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!

Best of the 2013 Fun 4th Festival

Well, another Fun 4th has come and gone!  Every year, after I've had a chance to rest up and cool off, I love going through pictures of the festival and making a list of all my favorite moments.  There were a lot of changes this year, and with a 60% chance of rain the whole week we were all a little unsure of how things were going to turn out.  But, I honestly think this was my favorite Fun 4th yet!  Here is my 2013 Top 5 List (all pictures are (c) Lynn Donovan):

1. Cute little kids.

Honestly, I had a hard time choosing from all the pictures of cute kids taken throughout the festival week, but I really loved this one.  I mean look at the intensity!  This was taken at the Kids' Race at the Fun 4th Freedom Run & Walk on June 29.  These kids take the race way more seriously than any runner in the 10K and they are just so darn cute and determined.  We asked the winner of the kids' race if he had any special tactics that helped him win (i.e. did he shove any other kids out of the way) and he said, "Nope.  I just ran."  So awesome.

2.  New Block Party.

Thanks to Natty Greene's, we were able to bring in Keller Williams with the Travelin' McCourys for the block party on July 3.  The really amazing thing about this (which is also why it makes my top 5) is that the house was packed despite a rain scare and a last minute relocation.  Major props to the Carolina Theatre for providing us with a rain location and to all of you guys for still showing up!  What a great show!

3.  All the bands.

So I am definitely biased about this, but how great were all the bands at the street festival this year?!  I felt like we had a pretty good line-up, but I didn't really know it until I saw all the sets in person.  Every band truly rocked.  If there were any you missed, be sure to check our website for the full list of bands and links to their music.

4.  The Field of Fun

This was another last-minute change up, but look how awesome it turned out.  I loved having a big field full of activities for kids AND the rides right next door (you can see them in the background of this picture).  Plus, there was line dancing galore - I am pretty sure the Electric Slide is happening in this picture - and you can't beat that.

5.  The Army Ground Forces Band

Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to see these guys and gals perform, but I did meet with them before the festival and I just knew they would be great.  All the reports I heard from people at the fireworks finale were that the band was just incredible.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate our nation's independence than with a concert performed by active military personnel.  It was a huge honor for us to have them at the Fun 4th!

Didn't see your picture here?  Check out our Flickr page for all of the pictures from the Freedom Run, Block Party, Parade, Street Festival, and Fireworks.  Also, search #Fun4th and #FunFourth on Instagram for pictures from people at the events.  Feel free to leave me your favorite memories in the comments or email your pictures to administration@grassrootsproductionsltd.org

We are on Instagram!

Are you guys ready for Fun 4th?!  We're less than a month away!  If you are on Instagram, be sure to follow us: @GrassrootsProductions  We will be posting fun pictures from behind the scenes as we start to get ready for the big day.  Then, when you come to any Fun 4th event, use the hashtag #Fun4th to let us and all your friends know you're there and having a great time!  Can't wait to see all your pictures.

We're on Spotify!

If you have been wondering what great bands we are booking for this year's Fun Fourth Festival, you are in luck!  We have been hard at work searching for new entertainment as well as booking some old favorites.  To keep everyone up to date on who we have booked, Dolley, our mascot, has been listening to all of her favorite groups on Spotify.

If you already have Spotify, search for Dolley Elm and follow her playlists.  When you follow her, you will be able to listen to music from some of this year's great entertainers.  You have plenty of time to learn the words to all of your favorite songs before Fun 4th, where you can come see all of these groups for FREE!

If you don't have Spotify, you can download it for free by following the link above.  Not into Spotify? You can become friends with Dolley Elm on Facebook.  Dolley will be posting what she is listening to on her news feed now through July.  Enjoy!

2013 Fun Fourth Festival Applications Are Up!

Are you a local artisan?  Runner?  Non-profit organization?  Volunteer?  Company that wants to get the word out about your product?  Then I have good news!  The 2013 Fun Fourth Festival applications are online now.  Follow the links below to download the applications and for more information about the different areas of the Festival.

Festival Applications

Craftscene

Fun 4th Freedom Run & Walk

Volunteers

I can't wait to see you there!