News

LOCAL BRIEFS: Main Street concerts, plant sale, Sesame Street party

By Lightning Reports, Published: August 5, 2022

Concerts are set Monday and Friday nights at Visitors Center

The Mattocks-Johnson Band will bring a mix of blues rock, classic rock, cover tunes and original songs to Monday Night Live! on Aug. 8, the last Monday night concert of the season, and the Rewind House Band will cover hits from the Fifties and Sixties at Music On Main Friday, Aug. 12.

Both concert series are sponsored by the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority and held at the Visitors Center stage on South Main Street. Friday evenings also offer concessions as well as classic car shows, which are hosted by the Carolina Mountain Car Club. The car shows are held on South Main Street from Caswell Street to First Avenue, which will be closed to thru-traffic.

Bullington Gardens plant sale is Sept. 16-17

Bullington Gardens, a horticultural education center and public gardens, will its annual fall plant sale on Friday, Sept. 16, and Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, rain or shine. This year’s sale is set one week later than last year’s date due to a previously scheduled event. Friends of Bullington Garden receive a 10 percent discount and an exclusive early-bird shopping day. To join, visit bullingtongardens.org/support-bullington/membership/.

The sale features many hard-to-find perennials, shrubs, trees and native plants. Also available for sale are many of the dahlias featured in the dahlia garden. These will be potted and in bloom to showcase each plant’s unique color and variety. For a listing of available plants, visit bullingtongardens.org. Cash, checks and credit cards are accepted.

“Planting during the cooler months of fall is a great way to get your plants off to a great start," said Annie Higgins, Bullington’s Administrative Director. "The weather is cool but the soil is still warm which encourages excellent root growth without stimulating flowering that comes with spring planting. The roots have a chance to get established over the winter so spring growth is quicker and more reliable.”

Bullington Gardens’ greenhouse manager, Linda Patterson, has looked for varieties that do well in the area, and has taken care to make sure plants are disease-free and not root-bound, as can be the case with fall plants.

Growing plants and maintaining Bullington’s 12 acres of gardens, grounds and the Fairy Trail is managed by a team of dedicated volunteers. All plant sale proceeds benefit Bullington’s mission to educate and inspire children and adults in horticulture, the natural sciences and integrated disciplines, and to enhance life skills for children and adults with physical or mental challenges through horticultural therapy. For more information about Bullington Gardens, visit www.bullingtongardens.org or call 828-698-6104.  

Smart Start Sesame Street Party set for Aug. 20

Smart Start Partnership for Children, along with our partners in the READY! Kindergarten Readiness Initiative (Henderson County Public Schools, Henderson County Public Library, Children and Family Resource Center, and WNCSource) with the support of Pardee UNC Health Care and Dogwood Health will host the Smart Start Sesame Street Party on South Main Street between Allen Street and Caswell Street 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 20. The party will feature bounce houses, food trucks, Snoballs, bubbles, hoops, free face painting, balloons, magic, and much more. Two very special Muppets, Elmo and Abby Cadabby, will be present as Main Street becomes "Sesame Street" for the morning.

The event and family resources are specifically geared toward Henderson County families with young children (birth-Kindergarten). Each Western North Carolina County will have its own Sesame Street in Communities launch event over the course of the next two years. More information on other events can be found at www.smartstartpfc.org by clicking on Programs then Raising Resilience WNC.
"We are so excited for the opportunity to highlight the amazing and free resource “Sesame Street in Communities” while also raising awareness of our incredible local organizations that serve Henderson County families and young children," said Sonia Gironda, Smart Start's executive director. Dozens of community partners will be on site to share information and activities for families with young children.
Sesame Street in Communities is an initiative to support parents, caregivers, and community providers in their efforts to give all children - especially the most vulnerable- a strong, and healthy start. The subjects covered by Sesame Street in Communities span from social and emotional development, creating healthy habits, school-readiness, and learning through play to the heavier topics that can be harder to discuss with children, like coping with a death in the family, homelessness, divorce, and drug addiction.

Families can RSVP to the "Smart Start Sesame Street Party" by visiting Smart Start Partnership for Children's Facebook page at facebook.com/smartstartpfc.