Downtown Kennett Square gets festive for KSBC’s plant sale along with Willow on State’s Art on the Square
By P.J. D’Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com
KENNETT SQUARE— Saturday, April 28th marks the 47th Annual Plant Sale hosted by The Kennett Square Beautification Committee. Attendees are encouraged to shop the assortment of hanging baskets, herbs, annuals, perennials, grasses, native plants, and starter vegetable plantings.
The Plant Sale also features a special collection of plants dug from the gardens of area garden club members who donate their plants annually.
The proceeds from the sale support the colorful sidewalk planters and hanging plants throughout downtown Kennett Square, as well as other beautification projects throughout the area.
The Kennett Square Beautification Committee began in the mid-1960s in response to First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson’s call for residents to help beautify and clean up America’s neighborhoods.
This year the plant sale will be held in conjunction with Art on the Square, a new judged art festival along the streets of Kennett Square. The plant sale will be located along East State Street, in front of the Genesis Building, from 8 AM to 4 PM.
The organizers of Art on the Square are planning live music, face painting, and other kinds of fun activities part of the juried arts festival to be held at various locations on State Street.
“What we wanted is for art lovers to come for the art, and feel free to bring along family and friends because there’s something to do for everyone,” says Hillary Sculthorpe, one of the festival’s organizers and a co-owner of Willow on State, Kennett Square’s newest galleries. “So if your eight-year-old is getting fidgety, you can take a break, listen to music, get your face painted, have some ice cream or get a bite in one of the awesome restaurants here, hike around in the park, whatever. That’s why it’s nice to have the festival in town, because you have so many options of things to do and you can make an excursion out of it.”
Sculthorpe indicated that the show is meant to demonstrate the wide range and excellence of the artists doing fine arts and fine crafts in the region. “We’ve got all kinds of great local artists exhibiting,” she said. “And we also have a few excellent artists from other areas that heard about it and wanted to be part of it. There’s one artist from New Jersey, and another coming in from Seattle. There really will be something for everyone.”
Artists and crafters are encouraged to submit applications online at www.willowonstate.com or by calling Willow on State at 484-372-0021. The application deadline is April 18. The participation fee for exhibitors selected is $50. The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 28, with April 29 as the rain date.
