When a Town Throws a Party for a Ghost - The Green Eyes Festival

Walker Rocks Staff
Oct 6
4 min read

Updated: Oct 9

The Green Eyes Festival

Downtown Chickamauga, GA · Saturday, October 18, 2025 · 10am - 6pm EST

In Chickamauga, Georgia, history runs deep.

Not just in monuments or museums, but in the morning fog, church homecomings, Friday night football, and in hand-me-down stories told with a wink.

Downtown Chickamauga on a clear day showcases the small-town charm and historic buildings featured in the Green Eyes Festival.

And among those stories, there’s one that never left.

They call him Old Green Eyes.

A stylized vintage poster advertising the Old Green Eyes Festival, highlighting the event’s connection to local folklore and community spirit.

No one’s exactly sure what he is. A ghost? A creature? A shape-shifting something that’s haunted the Chickamauga Battlefield for generations?

Depending on who you ask, he’s a floating head, a big cat, a soldier, or something that only comes out when the fog rolls in.

But hang around long enough, and you’ll hear something stranger still: Chickamauga threw a party for him.

And it turns out, this party wasn’t just about a ghost. It’s about something bigger. It's what Old Green Eyes has come to represent.

Green Eyes Festival: A Party for A Ghost

It’s called the Green Eyes Festival, and yes—it’s every bit as strange and wonderful as it sounds.

There’s live music, ghost stories, and tours through the battlefield. A Green Eyes Gallop 5K. Food trucks. Vendors selling homemade hot sauce, cryptid candles, and hand-sewn monster plushies.

And people come by the thousands!

Last year, over 4,500 visitors packed downtown Chickamauga. Many came for the lore. Some came for the fun. But underneath it all, the festival was born from something much deeper.

After Nate Tucker’s younger brother, Levi, passed away from brain cancer, the town wrapped around the family like Southern towns do—quietly, steadily, fully. Neighbors brought food. People showed up.

So Nate, along with his childhood friend Dillan Whisenant, started thinking: what could they give back?

They landed on a local legend. A little weird, a little wild, and somehow… just right.

A Town and a Ghost, Both Becoming Something New

This festival isn’t really about Old Green Eyes, though. It’s about what he represents.

Something old that refuses to disappear. Something strange that still feels familiar.

Something shared, even if it’s hard to define.

Just like Chickamauga.

Because this is a town at a crossroads. A place with one hand on its past and the other reaching towards what comes next.

The Gordon Lee Mansion, a historic landmark in Chickamauga, reflecting the deep Civil War history tied to the town and battlefield lore.

How do you keep what made you—your stories, your stillness, your soul—while leaving room for change? How do you grow without forgetting? How do you look forward without letting go?

Somehow, Green Eyes became a way to talk about all of it. Not because it made perfect sense. But because it gave people something to hold onto.

And that’s the beauty of stories. They don’t always fix things. But they remind us we’re not alone in trying.

Past, Present, and a Ghost in the Middle

The Chickamauga Battlefield is one of the most haunted places in the South. Or so the stories go.

Wilder Tower standing tall at Chickamauga Battlefield, one of the historic landmarks associated with Civil War memory and ghost stories.

It’s also one of the most peaceful. Early morning walks through the trails feel sacred. The trees hold things. The air feels thick with memory.

But Chickamauga isn’t stuck in time. No, this is a town with momentum. Slow sometimes? Sure, like molasses on a cold day—but moving all the same.

Old businesses have shuttered. New ones have opened. There’s pride here. And a little skepticism, too. But more than anything, there’s a willingness to try.

And maybe that’s what makes the Green Eyes Festival work. It shouldn’t. Not on paper, anyway. But here, it fits.

It’s playful. It’s rooted. It’s a little spooky and a lot sincere. Because at its heart, it’s a reminder that shared stories still matter.

Even if folks don’t agree on what Green Eyes is, they agree that he’s ours.

And sometimes, one shared spark is all it takes to fire up an old engine again.

October 18: Come See For Yourself

This year’s Green Eyes Festival lands on October 18, right along historic Gordon Street in downtown Chickamauga.

Old Green Eyes costume character posing in front of the Walker Rocks mural, blending local legend with community pride.

This year, there’ll be more vendors. More food. More stories. More everything.

And plenty of folk happy to share what they saw one night driving past Snodgrass Hill, or what their uncle swore happened in the trees behind Wilder Tower.

It’s weird. It’s wonderful. And it’s completely real.

Because in Chickamauga, stories don’t just get told—they get lived. They become part of the town's history.

And in a town moving forward, while keeping one hand on its history, that kind of thing still matters.

So no, it doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to matter.

And sometimes, the best way to build a future is by throwing a party for a ghost from the past.

To see the full lineup of events, vendors, and ghostly happenings, visit the Green Eyes Festival's official website at greeneyesfestival.com.

And if you’re the kind who likes to outrun monsters before breakfast, don’t miss the Green Eyes Gallop—a 5K, 10K, and Monster Mile race held the morning of the festival. Costumes are encouraged, prizes are up for grabs, and registration is open now at UltraSignup.