On Center Street
by BRENDA STEWART

Just by the flowers exploding around us, it’s easy to tell that Earth Day is just over the horizon. And those bee-keeping, honey-harvesting, art-loving locals at the Arrowhead Trading Company, housed in that vintage rock building a block south of downtown on Hwy. 81, have cool plans. This Saturday they are throwing open their doors in celebration of the addition of Arrowhead Bicycles and Band Star Music to their space. Owner and stained glass artisan extraordinaire Cathy Shaw invites us all to come check out their newly configured venue and have a complimentary hot dog and cola.

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Then, you’ve got to head to City Square Park and join the first annual Kyle Earth Day and Share-Fair. Kyle Elementary School and Parks and Rec are hosting this forward-thinking event that showcases conservation, native landscaping, ecology and physical wellness through live music, art and science exhibitions. The coolest part about this whole thing? The kids can choose a plant, dig a hole and give it a home in City Square Park with the help of principals Elaine Meyer and Ann Conlee. This is nothing but fun wrapped up in an environmental package, so grab your kiddos and their friends and bring them downtown. Take a minute and show them the importance of getting involved in caring for the environment and sharing the responsibility of being stewards of our planet. Ultimately, it’s going to be up to them. It’s never too soon to plant that seed.

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And speaking of resources, it looks like Kyle is steadily climbing in the number of folks who have returned their census questionnaire. As of the first of April, we were at 46 percent. Last Thursday, the count was 67 percent. C’mon, we can do this. They say it takes 10 minutes. It doesn’t. It takes five. Mail it in and let’s get our fair share.

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The Old Town Kyle Advocates are changing it up a bit, trying to get more community involvement by moving their monthly meeting from Sunday afternoons to Monday night. We’ll be meeting at 601 W. Center Street (across from the Motley and the KAP house) on Monday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. so, no excuses. Come armed with a love for Old Town, that’s all it takes.

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And lastly, remember that next Monday is also a HCISD holiday so, for chrisakes, watch out for the wanderers and skaters and perchers hanging out around town. They are getting kind of itchy, taking TAKS tests and eyeballing summer. Summer, I can’t believe it. But there are just over eight weeks left in this school year so I guess I should not be surprised that Parks and Rec is opening up their summer camp registration on April 22. My girls spent a week at camp a couple of years ago and had a blast. They went swimming and bowling and played games and did arts and crafts and came home absolutely sated and exhausted. Definitely a big bang for your buck. But these camps do fill up so, don’t procrastinate. Summer’s coming. I just want to know where March went.