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Quality of Life
Oconee County is a vibrant community with numerous opportunities. It has the reputation of being a futuristic, forward thinking county that maximizes its resources.
Our county has received many accolades for its attention to parks/rec, its retail development, and its excellent public & private school systems. It was honored by Georgia Trend magazine for its planning procedures and by The Progressive Farmer as being a great place to live.
Oconee County is home to a number of great recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike. The county is home to three golf courses that are either entirely or partially within the county. Jennings Mill Country Club and Lane Creek Golf Club are both in Oconee County, while the Georgia Club straddles both Oconee and Barrow Counties.
Harris Shoals Park is nestled in the City of Watkinsville. It holds picnic pavilions with charcoal grills, a large playground area for children, a baseball field, and overlooks the shoals.
Oconee County and the City of Watkinsville serve as a hotbed for artistic talent. The City of Watkinsville has the moniker “The Artland of Georgia” due to the presence of a large number of artists within the community. In fact, American Style magazine recognized Watkinsville as being a “Top 25 Arts Community” in America during 2011.
Jerry and Kathy Chappelle moved to Georgia from Minnesota more than 3 decades ago. Recognizing the need for a location to house artists and allow for the cultivation of the arts industry in northeast Georgia, they established Happy Valley Pottery to meet that need. Today, Happy Valley Pottery is still a working artist venue which you can tour and purchase merchandise. Please call ahead to be sure that artists will be working at the time of your visit. Happy Valley is located at 1210 Carson Graves Road in southern Oconee County near the Farmington community. The Chappelles have also renovated a historic 1827 house in Watkinsville which is now home to Chappelle Gallery.
Oconee Youth Playhouse is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 that serves the Athens/Oconee and surrounding areas by offering high-quality musical theater productions to the community while giving young people valuable experience in the performing arts. OYP typically does three shows per year, primarily on their home stage at the Oconee County Civic Center in Watkinsville.
Annual community events within Oconee County include:
- First Friday events – beginning in April of each year
- Relay for Life
- Southworks art exhibit – Memorial Day weekend
- Fourth of July celebration – July 4
- Perspectives pottery show – late September
- Washington Farms Corn Maze – late September - late October
- Christmas Parade – first Saturday in December
- Average Annual Rainfall – 49.7 inches
- Average Annual Temperature – 62º (F)
- Average High Temperature – 72º (F)
- Average Low Temperature – 51º (F)
- Highest Recorded Temperature – 107º (F)
- Lowest Recorded Temperature – -4º (F)