Several events upcoming

Portland City Council spent the bulk of Monday’s meeting approving street closures and other assistance for events planned in the coming months.

On the schedule is a new iteration of a farmer’s market — now to be called Local’s Market — on Main Street, Indiana’s Run for the Fallen visiting the city May 12 and 13 and the Jay County Hometown Heroes banner dedication in conjunction, and Arts Place’s annual festival.

The renamed Local’s Market is the extension of the former farmer’s market that has been held at Jay County Courthouse and most recently in the parking lot at The Rock Church on the north side of the city. Gabie Huntsman, owner of The Flower Nook, has taken over leadership of the event.

The Local’s Market will run from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from June through October in the area surrounding The Flower Nook, 111 E. Main St. She requested closing the alley east of John Jay Center for Learning as well as the parking spaces on the south side of Main Street between that alley and the alley west of Ohio Valley Gas.

She also asked for the city to provide additional trash cans in the area and permission to hang a banner over Main Street advertising the event.

“My goal is to have it set up where anyone can come and set up to sell,” said Huntsman, noting that the market will be open to anyone who grows or makes things locally. “I want everyone to come together to help support each other and make it easier for the locals to come and shop in one place.”

“I want to help other people who are at home wanting to be something bigger but don’t know where to start or how to start their businesses.”

Council members Kent McClung, Janet Powers, Don Gillespie, Michele Brewster, Matt Goldsworthy, Dave Golden and Mike Aker approved her requests, asking her to work with the street department on the feasibility of hanging the banner.

Goldsworthy and McClung both thanked Huntsman for taking on leadership of the event, expressing hope that it will bring foot traffic to the downtown area.

“I think its phenomenal to do that,” said Goldsworthy. “It’s something I really believe in and think could help our community out.”

Council also approved closures of River Road beginning at 4 p.m. May 12 for the Jay County Hometown Heroes banner dedication at the adjacent Freedom Park and Walnut Street between Meridian and Harrison Streets from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 21 for Arts Place’s annual festival.

Mike Medler of Portland Main Street Connect and Donald Gillespie and Don Finnegan of Indiana’s Run for the Fallen explained that the ceremony at the end of the first day of the run and the banner dedication will be partner events this year. The run begins on the morning of May 12 in Fort Wayne and will conclude at Freedom Park in the late afternoon/early evening.

The dedication of the hometown heroes banners in honor of local veterans will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the Indiana Run for the Fallen ceremony to follow. (The run continues the next morning with runners leaving Freedom Park and running to Anderson on May 13, and concludes with an Anderson to Indianapolis leg May 14.)

“I just wanted to thank Jay County and the City of Portland for the reception we receive every year when we come into town,” said Finnegan. “I just want to thank you for letting us be a part of the community for that day.”

The Arts Place festival May 21 will feature a variety of arts related activities for all ages on the organization’s Jay County campus that spans both sides of Walnut Street at its intersection with Harrison Street. It serves as the kick off to the summer Arts in the Parks program.

Also Monday, Darlesia Lee requested a sponsorship for Haute Harvest High Fashion Show, an event she will be hosting June 3 at Sapphires Reception Center. She is planning the event, which is in partnership with Jay County Drug Prevention Coalition, to run all day with a variety of vendors and local boutiques to be represented.

Council members decided against providing a sponsorship after asking her if she had visited local service groups with the same request. She said she has a few sponsors line up, but that she had not visited the service organizations that were mention.