Beechwood Restaurant and Lounge logo

Beechwood Restaurant and Lounge logoThe 2019 Dingler Family Reunion dinner will be held at the Beechwood Restaurant & Lounge in Vicksburg. We will meet at the restaurant at 5 PM on Saturday, July 20. We will be using our usual playbook where you will order off the menu and be responsible for your own check.

The Beechwood Restaurant & Lounge (4451 Clay St, Vicksburg, MS 39183) has been a Vicksburg favorite since 1956. We’re looking forward to seeing all y’all there for an evening of good food and family.

We have selected the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Vicksburg as our host hotel for the 2019 reunion, July 19-21, 2019. A block of rooms at discounted rates is now available to book. To book your room or rooms, call the hotel directly at 601-634-8777 and let them know you are booking a room for the Dingler Family Reunion. It is very important that you ask for the reunion rate because we need to have at least 20 rooms booked for the meeting room charge to be waived.

Details about the hotel block are listed below.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites
4330 South Frontage Road
Vicksburg, MS 39180
Phone: 601-634-8777

Rates (includes hot deluxe breakfast buffet)

Room TypeNo. in RoomNightly RateTotal Nightly Rate
Single1$106 + 10% tax$116.60
Double2$106 + 10% tax$116.60
Triple3$116 + 10% tax$127.60
Quad4$126 + 10% tax$138.60

Rooms must be booked by June 19, 2019. After that date, any remaining rooms in the block will be released and the discounted rate will no longer be offered. Make sure you book your room before the deadline!

Alpine Helen & White County, Georgia

Alpine Helen & White County, Georgia
Mark your calendars for July 20-22. Those are the dates for this year’s Dingler Family Reunion. We are returning to Georgia where the “Alpine” village of Helen will be our host for the reunion weekend.  Helen has been mentioned in the past as a possible site, and everyone was enthusiastic about the suggestion when it was discussed at last year’s reunion.

Helen is located in the Northeast Georgia Mountains region. While it is a small city (only 430 residents!), Helen is also Georgia’s third most visited city. The city used to be a logging town, but when the industry declined, Helen reinvented itself as a tourist destination with an alpine village theme.  It’s the charm of Bavaria, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Don’t forget to pack your Lederhosen and Dirndl!

Hotel Info

We have a block of rooms at the Baymont Inn & Suites in Helen (8220 S Main Street Helen, Georgia 30545-3649 706-878-2111).  The nightly rate is $124.99 + tax (+ $5.00/night Georgia fee). A free hot buffet breakfast is included along with complimentary WiFi, a fitness room, and an outdoor pool. You can book your room by calling the hotel at 706-878-2111. Make sure you let them know you are with the Dingler Family Reunion.  The hotel is providing the meeting room at no cost as long as we book at least half of the room block, so be sure to get the reunion rate.

The deadline to book your room and take advantage of the group rate is July 13.

Now we know that the rate is a bit higher than we’ve received in the past, but the nightly rates in Helen are higher because it is a popular destination.  We think it will be worth it, so we hope to see you there. Please note that the hotel does not allow pets.

Learning More about Alpine Helen

If you are looking for more information about Alpine Helen, check out the Alpine Helen / White County Convention & Visitors Bureau website.  There you will find information on attractions, dining, shopping, and more.  You can also read the Helen Travel Guide brochure for 2018.

Alpine Helen is active on social media. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Here’s a video from their YouTube page.

Our evening dinner and meeting will be in the Magnolia Room.   at the Lakepoint State Park Resort Lodge at 6 PM.  The buffet dinner will start serving at 6:15 PM, so don’t be late! The menu is as follows:

  • Fried chicken and sliced roast beef in au jus
  • Mashed potatoes with gravy
  • Seasoned green beans
  • Oven baked creamed corn
  • Tossed salad with dressing
  • Macaroni salad
  • Assorted pies for dessert

The cost for dinner is $21 per person. This includes the meal, tax, and tip. Although our preferred method of payment is credit, we will also accept cash and checks.

Pardon me, boy. Is that the Chatttanooga Choo Choo?

Yes, in fact it IS the Chattanooga Choo Choo.  And it will be pulling into the station with the Dingler Family Reunion onboard!

When Eufaula turned out to not be available for 2011, we decided to move it back to 2012, and find a new host city. We cast our gaze northwards (but not too far north) and landed just past the Georgia border in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

If you haven’t been to Chattanooga, it is in a scenic area, nestled on the banks of the Tennessee River.  It is easily accessible, at the meeting point of three interstates, and filled to the brim with things to do and see.  This won’t be the farthest north we’ve been (that would be Mountain View, Arkansas), but it will be our first reunion in Tennessee.

I’ll post details about the hotel arrangements and how you can book your room later today. I’ll also send out an email to everyone on the mailing list who has an email address on record. We’re only 113 days away, so time to start making plans!