Things to Do in Perry

Whether wearing a horned Viking helmet—cheekily dubbed the official Wine-Making Hat—or working bareheaded, the team at Warm Springs Winery crafts an array of muscadine wines. The sweet red and off-dry varieties of muscadine are produced from grapes grown in Georgia. As guests sample wines from souvenir glasses, they can gaze into Warm Springs’ pond, where lotus flowers float above a family of colorful koi.

Near the end of the 18th century, Colonel Samuel Hugh Hawkins and the people of Americus decided a new train line was needed to ensure that their town would continue to grow and prosper. The resulting line, called the Savannah, Americus, and Montgomery, helped spur development throughout rural Georgia, and the historic SAM Shortline trains that now traverse its rails pay tribute to both the early line and its founder with the name. Vintage cars from 1949, transformed into comfortable, air-conditioned passenger liners, steer passengers through Georgia's landscape in five tours, with layovers encouraging riders to explore the towns of Plains, Americus, Leslie, and Cordele. A stop in Plains, the hometown of President Jimmy Carter, grants an up-close view of the stateman's boyhood home, campaign museum, and White House replica built entirely from peanuts. Between stops, a well-stocked commissary car lets rail-riders feast on à la carte items, including snacks, hot and cold beverages, and refreshing ice-cream treats.

For more than two decades, Olympia Family Fun Center has helped guests young and old get their groove on with a wooden roller-skating rink, snack bar, and O-zone—an on-site dance club for teenagers. The rink's fluorescent lights and energetic, upbeat tunes keep skaters in motion as they loop around the rink, passing slower skaters and high-fiving onlookers who have really great hair.

When the neon curlicues above its marquee first lit up in 1916, the Capitol Theatre promised Macon residents the finest movie-going experience available, with cozy leather seats and a gold-fiber screen. After shutting down in 1976, the theater languished for 30 years, suffering from water damage and neglect until renovation began in 2003, restoring the space to its former glory. Brass-banisters encircle the wrap-around balconies above the venue’s open floor, dotted with cabaret-style tables and seats occupied by frugal 1920s ghosts still trying to get their 15-cents worth from their original admission.    

Nestled amid the scenic Georgian countryside, Three Angel Farm invites students of all experience levels to settle into the saddles of seasoned, reliable training horses. Skilled instructors draw on their experiences working with special-needs children in therapeutic riding settings as they carefully match mount and pupil, limiting class sizes to around five in order to give each saddle-filler adequate attention. Above all else, the farm’s equestrians prioritize communication and emotional bonding between rider and horse to help them develop strong relationships and respect for one another despite their differing tastes in footwear.

In the year 2000, after hundreds of hours of yoga practice, workshops, and conferences, Tanya Edwards's hard work culminated in the opening of her very own studio, Art of Yoga. And today, alongside her team of certified yoga teachers, Tanya helps practitioners of all experience levels build strong bodies and sound minds with an eclectic teaching style grounded in the Hatha yoga tradition. The serene, sage-colored studio heats up to a balmy 95 degrees during hot yoga, a 90-minute routine of stretching and sweating that encourages the body to expel harmful toxins, such as liquefied body parts of T-1000. Other class styles include a gentler restorative class, an intense core-centric yoga class, and a Bollywood fusion class that infuses low-impact Eastern dances with Western fitness techniques.