Neo-Nazis to have 'Hammerfest" in Temple, Georgia

From information we are getting, it looks like Hammerfest 2005 is going to be held in a little town called Temple, Ga. That’s almost an hour away from Atlanta. The location, which was supposed to be secret, is secret no more. From One People's Project
http://www.onepeoplesproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=817&Itemid=2 (link includes pictures)

IT’S HAMMERTIME IN GEORGIA!

From information we are getting, it looks like Hammerfest 2005 is going to be held in a little town called Temple, Ga. That’s almost an hour away from Atlanta. The location, which was supposed to be secret, is secret no more. It is at the Georgia Peach Museum and Restaurant at 4108 Buchanan Hwy., which is run by a convicted sex offender named Patrick Lanzo. Now how did we get this information you might ask. It could have been someone on the inside giving us the scoop. It could have been us tracking down the locale with the information we have compiled. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the sign Lanzo put out in front of the damn place welcoming people to Hammerfest! Lanzo is someone who has seen a lot of attention over the summer because he put out a sign a few months back asking is Michael Jackson was innocent because he was a “n-----“ or money. That pissed off a lot of folks, including the NAACP who last week applied for a permit to march and rally outside the Georgia Peach Museum on Oct. 1. Here’s the fun part. Guess what day Hammerfest starts? Whether or not organizaers switch venues before Hammerfest kicks off, if you are in the area, this might be an outing you would want to join the NAACP on.


By One People’s Project


TEMPLE, GA - Hammerfest, an annual white power concert that is often a huge draw for neo-Nazis, may be taking place in this town in Paulding County on the property of a well-known showboating hatemonger. The event may see a counterprotest sponsored by the NAACP, which was planned well before this news came out for another concern.

Outside an oyster bar called the Georgia Peach Museum and Restaurant at 4108 Buchanan Hwy, a sign was posted reading, “As a member…welcome to Hammerfest”. The event is scheduled for the weekend for the weekend of Oct. 1,2, and in addition to a number of white power bands, neo-Nazi relic and karoke blues performer Tom Metzger will be making an appearance. In years prior, the location of Hammerfest had been kept secret in order to prevent the show from being shut down or countered by protests. In fact, Hammerfest 2005 had been promoted as being in a “secret location” in Atlanta. This is the first time the location had been announced so publicly, and it is not known if the organizers approve of the sign. Last weekend there was some trucks seen there bringing in equipment to build the stage.

The Georgia Peach is owned by Pat Lanzo, a convicted sex offender and longtime hatemonger in the town. The restaurant has a number of racist images in his Georgia Peach Museum bar such as cartoons of Klan members lounging on lynched black men and items disparaging Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. According to news sources, he has been putting up signs for the past 10 years that pose questions about celebrities in the headlines. Behind the restaurant is an open space, where Lanzo normally keeps horses and other animals. A number of Klan rallies have been held here in the past. One such rally was the Aryan Unity Rally on May 18, 2002. He has also held Hammerfest here before, but according to one website, Lanzo once hired a black stripper for the event, and it didn’t go over well, prompting the Hammerskins to look for other venues. This will be the first time since then Hammerfest has returned.


Earlier this summer, one of one of those controversial signs put the attention-starved Lanzo in the media spotlight. In response to the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, Lanzo decided to put out a sign in July saying, "Is Michael Jackson innocent because he is a N***** or money?" This caused some outrage in the community and made the Lanzo the center of attention for a few weeks. This has also created an ironic twist concerning Hammerfest. Last week, the Atlanta NAACP had applied for a permit to march and rally outside the oyster bar on Oct. 1 in response to the Michael Jackson sign. The NAACP has been notified of Hammerfest taking place at the same time, and they still intend to hold their protest against Lanzo. This has generated a lot of concern on the Paulding County website’s discussion board, one poster also informing others that Hammerskins will be in area hotels and may cause complications in other towns as well. The ADL website notes that in the past, followers of Hammerskin Nation have been convicted of harassing and beating minorities after attending similar Hammerfest festivals. At this time, no other organization has announced plans to join the NAACP, but with Hammerfest 2005 being openly announced as it is, that may change.

Temple, GA is just over 43 miles from Atlanta and has a population of 5,056.