Over three days at the end of October, Big Canoe turns purple, the official color of the Alzheimer's Association. On Thursday afternoon the Chapel holds a seminar. On Friday night Mother's Finest plays the Terraces. On Saturday morning a golf tournament tees off at Big Canoe Golf Club and a bocce tournament starts on the Big Canoe Bocce Courts. The event's own preview in Smoke Signals calls it "the biggest event of the year in Big Canoe."
Organizers Sterling Kenyon and Peter Gelbwaks hope to raise $50,000 over the weekend. The ticketed events are filling up as the weekend gets closer. The silent auction has no cap on who can take part, and you don't have to register for anything to bid. It also closes first, at noon on Saturday, while the golf tournament is still on the course.
What's Already Full
Some events have limited spots, and some of those are gone. Here's where things stood at last check on the Paint Big Canoe Purple registration site:
- VIP concert tickets sold out. They were $95 and came with preferred seating, an event T-shirt, catered food and a meet-and-greet with the band after the show.
- General admission concert tickets are $45 and sold through Eventbrite. The Eventbrite listing is marked "Going fast" and shows a starting price of $53.36.
- Team bocce sold out. A four-player team was $200.
- Single-player bocce had 11 spots left at $50 each. Organizers place individual players on a team.
- Golf is $175 per player or $700 per foursome.
These numbers change daily, so a team spot you see today may be gone tomorrow. The Smoke Signals preview said concert tickets were "going fast" when it ran, too.
The Auction Anyone Can Join
According to the Smoke Signals preview, you can bid without registering for the golf, bocce or concert. Bidding is already open. Items listed so far include:
- Signed sports memorabilia
- A week in Tuscany
- A Blue Ridge cabin
- A Taylor Swift signed guitar
The list ends with "plus much more."
Bidding closes Saturday, October 31, at 12:00 p.m. Winners will be notified and can pick up their items at the Big Canoe Clubhouse between 3 and 5 p.m. that afternoon. Bids, concert tickets, sponsorships, registrations and direct donations all go through one page at birdease.com/paintbigcanoepurple. The preview says 100% of all proceeds go to the Alzheimer's Association.
The timing matters. If you're playing on Saturday, the auction closes while you're on the course. If you're at the concert Friday night, your best chance to check your bids is before you leave home or once you get back.
Saturday, Hour by Hour
Saturday is the busiest day of the weekend, with several start times and deadlines between breakfast and late afternoon:
Time | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
8:00 to 9:30 a.m. | Golf registration | Big Canoe Golf Club |
8:30 a.m. | Bocce registration | Big Canoe Bocce Courts |
9:00 a.m. | Bocce play begins | Big Canoe Bocce Courts |
9:30 a.m. | Golf shotgun start | Big Canoe Golf Club |
12:00 p.m. | Silent auction bidding closes | Online |
3:00 to 5:00 p.m. | Auction item pickup | Big Canoe Clubhouse |
The bocce tournament is played at the community's four courts in the Wildcat Recreation Area. The POA's bocce page says those courts can be reserved through the Racquet Club. The golf tournament is the 2nd Annual Memories Matter Forever Golf Tournament. Each player gets lunch and two drink tickets, with hors d'oeuvres after play. Golfers can add an optional $50 package. It includes:
- Entry into a $5,000 putting contest
- A hole-in-one contest for a new car
- A birdie ticket
- Two raffle tickets
- A tournament gift
Extra raffle tickets are $20 each or five for $50.
If you'd rather support the weekend at a bigger level, there are sponsorship tiers:
- Platinum ($5,000): eight golf or bocce entries and eight concert tickets
- Gold ($2,500): four entries and four concert tickets
- Silver ($1,000): two entries and two concert tickets
- Bronze ($250): two event shirts and a golf-hole sign
Smaller options include a $1,500 hole-in-one sponsorship, a $1,000 putting contest sponsorship, $300 each for longest drive and closest to the pin, and a $200 hole sign.
Friday Night at the Terraces
The organizers call the concert the heart of the weekend, and it takes the most planning. Mother's Finest headlines and Cat Ridgeway opens on Friday, October 30, at the Terraces at Big Canoe Chapel, 1849 Steve Tate Hwy. AllMusic describes Mother's Finest as an Atlanta-based funk-rock band. On her own site, Cat Ridgeway calls her sound "Indie rock for overthinkers." The Eventbrite listing says doors open at 5 p.m., the show runs from 7 to 10 p.m., parking is free and all ages are welcome.
The organizers' invitation says "Coolers are welcome, so pack your favorites and settle in." The Terraces venue FAQ adds some limits. The Chapel asks for no large coolers, tables or alcohol in the terraced seating area. Chairs, tables and coolers can go on the grassy areas behind the terraces. Ticket holders can use the picnic tables between the ticket booth and the parking lot, and you can tailgate next to your car. So your cooler is welcome, and the grass is where it goes.
The terraces themselves are stone. The venue's FAQ says they aren't comfortable for long and that most concertgoers bring folding camp chairs. Parking is limited and the venue encourages carpooling. If you're meeting friends to tailgate, arrive together, because saving spots is hard. Don't park in coned-off areas even when there's room, since those keep exit lanes open. Handicap parking is available. Follow the parking volunteers when you arrive.
Those are the venue's standing rules, written for its summer concert series. The Chapel's 2026 summer season has ended, and the stage is next scheduled for Summer 2027. That makes Friday's benefit one more night at the Terraces before next summer.
For weather, the Terraces' standing policy is to make every attempt to hold the show. If heavy rain is expected to stop shortly after 7 p.m., the concert will probably start late. Updates go on the "The Terraces of Big Canoe Chapel" Facebook page and on a recorded line at 470-273-6767.
If friends from outside Big Canoe are joining you for any part of the weekend, plan their entry ahead of time. The POA's visitor page says only the homeowner or a rental management company can call guests in through DwellingLive. The event pages don't describe a separate entry process for ticket holders or players, so add your guests to DwellingLive before they leave home.
Thursday Afternoon, and Why the Weekend Exists
The weekend begins quietly. An Alzheimer's educational seminar starts at 2 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, at the Big Canoe Chapel. Smoke Signals' preview describes it this way: "Learn, understand, and find out how you can help."
The organizer behind all three days is Memories Matter Forever, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created in honor of Amanda Kenyon. It supports individuals, families and caregivers affected by Alzheimer's and related dementias, and it funds research. The group says the weekend started as a single golf event and grew into the three-day program running this year.
The Alzheimer's Association's 2026 Georgia facts and figures sheet explains the need. It estimates that 188,300 Georgians aged 65 and older were living with Alzheimer's as of 2020. The same sheet counts 391,000 caregivers in the state, who provide 789 million hours of unpaid care. With concert seats and bocce teams limited, the auction is the one part of the weekend where anyone can still add to the $50,000 goal, as long as their bids come in before noon on Saturday.
Steve and his wife have lived in Big Canoe for about 20 years, and he's glad to help neighbors make the most of weekends like this one. If you need help getting a guest through the gate for Friday's concert, or you just want to know which way to the Wildcat bocce courts, just reach out to Steve Yambor. Let's Connect.
