Chamber Corner: Fall Fest, Pop-up Shops

It really is amazing how fast time flies.

Here we are in the middle of September already. Fall Fest is just a few weeks away. Once that is complete, we will start planning Walnut’s Christmas Open House weekend.

But, not getting too ahead of ourselves let’s talk about Fall Fest on Main. You may have noticed the town is starting to get ready for Fall. Thank you to Brian Smith, Adrian Lind, Marcia Magnuson and Lois Behrens for planting the mums on Main Street. Also a huge thank you to Brian for taking care of the flowers on Main Street all summer. When he was on vacation this summer a few of us realized how big of a job that really is.

There is an article in today’s Walnut Leader with all the information about ordering Fall Fest on Main T-shirts. Get yours early to wear during Festival day.

We are looking for volunteers for that day. If you are interested in helping in any capacity, please contact me at director@walnutillinois.com and we will find a spot where you can help!

We talk a lot about Fall Fest on Saturday, but don’t miss Fall Fest Eve on Friday night. We are bringing back the Chili Cook-off after a successful first year, plus we’ve added a Pie Baking Contest to the evening. Rules are still being finalized for the Pie Baking Contest, but prizes will be awarded for the top three pies.

Halloween is coming soon. Don’t forget to get your Halloween Candy and pumpkins at Walnut Acres Country Store.

The Library’s new roof project is nearly complete thanks to ABC Construction & Renovation. The library is an important part to our community. Thank you to all who made a donation, big or small, to the project.

Walnut Main Street Revitalization is currently looking for someone to fill their two buildings on Main Street, which is the old Garden & Greens building and the one next to Walnut Cafe. As they look for businesses to find a permanent home, they are also offering daily or weekly rentals of the buildings for “pop-up” shops. I think this is a great idea and a local start-up has already reserved one of the buildings for Fall Fest on Main. Contact Kirsten Johnston, Tracey Schoff, Jan McDonald or John Middleton for more information.

Remember to shop Walnut this week!