April Showers bring…Excitement!

By Lisa P Hedgecock

The old saying is “April Showers Bring May Flowers,” but for the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce it means that two of our busiest months are here and it is time to get excited!

The Kernersville Chamber of Commerce strives to host events that are meaningful to not only our members, but to Kernersville residents as well. One of these events is our annual Recycle Day. This is an event that the Kernersville community looks forward to and makes sure to mark on their calendars. This year’s Recycle Day will take place on Saturday, April 5 from 8am – 11am, in the parking lot of the Chamber (136 E. Mountain St.). With many volunteers, this event has become quite the “well-oiled machine” over the years. It is considered a non-contact event, which means you do not have to get out of your vehicle at all. Volunteers are there to direct you as to where to go and someone will unload your items to recycle for you.

As in the past, this year the following items will be accepted: shredding materials (which are done on site), metal, TV’s, computer screens, old mowers, appliances and even your old outdoor metal furniture! Batteries will be accepted, and with the help and support of the Kernersville Police Department, old prescription pills (only, no liquids) may be dropped off for proper disposal at the Police Department.

There are some items that are not accepted, such as, any hazardous liquids, old paint cans, fluorescent light bulbs, motor oil, etc. These items may however be taken to 3RC – The EnviroStation at 1401 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Winston-Salem.

The next event happening in April is our annual Women’s Conference. This year our event will be held on Tuesday, April 22 from 9am – 1pm at the Piedmont Triad Regional Council. Our theme for this year is “She believed she could, so she did.” Through the guest speakers, you will enjoy a day of motivation and inspiration. Tickets are $35 and are available on the Chamber of Commerce website, www.kernersvillenc.com.

Although we do not want rain showers on any of our event dates, we certainly hope that they stay in April and don’t trickle through the first weekend in May. Why? Well, that is the weekend of Spring Folly. This year will mark the 32nd year that the Folly has been held in downtown Kernersville when it is held May 2, 3 & 4. So much planning goes in to this event and it is looked forward to every year by both young and old alike.

The Spring Folly hosts 30,000 to 40,000 people during the three day event. 93% of those attending come from within 30 miles of Kernersville. This brings not only revenue to the area, but so much fun for all those attending. Spring Folly was named as one of the top 20 festivals in the Southeast.

If you are not familiar with what Spring Folly is, allow me to explain. It is a street festival that features food, arts and crafts, commercial vendors, music, an antique car show, chain saw carving, carnival rides, gem mining, just to name a few of the things taking place. The streets in downtown are closed on Friday night and Saturday until 10pm. This is so everyone can walk freely and safely to enjoy all the many activities. Also, our wonderful downtown businesses are open and welcome you in to their spaces to shop. You can find so many unique gifts in the open businesses as well as throughout the streets.

This year will bring a few changes and additions as the Spring Folly continues to grow. The North Main music stage will be relocated to East Mountain Street. Along with our civic organizations providing food, we will have a few food trucks on East Mountain close to the stage this year. New additions to this area will be an ice cream truck and a doughnut truck featuring mini homemade doughnuts and flavored lemonade. The doughnuts will be available with so many different toppings that I am not sure it will be an easy decision to make as to which you try. Food is provided by our civic organizations as a way for them to make money, which in turn they will use to help in the Kernersville community. The food trucks will donate a percentage of their sales back to the Eating for Education Grant fund. This is through the Chamber and money received goes 100% toward grants awarded to Kernersville School teachers.

So, get out those calendars now and mark your dates because there is so much happening in Kernersville during April and May. For information on these or any of the events hosted by the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce, please visit the website KernersvilleNC.com. For information on Spring Folly, you may visit KernersvilleSpringFolly.com. Or you may call the chamber at 336-993-4521.

Hope to see you all during April and especially out enjoying Spring Folly!