The Main Street Merchant

APRIL 2021 ISSUE

In addition to being fun social Our spring beautification efforts are in full swing this month; please activities, our events also serve pitch in to clean up litter and join our team of volunteer gardeners! as incubators for entrepreneurs!

We are gearing up for clean up for a chance to gloves, and grabbers will Come shop or sell at our the biannual City Wide win gift cards to Down- be available for individu- upcoming events; vendor Litter Clean Up, which town Alton restaurants als and small groups to registration forms for all can will take place throughout courtesy of Alton Main pick up at the Madison be found on our website: the month of April! Street. Either post your County Administration DowntownAlton.com/Events Forty groups and count- photos on the group Building in Edwardsville. ing are confirmed Just fill out this form Alton Farmers’ & The National Great Rivers Research to pick up litter in to request your Artisans’ Market & Education Center will be hosting a their adopted areas litter clean-up at 1 Confluence Way in supplies: Saturdays from 8am-Noon which cover the East Alton from 1-4 pm on April 10th. surveymonkey.com/r/ May 8th - Oct 16th main thoroughfares Supplies will be provided and CleanToolKit Corner of Landmarks & Henry pre-registration is not necessary. in town, along with Our volunteer Homegrown products within a many individuals Come one come all to clean up the gardeners are also 50-mile radius and unique who will be shoreline as part of the Greater preparing to beautify handmade items of all kinds. cleaning up their Mississippi Rivers and Towns the streets of down- Plastic Pollution Initiative! neighborhoods. town with plant life. Night Market on Broadway We hope you will jump page, or on your personal The group meets on the on board to pitch in! page making sure to use 1st Wednesday of every Thursdays from 7-10pm from If you would like to the hashtag: month at 5:30, and June 3rd - July 29th interact with others who #RiverbendTrashtagChall anyone is welcome to join. At Jacoby Arts Center as well as in the neighboring pocket park are participating, search enge for a chance to win! Search for the “Alton for the Facebook group Madison County Build- Main Street—Gardening Handmade and homegrown “Riverbend Trashtag ing & Zoning is offering Group” on facebook to products as well as boutique Challenge”. supplies for volunteers to stay up to date on where booths featuring vintage resale Post before & after clean up their communi- to meet and what projects items, hip thrift, and stylish photos of the areas you ties. Bags, reflective vests, we will be working on! resale or new clothing. Plus, an open mic inside and a ~ live band outside with food & Director’s Note beverages on site—get your ‘Tis the season to get your garden growing! The Sierra Club and weekends started early! NGRREC invite you to a Seed Swap on Sat, March 27th from 11am- 1pm, which will be held on the amazing Green Roof of NGRREC’s Pup Crawl (Pub Crawl + dogs!) facility, located at 1 Confluence Way in East Alton (near the Melvin 1-6pm on Sat, May 15th Price Locks & Dam on the Berm Highway). 21 locations across Alton

Did you know that every 2 seconds someone needs a blood transfusion? Please Booths featuring products & consider signing up to donate at either of these local blood drives by calling services specifically for dogs or 1-800-RED CROSS or visiting RedCrossBlood.org: Old Bakery Beer Co. (400 dog-owners will be set up at Landmarks Blvd.) on Mon, March 29th from 10am-2pm or Best Western participating establishments. Premier Alton (3559 College Ave.) on Mon, April 26th from 2pm-6pm. Sara

Alton Main Street Partners—News, Sales & Events! Goff & Dittman can fill & wrap your own day be your full service Florists & Gifts— custom basket. Unfortu- sporting goods store! We are excited to welcome nately the launch of our GrannysWorkFashions.com a florist to the district! bubble tea bar will now be V Salon— Goff & Dittman has been delayed until May, but we The owners of VSalon serving our area since look forward to adding this recently purchased the for- 1948, and has now added popular beverage for our mer Foundry office at 102 an additional location at customers soon! W. 7th St. VSalon will be a 302 E. Broadway. They Riverbender.com— full service hair salon as well proudly announces the as the first blow dry lounge 111 E. 4th St. Suite 315 have a wide delivery area for floral arrangements launch of its new local in Alton. VSalon educates Alton, IL 62002 and gifts from Collinsville streaming service - River- their staff in their very own, 618-463-1016 to Godfrey, and they offer bender Radio, which allows "skillz lab," to ensure high [email protected] $5 Friday wrapped bou- listeners to stream three quality service for every quets every week. Easter brand new radio stations, client. We include many decor and bunny plush The Bridge (adult contem- amenities with every service. animals are 30% off while porary), The River VSalon uses organic/non- supplies last! Stop by and (country), and The Eagle carcinogenic hair color and check out their beautiful (classic rock) in addition to products. We are environ- Engaging our community shop, or order online at local favorites such as ment friendly, and proud of in the continued renewal Goffdittmanflorist.com WBGZ 107.1 (news talk & our unique atmosphere. of our historic downtown Poputopia Gourmet sports), MyMix 94.3 We will be opened in our district and Mississippi Popcorn & Sweets— (oldies), WLCA 89.9 new location by this sum- River heritage by (alternative), WSIE 88.7 mer. Come get a taste of We are asking for the cultivating an attractive (Jazz) and WJBM 104.7 VSalon at our current loca- community’s support as center of economic and (news talk & classic tion inside the salon suite we manage a setback at an social activity. country). Download our behind Chez Marilyn at 119 inopportune time. Just as app in the Apple Store or E. 3rd St! We can not wait we were welcoming an on Google Play today! to debut our new building array of new customers 21 pet-friendly soon! For more info or to following a television Granny's Uniforms establishments will be book online, please visit segment, a water main Work Fashions & More— participating in our www.vsalonbyvalerie.com break occurred at the mall In addition to our medical Pup Crawl (that’s a Pub scrubs, Dickies brand items Jacoby Arts Center— Crawl + dogs!) on May 15th! which effected our space and other workwear, we Our upcoming activities The Old Bakery Beer Company and we’ve had to close for over a week. We have an have now expanded into include adult ballet & and Maeva's Coffee will be set sporting goods! We offer modern dance classes, a up at the Alton Dog Park abundance of wonderful Sanctuary Crystal Sound- where check-in will take place. products for Easter and Major League Baseball cool base jerseys and MLB caps, bath event, beginners wheel Grab a bite or a beverage with invite you to help us move throwing, a stamp work- your furry friend at State Street this seasonal inventory. plus socks, belts, baseball pants, baseballs, catcher’s shop, Oil Painting 101, Market, Bubby and Sissy's, We will be selling from Littles Art Lab with Child's The Firehouse, Ragin Cajun tables set out in front of sets and more to come. Piano Bar, The Brown Bag Stop by to check out our Play, Throwback Thursday Bistro, Epicurean Fare, our store right under the Art Class, Free Art Club, escalators at Alton Square catalog and let us know and YogArt yoga classes in Bossanova Restaurant & what you would like us to Lounge, Morrison's Irish Pub, where you can select pre- the gallery. For more info Danny's Lounge, Tony's Steak- made Easter baskets, or we carry, we are hoping to one www.JacobyArtsCenter.org house & Bar, Post Commons, The Conservatory, Shake Rattle Riverbend Earth Day Festival at The Old Bakery Beer Company and Roll Drive-In, Chez Marilyn Join us for a mini Riverbend Earth Day Festival on Sat, April 17 from 11:30 AM - 4 PM! and Bakers & Hale! Jacoby Arts Center will have an art activity This year's festival will feature a reduced number of organizations and vendors in order that you can do with your pet, to guarantee plenty of room to socially distance throughout the brewery, but there will and retailers It's Raining Zen, still be plenty of fun to be had! Shop from local sustainable vendors to find a great Moon Drops + Wellness, and thrifted outfit, get some spent grain dog treats for your pups, grab a handmade vase The Ruby Wren Eclectic Bou- to use for all the upcoming spring and summer flowers, and more! You can also check tique are also joining the fun. in with the happenings at Treehouse Wildlife Center, Senior Services Plus, McCully $10 tickets will be on sale soon! Heritage Project, and several other local environmentally-focused organizations! Follow us on facebook for more info! Facebook.com/OldBakeryBeer