Spring is Here!

"It is spring again.  The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart."
-Rainer Maria Rilke

It's the first day of Spring - finally!  I think it is pretty safe to assume that everyone is ready for less snow and more sunshine.  Hopefully all of you are able to get outside today or this weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather.  I know that in North Carolina, it being Spring doesn't necessarily guarantee sunny days every day, but at least for the next few days it will sure seem like it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  Hope you are all feeling very lucky today.  Don't mind the weather - this is what it's like in Ireland, so the rain is making everything that much more authentic.  If you are looking for a way to celebrate today, the Greater Greensboro St. Paddy's Party is happening just down the street from our office in the WORX parking lot (106 Barnhardt St.).  Have fun and stay safe!

Win a $150 gift certificate!

Was your New Year's resolution to exercise more?  Is all your work out gear looking a little worse for wear?  Have your kids grown out of their tennis shoes yet again?  If you answered yes to any of those questions (or you just like shopping and free stuff) then I have a contest for you!

Register to participate in the Fun 4th Freedom Run & Walk by March 20th and you will be entered to win a $150 gift certificate to Off 'N Running.  You can register online or print an application and mail it in (registrations post-marked by March 20th will be considered).

The Fun 4th Freedom Run & Walk will be on Saturday, June 28 this year.  Can't wait to see you there!

Fun 4th Festival Applications Online Now!

This is a big year for the Fun 4th Festival!  It's our 40th anniversary AND we are moving to a new location in the Downtown Historic District.  We are going to have the usual stuff: four stages of live entertainment, beer, food, crafts, history, combined with offerings from the awesome local shops and restaurants that will now be inside the festival footprint.  You would be crazy not to be a part of everything we have going on.

So, good news!  Applications for the Freedom Run & Walk, Craftscene, Sales & Sampling, Community Bazaar, and the Independence Day Parade are all online now.  You can apply online or mail your application in.  This is going to be an awesome year and you are not going to want to miss out.

See you on the 4th!

Time to decorate!

Believe it or not, I saw holiday decorations out at Target the other day.  Not the full blown display that will be here after Halloween, but never the less, there were ornaments and ribbons for sale.  In mid-October.  So I guess there is no denying it.  It's time to start thinking about those winter decorations.

I've been down to our Snowflake Room (pictured right) a few times now to inventory what we have, plug in some of the lights to see if they still work, and spend a couple of hours untangling a snowflake garland that left the carpet in my office covered in silver glitter.  Here's what I have to report.

Holiday decorations are not cute when they aren't being used.  You know all of those snowflakes you see hanging from the light poles in downtown?  We store all 200+ of those at our office and when they aren't lit up they look like snowflake skeletons.  Maybe we haven't bypassed Halloween after all?  Wreathes are piled up in a corner, inflatable snowmen are crumpled up and put in a box, and strands of lights are tangled up in drawers.  It's not pretty.

There is good news though!  As Target reminded me, there is no better time than the present to start waking all these sleepy decorations up, dusting them off, replacing the bulbs and getting into the spirit of the holidays.  Today, our volunteers started working on the snowflakes and soon I'm going to pull out the eight foot tall inflatable nutcracker.

I'm sure there are a few of you who are deeply disturbed by the idea of planning for the holiday season when Thanksgiving is still over a month away (some of you are in my office right now!), and that is totally understandable.  No need to rush.  But for those of you who are ready to get the most wonderful time of the year rolling, be sure to mark your calendars for Festival of Lights on Friday, December 6th.  And, be sure to keep an eye out for the snowflakes going up around downtown at the beginning of December!

Also, if there are any downtown merchants interested in borrowing some of our lights or wreathes to decorate your storefront with, feel free to send me an email at administration@grassrootsproductionsltd.org or call 336-274-4595.  I'd be happy to hook you up!