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Sunday, July 5, 2015

Small Town USA

Living in a small town, you can ask permission to host
an array of festivities, so we did. 

 Since our town does not hold a
4th of July parade {yet} we came up with a crazy idea
to host a 4th of July bike parade for the kids.



All photos courtesy of the Union Springs Herald, Kim Graham and Tracy Larkins. 
Thank you!!

We put the parade together and had wonderful help with goodies for the kids by the 
Larkins family that provided ice pops, water and chips for all participants.
We also had Patriotic necklaces, tattoos and glow sticks and our Tourism Council
had grocery sacks and pens to give away. 

We were small but mighty but the most important part of this was that the kids
had a blast being able to ride up and down our Main Street USA without
having to watch out for cars! :)

There's talk about a next year. We'll see!
















Here's a little video {Thanks Kim!} to give you and idea of
how cool our little town is. 


I hope you all had a great 4th of July and celebrated America's birthday
with fun, family and friends.



16 comments:

  1. How cool is that Amber! Looks like you all had fun! Such a sweet town you live in! xox

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    1. We had a great 4th weekend starting with the parade. I think we'll make it bigger next year. I've been jotting down ideas from other small town parades that friends have been sharing online. I hope you had a great 4th, Maryjane! xo

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  2. Replies
    1. LOVED seeing the kids have so much fun. Our police department was great about letting them ride longer than the parade. It was pretty awesome. :)

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  3. Amber, I love that you are taking charge in your town, and making things happen! YAY for you..it looks like the kids and everyone else had a great, great time. Love it! Xoxo

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    1. Our town puts on a HUGE homecoming parade each year and the Christmas parade has been rained out the last two so since there really hasn't been anything geared toward the smaller kids or Independence day, we decided to do it. We have great City officials that are open to most things. Love our little town. I think we'll have more participation next year from the bystanders. :)

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  4. Your little town is beyond cool

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  5. That is so sweet! I have loved your blog but never stopped to realize you are in Union Springs until this post. Looks like a road trip for me. I live south of Andalusia and my daughter lives in Pike Road. My husband worked for Bonnie Plants at one time. Don't you just love the homes in US? Best wishes for successful businesses.

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    1. Hi Deb! Isn't that funny? :) You should come during our Chunnennuggee Fair which is the first Saturday in May. Lots of yummy food and lots of vendors and good music. I wish our town was more of a destination with good vintage shopping but as of now, it's not. I'm plotting some ways to get it going though. :) We (our family) is at a crossroads right now trying to figure out whether we are going to open a small B&B, here in town or a small bakery/cafe/boutique. I've taken a consensus and everyone things a B&B. We're checking into the legalities right now. Have you gone to the Chapel Market in Pike Road? I believe that's in October this year. GREAT market with some GREAT bloggers! :)

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    2. I know Union Springs does not have much, but still an awesome place. I missed the first Chapel Market but made it last year and I plan on going this October again. My daughter and her family live near The Waters. I love following Layla (The Lettered Cottage), Marian (Miss Mustard Seed), Linda (Coastal Charm), Thistlewood, and all the other participants. I started following Shauna at Perfectly Imperfect when she was doing her videos on youtube and would sell a piece of furniture here and there on her blog. I loved her 'Sweet House Alabama'. Doing a bed and breakfast would be awesome. Andalusia has one that has been on HGTV - Sweetgum Bottom. We also have one called Hickory Ridge and it is also amazing. Both have expanded to become wedding/reception/party venues as well.

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    3. This is what's so beautiful about blogging! Finding friends with similar interests. :) Well, hopefully we can meet up at Chapel Market in October! I just emailed Layla about being a vendor with baked goods and she no longer is running it although I'm sure she's still got her hand in it. Regardless, it will still be the same wonderful venue!! I stopped in PI, as I always do when we go to Troy, and Shauna was working. She's a kick in the pants. Thanks for those B&B names, I'm going to check them out. I love that B&B's have become so much more. The cottage we are looking at doesn't have the accommodations to do events but that's okay. We'll start small and see what happens. We'll fill an immediate need and grow on that. Have a blessed Sunday, Deb. Love chatting with you!

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    4. I hope you get to be a vendor! And yes, Shauna is always fun. I was blessed to participate in a painting workshop she held in her home before she had the store. Sweetgum Bottom's B&B actually built a separate chapel and a separate 'reception' building many years after being a B&B. I think you can tour it almost anytime, and Hickory Ridge has an old house and barn full of antiques. They are usually open Thursday-Saturday. Well worth the trip down, and if no event is being held, I am sure they would love for you to see the Lodge. They recently added a building that is a professional kitchen! I am amazed at how busy they both stay, as we are a pretty small (but awesome) town. I've enjoyed our chat too! Have an awesome week.

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  6. So awesome that you guys did that! Truly American - - identify a need and make it happen. Love the community and patriotism your family showed. May God bless the USA (and your sweet little town!). Xo, ~julie

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  7. now this is what Independence day is all about. great job!

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