We’ve got some big events coming up very soon on The Ave and, in preparation, we want to make it look the best it can be.
I’ve already mentioned our Arbor Day commemoration on Friday, April 29. We’ll be planting a tree in the southeast mini-park, at Landis Avenue and the Boulevard at 1 p.m. We’ll have some special guests—John Pedersen, a former chair of the Design Team and a member of the Vineland Environmental Commission, and the fourth grade class from the Gloria M. Sabater Elementary School. I’ve also mentioned our second Crafts and Antiques Show on The Ave coming up on Saturday, May 7 (rain date May 8), from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Between those two events, we’ll have a dedication ceremony for the next installment in our Urban Canvases on The Ave Mural Project. This mural is on the side of the building at 520 E. Landis Avenue and has a Mexican theme reflecting the many Mexican restaurants located in that area. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 5, at 12 p.m. You’ll have a chance to meet the muralist, Alfonzo Jimenez, and learn about how he created the mural. You’ll also hear about future mural projects planned for The Ave. The day is Cinco de Mayo and we’re urging people to celebrate by patronizing our Mexican restaurants. More about that will appear in next week’s column.
With all this going on, we’re looking to make The Ave come alive for spring and preparing for summer. It means cleaning up after the winter hibernation and adding some spring colors. So, we’re looking for some volunteers to help us weed, clean up, and plant flowers in our downtown planters and other areas. You don’t need a “green thumb” and we’ll let you know what to do. It’ll be great exercise and you’ll know that you’ve done your part to make The Ave ready for the “feet-on-the-street” events we have coming up.
We’re planning to do planting in the 600 block of Landis Avenue on Arbor Day, right after the ceremony. We’re also planning a Spring Planting Day on Saturday, May 14, to cover the mini-parks and other areas of The Ave. Volunteers should meet at the military mural in the southwest mini-park at Landis Avenue and the Boulevard on that day by 8 a.m. If you have gardeners gloves and your own tools, that will help add to what we have. Check our website or call us to volunteer. We can use your help. Again, more about all this will appear in future columns and in other media.
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The next of our quarterly team meetings will be that of our Promotions Team this Thursday, April 21. Speaking of “feet-on-the-street” events, this is the committee that plans and organizes them.
All our teams meet on successive Thursdays this month, at 12 p.m., at the Main Street Vineland office, 603 E. Landis Avenue. You can join us in person or virtually; if the latter, just let us know in advance so we can send you the Zoom link.
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Main Street Vineland is here to help. We pass important business information along to our businesses every Wednesday, in the 9 a.m. hour, and on SNJ Today POP FM 99.9, and Comcast Channel 22.
