#2,474 Setting Up Loblolly.

Today was one of the busiest days I can remember in 2016. It was the first time I had to actually refer to my day planner to see which scheduled meeting I was running to next + a hair appointment and a breakfast date with my sweet Mammaw.

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And after all the meetings, we got busy with our Laurel Main Street duties, helping set up our food vendors on Oak Street, chalking signs and putting out the wayfinding signage for the Loblolly Festival tomorrow! That means the holiday season is officially here in Laurel! There was a scarecrow contest all over town to celebrate Loblolly weekend, and I found a couple of Big Bens (including this one that my mama and her friend Mrs. Susie made)…

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And a REALLY creepy one:

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And a really funny one:

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And one of our beloved mayor (standing beside our beloved mayor):

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And it’s so incredibly exciting to see the entire downtown permanently lit again with the string lights that Laurel Main Street worked so hard to raise the funds for and install:

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I love so much that our town will have that cozy glow every night, not just festival nights.

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And I’m thankful for the community-minded hearts of our best friends and family and for this tradition of ours, doing setup together the night before the festival every year. To be part of the team of dozens of volunteers making this happen is something like falling in love, I think. It feels good to be part of something bigger than yourself.

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