The Quilters of Gees Bend will be at the Mall at Stonecrest on Oct. 27 and 28 to help celebrate the legacy of the nation's most noted and prolific African-American inventor and agriculturist at the first annual George Washington Carver Harvest Festival.

The free two-day festival on the mall's plaza will highlight Carver's scientific contributions that include hundreds of uses for the peanut, other plants and plant extracts, and the extract of blue, purple and red pigments from local clay.

Born a slave, Carver joined the faculty of Tuskegee University in 1896 where he developed new products from peanuts, sweet potatoes and other crops and conducted experiments in crop rotation and the restoration of soil fertility. Known as the 'Plant Doctor," he urged southern farmers to rotate cotton with soil-enhancing crops such as soybeans and peanuts.

Activities include a George Washington Carver Exhibit, demonstrations on building a bird house, and floral arranging, a sweet-potato-pie-baking and container garden contests and a hallelujah Harvest table Setting Display competition for church members. Sheldon Fleming, founder of Decatur-based Wonderland Gardens and host of Tv One's "Can You Dig It!" gardening show will answer questions. A variety of demos and exhibits from top landscaping, agricultural, and gardening professionals will also be held.

Children activities include painting pumpkins, apple snatch, goober toss and face painting. An Open Air Market will offer an array of "just picked" seasonal organic vegetables and fruits grown in Georgia.

Quilters Sarah Benning, Ruth Kennedy, Helen McCloud, and Stella Mae Pettway will appear at the festival. The four are members of the famous Gees Bend cooperative in Alabama. The quilters brought fame to the remote southeast Alabama town with their artistic quilting. Their works are included in the internationally acclaimed "Quilts of Gee's Bend" exhibition which has appeared in national and international news magazines, television and radio shows.

Sponsor and vendor opportunities are still available. Proceeds benefit the life skills programs at Wonderland Gardens that assist at-risk young adults.

The festival will be Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Oct. 28 from noon to 4 p.m.

The Mall at Stonecrest is at I-20 andTurner Hill Road in Lithonia. For more information, visit www.gwcharvestfest.com or call 404-286-6163