Angels' paradise

UNADILLA, Ga. - People who are born to be wild, or at least those who enjoy raucous parties, cheap beer and rock bands, should feel right at home in a new south Georgia town that has arisen in a cow pasture.

Known as Angel City, the $2 million, Western-style town will cater to bikers, a group that values freedom and tends to have more tattoos than taboos.

Although no one is expected to live there permanently, the 400-acre site will play host to several events each year. Angel City's inaugural Iron Angels Rally & Music Festival will begin Thursday at the site on the outskirts of Unadilla, a town of about 2,800 people about 100 miles south of Atlanta along Interstate 75.

Organizers say they expect between 10,000 and 20,000 people to attend the rally, which will feature eight rock bands, some of the nation's top custom motorcycle builders, and the biker world's pinup models, the Iron Angels, a group of young women who make rally appearances and pose with custom motorcycles for an annual calendar. Anyone younger than 18 won't be allowed in the rally.

Also planned are bike tours to the infamous Civil War prison at Andersonville and to the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, each about 30 miles from the new town.

Angel City's builder, Unadilla contractor and longtime motorcyclist John Wayne Smith, said he wanted to create a biker haven - where everyone can appreciate a custom ride, a good time and beers that will sell for as cheap as $2 a bottle. He built it after one of his buddies, Marvin Jones, also of Unadilla, donated the land.

"I want people to have a good time," said Mr. Smith, 55. "And of course I wanted something in Georgia."

Angel City's main intersection is lined with four L-shaped, unpainted wooden buildings, containing booths for more than 50 vendors. There are larger rooms to accommodate restaurants and saloons, with swinging doors and chandeliers made from rusty horseshoes and wagon wheels. Tin roofs shade the wooden sidewalks. A bandstand stands nearby on the edge of a depression that forms a natural amphitheater.

During the rally, actors portraying gunslingers will have shootouts on the main street, Mr. Smith said. The Western theme was the logical choice, considering that his mother named him after the famous cowboy movie star John Wayne.

With nearly 10 million motorcyclists in the U.S., the biker community pumps lots of cash into Sturgis, S.D.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; and other towns that hold some of the nation's leading motorcycle rallies, attracting upward of 500,000 enthusiasts each.

Mr. Smith, a partner in the Iron Angels calendar, said Angel City could also be used as a staging area for bikers heading to major rallies in Daytona each year. They could haul their motorcycles to Angel City and then ride them the final 300 miles to Daytona.

His partner in the calendar, Lucas Foxx of Cody, Wyo., has another vision for Unadilla and Angel City.

"Unadilla will be the Sturgis of the South," he said. "That's our goal."

Mr. Smith said he canvassed businesses in Unadilla and talked with neighboring property owners and found strong support for the Angel City project. He said the site will also be used for bluegrass festivals and possibly arts and crafts, antique car and recreational vehicle shows.

Unadilla Mayor Sidney Hughes said some residents expressed concern initially about heavier traffic, but generally everyone supports it.