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Andrews – The Andrews Chamber of Commerce & Welcome Center is inviting everyone to visit downtown from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday for the annual Spring Fling & Nature Expo.
This once-a-year, all-day event offers an opportunity to celebrate Earth Day while enjoying the beautiful Valley. There will be arts and crafts vendors, eight food trucks and so much more.
What’s a festival without good music? Listen to live music by local favorite Betty & Friends performing country and rock as well as Danny Dawson.
Dawson grew up in Georgia with 18 brothers and sisters. The country singer/songwriter’s first show was at Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1992, opening for Ronnie Milsap. His television debut was in the spring of 1995 on TNN, where he performed “Big Boss Man.”
The Spring Fling is a dog-friendly outing, highlighted by the second annual Doxie Derby contest at noon. The entry fee is $15, and there will be prizes for the best dressed and fastest wiener dogs as well as bragging rights for a year.
The race will be held across Main Street from the Andrews Public Library and offers a whole lotta fun. To enter your Doxie, call 828-321-5516. There will also be a dog watering area.
Some of the other Spring Fling highlights include Rocky the Hellbender, a Tree ID Scavenger Hunt, a nature walk in Heritage Park at 10 a.m., demonstrations on the lawn at Andrews First Methodist Church, a photo booth, a KidZone with a petting zoo, bouncy house and slide, rock painting and Giggles the Clown. Also check out the demonstrations and seminars at the library.
Local shops, restaurants, breweries and wineries will be open. Last year’s Spring Fling brought in about 4,500 locals and visitors, but this year the festival is expected to draw almost twice as many people.
The event and parking are free. Handicapped parking is near the center of the festival, with parking available only a block off of Main Street.
The Spring Fling & Nature Expo is brought to you by Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel. For details, call the Andrews Chamber of Commerce at 828-321-3584 or visit its website at visitandrewsnc.com.