Spring arrives in Afton with a ‘Spring Thing’

AFTON - Beautiful spring weather was only one cause for celebration during last Saturday’s Afton Spring Thing, the name for a community event celebrating local vendors and business.

The Spring Thing, organized by the Afton Development Corporation, brings businesses together in a celebration of each other, providing face-to-face advertising for each business for the common goal of supporting each other’s success. A gallery of twenty-nine businesses were listed for the event, from small vendors to large storefronts.

Afton’s most prominent attraction as a city is the business square, composed of businesses lining alongside Highway 169 and Kansas Street. Each business and building is eye-catching.

Alongside the standard buildings on the main square, multiple vendors lined up along both sides of a hospitality center to sell smaller crafts and items. These products range from custom writing pens, bracelets, walking sticks, photos and small planting kits sold by East Union’s Early Childhood Center.

Inside the hospitality center was a bar with a chocolate fountain and mimosas to refresh community members from the sun. These items, as well as a map of local businesses, goodie bags and entry into various drawings were available with a $5 admission fee.

The businesses also got the chance to advertise their own events and future plans with citizens who stop by. East Union ECC Director Peggy Hardy says the event helps bring the community together and excited about the future of Afton services.

“It brings awareness to what Afton has to offer - meeting business owners and area vendors,” she said. “Simple small town pleasures are a big benefit too - reconnecting with people you haven’t seen for some time or putting names and faces together.”

Just as many businesses were able to inform the community of their future plans, the ECC was able to increase awareness about the Infant Toddler Center, which is planned for opening in November.

City Councilmember Kristie Nixon praised the event for bringing the Afton community together. “We want to see the town thrive, we want to see families in our town,” she said. “I think we have some really good things going on.”

One local business that offered sweet treats was the Sweet Afton Creamery, which coincided their opening for the season with the Spring Thing, offering a location to cool off from the warm weather.

Hull Monument Service brought a table to the corner of Kansas and Highway 169, showcasing and giving information about two restored gravestones for some of Union County’s first settlers, who had passed and buried in 1863. The business is owned by Rob Hull and his family, who also preform volunteer maintenance for local cemeteries such as Greenlawn.

A list of the businesses and sponsors present during the Spring Thing event can be found on the Afton Development Corporation’s Facebook page.