kia factory tour georgia

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Tour of the Kia Georgia Plant in West Point

August 2, 2023 at 8:00 am - 3:00 pm.

REGISTRATION NOW RE-OPENED: Additional spots that have just opened up in the “Additional Tour Group”

You are invited to join the tour of the Kia Georgia Assembly Plant in West Point, Georgia in addition to a presentation by Kia representatives.

Early Registration is June 5 until July 7, 2023. Late Registration is July 8 to July 28, 2023 at 4:00pm ET.

You must pre-register for this event. Please note that in order to register, you will have to log in as an Existing User or New User. This is for website security purposes.

Shuttle buses will be provided from the Kia Georgia Training Center to the Kia Georgia Plant. Guests must report to the Kia Georgia Training Center for check-in, preliminary security check, and instructions.

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• About Kia Georgia

Beginning in 2006, Kia made one of the biggest single foreign investments in the history of Georgia by establishing a state-of-the-art production facility in West Point. Since then, we, along with our suppliers, have helped create more than 14,000 jobs and produced more than 4.2 million vehicles.

With an annual capacity of more than 350,000 vehicles, Kia Georgia is home of the Telluride SUV, Sorento SUV, Sportage SUV and, coming soon, the all-electric EV9 three row SUV. This advanced manufacturing facility represents a $2.8 billion investment on a 2,200 acre site, operating 24 hours a day.

More than 90 percent of the vehicles assembled in West Point are destined for dealerships across America, which accounts for almost 40 percent of all Kia sales in the U.S.

Kia Georgia’s goal is to be the best and most innovative automotive company in the world driven by the belief that Customer Satisfaction is Rooted in Quality. This is made possible by a team of individuals each identified as the best of the best.

The Company

A Message from President and CEO Stuart Countess

I want to thank you for visiting our website and share a few things about Kia Georgia. We are extremely proud to call Georgia home, a place where Southern hospitality is alive and well.

Our biggest responsibility and greatest honor is to continue to develop Kia Georgia’s production operations, maintain a focus on our people and to provide a clear vision for the future. Kia Georgia’s team members truly embrace the spirit of challenge and demonstrate this each day with an incredible commitment to this mission as we strive to achieve our ambitious production goals.

We appreciate the time you have spent with us today and hope that you will return soon.

Warmest regards,

Stuart Countess President and CEO Kia Georgia, Inc.

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KIA Plant Tour - West Point (Morning)

KIA Motors Manufacturing

Event Details

Tour available to gma members only.

This facility is the only Kia manufacturing plant in the United States, and the only automaker in Georgia.  With an annual capacity of more than 360,000 vehicles, Kia Motors Manufacturing of Georgia (KMMG) is home of the Kia Telluride, Sorento CUV, and Optima midsize sedan, some of the brand’s top selling models in the United States. This advanced manufacturing facility represents a $1.1 billion investment on a 2,200 acre site and employs 2,700 full time employees.

KMMG has produced more than 2.6 million vehicles since they began mass production in November 2009.  Tour attendees will see the entire manufacturing process for the Kia Sorento and Kia Optima --   from rolled metal all the way to the finished product using high tech stamping, weld shop advanced robotics, and highly automated assembly processes to produce the finished vehicle.  They produce a vehicle every 57 seconds utilizing three full shifts operating at the plant 24 hours a day/five days per week.

TOUR AGENDA

10:00 - 10:30 am            Registration,  Networking, and GMA Welcome (Visitor Center - enter the Main Gate 2)

10:30 - 10:45 am            KIA Welcome and Safety Briefing

10:45 - 12:00 pm            Plant Tour           

TOUR REQUIREMENTS:

•         All visitors must be at least 13 years old

•         Tobacco products are strictly prohibited at KMMG

•         Firearms are prohibited on site at KMMG

•         Photography is prohibited inside KMMG's plant

•         All tours are subject to cancellation with little or no notice depending on KMMG's production schedule

•         All visitors must have on long pants and enclosed toe shoes. Anyone who does not comply will likely not be able to participate in the tour.

•         Please take note of weather conditions on the day of the tour. While we do anticipate this tour being conducted on golf carts and most of it will be inside, there will be a portion that is outside and you may want to dress with that thought in mind (rain coat, etc.).

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Applying for Membership?

The members of GMA invite and encourage you to join! By working together, we can achieve our mission to maintain and enhance our industry as a whole.

All memberships are company based - individuals cannot join GMA.

Auto plant announcement for Bryan County megasite is Friday. Here's what you need to know

Automaker to build assembly facility on the bryan county megasite in the largest economic development deal in savannah history.

Update: This story has been modified to reflect a May 19 announcement by Hyundai about plans for its electric vehicle fleet.

Savannah is the manufacturing home to industry-leading original equipment makers Gulfstream , JCB and Mitsubishi Power .

Come Friday, automaker Hyundai Motors joins the ranks.

Official announcement: Hyundai to open auto plant, EV battery factory in Bryan County in 2025

Behind the deal: Why Hyundai Motors picked Bryan County megasite for auto plant

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will announce plans by Hyundai Motors, which manufactures the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, to build an assembly plant at the Bryan County megasite, according to people familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. The governor's office has called a 3 p.m. Friday press conference at the megasite property.

Details on the deal are scarce, as many local and state officials involved are prohibited from speaking about it due to non-disclosure agreements. According to reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , the factory will build electric vehicles and employ as many as 8.500 workers.

Here's what else to know ahead of Friday's announcement.

'Can't shut the gate after you come in': Residents in Bryan, Effingham counties wrestle with growth

Kia announcement: 'Super Bowl' economic development victory? State to announce Kia factory on Bryan megasite

Hyundai no stranger to Georgia

The South Korean automaker has been building vehicles in Georgia since 2009, when a Kia factory opened in West Point, located along Interstate 85 near the Georgia-Alabama border. The plant employs 2,700 workers and operates 24 hours a day to produce 340,000 gas-powered automobiles a year.

Hyundai Motors currently owns 10% market share in the U.S. between its Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands. 

Wooing Kia: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sets economic development trip to South Korea

Opinion: Kia puts Georgia on world stage

The automaker currently produces two all-electric models, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6, but earlier this year announced plans to add 18 new EV models to its vehicle portfolio by the end of the decade.

Hyundai Motors will bethe second automaker to announce plans to build an EV factory in Georgia in the last six months. Rivian signed a deal in December to build a 7,000-employee assembly plant along Interstate 20 east of Atlanta near the town of Rutledge. Rivian is a well-financed startup that has targeted the truck and van sectors in the same way Tesla has sedans and SUVs. 

The making of the Bryan megasite

State and local economic development leaders have been courting automakers to the Savannah area for 20 years, first marketing the Pooler megasite - now known as the Chatham County Development Center - to Chrysler to build Sprinter vans in 2002.

Other automakers flirted with the megasite, located off Dean Forest Road near the I-16/1-95 interchange, but consistently cited issues with the property's size: 1,600 acres, not all of it developable. That made the property's owner, the Georgia Ports Authority, amenable to dividing the site, and  Mitsubishi claimed a portion of it  in 2009. Amazon and Celadon , a paper recycler, are currently building facilities on the remainder of the center.

Economic development: Amazon deal means Pooler Megasite's run as a 'roadside distraction' is near an end

The feedback from manufacturers led Savannah Economic Development Authority  officials to combine forces with similar agencies in Bulloch, Bryan and Effingham counties to form the  Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority , or JDA. The group worked to identify other locations for a megasite along I-16.

The JDA identified a 2,000-acre site along I-16 in Bryan County. The property is located just off the U.S. 280 exit, behind the truck weight station and across the highway from the Bryan County Interstate Center, home to several small manufacturing centers such as Daniel Defense. The property is located 23 miles west of downtown Savannah.

Several automakers looking to build new plants showed interest in the site, including Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. But those manufacturers ultimately chose to build elsewhere.

An issue with the Bryan County location was that it was comprised of several parcels, possessed by three different owners, a situation that complicated negotiations with potential tenants.

The State of Georgia solved that problem in 2021, buying out all the owners and assembling a 2,284-acre site at a cost of $61 million. The sale was financed by Amazon's purchase of a portion of the Pooler megasite.

At the time the sale closed, officials said they did not have a  potential tenant in mind for the site. They did, however, predict it wouldn't be vacant long term. Word leaked last November that Rivan had looked at Bryan County before settling on the Rutledge site to build its factory.

Boomtown?: Savannah economic development leaders position city for success by adding 'product'

Q&A, SEDA's Trip Tollison: Bryan megasite purchase positions Savannah for future project

The power of the ports

Hyundai currently builds cars at its Kia plant on the western edge of the state yet many of those vehicles - and the hundreds of parts that go into them - touch Georgia's coast as well. Kia is one of the  Georgia Ports Authority's best customers , utilizing its terminals in Savannah and Brunswick.

The GPA will certainly be a major shipper of the EVs to be built in Bryan County. The site is less than 30 miles from the Garden City terminal, and the Jimmy Deloach Parkway connector is scheduled to be completed well before the Kia plant will open. The parkway will connect the GPA gates to I-16 in west Chatham County, taking port truck traffic off of Dean Forest Road and I-95.

Timeline: Chrysler to Hyundai, Savannah has courted automaker assembly plants for 20 years

According to the GPA 2021 annual report , wheeled cargo such as cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment grew significantly in 2021 with 668,166 units crossing all GPA docks.. 

The Port of Brunswick handled the majority of the growth, moving 650,000 units of vehicles and heavy machinery in 2021. Brunswick is the second busiest port for vehicles in the U.S. with an annual capacity of 900,000.

What it took to attract Hyundai

Officials won't disclose details of the Hyundai deal until after Friday's announcement, but the incentives package is expected to be substantial.

Consider that state and local governments are providing Rivian $1.5 billion in tax breaks and other incentives to open the plant in Rutledge. Those incentives do come with a "claw back" provision should Rivian not meet investment and employment commitments.

Savannah has a history of using incentives to lure large-scale employers. Mitsubishi's initial lease on the Pooler megasite was for $1 a year and the company was granted a tax abatement through the end of 2022. The building and land is to be conveyed to Mitsubishi at year's end at which point the company becomes a taxpaying corporate citizen.

Amazon's 2021 deal was structured differently. The company bought the site outright but will receive tax abatements and infrastructure improvements, including new roads. Amazon will pay Chatham County school taxes.

Workforce and growth

Bryan is the state's fastest growing county , according to 2020 census data, and the Hyundai Motors plant should further accelerate the growth. The metro Savannah unemployment rate is currently 3.2%, just off record lows.

The site is located in Bryan County's northern corner, in close proximity to Statesboro, Rincon and Hinesville as well as Savannah. The plant is expected to lead to population increases throughout the region.

The area boasts several workforce development program. In 2019, the state opened a Quick Start training facility at the Georgia Advanced Manufacturing Training Center, located in western Chatham County. The region's technical colleges - Savannah Tech, Ogeechee Tech and Southeastern Tech- offer training programs as do local four-year universities  Georgia Southern and Savannah State .

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Kia to manufacture new electric SUV at Georgia plant

Credit: Kia

Kia unveiled a new electric vehicle Wednesday, which the automaker says it will manufacture at its existing Georgia factory in West Point.

The EV9 will be the Korean automaker’s first three-row electric SUV, mirroring the company’s gas-powered West Point-built Telluride model. The new EV was shown off Wednesday for the first time in North America at the 2023 New York International Auto Show.

Kia says the EV9 will go on sale in the U.S. by the end of this year, and the model will be built in Georgia starting in 2024.

“With the launch of the EV9, we are incorporating our experience in producing brilliantly designed, best-in-class SUVs with our deep expertise in developing the industry’s leading EVs,” Sean Yoon, president and CEO, Kia North America and Kia America, said in a news release. “The EV9 is a credible, high-value SUV that encapsulates our approach to bringing innovative, consumer-focused products to market with a serious commitment to electrification.”

The West Point factory , which opened in 2009, currently assembles popular models like the Telluride and Sorento SUVs. Batteries for the EV9 will eventually be built at a previously announced factory in Bartow County that’s a joint partnership between SK Innovation and Kia’s parent company, Hyundai Motor Group. Separately, Hyundai is building a $5.54 billion factory near Savannah that will produce Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs.

Kia previously announced its West Point facility would incorporate EV manufacturing in the near future. The company did not say whether more employees will be hired as a result of the EV9′s local production. It’s also unclear how many EV9 models Kia expects to produce per year.

Hyundai Motor Group and its brands have aggressive plans to expand EV manufacturing in the U.S. The Bryan County factory, for example, will have capabilities to produce 300,000 EVs its first year, which can be expanded to 500,000 contingent upon customer demand.

The EV9 will join Kia’s other two fully-electric vehicles — the EV6 crossover and a Niro EV based on the conventional model. Kia also sells several hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles, including electrified versions of its Sorento, Niro and Sportage crossovers.

Georgia lawmakers in January feted the Korean automaker with “Kia Day” at the Gold Dome , honoring not only the automaker’s impact in West Point, but also the investments to come.

“Any vehicle in the very near future that does not have some sort of electrons working for it to propel is going to feel very old very soon,” Kia America spokesman James Bell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time.

Kia said the most potent EV9 model will be able to accelerate from 0-to-60 miles per hour in five seconds. It also takes fewer than 25 minutes for the SUV’s 800-volt electric drive train to go from a 10% to an 80% charge.

The expected sales price of the vehicle was not provided. To qualify for a $7,500 price reduction under federal law , the SUV must be priced less than $80,000. President Joe Biden, who has made increasing domestic EV production an explicit goal, said in a statement that, “Georgia is ground zero for building a clean energy economy and building industries of the future.”

Georgia has attracted several multi-billion-dollar electric battery and vehicle manufacturing plants in recent years, positioning itself as as a leader in what many automakers see as the future of the automobile industry . Gov. Brian Kemp thanked Kia on Twitter for the continued investment, adding that Georgia is “well on its way to becoming the EV capital of the nation.”

With Georgia well on its way to becoming the EV capital of the nation, we’re proud our long-time partner @Kia is helping us lead the way by building the new EV9 at their West Point plant!⁰⁰Thank you to this great job creator and innovator. https://t.co/sDW2MFt5pV — Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) April 5, 2023

Since 2020, more than 35 EV-related projects have been announced in Georgia, totaling more than $21 billion in investment and 27,400 jobs, according to Kemp’s office. Hyundai’s Bryan County factory, the state’s largest economic development project, accounts for a large portion of the state’s EV investment. It has spurred a half dozen parts suppliers to announce factories for the surrounding region.

The state’s second-largest project is also EV related. California-based startup Rivian plans to build a $5 billion manufacturing facility in southern Morgan and Walton counties, roughly an hour east of Atlanta.

State and local incentives have played a central role in attracting the EV industry to the Peach State. Hyundai, for instance, received a $1.8 billion incentive package for its Bryan County factory. When Kia first came to West Point, it received about $469 million in incentives .

Georgia has also attracted other sections of the electric vehicle and battery sector, from charging infrastructure companies to battery recyclers. Ascend Elements, a company that recycles batteries and their scraps from factories, recently opened in Covington and chose Georgia because of all the buzz.

“There’s sort of a critical mass that starts to develop when an industry chooses to locate in a place,” Ascend Elements spokesman Thomas Frey recently told the AJC.

Kia operations throughout Georgia

- Kia opened its West Point factory in 2009, becoming Georgia’s sole automaker at the time after the closures of plants from Ford and General Motors.

- Kia announced Wednesday it will manufacture its new EV9 electric SUV at West Point, starting in 2024.

- Kia’s parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, is building two massive EV-related plants in Bryan and Bartow counties.

- The Bartow County plant, a joint venture with SK Innovation, will provide EV batteries to use in vehicles assembled at West Point.

About the Author

Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Ben Gray

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Georgia factories to visit and tour

Georgia has factories to visit and tour. Below, first are the active, working factories. The next section has historical operations which often have demonstrations or renactments. These incluse both large and small operations, from several person chocolate factories and cheesemakers to large manufacturers making paper towels, wood products, beverage cans and bottles, are open to the public with real tours, exhibitions and fun education.

In some cases, such as a manufacturing process that is no longer in use, the only way to see it and learn about it is a museum or living history center. So, we also provide information about engineering facilities and museums, dinosaur digs, even government facilities, like NASA, astronomy oberservatories and more that are open to the public on certain days and times. And if there is some place that is just plain fun to visit, we add that, too!

These are perfect for homeschooling, for STEM and for fun! Kids love visiting these places! They're learning and getting an education without even realizing it. And most of these are either free or under $10! What's better then fun, entertaining, good for children and families, educational and free?

Here are some of the top factory tours in Georgia and contact information and tips about visiting them.

Factories to visit in Georgia

Factories, engineering, museums and other fun demonstrations and exhibits to visit in georgia.

• Chick-fil-A ® - Chicken restaurant chain 5200 Buffington Road, Atlanta, GA 30349. Email: [email protected] . Map: Click here for direction to the Chick-fil-A campus . Open: tours are offered Monday - Friday and booked on their website. In 2023, the tours are $10 and $20 per person, depending upon the tour you choose. The Chick-fil-A® Backstage Tour is a walking, guided cultural tour. The central focus is S. Truett Cathy, Founder of Chick-fil-A®. Throughout the tour, you will get to experience our most valued company assets: our hospitable people, and our unique story. The regular tours include the history of Chick-fil-A founder, S. Truett Cathy, and the core value of the company. Visit the History Museum, Car Museum and Truett’s Office The deluxe tour includes the History Museum, Car Museum, Truett’s Office and take a quick shuttle ride to see new product development in "The Kitchen" and visit the Nest, the training center. Both tours include 1 to 2 miles of walking, so they suggest you wear comfortable shoes, as well as business casual. They also have VIRTUAL tours, hosted live by our tour guides. There is no cost for Virtual tours.
• Georgia Dept of Transportation Lab - Road construction lab tour Georgia Department of Transportation, Office of Materials and Testing, 15 Kennedy Drive, Forest Park, Georgia 30297. Phone: (404) 608-4788. Open: Call to arrange a tour; Tour should be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. Confirmation of the tour date and time should be made with the tour coordinator the day before the tour. Punctual arrival is requested. Fee: All tours are provided free of charge. General age requirement: 10 years old and up. Group size: 10-50; groups larger than 20 will be divided into two groups. Tour duration: 2 hours, including 30-minute orientation. Tours of OMAT consist of a brief orientation to GDOT and OMAT, followed by visits to several testing units within OMAT. Visitors are asked to remain together at all times. Also, it is requested that quiet be maintained throughout the course of the tour. Questions are welcomed in each of the units visited during the tour consist of a brief orientation to GDOT and OMAT, followed by visits to several testing units within OMAT. Directions: From I-75, take Exit 237 (Forest Parkway/State Farmer's Market) and proceed east. Turn right at first light (Frontage Road). Proceed 0.6 mile to Kennedy Drive and turn left. The Office of Materials and Research is the last building on the left.
• Kia Georgia - automobile factory 7777 Kia Parkway, West Point, Georgia 31833. Phone: 706-902-7771. Email: [email protected] . Open: Plant Tour; Please see this Kia Tours link to book your visit . Join us for a comprehensive look inside one of the most state-of-the-art, advanced automotive manufacturing facilities in the world nestled in West Point, Georgia! Itinerary Morning Tours: 8:45 to 10:30 am, including Introduction video/ presentation, Vehicles/ lobby/ restroom, Site Tour, Guests returned to Visitor's Center and departure Afternoon Tours: 1:15 to 3 pm. Visitor Guidelines 1. Children under 6 are not permitted; ages 6-10 are permitted only when accompanied by an adult; 2. Groups 5th-8th grade must be accompanied by 1 adult chaperone to every 8 children; 9th-12th grades require 1 adult chaperone to 18 children; 3. Please ensure all guests wear long pants and enclosed shoes; 4. Tobacco products are prohibited at Kia Georgia unless in designated smoking areas (when available); 5. Firearms are strictly prohibited on site at Kia Georgia; 6. Photography is prohibited inside Kia Georgia’s plant; 7. All tours are subject to cancellation with little or no notice due to changes in Kia Georgia’s production schedule; 8. Please take note of weather conditions on the day of the tour. While we do anticipate this tour being conducted on multi passenger trams and most of it will be inside, there will be a portion that is outside and you may want to dress with that in mind (rain coat, etc.).
• Lane Southern Orchards - peach packing tour demonstration 50 Lane Road, Fort Valley, GA 31030. Phone: 478-825-3362. Alternate phone: 800-27PEACH. Email: [email protected] . Open: daily from 9 am to 5 pm; Memorial Day through September, daily from 9 am to 7 pm;. Directions: click here for a map . Southern hospitality will greet you at Lane Southern Orchards, where Georgia's most famous product is being harvested and processed only 5 short minutes from I-75. Directions: From I-75, take Exit 142 Georgia Hwy 96 and go west. Lane Packing Company is only 5 minutes away. Formerly called Lane Packing Company. Lane Southern Orchards Facebook page. There also already picked (not U-pick) crops, like peaches, and pecans. We grow over 10,000 acres of peaches and pecans! Our Roadside Market has fresh produce, gourmet items, craft beers and wine! While you're here, enjoy lunch at our Peachtree Cafe. Lane Southern Orchards is dedicated to planting, growing and harvesting the best-tasting peaches and pecans in Georgia. Around here, that's something to be proud of. To keep things friendly, we give each crop the same amount of special attention. The farm has grown over the years to include 5,000 acres of peaches, 5,000 acres of pecans and 5 acres of strawberries.
• Museum of Aviation - museum with actual planes 1942 Heritage Blvd, Robins AFB, GA 31098. Phone: (478) 926-6870. Email: [email protected] . Open: Mon to Sat Hours 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, Sunday Hours 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed New Year’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. The Museum of Aviation is situated on 51 acres next to Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. The facility includes four climate controlled exhibit buildings which house some of the 85 historic U.S. Air Force aircraft, missiles, cockpits and award-winning exhibits. The Museum of Aviation is home to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, STARBASE Robins and partners with the Georgia World War II Heritage Trail. FREE Admission, FREE Parking. The Museum has its own gate and is open and available to the public during regular visitor hours. For information regarding Guided and Self Guided Tours, Scavenger Hunts, and History Programs
• Nora Mill Granary Grist Mill & Country Store - operational gristmill demonstrations 7107 South Main Street, Helen, GA 30545. Phone: 800-927-2375. Phone: 706-878-2375. Open: Mon-Fri 10:00AM - 4:00PM, Sat-Sun 10:00AM - 5:00PM. Call to find when they have tours or demonstrations, there is no longer anything about it on their website. ​Nora Mill Granary was established in 1876,is next tothe Chattahoochee River in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains. They still use the original 1,500-pound French Burr Mill Stones powered by the Chattahoochee River to grind and produce corn and wheat-based products such as stone ground grits, cornmeal, pancake & waffle mixes, flours, biscuit & bread mixes, pioneer's porridge, etc. They also have an old-fashioned country store and gift shop, "Nora Mill General Store”. The General Store is stocked with thousands of old fashioned items such as candy, jams & jellies, cast iron & speckle ware, honey, and various kitchen items. They have a kitchen in the mill to cook and serve samples of their mill & store products. You can purchase their products at their mill and/or on-line from their site.
• Porsche Experience Center, Atlanta - car dealership One Porsche Drive, Atlanta, GA 30354. Phone: (888) 204-7474. Open: Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm. Porsche Cars North America opened its headquarters in Atlanta in 2016, featuring the exciting $100 million Porsche Experience Center. At the center, you can select the Porsche model of your choice and then spend 90 minutes behind the wheel with a drive coach at your side. Hone your driving skills on test track modules and off-road courses that are purpose built to demonstrate the power, responsiveness and safety at the core of Porsche engineering.

• Water Treatment and Waste Water Treatment Plants - water treatment facilities Many locations, Most towns and cities in, GA. Most water treatment plants and waster treatment facilities have tours that show you how they purify and treat water, how domestic waste, stormwater and sewage are treated, and how they conserve water resources. Here are some of the major facilities around Atlanta (but simple Google your local city name and "water treatment tour". . Atlanta Clean Water , Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority . Fulton County
• World of Coca-Cola - Museum,, free samples 121 Baker Street NW, Atlanta GA 30313. Phone: (404) 676-5151. Open: Sunday to Thursday : 10:00am - 5:00pm, Friday : 9:00am - 5:00pm, Saturday : 9:00am - 6:00pm. It's an interesting self-guided tour. Certainly, it is HEAVY on the promotion of Coke products, so it is one giant advertisement, but given the long history of the company and the many historical artifacts present, it is also interesting. Experience the history of the world's most famous soft drink at the dynamic, multimedia home of the 125-year-old secret formula for Coca-Cola. As one of Georgia's most iconic brands, Coca-Cola offers guests a behind the drink tour to get your taste buds tap dancing through the entire experience. Get closer than ever before to the vault containing the secret recipe, and see the fully functioning bottling line that produces a commemorative glass bottle of Coca-Cola for every guest. View more than 1,200 never-before-displayed artifacts, take a trip around the world in a thrilling 4-D movie experience and tempt your taste buds with more than 60 beverages from around the globe. Inside, you'll discover there is a secret formula for everything we do! 2023 Rates: Adults: $17.00 Seniors (65+): $15.00 Youth (3-12): $13.00 Toddler (0-2): $Free with Adult.
• Xocolatl Small Batch Chocolate - Chocolatier, Chocolate Factory Tour, Chocolate Tastings 448 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd, Bldg 5, Atlanta, GA 30312. Phone: (404) 333-8562. Map. They walk you through their chocolate making process from bean-to-bar inside our factory. Then in the tasting room for a guided tasting of single origin dark chocolates made from ethically sourced cacao from around the world. Each tour and tasting is approximately 1 hour. In 2023, cost is $30 per person. Note: due to the factory setting of this event, they cannot admit children under 7 years of age. They also request that you arrive prepared to put your hair in a hair net during the factory tour portion of the event.

Georgia Historical Forts and Sites, Famous buildings, Active Federal facilities to tour, Geology: like fossils and volcanic areas

• Andersonville - Civil war prison camp Andersonville, GA. Nearly 13,000 men died on these grounds, a site that became infamous even before the Civil War ended. Their burial grounds became Andersonville National Cemetery, where veterans continue to be buried today. This place, where tens of thousands suffered captivity so others could be free, is also home to the National Prisoner of War Museum and serves as a memorial to all American prisoners of war.
• Fort Frederica - British fort St. Simons Island, GA. Georgia's fate was decided in 1742 when Spanish and British forces clashed on St. Simons Island. Fort Frederica's troops defeated the Spanish, ensuring Georgia's future as a British colony. Today, the archeological remnants of Frederica are protected by the National Park Service.
• Fort Pulaski - Civil war faot Savannah, GA For much of the 19th century, masonry fortifications were the United States’ main defense against overseas enemies. However, during the Civil War, new technology proved its superiority to these forts. The Union army used rifled cannon and compelled the Confederate garrison inside Fort Pulaski to surrender. The siege was a landmark experiment in the history of military science and invention.
• Ocmulgee Mounds - Prehistoric native American site Macon, GA Welcome to Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. This park is a prehistoric American Indian site, where many different American Indian cultures occupied this land for thousands of years. American Indians first came here during the Paleo-Indian Period hunting Ice Age mammals. Around 900 CE, the Mississippian Period began, and people constructed mounds for their elite, which remain here today.
• Sope Creek Paper Mill Ruins - This is a hiking area and ruins 19th century stone paper mill that was destroyed during the Civil War Paper Mill Rd SE, Marietta, GA 30067. Phone: (678) 538-1200. (Park phone). Map . The 182 acre park is located at the intersection of Paper Mill Road and Sope Creek in Cobb County, Georgia. These ruins are the remnants of a larger manufacturing complex which drew on the waterpower that the creek produced. See this page for a Google map . The GPS coordinates are: 33°56′26″N 84°26′16″W / 33.94056°N 84.43778°W.
• Vickery Creek Trail - ruins of a water-powered mill that produced cloth until the 1970's Vickery Creek Park Trail, Roswell, GA 30075. Map . There is a covered pedestrian bridge, a large water fall, and miles of hiking trails. It's very popular for wedding photos.

Georgia State historic sites and parks

These are state-run parks, museums and historic sites that present the history of some manufacturing process, industry, or living settlement.

See this page for a map of all of the Georgia parks and historic site locations

Camping in Georgia

If you're looking to save money on your trip, camping may be a fun alternative to hotels and motels, especially, if you already have the gear, or are looking to get some. BTW, this websites ( https://RoadTrippingAndCamping.com ) explains everything you need to know about camping gear and where to the best gear at the lowest prices.

Georgia's state parks have a campsite for you. Forty-one parks offer more than 2,700 campsites, including tent-only areas, RV pull-thru sites, primitive camping and group camping areas. Rates average around $30–$35 per night. Most state parks have laundry facilities and sell camping supplies. If you've never camped before, don’t let that stop you. Several parks offer "glamping" yurts (a cross between a tent and a cabin).

Tent, Trailer and RV Campsites

These developed sites offer electrical and water hookups, grills or fire rings, and picnic tables. Some are specially designed just for tents, while others have curved pull-thrus for large RVs. Modern comfort stations with hot showers, flush toilets and electrical outlets are conveniently located. All campgrounds have dump stations, and several offer cable TV hookups.

Camping Hookups At Parks

Sewer hookups.

• Crooked River
• Florence Marina
• Fort McAllister
• General Coffee
• Jack Hill (Gordonia)
• Hard Labor Creek
• James H. Floyd
• Laura S. Walker
• Reed Bingham

Cable Hookups

• Black Rock Mountain
• Elijah Clark
• Fort Mountain
• Indian Springs
• Red Top Mountain
• Richard B. Russell

There are both state parks and private campgrounds in Georgia .

Kia to Invest $200M in Georgia Plant to Begin Building Electric SUV There, Hiring 200

Kia Corp. will invest $200 million in its Georgia factory to begin producing an electric-powered SUV

Ted Shaffrey

FILE - An electric battery-powered Kia EV9 sport utility is shown at the New York International Auto Show, April 6, 2023, in New York. Kia Corp. announced on Wednesday, July 12, that it would invest $200 million to assemble the EV9 at its factory in West Point, Ga. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

ATLANTA (AP) — Kia Corp. will invest $200 million in its Georgia factory to begin producing an electric-powered SUV, the company announced Wednesday.

The South Korean company said it would hire an additional 200 workers to begin producing its large EV9 vehicle in West Point by early 2024. The company said it would expand overall production at the plant near the Alabama state line southwest of Atlanta. Kia says the plant currently produces 340,000 vehicles a year, including Telluride, Sorrento and Sportage SUVs and K5 sedans.

Kia has 3,000 employees at the plant. Spokesperson Patrick Sands said the EV9 would be built on the same assembly line as the other vehicles, and Kia was investing to assemble electric powertrains.

Hyundai Motor Group, Kia's parent, is pushing hard into electric vehicles. Hyundai is sprinting to complete a $5.5 billion plant to assemble electric vehicles and batteries in Ellabell, Georgia, near Savannah. The company also invested $300 million in its Montgomery, Alabama plant to begin making electric vehicles there, starting with the Genesis Electrified GV70 SUV. Hyundai also 200 hired additional workers for that Alabama investment.

Kia leaders said they hoped the EV9, with three rows of seats, would do for company sales what the large Telluride did for the brand once it began rolling off the assembly line in West Point in 2019. Kia began delivering EV9s to customers in South Korea last month.

“Like Telluride, EV9 has the potential to be another change catalyst for Kia,” Sean Yoon, President and CEO of Kia Motors America, said in a statement. “This will be the most innovative vehicle that we have ever built and will be a standout in the EV market and on the road.”

Photos You Should See - April 2024

The investment comes even as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Hyundai complain that federal electric vehicle tax credits are unfair to the South Korean manufacturer because its vehicles are only eligible if they are leased. The domestic content standards of the Inflation Reduction Act , which is pumping billions into electric vehicle subsidies, make tax incentives on electric vehicle purchases available only when the vehicle, the battery, and key raw materials in the battery are all made in the United States.

Hyundai has announced it will partner in a battery factory in Cartersville , northwest of Atlanta.

Georgia has been a top beneficiary of a nationwide electric vehicle investment boom, with more than 40 electric vehicle-related projects since 2020 pledging $22.9 billion of investment and 28,600 jobs in the state. Kemp has said he and other Georgia officials should get credit, while Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has argued President Joe Biden's policies are driving the boom.

Georgia will pay to train workers for the Kia expansion. The company says on its website that production workers start with a salary of $38,000 a year, with pay raises and extra pay for working evening shifts.

Kia could qualify for $1.75 million in state income tax credits, at $1,750 per job over five years, as long as workers make at least $31,300 a year. The company could qualify for other incentives, including property tax breaks from West Point and Troup County.

Kia got more than $450 million in incentives for its plant in West Point, which opened in 2010. West Point’s financial statements show that in 2019, Kia, its affiliates and suppliers were receiving $2.8 million in property tax breaks from the city alone.

Copyright 2023 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Kia to invest $200M in Georgia plant to begin building electric SUV there, hiring 200

FILE - An electric battery-powered Kia EV9 sport utility is shown at the New York International Auto Show, April 6, 2023, in New York. Kia Corp. announced on Wednesday, July 12, that it would invest $200 million to assemble the EV9 at its factory in West Point, Ga. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

• Copy Link copied

ATLANTA (AP) — Kia Corp. will invest $200 million in its Georgia factory to begin producing an electric-powered SUV, the company announced Wednesday.

The South Korean company said it would hire an additional 200 workers to begin producing its large EV9 vehicle in West Point by early 2024. The company said it would expand overall production at the plant near the Alabama state line southwest of Atlanta. Kia says the plant currently produces 340,000 vehicles a year, including Telluride, Sorrento and Sportage SUVs and K5 sedans.

Kia has 3,000 employees at the plant. Spokesperson Patrick Sands said the EV9 would be built on the same assembly line as the other vehicles, and Kia was investing to assemble electric powertrains.

Hyundai Motor Group, Kia’s parent, is pushing hard into electric vehicles. Hyundai is sprinting to complete a $5.5 billion plant to assemble electric vehicles and batteries in Ellabell, Georgia, near Savannah. The company also invested $300 million in its Montgomery, Alabama plant to begin making electric vehicles there, starting with the Genesis Electrified GV70 SUV. Hyundai also 200 hired additional workers for that Alabama investment.

Kia leaders said they hoped the EV9, with three rows of seats, would do for company sales what the large Telluride did for the brand once it began rolling off the assembly line in West Point in 2019. Kia began delivering EV9s to customers in South Korea last month.

“Like Telluride, EV9 has the potential to be another change catalyst for Kia,” Sean Yoon, President and CEO of Kia Motors America, said in a statement. “This will be the most innovative vehicle that we have ever built and will be a standout in the EV market and on the road.”

The investment comes even as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Hyundai complain that federal electric vehicle tax credits are unfair to the South Korean manufacturer because its vehicles are only eligible if they are leased. The domestic content standards of the Inflation Reduction Act , which is pumping billions into electric vehicle subsidies, make tax incentives on electric vehicle purchases available only when the vehicle, the battery, and key raw materials in the battery are all made in the United States.

Hyundai has announced it will partner in a battery factory in Cartersville , northwest of Atlanta.

Georgia has been a top beneficiary of a nationwide electric vehicle investment boom, with more than 40 electric vehicle-related projects since 2020 pledging $22.9 billion of investment and 28,600 jobs in the state. Kemp has said he and other Georgia officials should get credit, while Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has argued President Joe Biden’s policies are driving the boom.

Georgia will pay to train workers for the Kia expansion. The company says on its website that production workers start with a salary of $38,000 a year, with pay raises and extra pay for working evening shifts.

Kia could qualify for $1.75 million in state income tax credits, at $1,750 per job over five years, as long as workers make at least $31,300 a year. The company could qualify for other incentives, including property tax breaks from West Point and Troup County.

Kia got more than $450 million in incentives for its plant in West Point, which opened in 2010. West Point’s financial statements show that in 2019, Kia, its affiliates and suppliers were receiving $2.8 million in property tax breaks from the city alone.

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July 13, 2023 10:06 AM

• Associated Press

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Primary Content

Kia Corp. will invest $200 million in its Georgia factory to begin producing an electric-powered SUV, the company announced Wednesday.

The South Korean company said it would hire an additional 200 workers to begin producing its large EV9 vehicle in West Point by early 2024. The company said it would expand overall production at the plant near the Alabama state line southwest of Atlanta. Kia says the plant currently produces 340,000 vehicles a year, including Telluride, Sorrento and Sportage SUVs and K5 sedans.

Kia has 3,000 employees at the plant. Spokesperson Patrick Sands said the EV9 would be built on the same assembly line as the other vehicles, and Kia was investing to assemble electric powertrains.

Hyundai Motor Group, Kia's parent, is pushing hard into electric vehicles. Hyundai is sprinting to complete a $5.5 billion plant to assemble electric vehicles and batteries in Ellabell, Georgia, near Savannah. The company also invested $300 million in its Montgomery, Alabama, plant to begin making electric vehicles there, starting with the Genesis Electrified GV70 SUV. Hyundai also 200 hired additional workers for that Alabama investment.

Kia leaders said they hoped the EV9, with three rows of seats, would do for company sales what the large Telluride did for the brand once it began rolling off the assembly line in West Point in 2019. Kia began delivering EV9s to customers in South Korea last month.

"Like Telluride, EV9 has the potential to be another change catalyst for Kia," Sean Yoon, President and CEO of Kia Motors America, said in a statement. "This will be the most innovative vehicle that we have ever built and will be a standout in the EV market and on the road."

The investment comes even as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Hyundai complain that federal electric vehicle tax credits are unfair to the South Korean manufacturer because its vehicles are only eligible if they are leased. The domestic content standards of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is pumping billions into electric vehicle subsidies, make tax incentives on electric vehicle purchases available only when the vehicle, the battery, and key raw materials in the battery are all made in the United States.

Hyundai has announced it will partner in a battery factory in Cartersville, northwest of Atlanta.

Georgia has been a top beneficiary of a nationwide electric vehicle investment boom, with more than 40 electric vehicle-related projects since 2020 pledging $22.9 billion of investment and 28,600 jobs in the state. Kemp has said he and other Georgia officials should get credit, while Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has argued President Joe Biden's policies are driving the boom.

Georgia will pay to train workers for the Kia expansion. The company says on its website that production workers start with a salary of $38,000 a year, with pay raises and extra pay for working evening shifts.

Kia could qualify for $1.75 million in state income tax credits, at $1,750 per job over five years, as long as workers make at least $31,300 a year. The company could qualify for other incentives, including property tax breaks from West Point and Troup County.

Kia got more than $450 million in incentives for its plant in West Point, which opened in 2010. West Point's financial statements show that in 2019, Kia, its affiliates and suppliers were receiving $2.8 million in property tax breaks from the city alone.

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Maggie Rogers on Turning the Light Back On With ‘Don’t Forget Me,’ Feeling Nostalgic at 30, and Personally Manning the Box Office for Her Arena Tour

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

• Hozier on Finally Making It to No. 1 With ‘Too Sweet’: ‘It’s a Very Sweet Landmark After 10 Years’ (EXCLUSIVE) 2 hours ago
• Maggie Rogers on Turning the Light Back On With ‘Don’t Forget Me,’ Feeling Nostalgic at 30, and Personally Manning the Box Office for Her Arena Tour 8 hours ago
• Shaboozey on Reaching His Tipping Point With ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy),’ Killing It at Stagecoach and Sharing a Spaghetti-Western Sensibility With Beyoncé 1 day ago

Maggie Rogers is headlining arenas for the first time this fall, but she didn’t want it to feel like moving into bigger spaces for her concerts would mean a more impersonal experience. So for 11 shows that just went on sale in late April, she went out and personally manned the box office on opening day to help sell tickets for those big shows. Rogers had earlier done the same thing for a short series of club shows she performed to kick off the touring cycle behind her new album, “Don’t Forget Me.” For the fans who lined up to take advantage of having Rogers as their personal ticket concierge, the experience lived up to its unforgettable billing.

Popular on Variety

Variety spoke with her just after she’d returned home from her short tour of… the nation’s box offices. Among the topics: enshrining the concept of friendship in the grooves of the new album; speaking of buddies, sharing a Bruce moment recently with her friend Zach Bryan ; and wrapping up her graduate course work at Harvard Divinity School in this coming month, shortly before she hits the road.

Oh my gosh, I had so much fun. I’ve just been on a high. You never get to choose the people that show up for your music, but I feel so lucky to really feel like I’ve got the best people holding my art, this community of such unbelievably kind and generous and sweet people. All the stories I heard of people taking care of each other in line — there was some girl I was talking to one night in Philly while I was on stage, while she was requesting a song, and then later I got all these comments of people being like, “Oh my God, we love her. Her dad brought us donuts in line.” It was such a high and so sweet to be able, in this era of empty digital transaction, to really hold hands in person with the people that allow me to do this thing that I love on a daily basis.

I always say about my fans that it always feels like we’re at a house party. Like, if you’re not the friend that I brought, you’re a friend of a friend. To be able to wake up in the morning and have coffee with people and see people make friends in line and then buy tickets together… or to be able to have the familiar faces who have been there from the beginning walk up to a box office door and choose exactly where they want to sit in an arena… but also the fact that it’s an arena bowl that we’re looking at, picking tickets together! — that was so surreal.

Did you give anybody who came through the lines any guidance about where the best place to sit in an arena is?

You know, I didn’t really grow up going to arena shows. All of my favorite artists always played rock clubs. And I think a symptom of streaming, in a positive way, is that it allows artists who aren’t putting on the biggest pop show in the world to reach an audience in a really different way, and so I feel like we’re in an era where some of my favorite bands are playing arenas. It’s nice to know that some of my fans are able to be in the pit and will get to be as close to the stage as possible. But I don’t know that I’m a good source of knowing where to sit in an arena.

You’re playing the big rooms — Madison Square Garden and the Forum. These are in the fall, when maybe amphitheaters aren’t advisable, but you must be doing arenas because you’re excited about that.

Each one of your albums does have a very different personality, so it makes sense that you would be thinking about how each type of album might play in a different kind of venue. Your last album, “Surrender,” seemed like a pretty dramatic album. This one has some drama in the lyrics, too, but the critical line on this album… the New Yorker called it “breezy,” and Pitchfork said “zippy, even groovy.” So there’s a lot of adjectives with a Y on the end that suggest something that makes people feel good. It seems like there might’ve been a concentrated effort on this album to have a very kind of friendly vibe to it.

The record was made so quickly that there wasn’t a lot of conscious intention. When I was making it, I just felt really open, and that’s what you can hear. There’s a real sparkly, fun lightheartedness in the record because that’s how I felt as I was making it. But there wasn’t a lot of premeditation. I had no concepts for songs; I had no mood boards. As Ian Fitchuk and I were going into the studio, we had never really ever worked together before, and then on day one we wrote “It Was Coming All Along” and “Drunk.” Day two, we wrote “So Sick of Dreaming” and “The Kill.” So it was following a sense of openness and lightheartedness, and the result is that all my friends say that this is the version of me that they know.

I think also that that openness is a product of becoming a little bit more comfortable in all of this. You know, my transition into music happened very publicly, very quickly, and it really scared me. Now I’m coming into this place where I turn 30 in two days, and I really love my work and feel really comfortable and confident in my art. It’s been a path through my twenties and finding and refining my voice and how I want to express myself. There are different types of music that I love that I want to explore, like trying on different clothes, and that feels super normal, too.

Speaking of trying on different clothes… this will be the most superficial question I’ll ask, but you’ve had a pretty different hairstyle during each album cycle you’ve come through now. Not to be a hairstyle reviewer, but in some way it has felt like your look reflects a change in the music, and the look now is kind of mature and yet free-and-easy. Is that in any way part-and-parcel for you, like, yes, there’s a whole new me than there was two years ago, and that’s reflected in the album?

That segues perfectly into the next question, about how the passage of time factors a lot into these songs. The album has lines like “when all the years start to blend in together,” or “time moves slow until one day you wake up and realize”… and specifically, “I’m flying long past 22,” which is a very specific reference for you to make. As you said, you’re about to turn 30 and there are lots of markers in your life. It’s been five years since your first album, but eight years since you had kind of a viral moment. So “flying long past 22,” does that kind of signal a moment when everything changed for you, but it feels like a long way in the rear view mirror?

Totally. I mean, I’m a really naturally nostalgic person. And especially because I’m in the business of documenting time. That’s kind of why I got into songwriting in the first place, because I wanted to be able to mark time and archive. I’m definitely an archivist. There’s a lot of different parts of my life that I have archived, and I journal almost every night before I fall asleep. I’ve always said that a record is a record of a period of time. On this album, there are so many scenarios or stories that have never happened to me as a person, but the feelings or the details within them are very specific to my life. So it feels in a way like some woven tapestry owed to my twenties. Though the story that runs through the album is not the exact one-to-one story in my life, I think that by saying something that was fiction, I was able to tell a much greater truth about the reality of my life or the way that I felt in my twenties. And it’s really helped me. You know, you’re catching me in the last two days where I’m like saying goodbye to this decade of my life and taking stock of what I really want to leave in the past and what I want to welcome and usher in. And music has always been a way that I do that.

The album is very conversational at times — literally, at times, because in the very first song you’re talking about a conversation with Nora, and you quote her talking to you by name. Later on you have some other names, a Sally and a Molly. One throughline in the lyrics is a lot of breakup songs, or anticipating a breakup or remembering someone who’s gone or anticipating someone being gone in the future. But it feels like these references to friends anchor that, with the fact that you have friends who are there for you, even when romantic relationships may be temporary or fickle. Is throwing the names of actual people in there — specifically, women friends — intentionally trying to create that sense of balance?

It feels very simple and silly, but I really love my friends, and putting them in the record has been so fun. My friend Nora and I met on the eastern shore of Maryland when we were 15, and we both walked into a Christmas party wearing all black and have been best friends ever since. You know, I’ve only played four shows so far for this record, but I get to hear Nora’s voice on stage every night [in a spoken-word interlude during “So Sick of Dreaming”]. I just called her and put her on speaker and that was how she answered the phone — that was a one-take. And hearing Nora’s voice on stage every night is the absolute sweetest thing.

In “So Sick of Dreaming,” you do have that very specific storytelling moment in the bridge with Nora’s voice, and that’s not your experience. Did you feel like, although the song is very general, you needed to ground it in something that was about as specific as it gets?

That was me just being really playful. When we made all these demos, Ian and I had this plan and I really wanted to go to Muscle Shoals or some great Southern studio and make a live record. These were just demos that we assumed we would play with a great band later. So when I put that voicemail in, it was just to make Ian and I laugh, knowing that later we would probably fill it with some great instrumental section. But after we made all these demos, we realized that because we weren’t trying to make a record, there was actually this incredibly beautiful, unguarded version of ourselves that was able to come through in all of these first takes. And there was a looseness about the record that sort of worked as, like, a live record made by two people.

And that Knicks voicemail… I would like to go on record that I’m rooting for the Knicks in the playoffs. It’s very important to me that that is known! But that story (told by Nora), that’s some New York perfect thing, like Carrie Bradshaw, the clueless silliness… You know, even the voice I’m using, like, “By the way, the Knicks lost,” it’s so sassy and silly, and it’s been cool on the road. I’ve been changing the team to be whatever the home team is for the town. And it is still shocking to me that I figured out how to write a song that can get a city to root against their own home team! People are yelling, like, “And by the way…” It’s “the Bulls lost” in Chicago. I’m learning more about basketball actively every day than I ever have in my entire life.

When you play Los Angeles, we will wait for you to diss the Lakers. Well, we have two basketball teams to diss, so you’ll be picking one.

I’m gonna have to pick? All right. We’ll see. I don’t even know what the other one is, so I’ll be learning actively on the road.

You were recently on stage not just with Zach Bryan, who you have sat in with before, but but Bruce Springsteen. What was that experience like?

I saw Zach’s show at Crypto.com Arena last fall, where you were a guest on several songs. He was playing in the round, and he did the thing where he is constanty moving around and performing on one of the four sides of the stage. And I thought, is Maggie going to know to do that too? And sure enough, you went around to all four sides of the stage.

I feel really grateful. I’ve had many wonderful teachers throughout the eight years that I’ve done this. And in 2017 and 2018 I opened for Mumford and Sons, and they played in the round on a very similar stage. They’re also a band where it’s really live and there can be guests and you’re running around and going to this side and that side, and those guys really taught me how to handle a stage like that, where there’s an immense amount of perfect chaos, and you need to keep an eye on the audience and keep an eye on the band. So when I got onto that stage (with Bryan), in that perfect moment, it was one of these times of alignment in my life where I had really done my homework, where I had had great teachers and great experiences that made me feel like I was really ready for it.

Did you feel like you learned anything from Zach about how you’re going to rock arenas, or did you already feel prepared for that before?

What’s amazing about Zach is that he’s so wonderfully himself both on stage and off. And I love the sort of dramatic performance element of putting on a show, but playing with Zach is a really great reminder that just being yourself is also always enough.

Finally, to really shift gears… you’ve been attending Harvard divinity school for years. The New Yorker article said you’re writing a book based off your thesis that ties together ideas about religion and pop. So this a book you’re actually going be publishing, not just turning in as something academic, right?

Yeah, I’m about halfway through with it right now. I’ve decided that, rather than selling the book, I’d rather just write it and then I’ll find a publisher once I’m finished writing it, rather than sort of bringing a couple chapters forward first. But, yeah, I love writing, and I wrote a hundred-ish pages for my academic master’s thesis. I’ve had this fellowship at Harvard over the last semester where I feel just so lucky to get to work with so many wonderful teachers and have such a creative space that feels just really safe and really nourishing there. And yeah, I’m just working away on it. I like creative projects that take a long time and that ask you to sit with ideas, and this is something that I’ve been sitting with and working on for the last three or four years, if you count my academic work. So I don’t really have a timeline for it, but I’m loving having this project in my back pocket.

I love school so much. I’m sad to go, but it feels time, and the good news is that I’ve made friends and connections and have mentors there that I think I’ll carry for a lifetime. And I see a world where like I would love to teach or be a professor one day. That’s far, far off in the future, but I know that it’s not the last time I’ll be in and around school. And I’m really happy to take the sort of structure and groundedness I’ve found in academics on the road, as something I can work on in a hotel room or a dressing room.

Rogers’ summer and fall tour schedule:

5/4         Charlotte NC                                                      Lovin’ Life Festival^

5/23       San Diego, CA                                                     Gallagher Square at Petco Park

5/24       Phoenix, AZ                                                         Arizona Financial Theatre

5/27       Morrison, CO                                                     Red Rocks Amphitheatre  +

5/31       Irving, TX                                                              The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory

6/1         The Woodlands, TX                                          The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman

6/3         Rogers, AR                                                           Walmart AMP

6/5         Indianapolis, IN                                                 Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park

6/7         Cincinnati, OH                                                    The ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park

6/8         Milwaukee, WI                                                  BMO Pavilion

6/9         Sterling Heights, MI                                         Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre

6/14       Manchester, TN                                                Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival^

6/16       Columbia, MD                                                    Merriweather Post Pavilion  +

6/19       Raleigh, NC                                                         Coastal Credit Union Music Park

6/20       Charleston, SC                                                   Credit One Stadium

6/22       Miami, FL                                                             FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park

“ THE DON’T FORGET ME TOUR, PART II”

10/9      Austin, TX                           Moody Center                                                 

10/15    Philadelphia, PA              Wells Fargo Center                                       

10/17    Boston, MA                        TD Garden                                                         

10/22    Toronto, ON                      Coca-Cola Coliseum                                   

10/24    Chicago, IL                        United Center                                                                                                                

10/25    Minneapolis, MN            Target Center                                                  

10/29    Seattle, WA                       Climate Pledge Arena                                 

10/30    Portland, OR                     Moda Center                                                                                                      

11/1      San Francisco, CA         Chase Center                                                  

11/2      Inglewood, CA                  Kia Forum                                                          

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