First Friday; Spring Lake brings inaugural event to Main Street

By Faith Hatton, posted Aug 17, 2023 on BizFayetteville.com

The event is a collaborative effort between the Town of Spring Lake and The Greater Sandhills Chamber,

The Town of Spring Lake is working on a new event to encourage new visitors to come to Main Street and connect as a community.

Preparations for Spring Lake’s first ever First Friday event are currently underway.

The event is scheduled to take place on Friday Sept. 1 on Main Street in Spring Lake from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A collaborative event between the Town of Spring Lake and the Greater Sandhills Chamber, the goal is to bring businesses and community members back to Main Street in Spring Lake.

According to Town officials, the Main Street area has seen a drop off in visitors due to the nearby bridge construction and other factors. Now, leadership with the Town say they hope to rejuvenate the area with this monthly event.

“We're doing our first event on Main Street in a long time. It's been several years since we've had anything happening on Main Street,” said Mayor Kia Anthony. “It’s pretty much a community block party.”

“The idea to bring this community celebration to Main Street has been in the works for some time. As a Chamber, we are excited to work with the Town to finally bring it to life,” said GSC President Taneshia Kerr.

Local performer 80s Unplugged is scheduled to appear and organizers shared they are looking for other musical acts. Local, lesser known musicians and bands are encouraged to reach out.

Over 20 vendors have already signed up to be at the event and Greater Sandhills Chamber Vice President Lillian Anderson shared that priority is being given to Spring Lake businesses and businesses owned by military spouses.

“ I feel like that's a big untapped market around here, so it's kind of a two way situation. With Spring Lake being as close and having as many gates connecting to us as we do, we have no unity with the base. We don't really have any military events, we just don't have any of that. I would really like to close that gap,” shared Anderson. “I'm pretty sure 16 of my vendors are military wives.”

Along with a shopping area, the event will also feature a kids section with kid friendly attractions, concessions from Hugger Mugger Brewing Company and food trucks.

Flyer for the First Friday event provided by the GSC.

To further connect to the community, all participants are welcomed to attend the upcoming Cocktails & Connections event held by the Greater Sandhills Chamber to connect in person with organizers and the Chamber to address any questions or concerns.

That event will take place on Aug. 30 at 5:30 p.m. at the Courtyard By Marriott located at 120 N. 5th St. in Spring Lake. You can learn more and register online here.

The Chamber is currently accepting applications for performers, vendors and food trucks. Anyone interested can reach out to Lillian Anderson at 772-204-4439 or contact the Chamber at info@greatersandhillschamber.com.

Mayor Anthony explained that the event is sponsored by the Town, but the Chamber shared they are open to accepting outside sponsorships as well.

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