MARYSVILLE — The annual Spring Craft & Garden Show returned to the Ken Baxter Community Center on Saturday, April 12, with a slightly modified layout this year, to help prepare for impending changes to Comeford Park.

“In anticipation of the construction of the upcoming spray park, we created a new event layout for the vendor tents,” Ken Baxter Community Center Coordinator Maryke Burgess said. “It turned out quite well, and we plan on using it for next year too. Comeford Park is a great place to enjoy events.”

This year’s show drew 67 participating vendors, an increase from previous years, and Burgess reported that shoppers told her how much they enjoyed walking around the park to check out the show’s selection.

“Last year, for the first time ever, it rained, and not just a little bit of rain, but a lot of rain,” Burgess said. “It was beautiful this year, though. As the afternoon came, the weather got warmer and sunnier. We estimate that more than 2,000 people stopped by to take part in the event over the course of the day. It seems they couldn’t resist the sea of tents out in the park and, of course, we had a lot of signage throughout town.”

According to Burgess, among the more popular vendors at this year’s show were hula-hoop dancers, selling the same hula-hoops they were demonstrating, and the cedar planter boxes by Larry and Wilma Stacey.

“One of our vendors brought her daughter, who makes balloon animals,” Burgess said. “It was nice to see children walking around with balloon animal creations. We were also very happy to have members of the Marysville Rock and Gem Club joining us for this year’s show, since they always provide attractions that everyone can appreciate.”

Looking ahead to next year’s show, Burgess noted that the new layout affords event organizers plenty of room to add even more vendors, and she’d welcome not only more plant sellers, but also some live music.

“To my mind, the Spring Craft & Garden Show is a way for the city to welcome spring into town,” Burgess said. “People come to this event, and run into friends and neighbors that they haven’t seen all winter long. It puts everyone in a great mood. Vendors often use this event to kick off their season of vending and selling handmade, local items. We genuinely have a lot of talent in our region.”