MINT HILL, NC – Saturday, October 2, brought a multitude of eager shoppers to Mint Hill Village for the annual Tina Ross Afternoon in the Park.
The second event of its name dedicated to Tina Ross, the event actually marked the fourteenth official “Afternoon in the Park.” Originally termed “Sunday Afternoon in the Park,” the annual festival was held for 12 years on a Sunday afternoon in August at Wilgrove Park. Now, the annual Fall event held in front of Town Hall is a tribute to late Commissioner Tina Ross, a woman integral to its inception and planning.
The event included close to 40 artists set up in the circle around Town Hall. With everything from pottery, original art, and woodworking to jewelry, greeting cards, candles and seasonal decor, Afternoon in the Park was the perfect early kick off to the holiday shopping season.
Some of Saturday’s vendors came from just a few miles away “I am here as an artist today,” said Sandy Harrison of local business Photographic Elegance. “Most of these are prints from my original art. Most everything in here has a story,” continued Harrison. “For instance, there’s these two old cars up there, and that Jeep. Those are what I call ‘drive bys.’ I’ll be out in the country, and my husband is driving, and I’ll say, ‘Wait!’ and I’ll get a great picture.” Harrison is also the owner of Soothe the Soles, a foot soak experience currently booking appointments for healing and nourishing foot soaks featuring their new Fall blends. To learn more about Photographic Elegance, visit https://photographicelegance.net/. To book an appointment at Soothe the Soles, visit https://www.soothethesoles.com/.
Other vendors came from farther away. Anna Lindo and Kim Allman, otherwise known as Banana Louise, are a mother-daughter crochet team out of Rock Hill, SC. The pair makes coasters, mug rugs, facial scrubbies, wash clothes, scarves, ponchos, blankets – anything you can think of to crochet. Seeing their inventory, it’s hard to believe they’ve only been at it about six months! “Grandma taught me when I was really little,” says Anna. “I fell out of it, but recently went back into it; then I taught her,” she adds, gesturing to her mother Allman. “She taught me how to do it during lockdown so I wasn’t sitting on the couch eating Cheetos!” laughs Allman. Afternoon in the Park is only the 5th or 6th show Banana Louise has participated in. “It’s been a really good show for us so far,” said Allman. “We’ve made a lot of sales!” For more information about Banana Louise, email BananaLouiseCrochet@gmail.com.
The afternoon featured live entertainment from Metrolina Christian Academy’s Honors Choir, who will also be providing entertainment at this year’s Tree Lighting Ceremony in early December. For those who shopped so hard they got hungry, Lunchbox LLC and Abbott’s Custard were on site, and Smith hopes that the central location encouraged patrons to visit other local businesses and restaurants as well.
“Afternoon in the Park was just what we needed to get in the fall spirit,” said local mom Christine Schlub. “The vendors were all so great and everyone was so unique. We found some great house hold decor for gifts and ourselves. My kids had a great time visiting the scarecrows, looking at the fountain, and eating our favorite ice cream from Abbott’s Frozen Custard!”
“We were so happy with this year’s turnout. We had beautiful weather and a wonderful selection of vendors for this year’s Afternoon in the Park,” says Smith. “Tina would have loved it. She loved this town, and she loved the arts. This event continues to be a tribute to the work she did to promote both throughout her life.”
Tina Ross Afternoon in the Park is one of many Town Hall-sponsored events happening this October. Make sure to check out the Scarecrows that have already begun popping up around town, and of course, don’t miss the return of Mint Hill Madness on October 21! Keep up with all the great events happening in Mint Hill this Fall by following them on Facebook @minthillevents.
