Crowds come out for Jackson in Bloom despite soggy forecast

Despite a damp start, the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization held its third annual Jackson in Bloom on Saturday morning.

The event included food, music and vendors that lined the streets in uptown Jackson to celebrate the arrival of springtime.

Jewelry vendor Cathy Reiminger, who also was involved in some of the event’s planning, said the poor weather forecast was responsible for a number of last-minute cancellations from vendors. But about an hour into the morning, she said she’d had plenty of customers stop by.

“It’s still early,” she said. “And thankfully, the weather is getting nicer.”

Fellow vendors Lisa Walker and Lynette Strange, however, said they were eager to participate regardless of the weather. The sisters co-own the High Street Station shop uptown.

Jordyn Cissell holds up a balloon dog that was made for her during Jackson in Bloom on SaturdayGlenn Landberg

“We were a little nervous about the rain beforehand,” Strange said. “But we were like, ‘We’re going to do this rain or shine.’”

Their store has been up and running for more than a decade, but they said that over the past few years especially, Jackson has seemed livelier.

“We’re really excited that [the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization] is reaching out and organizing events like these,” Strange said.

“Yeah, Jackson is such a cute town,” Walker agreed. “People are always so pleasantly surprised when they come here.”

Many of the area residents who attended the celebration seemed happy to simply be outside.

Pat Morgan, owner of Land Escapes discusses different types of plants with Melody Wishnask during Jackson in Bloom Saturday, April 30, 2016 in Uptown Jackson.Glenn Landberg

Becky Kirby said it offered her a chance to get out of the house and spend time with family.

“We’re here to just hang out and have fun,” she said.

Others, such as 16-year-old Cameron Tyler, were there on a mission: to buy fresh flowers in preparation for Mother’s Day.

He wasn’t the only one. The Jackson High School students selling flowers said their plants were selling hand over fist.

“It was really busy early on,” said James McCormack, head of the high school’s agriculture department.

He said the students had grown all the plants on sale, and benefits would go to funding next semester’s classes in the greenhouse.

“It’s the third year we’ve been able to do this,” McCormack said of the Jackson in Bloom event, adding the weather didn’t turn out to be as bad a problem as they had anticipated.

“It’s pretty nice out here actually,” he said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573)388-3627

Pertinent address:

Jackson, Mo.