KING — Plenty of kids who left Saturday’s Meet Me On Main likely didn’t need a bath that night, thanks to the foam pit, a new feature at the annual event that proved very popular.
Sponsored by Dirt Dogs Pressure Washing, The Foothills Foam Factory “Foam Zone” was stationed on the Gentry’s Store end of Main Street, with a steady stream of sudsy foam shooting into the pit filled with smiling, laughing — and foam covered — kids.
“This is cool,” said Adrian Ramey, of King, watching his children Aiden and Lydia Ramey play in the foam-filled pit.
“It’s a lot of fun for these kids,” he said.
The foam zone was one of about 130 vendors and attractions lining the historic downtown King corridor for the annual Meet Me On Main event on April 27.
Presented by the King Chamber of Commerce and the City of King, the event was as popular as ever, more than delivering on its promise of an evening of family-friendly fun.
“This year is probably our biggest year,” said Chamber Director Cathy Loveday, who estimated that between 4000 and 5000 attended last Saturday. “It was just a great event,” she said. “I think everybody that came out really had a good time.”
Meet Me On Main was established to showcase the membership of the Chamber of Commerce and has continued to grow over the years.
Vendors of every kind — food, businesses, non-profit organizations, games and more — set up booths up and down Main Street and East Dalton Road, where the streets were closed down for automobile traffic for several hours.
The King Public Library had a booth set up on the corner of Dalton and Main with books and other items for sale and information available about the library.
Branch Manager Gretchen Parker said the crowd was just as good as previous years and the weather even better.
“We’ve had 250 stop by already and it’s only 6:30,” she said, noting that those who did stop by were eager to interact, talking to the staff about different services the library has to offer and asking for book recommendations.
Those kinds of interactions are what Meet Up On Main is all about.
The opportunity for outreach also benefited veterans from American Legion Post #290, who had a table set up on East Dalton Road. According to Legionnaire Clifton Kilby, a couple of new recruits signed up for membership.
Christina Brunner, who owns The Market by Dragonfly farm-to-table market with her husband Chris Brunner, said Meet Me On Main was a good marketing opportunity.
“It helps let people know about us and bring them into our regular storefront,” located at 117 Meadowbrook Drive, she said.
Lexie Tittle and Nick Shaw, of Walnut Cove, stopped by the Dragonfly table and purchased a couple of items.
“It’s great,” Tittle said of Meet Me On Main.
“We’ve really enjoyed it,” Shaw said. “It’s been nice to see everyone come together and have this whole community driven event.”
Vintage automobiles lined up in the Slate Funeral Home created the first cruise-in associated with Meet Me On Main.
Passersby could vote on their favorites; the crowd chose Dolores Willey’s 1972 Chevy Nova as number one followed by Brent Casteel’s 1970 Chevy Suburban earning second place and David Taylor’s 1988 Desert Runner earning first.
With WTKE-AM 1090 pumping out tunes, the Meet Me On Main Downtown Dash 5K walk/run erupted from the start at the corner of West Dalton Road and Main Street 7 p.m.
The Foothills Gem Mining gave festival goers the chance to sift through sediment to find treasures right there on Main Street.
“This is the coolest thing ever,” Brandi Ingram said to vendor Tina Kuhn while youngsters Audrey Thompson and Skylar Dunnigan mined.
“This is amazing,” Ingram continued. “As a parent, so many times I want to take them to do something and I don’t have the time, it’s hard to get away. You brought it right here to us.”
Visit thestokesnews.com for more Meet Me On Main photos.
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