Waycross-Ware County Development Authority

08/27/2026

🎉 GOOD NEWS! The restoration of the Lyric Theatre is officially underway! 🎭✨

We’re excited to see work beginning on this important piece of our downtown’s history, and we can’t wait to watch the Lyric Theatre continue its journey toward a bright new chapter!

🚧 A quick heads-up for our community: Construction work will be taking place at the Lyric Theatre over the next two weeks. If you’re traveling through the area, please use extra caution around Tebeau and Elizabeth Streets and be mindful of construction activity.

We know construction can mean a little extra patience and caution, but we’re excited about what’s happening behind the scenes! Progress is happening, and the Lyric is one step closer to being restored and ready for its next chapter. ❤️

Thank you, downtown community, for your patience and support as this exciting work gets underway!

08/27/2026

Notice of Called Meeting

The Waycross Convention & Visitors Bureau will hold a called meeting at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2026, in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 417 Pendleton Street, Waycross, Georgia.

08/27/2026

Feeling frustrated waiting on the train?

Consider this:

Rail access is more than transportation—it’s a competitive advantage.

Strong connections to national rail networks help Ware County support industry, move products efficiently, and stay connected to markets across the country.

08/26/2026

👀 Ever Wonder Who’s Welcoming Visitors to Waycross from the Water Tower?

🐾 Some folks probably know exactly who he is. The rest of us have apparently been driving around under the watchful eye of a cartoon possum without asking too many questions.

🐾 That is Pogo, a possum created by cartoonist Walt Kelly. The Pogo comic strip was set in a fictionalized version of the Okefenokee Swamp and became one of the most popular comic strips in America. Kelly even used Waycross and Ware County in the strip. But Pogo was never just a funny cartoon. Kelly used his swamp characters to speak out against segregation, racism and political extremism. He also tackled war, elections, and environmental destruction. His satire was sharp enough that some newspapers censored or dropped strips when the subject matter became too controversial.

🌎 One of Pogo’s most famous lines — “We have met the enemy and he is us” — became an enduring environmental message about the damage people do to their own world.

Kelly wasn’t from Waycross, but he visited here in 1955, spoke at the Waycross-Ware County Chamber of Commerce, and finally saw the real swamp that had inspired Pogo’s world. By the late 1980s, Waycross had fully embraced Pogo as part of its identity. PogoFest began in 1987 and brought the character to life through parades, arts and crafts, visiting cartoonists and appearances by members of Walt Kelly’s family. The celebration lasted for years and helped cement Pogo’s place in local history. As the community’s festival traditions evolved, SwampFest began in 2004, shifting the focus more broadly to Waycross and the Okefenokee while carrying that same sense of local pride.

PogoFest even helped inspire something pretty unusual: in 1992, Georgia officially named Pogo the State ’Possum. And somewhere along the way, Pogo got one of the best seats in town — right on the water tower.

So yes, that character looking down on us really is a possum.

But he also represents something much bigger: a nationally known comic rooted in the Okefenokee, a piece of Waycross history, and a cartoon that wasn’t afraid to speak out against some of the ugliest forces in American life.

08/25/2026

08/25/2026

DID YOU KNOW? Waycross was ahead of its time when it came to women and the right to vote.

As we head into the November 3rd General Election, I came across a piece of local election history that I believe deserves to be remembered.

In 1915, legislation amending the City of Waycross charter included remarkable language declaring that the right of suffrage in Waycross should not be denied because of s*x. That effort did not ultimately establish women's voting rights, but the issue didn't go away.

In 1917, Waycross opened its municipal primary elections to women—three years before ratification of the 19th Amendment.

It was an important step forward, although it was not yet equal access for everyone. The political system of that era continued to exclude many African Americans, including Black women, from meaningful participation.

We decided this piece of Waycross election history deserves a permanent place in our Elections Office. This historical display will soon be placed in our lobby as a reminder of how voting rights have evolved over more than a century.

The ballots have changed. The laws have changed. But the importance of protecting every eligible citizen's opportunity to vote has not.

Preserving the Past • Administering the Present • Protecting the Future

City of Waycross, Government
Ware County Government

08/25/2026

🔥 WE’RE GETTING CLOSER, WAYCROSS! 🔥

September 12 is coming, and Small Town, Big Bites is about to take over Downtown Waycross!

We’ve got the food. We’ve got the music. We’ve got the local businesses. And we’ve got YOU to make this one a night to remember!

🎤 Lanie Mae Music
🎸 Peyton Chambless and the Backshift
🤘 SaltWater Gypseas

Three incredible local acts. One big night celebrating everything we love about our small town.

Bring your friends. Bring your appetite. Bring your concert crew. Bring the whole family!

📅 September 12
📍 Downtown Waycross

SAVE THE DATE because you do NOT want to miss this one!

Who’s coming?! ⬇️

08/25/2026

08/25/2026

Growth doesn’t always mean bringing in something new—it also means supporting the businesses that are already here.

When existing industries expand, they strengthen our local economy, create jobs, and continue investing in Ware County.