5 years after EF-4 tornado, Newnan honors 'Seasons of Strength' and recovery

Newnan tornado survivors mark 5 years later

Five years after a devastating EF-4 tornado tore through Newnan and Coweta County, survivors and community members are coming together this weekend for a powerful tribute to their shared resilience. A full-scale community stage performance will give 100 survivors the chance to tell their story. Producer Gwendolyn Kuhlman describes the event not as "entertainment," but as a cathartic space for healing.

NEWNAN, Ga. - This month marks the fifth anniversary of the EF4 tornado that devastated Newnan on March 25. 

The personal stories of that night have been put together in a stage performance that will be presented this weekend.

Honoring survivors five years after the EF-4 tornado

What we know:

The performance is called Seasons of Strength, and it features not just the history of this massive tornado that devastated Newnan but also incorporates more than 100 stories from people who survived the storm.

The history of 'Newnan Strong'

The backstory:

The Newnan Tornado was an EF-4, a powerful storm with winds over 176 miles per hour. It hit Newnan head-on, damaging more than 1,700 buildings and destroying more than 70 homes, with 120 others suffering major structural damage. The phrase Newnan Strong was coined the next day. No one died directly from the storm, although a heart attack claimed a life afterwards.

Anniversaries are not celebrated here, but this fifth one that’s coming up, with the recovery taking about four years, is special.

‘We go into the hard spaces’

What they're saying:

Gwendolyn Kulhman has been documenting that recovery and the resiliency of Newnan with interviews, photos and video and has put together a stage version called Seasons of Strength, which will be performed this weekend.

"I interviewed over 100 people about their experience of the tornado and the aftermath, and I ended up also talking about what put Newnan in a place to respond in the way that they did. Because let's be clear, this was the 11th EF-4 tornado in the history of Georgia, and it hit some of the most populated areas of Coweta County," she said.

The survivors will tell their stories on video and Kuhlman says that is combined with live orchestral music and interpretive dance.

"We go into the hard spaces, but I never leave you there. We always come back out and remember who we are and remember what we're capable of."

Performance dates and times

What you can do:

Seasons of Strength will be performed at Unity Baptist Church in the very epicenter of that storm in 2021. The performance times are 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.