Hundreds of people enjoyed a fun day in the sun at the first Hickory Pick’N Day Saturday in Hickory. Small children, parents and adults took advantage of the more than 20 vendor booths set up, which offered everything from homemade soaps and scrubs to classic funnel cakes and hot dogs.
At one booth, selling a wide variety of faux flowers, baked goods and homemade jams, Jean DeVaughn and her sister-in-law, Anita Wiggins, enjoyed their first foyer into vendor-ship, which doubled as a family vacation and chance to catch up.
“We heard an advertisement for the crafts show, so we wanted to come for Hickory Pick’N Day,” Wiggins said. “This is our first time ever coming.”
The day in the sun sounded like the perfect opportunity to get out of the house and catch up, Wiggins explained. While DeVaughn lives in Meeham, Wiggins’ family moved to Alabama. Both women enjoy craft shows, but the distance can sometimes keep the two apart.
Hickory Pick’N Day was a great event, Wiggins said. Plenty of people had come thorough and the two sisters-in-law had even made a few sales. Though a little warmer than they’d like, both Wiggins and DeVaughn said they were enjoying their day.
Saturday’s event offered a starting off point for first time vendors, but for others it was an opportunity to re-launch old business.
Carli Roberts, owner of Roxi Homemade, brought her homemade soaps, jams and her mother’s homemade spice mixes to Hickory Pick’N day after a three-year hiatus from craft fairs. Roberts said she had taken time off from selling her homemade goods due to having her first child.
“I took a year off because I was going to have a baby and I didn’t want to be doing all this,” she said. “Then I took another year off because I had a toddler.”
However, Roberts said, Hickory Pick’N was the perfect time to get back into the swing of things. With homemade jams in every flavor imaginable and a stock of homemade soaps, including pumpkin spice — her husband’s idea, she said she was excited to see where the day would lead.
While parents may have been content browsing the vendor booths, children, and quite a few adults, at Hickory Pick’N Day flocked to a shady corner of venue, where a live petting zoo offered the rare chance to meet a young kangaroo, zebra and camel.
John Mark Johnson, who owns the petting zoo, said the kangaroo and zebra are always a big hit with children. Of course, he admitted, they’re a big hit with him, too. That’s why he bought them.
“We started off about a year ago with a zebra,” he said. “We just wanted it for ourselves.”
However, a zebra in Mississippi is hard to keep quiet. Soon, Johnson said, people from all over the state were asking him if the zebra could be at their school, party or festival. As interest grew, he added to his menagerie to include a wallaby, three camels, a water buffalo, another zebra and a host of goats, pigs and horses.
“Now, it’s a full-time job,” he said.
Of course, Johnson added, all the attention the animals receive at the different events makes his life a lot easier. The animals like going places and the children love seeing them.
From 9 a.m until 4 p.m. residents, tourists and craft enthusiasts shuttled in and out of Hickory Pick’N Day. With plenty of vendors, food and the Newton County High School Band offering Mike’s Frozen Yogurt to keep the heat at bay, everyone, including the kangaroo, agreed the first Hickory Pick’N Day was a fun day.
