Kimmswick was home to a pair of successful events June 26.
The 22nd annual Kimmswick daylily sale raised the most money in its history, and the first Young Entrepreneur’s Day drew plenty of interest.
The daylily sale was held at Carrol Wrather’s home on Fourth Street, and for the entrepreneur event, vendors between the ages of 6 and 15 sold their products from booths set up outside merchant’s shops.
Storms held off until both events ended.
“The weather was on our side,” said Kimmswick Visitors Center manager Valeria Ahlemeyer, who volunteered at the daylily sale. “Even though it was hot, there was a nice breeze. It only rained a couple of seconds and stopped. We lucked out completely. It rained later in the day, but we couldn’t have asked for better weather.”
Daylily sale
Ahlemeyer said the annual event raised $3,000, which was donated to the Kimmswick Visitors Center, 314 Market St.
The center will use the funds to finance its operation, said Ahlemeyer, who operates the Little Picket Fence in Kimmswick.
“We did record sales,” she said. “Carrol’s goal was to raise $3,000, and he did that.”
Ahlemeyer said he sold more than 1,200 pre-dug plants from his yard, and she believes more were dug from his garden throughout the event.
“The majority of people who come to the daylily sale have been here before,” Ahlemeyer said. “They come every year. It is like a tradition. We did have a lot of new people, who were there for the first time. We had a pretty steady line all day.”
Ahlemeyer said the annual event is a lot of fun. “You meet a lot of nice people,” she said. “People love coming to the daylily sale. It is a fun day, and people love it.”
Young Entrepreneur’s Day
Twenty-one pre-teens and teens took part in the Young Entrepreneur’s Day, said Dawn Scott, who, along with Kelly Heinemeyer, organized the event.
“The event was a huge success. The kids had a lot of fun, and some of them sold out of their products,” said Scott, who owns the Name It Already Boutique in Kimmswick. “It was so nice to hear the shoppers compliment the kids and their products. It was such a positive experience for all. Each entrepreneur greeted their customers and told them about their products with such enthusiasm. They also collected their own money and bagged their products for all of their transactions.”
Near the end of the event, four of the entrepreneurs’ booths were awarded prizes, including Brooke Newsom. who took first place and the $100 prize for her booth, where she displayed and sold jewelry she created.
A team made up of Carly and Myles Shipp and Elizabeth, Thomas and Sam Shaughnessy won the $75 second prize for their booth, where they sold bird seed and sugar scrubs.
Emma Rushing, whose sold the books she wrote, “Sea of Atlantis,” took third place and $50.
Courtney Duff received an honorable mention and $25 for her booth, where she displayed and sold her homemade dog treats.
Scott, Heinemeyer, Kimmswick Mayor Phil Stang and Diane Nagy of the Kimmswick Historical Society judged the booths.
Scott said the event is expected to return next year, and she hopes to add new event categories for prizes.
“We will probably keep it in the same time frame,” Scott said. “We are more excited to do it again, and we want to have more to go along with it.”