Newton County residents, vendors and visitors gathered in Hickory Saturday to shop at play at the second Hickory Pick’N Day.
The festival and shopping event put on by the owners of Hickory Pick’N, featured dozens of vendor booths offering handcrafted goods, clothing and gifts, political speakers, a even a petting zoo. Parents and families were treated to multiple isles of shopping, with breaks to hear their favorite candidates speak or to give a handful of feed to the baby kangaroo.
Shelby Harris, co-owner of Hickory Pick’N, said last year’s Hickory Pick’N Day had such a great turnout the business owners decided to do it again. This year, she said, was double the size, with close to 60 vendors present.
“Last year we had a little less than 30 vendors,” she said. “This year we have 50; we had close to 60, and our petting zoo is out today.”
This year, Harris said, Hickory Pick’N Day added camel rides, SnowBiz snow cone stand and a different food truck, The Little Griddle, offering a range of snacks and treats for shoppers.
“We also added political speakers and entertainment this year,” she said.
Hickory Pick’N Day, however, wasn’t just for shopping. Building on last year’s success, when the business helped gather supplies for Hurricane Harvey, Harris said the second Hickory Pick’N Day featured a 50/50 raffle to raise money for Care Lodge, a domestic violence shelter in Meridian.
“We’re raising money for them and making awareness for domestic violence,” she said. “We do this every year, with a different charity every year.”
Harris said Hickory Pick’N wants to provide a fun shopping experience, but the owners also want to give back to their community and help others in need. The charity for next year, she said, is still being decided.
“I don’t know what we’re doing next year,” she said. “Whatever God lays on our hearts, we’ll do that again next year.”
The second Hickory Pick’N Day brought in large crowds of shoppers, but Harris said there is still plenty of time to have fun and do some shopping. Each year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Hickory Pick’N holds a Christmas Open House. This year’s event will be Nov. 30, and vendors will have plenty of deals and sales going to help residents and visitors get their Christmas shopping done with ease.
“We’ll have some door prizes, a lot of sales going on,” she said. “That’s our invitation and our opening for the Christmas season.”
