Spring Fling is huge success
By TRAYCE WANER
Labor Day chairman
Wherever you were last Saturday, if you weren't in Florence at Spring Fling, you missed out on all the fun.
Event organizers were thrilled this past week to learn Alton Brown, Food Network star, would be in Florence. Be Square Productions from Atlanta, Ga., coordinated with the Labor Day committee to arrange for Brown to stop here on a road trip he is filming. The show being filmed is called "Feasting on Asphalt" and will air on the Food Network in July. When Brown arrived Saturday, he and the crew filmed shots around Florence, helped with food preparation for Spring Fling, and then the real fun began.
Spring Fling started at 3 p.m. with games for the children and booths for everyone to view. Entertainment began at 4 p.m. and the crowd began to swell. When food service began at 5:15 p.m., approximately 300 people were at the Florence gym. Brown helped serve ice cream and was a big hit with the crowd.
After a performance by Marion-Florence High School forensics team, fund-raising got serious. Marshall Auction Service of Peabody donated their services as auctioneers, and with the help of Brown and the generous patrons of Florence and the surrounding area, Spring Fling raised almost four times the amount of any previous fund-raiser. The people from Marshall Auction Service did an awesome job. Brown was a big attendance booster, terrific donator, and fun to be around.
A unique collection of items was donated to the cake and white elephant auction. The cake auction raised $600 last year. We raised more than $4,000 this year and everyone had fun while doing it.
Winners at the event included Labor Day button design by Chelsea Cornwell, who also was last year's winner. She received $50. Door prizes went to Dewey Stevens and Randy Mills, both of Florence.
