Maybe it’s the extra hour of sunlight, slipping through office window blinds and begging workers to come out and play. Maybe it’s the sight of wisteria running tangled and wild, knock-kneed calves in the fields, early flowers poking defiant heads above the earth and declaring spring officially sprung. Maybe it’s the sneeze-inducing pollen, blowing through the air like Southern pixie dust, speaking of life, growth and Faulkneresque “wet seeds wild in the hot blind earth.”
Whatever the case, everyone everywhere seems to have a serious case of spring fever lately, and local merchants are hoping they have the antidote, with two open house events coming up this week and shelves across the Golden Triangle laden with new, brightly-hued merchandise.
Although spring doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday, downtown Columbus and Starkville were a hotbed of activity Saturday as shoppers ventured out to enjoy the sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures.
Butterflies — pink, purple, gold-dusted, glitter-encrusted — danced across the windows of Hollyhocks. Porcelain birds nested in impossibly green grass at Party and Paper. And a rainbow of bunnies peered out from some of the most unexpected places (including a hot pink rabbit spotted in an armchair at Coffee House on 5th).
At Hollyhocks, workers were busy preparing the store for next weekend’s downtown spring open house — and the arrival of Benjamin Bunny.
Friday and Saturday, the furry fellow will be on hand for pictures with the children. It’s the fourth year he has visited the store, and Hollyhocks owner Gloria Herriott said the Saturday morning “Brunch with Benjamin Bunny” has become a cherished tradition for some families.
She said if sales so far are any indication, she and the other merchants participating in next weekend’s open house — sponsored by the Main Street Association Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — should be busy.
“The economy is really picking up, at least in Columbus,” Herriott said Saturday afternoon. “I think we don’t have the highs or lows of bigger areas. We recover faster. Or maybe it’s just that Southerners are so positive.”
Over at Coffee House on 5th, Brent Davidson was running on two hours of sleep and a whole lot of caffeine, but the 2004 Heritage Academy graduate was all smiles as he talked about the shop, which he just opened with his parents, Carol and Gregg Davidson.
The business, which has been in the works since July and opened Friday, has been a learning experience for the family, he said. They traveled the Southeast for months, tasting hundreds of brands of coffee before finally settling on Birmingham-based Primavera Coffee Roasters. They worked to develop their own recipes for homemade pastries and other foods.
“We couldn’t have had a better opening,” he said. “Nothing went wrong. During lunch we were really busy. It was a good experience for the first day to be slammed like that.”
Along with the coffee shop, other new businesses are springing up downtown as well.
Deep South Pout, located at 517 Main Street, will debut on March 23 during the spring open house. The shop, already popular in downtown Starkville, is opening a second location in Columbus, promising to bring “vintage flair” to fashion through “chic jewelry, fabulous accessories and affordable, stylish clothing.”
Meanwhile, over in Starkville, Sprout — a baby, home and garden store — has opened at 419 E. Lampkin St. They will offer baby furniture and other items, along with outdoor furniture and home decorating accessories.
And just like Columbus, downtown Starkville is gearing up for its own paeon to spring — “unWINE Downtown,” a downtown wine tasting and business open house which will be held Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Twenty merchants will each offer a different kind of wine for participants to sample, and all merchandise will be 25 percent off, said Jennifer Gregory, chief operating officer and vice president for tourism at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.
Tickets are $30 and can be pre-purchased at the Partnership until the night of the event.
A similar event was held in November, and Gregory said it was so popular, people asked for it to become a seasonal affair, offered in March, July and November.
“It’s just a really great way for Starkville and Golden Triangle residents to see all the spring merchandise at all our stores,” Gregory said. “The weather’s just been beautiful lately, and we’ve seen such an influx of foot traffic downtown. People are walking their dogs, strolling their babies, eating outside. It’s been a really great thing for the retailers.”
Debbie Kink, of Louisville, was one of the Columbus shoppers who couldn’t resist spring’s calling Saturday.
“It’s too pretty,” she said. “Everything’s so beautiful, with everything blooming, even though it’s technically still winter.”
She was planning to work on her swimming pool Saturday afternoon, but she admitted that there’s one thing she’s not quite ready to do: Prepare her spring garden.
“Maybe in another week or so,” she said, laughing. “You always have that Easter cold spell.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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