Rome — Barron Stadium, Saturday, October 24, 2026: The Peach State Marching Festival & Competition brings regional high school marching bands to downtown Rome.

Performance times are pending; check the organizer’s schedule before attending.

Gate admission is $10 for ages 6 and older; ages 5 and younger are FREE.

Parking is limited at the stadium; the organizer recommends the 3rd Avenue Parking Deck at 131 West First Street.

Chili-Fest & Harvest Market returns to Ridge Ferry Park on Saturday, October 24, 2026, with gates opening at 10 a.m. and the arts and crafts festival running until 3 p.m.

Buy a $5 sampling bracelet at the event to taste chili and receive three People’s Choice voting tabs.

Admission is free, and parking is $5 per car.

Find the event at 363 Riverside Parkway NE in Rome.

Italian restaurants in Rome, GA, offer several different ways to do dinner, from an evening built around Mediterranean dishes to a family meal of pasta, pizza and garlic rolls.

La Scala and Aventine suit diners looking beyond familiar red-sauce favorites. Provino’s and Olive Garden bring the recognizable Italian-American dinner, while Bella Roma and Gondola give a mixed group room to choose pizza, pasta or Mediterranean dishes.

Roma Mia and Pasquale’s round out the comparison with more choices north of downtown, including baked pasta, calzones and pizza.

The useful question is what kind of meal your table wants. These eight profiles compare menus, settings and locations so you can choose an occasion before choosing a restaurant. Leave room for the accompaniments—and check current menus before settling on a particular dish.

Click a linked restaurant name to open its Seven Hills Spotlight directory listing, with a map and directions for your next visit.

Rome Little Theatre’s PLAYSPACE meets Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 6:30–9:30 p.m. at the RLT Building, 502 East First Street in Rome, GA, for a table read of John Bishop’s The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.

The session welcomes adults 18 and older to read characters’ parts, discuss the play and meet fellow theatre enthusiasts. Seasoned actors and newcomers can join the conversation.

A script and some company offer a friendly way into local theatre, with a comedy full of mystery and increasingly ridiculous complications waiting at the table.

The Rome International Film Festival returns to downtown Rome, GA, November 5–8, 2026, opening Thursday with a 6:15 p.m. red carpet outside the Historic DeSoto Theatre and a 7:15 p.m. screening of The Accountant with special guest Ray McKinnon.

For four days, the next good story may be waiting inside a theater rather than on your television. Screenings and conversations also take place at Rome City Auditorium, SPAM Studios and Screen 417.

Danny McBride, this year’s Flannery O’Connor Award honoree, gives comedy fans an obvious entry point. Visiting filmmakers, independent features, documentaries and regional shorts offer plenty of other reasons to head downtown.

Friday expands the program, Saturday brings McBride appearances with event-specific admission terms, and Sunday closes with awards, films and a Dolly Parton tribute concert.

This preview highlights the weekend’s draws before you choose individual screenings. Check the official RIFF schedule for current venues, times and reservations.

There comes a point every October when the kitchen starts quietly changing seasons.

King Arthur Baking offers on-demand classes for a head start on holiday pies, cookies and bread.

Through October 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, save 15% on one class, 20% on two or 25% on three.

Qualifying merchandise orders of $99 or more also include a free Nordic Ware ornament while supplies last; tax, shipping and Baking School classes do not count toward that total.

Read the full article for affiliate links and disclosure; purchases through those links help support Seven Hills Spotlight at no additional cost to you.

Rome, GA — Rome High School Performing Arts Center, 1000 Veterans Memorial Highway: Chicago: Teen Edition’s one-act performances are October 21–22, 2026, at 7 p.m.

The full-length production follows November 20–21 at 7 p.m. and November 22 at 2 p.m.

Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly and a scheming courtroom cast bring Roaring Twenties ambition and theatrical mischief to the stage under director Alexis Tyson.

Tickets are $10 for the public and $5 for students and staff, available online and at the door.

The show includes sensitive themes; review the synopsis for younger audience members.

For Tickets click HERE.

Milk Street is loaded with useful kitchen tools, unusual pantry finds and gift ideas that feel more interesting than the usual holiday picks.

Current sale highlights include a hammered carbon-steel skillet for $69.95, a Pasta Pot for $99.95 and discounted Milk Street cookbooks.

The store is also featuring international sweets, sauces, oils and pantry ingredients, plus a $30 Store Pass with special pricing on more than 200 products and early access to sales and new arrivals.

Chattanooga, October 23–25: Build a fall outing around bluegrass, local art and jazz.

IBMA’s ticketed concerts run Friday–Saturday, with a free Exhibit Hall from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. both days and free Pickin’ in the Park Saturday from 10 a.m.–9 p.m.

Between the Bridges brings approximately 50 local artists to Coolidge Park Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, noon–5 p.m.

Sunday’s free Chattanooga Jazz Fest runs 11 a.m.–7 p.m. at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, followed by a Wanderlinger jam from 7:30–9:30 p.m.

FREE music options; tickets required for IBMA indoor festival concerts.

Helen is a little farther than we usually wander for Worth The Drive — about two and a half hours from Rome — but some fall events are simply too big to ignore.

The 56th annual Helen Oktoberfest is already underway and runs through November 1, with weekend celebrations through September and daily events beginning October 1. It is the longest-running Oktoberfest in the United States, and year after year Helen lands among the country’s most recognized Oktoberfest destinations.

And if you’re going to drive that far, I’d...