The motorcycle stunt show & exhibition will be separately presented to area school kids and also scheduled for several public presentations.

The committee also announced other new venues for this year's event.

Hailing from Lehighton, Pennsylvania, will be the most incredible of all chainsaw carving exhibitions. "Masters of the Chainsaw" is a truly awesome spectacle as top chainsaw sculptors demonstrate their prowess in creating beautiful works of art using nothing but a chainsaw. The show will be presented Thursday and Friday mornings to area school children and on Friday afternoon and Saturday when the event is opened to the public. The chainsaw art work will be on sale following the event.

'The Parks at Chehaw' will be a part of this year's Pine Tree Festival & EXPO also. From Albany, Georgia, 'The Parks at Chehaw' present an animal encounter that is both entertaining and educational. Shown will be animals native to Georgia and many exotic species. The show will be made available to school kids on Thursday and Friday morning and to the public on Friday afternoon and Saturday.

Back for a second year will be the Pine Tree Festival and Southeast Timber EXPO Logging Competition. Sponsored by Prentice, local loggers will compete in a number of 'logging competitions' to win prize money. This event will be held on Saturday, May 1st.

The McLeod Moring SCV Camp and Emanuel Rangers UDC Chapter 2318 will again present "Camp McLeod", a living history re-enactment complete with tents, cannon, re-enactors in period uniforms and numerous wartime artifacts. The re- enactment will include a field hospital, complete with patients, nurses, and true stories of local soldiers and their families. The re-enactment will be part of the school program on Thursday and Friday mornings and open to the public on Friday afternoon and Saturday.

In addition to these new venues, Swainsboro Raceway is expected to feature a blockbuster race on Saturday night, May 1st, featuring the 'World of Outlaws' Late Model Series Race. The 150 lap race will feature $10,000 in prize money. Qualifying times and race start will be announced later.

Another new event added to this year's festival will be a 'Forestry Field Day' for landowners and timber growers. The field day will be held Thursday afternoon, April 29th, at the Swainsboro/Emanuel County Recreation Complex. Some12-to-15 exhibits will be set up for educational demonstrations ranging from 'fire control burning' to 'pond management.' According to Russ Youmans, Co-Chairman of the Southeast Timber EXPO, this new addition to the festival is expected to grow each year.

The 2010 festival will feature many familiar events from recent years such a forestry equipment display, antique car show, beauty pageants, a grand parade hosted by the Shriners, flower show, arts and crafts, barbeque cook-off, battle of the bands, helicopter rides, and more.

The Festival and EXPO will conclude on Wednesday, May 5th, with the State Future Farmers of America Field Day event hosted at the Swainsboro/Emanuel County Recreation Department. Last year over 350 students from across the state participated in the event.

Expected to participate in this year's festival are UGA's Warnell School of Forestry, Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Forestry Association, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, Shriners, and the Swainsboro Fire Department and 'Haz-Mat' Unit.

The Festival has a rich history, having been started by the Swainsboro Kiwanis Club. It began in 1948 as an education project aimed at stopping dangerous, uncontrolled burning of woodlands to improve open-range cattle grazing.

"The festival continues to focus on our pine tree heritage and today it is one of the oldest continuously operated community festivals in Georgia. For 65 years it has been known for its enthusiastic celebration of our forest resources and timber's contribution to the community's economy," added Bill Rogers, Festival Board Chairman

Emanuel County is one of the top five timber producing counties in Georgia and sits at the crossroads of the great southeast pine belt - America's wood basket.

In 2008 Swainsboro/Emanuel County Festival Foundation, Inc. was created when a group of local organizations purchased the festival rights from the Swainsboro Kiwanis Club. Members of the Foundation are the Swainsboro/Emanuel Chamber of Commerce, City of Swainsboro, Emanuel County Commission, East Georgia College, Swainsboro Technical College, and numerous service organizations.