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Health & Fitness

Art & Wine — We're Ready!

Main Street Kent kicks off the Art & Wine Festival this Saturday, June 2nd, thanks to many!

The months of planning that go into the Art & Wine Festival are pretty incredible. Renting port-a-potties, booking bands, obtaining permits, sifting through artist applications, designing flyers, developing sponsorship opportunties, answering questions, creating new ideas, formulating a booth layout, recruiting volunteers, communicating with all the key players...it's a whirlwind, and so worth it!

Every year, Bob Mayfield of McKay Bricker Framing and Gallery is top-notch in the helpful department. Printing and mounting signs, lugging tables, chairs, tents, fence and other materials all over town til it's just right - that's Bob for you, and he's involved from the minute we start putting the application together.

This year, I was thrilled to connect with some super Kent people who have provided financial support for this event. Pete Kratcoski from Williams, Welser, Kratcoski & Can stepped up to the plate without even being asked. They'll have an Alex's Lemonade Stand right at the Hometown Bank Plaza for a while during the event too. Tim Nightengale of Wild Earth Outfitters happily obliged, since supporting our downtown and being involved is obviously important to him. Then there's Anderson Turner of the KSU School of Art Galleries. He's been recruiting artists as well, and offered to have some of his staff help with the event. Lastly, I was happy to get such a warm response from Matt French of AMETEK- happy to partner with Main Street Kent, happy to be a part of all of the new growth in downtown Kent. Yep. Good people here. Lots of them.

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So the fun begins at noon this Saturday and it's not over until 10pm. Music all day long, art and wine up and down Water Street, and some fresh, fantastic food options in the Taproot Catering tent -- come downtown and enjoy yourself. Proceeds from the event go right back to Main Street Kent, so we can keep doing things like this, and lots of other things. 

It's all about our downtown - our people, our businesses, and enjoying our life here. Cheers, Kent!

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