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Andrews – The annual Spring Fling to celebrate Earth Day will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday on Main Street downtown.
The Andrews Spring Fling has been a large event for the town since local resident Eve Miranda began the concept with an Earth Day Celebration in 2015. The Spring Fling normally include educational presentations for elementary school students at the Andrews Public Library, but due to COVID-19 the educational events were canceled this year.
Spring Fling organizer and Andrews Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jan Olson said this year’s event will also include a litter pickup in honor of Gary Chamberlain, late coordinator of the N.C. Litter-free Coalition. The event begins at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Andrews Chamber of Commerce office, 955 Main St.
The group that collects the most bags of trash will win $100. A bench dedication ceremony for Chamberlain will also be held at 1:30 p.m. in front of the commerce office.
Olson said the event will follow COVID-19 guidelines, and wearing face masks is strongly encouraged. Booths will be distanced, with hand sanitizers available throughout the event area.
“The Spring Fling is going to be worth coming down and checking out,” Olson said. “We expect visitors throughout the day, and it will be a great time.”
The event will begin at 10 a.m. with a Duck Race hosted by Reach of Cherokee County Inc. and Mountain True at Valley River Park. Rubber ducks with numbers on the bottom will be released from the starting line near the ball fields in Andrews. Ducks are available until Friday at the Reach and Mountain True offices in Murphy.
The first-place prize for the duck race is $250, while second place is $125 and third place $50. The duck who finishes in last place will also win a prize of donated items.
Contestants do not need to be present to win, and all ducks will be collected and removed from the water at the finish line. For details, call Reach at 837-8064 or Mountain True at 837-5414.
About 40 vendors will be set up along Main Street beginning at 11 a.m. Olson said craft and food vendors will be set up until 6 p.m., including jewelry, wooden crafts, outdoor furniture, dollhouses, crotchet, wind chimes, candles, wreaths, quilts and more.
Mountain True Western Region Program Coordinator Tony Ward will lead participants on a nature walk along the Valley River and Town Branch at 2 p.m. and again at 4 p.m. at Heritage Park. Signup for the nature walks will be at the Mountain True booth on Main Street.
There will also be a native tree identification scavenger hunt with prizes for participants. The event will also have several booths dedicated to providing informative material on water conservation, gardening and butterflies, hellbenders and other native species, local history and more.
Mountainside Pediatric & Adolescent Clinic will have painted rocks hidden around town for Spring Fling-goers to find and bring back to the clinic on Main Street.
A drum circle will be set up by the Red Drum Singers from the Hawk’s Nest Tribe at 11:30 a.m. on the grassy area at the corners of Main and Chestnut streets.
The group will also host a candy dance for kids at 2:15 p.m., plus more drum circles between additional singers and storytelling. Olson said the candy dance is similar to musical chairs, where candy will be thrown out for children to pick up, but they cannot get the candy until the music stops.
Steven Phillips & Midnight Express will perform from noon-2 p.m. on the front porch of the mural building on Main Street. Southern Rush with Betty Vaughn will perform afterward from 3:30-5:30 p.m.
To finish off the day, the chamber will host a free movie, Free Willy, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Hall Memorial Park downtown, according to the event’s Facebook page.