Happy May Day

I know that officially summer starts around the 20th of June (summer solstice), but ancient cultures celebrated May Day or May 1, as the first day of summer. I like their thinking.

Friends Frank and Cindy of the Peacekeeper are back from Florida. Here is a picture of their arrival last week at Green Turtle Bay Resort. Friends Joe and Judy are also back.

Every week I see more and more visitors and boaters in Grand Rivers. Temperatures are warming up, even the rainy days are warmer. Flowers are blooming. The trees damaged from the storm are finally leafing out. Happy first day of Summer (unofficially) yall. I love May in Grand Rivers.

Quilt Man

Congratulations to Larry Krohn of Princeton, IN for taking top honors in the Grand Rivers Spring Festival and Quilt Show. Larry’s quilt won first place. Here are all the winning entries from the event:

Quilt People’s Choice Winners
1- Larry Krohn, Princeton, IN
2- Joyce Puffinbarger, Symsonia, KY
3-Kelly Culp

Wall Hanging People’s Choice Winners
1- Nancy Wilson, Arlington, KY
2- Joyce Puffinbarger, Symsonia, KY
3 - Bethel Downs - Benton, KY

Other weekend happenings included the opening of the Grand Rivers Farmers Market at Moodie Bait Company. The market features fresh seasonal plants from Local Livingston County Farmers.

And the CYC Blessing of the Fleet at Green Turtle Bay Resort. It was a gorgeous day, and the minister was the Rev. Dr. Evans. He used the historical blessings that were used particularly on the Sea of Galilee and he wore a stole that was handmade in Guatemala and used there for similar blessings.

It was another beautiful weekend at the Lakes.

In My Facebook Paducah Sun

Thank you Shelley Byrne of the Paducah Sun for including Grand Rivers in her article today on cities with Facebook pages.

If you are on Facebook, sign up to be a fan of Grand Rivers, KY. You can connect with Grand Rivers, find out what is going on, and read what others are saying - all on facebook.

Pick up today's Paducah Sun to find out what local cities are using facebook.

Quilt Show Weekend

The Grand Rivers Quilt Show opened yesterday and the Pats did an outstanding job of organizing the show and putting together all the to-die-for entries.

The show includes new and antique quilts and wall hangings from the Western Kentucky area. All of the awards in the Grand Rivers Show are Viewers Choice – the visitors to the show vote and their votes select the winners. Along with all of the beautiful quilts and wall hangings, the show includes quilt related vendors with fabrics, handmade items, embroidery, and more. My favorite booth is Miss Alma’s. She owns Days Past Antiques here in Grand Rivers and has a vast collection of antique and hand stitched quilts for sale.

The Quilt Show will be open through Saturday. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Along with the Quilt Show, Saturday is the opening of the Grand Rivers Farmers Market. They will begin the season with potted plants and they have a new location. This season the Farmers Market will be located in the parking lot of the Moodie Bait Company – a new store that just opened in Grand Rivers with bait and scooter and cart rentals.

This weekend is also the Blessing of the Fleet at Green Turtle Bay Resort. This event is hosted by Commonwealth Yacht Club but all boaters are invited to participate. To me the Blessing is the official start of boating season. Registration is at Dockers Restaurant on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

And, the weatherman is forecasting sunshine and warm temperatures throughout the week. Busy, busy, busy…it is a great weekend to be in Grand Rivers. I love my life.

Best of Show

Congratulations to our own Karen Dodson of Grand Rivers for winning Best of Show in the Woman’s Club of Paducah annual art show.

I am a big Karen fan. She is so full of warmth and positive energy and can make you feel better by just walking into the room. And she has talent, talent, talent. She is best known for her portraits; but I love everything she does.

Last year for my husband’s birthday, I commissioned Karen to do a painting for him. The painting was beyond my expectations. I love, love it. She captured visually, the affection I feel for home and family; the paining is the house my husband and I renovated together, my husband, and Carlee girl. I smile every time I look at it. I had a picture of the painting and showed to everyone for months. Now that we have the painting, I can't find the picture.

As the home of the Artist Relocation Program; Paducah has the fastest growing art district in the Nation. The Women’s Club Art Show has a 74 year history. I am proud that a Grand Rivers was recognized in the thriving art community of Paducah.

You can see Karen’s winning entry – and all the entries on display at Paducah City Hall through May 1. Exhibition hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Happy Birthday Grand Rivers!

On Monday of this week I found a paper by Mike Grimes on the History of Grand Rivers. The paper outlined the development of our little town by the Grand Rivers Company. The Grand Rivers Company was a group of investors from Boston and Nashville that saw huge potential in this area for profits in iron ore. This group developed a prospectus that outlined the potential and the plans for the development of a great city. Mike’s paper noted that the Grand Rivers city government was organized on April 8, 1890. It is kinda weird that I would read this paper on our birthday week.

I read part of the Grand Rivers Company prospectus and it seems like our founding fathers have a lot in common with our citizens today; they dreamed big and saw huge potential in Grand Rivers. Here is the closing summary paragraph from the prospectus:

“No enterprise was ever commenced under brighter auspices or with a more favorable promise of success. There is an assurance in every feature of it which commends itself to the judgment of all, of the grand results that must attend it and the feasibility of their accomplishment. The mines are there with their inexhaustible wealth, the rivers are there with their wonderful adaptability to commerce, the great West is there with its demand for cheaper and more reliable supplies of iron and coal, capital is there for carrying out its plans, and energetic action is there to bring all together in a unity that shall make the city of Grand Rivers a phenomenal success.”

I love it. Happy Birthday Grand Rivers. I hope I look as good at 118 years old.

Open for Business

I am getting calls today asking if our businesses are open and the answer is YES.

Our central business district and almost all of Grand Rivers has power. Patti's Restaurant is open. Lighthouse Landing, and the Grand Rivers Inn are open. Mr. BBQ Restaurant is open.

The Badgett Playhouse is open with shows scheduled for this weekend. AND the darling, young, single hottie pictured above with my mother is a volunteer usher tonight. How do I know this? Well, I am his mother and in my unbiased opinion the opportunity to spend a few minutes with him as he escorts you to your seat is worth the price of the ticket alone. Plus you get to see a fantastic show.

The Grand Rivers Florist, Lite-Side Bakery, So Cool, Canoe Antiques, IGA, Grand Rivers Antiques, the Homeplace, and all business in central Grand Rivers are all open their regular business hours. Lake Realty and ReMax are open. First Kentucky Bank is open.

Power has been restored to Green Turtle Bay Resort and the business offices and reservations are open. The Commonwealth Yacht Club will open on February 20th.

We are open for business in Grand Rivers!

Southern Living Readers Showing the Love for Grand Rivers

Wow. Grand Rivers has placed in TWO categories in the 2008 Southern Living Readers Choice Awards. The Grand Rivers Jetty is number 4 in the Most Scenic View Category. Grand Rivers is number 8 in the Best Small Town Category.
I don’t know how many people voted, but I do know that with a population of about 350, we are the smallest town (village) on the list. Thank you to all of our visitors and citizens that voted. We are feeling the love in Grand Rivers.

Here is the link to the info -

http://www.southernliving.com/travel/2009-readers-choice-awards-00400000036477/page14.html

Meet the Pats

In this tiny community of 350 people, you will find special events and activities all throughout the year. The amazing thing is that most of our events are organized and manned with volunteers. We have a lot of great volunteers in Grand Rivers and topping the list are “the Pats”. The Pats enjoy working together and they make a great team. And, if it is happening in Grand Rivers, chances are the Pats are helping out. Here are the highlights of their 2008 contributions:

In February the Pats organized two events for National Heart Health Month and raised $880 for the American Heart Association. In March they Co-chaired the Chamber hospitality area for the Grand Rivers Ultra Run providing hot food and nutritious snacks for over 300 runners. In April they Co-Chaired the Grand Rivers Quilt Show. In May they organized a fashion show and raised over $500 for the Grand Rivers Chamber Scholarship Fund. In June the Pats volunteered for the Grand Rivers Free Kids Fishing Event. In August they volunteered for the National Marina Day festivities. In September they worked with Kentucky’s Western Waterlands on the Arts and Crafts festival and they raised over $1,400 for the Grand Rivers Chamber in concession sales. In October they Co-Chaired the Hunters Moon Committee, organized the Chamber Silent Auction fundraiser, and organized a breakfast for National Breast cancer awareness month that raised $900 for the American Cancer Society.

Hunters Moon Festival is all wrapped up and now we are getting ready for the Festival of Lights. The Pats (and other volunteers) are going to meet me downtown on the next two Saturdays and help with Christmas decorations. The Pats are also busy working on a 2009 Men of Grand Rivers Calendar to raise funds for the Chamber. You may also see them in November and December at the Badgett Playhouse where they volunteer as ushers.

And then in January, they will start over again. Thank goodness for volunteers and thank God for the Pats.