The annual effort to fill downtown Auburn with flowers has begun.
Monday marked the beginning of the Auburn Downtown Business Improvement District’s Flower Power fundraising campaign. Speaking on FLX Morning, BID Executive Director Stephanie DeVito said that, thanks to local support, the group can plant more flowers each year downtown, increasing the area’s attractiveness to locals and tourists alike.
“We’re close to about 100 ground pots and just about 140 hanging baskets,” said DeVito. “We started out where we had 60 ground pots and close to maybe 80 hanging baskets so you can see over the years we’ve really heightened what our Flower Power program consists of and that’s all due to the sponsorships we get throughout the community.”
Through its partnership with the city and the Auburn Beautification Commission, the BID is able to maintain the flower pots and beds at Freedom Park, Market Street Park, and Exchange Street Park as well as the baskets hanging from James Street to John Street within the district..
DeVito added that, if you’d like to help donate to the campaign, checks can be mailed directly to the BID (25 South St, Auburn, NY 13021), donations can be made on the BID’s website, or funds can be dropped off in person at the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center.
Volunteers will also be needed to plant the flowers in April. DeVito said that it only takes a small time commitment to help improve downtown’s beauty.
“We’re such a well-oiled machine that, usually within two hours, we have all of downtown planted,” DeVito continued. “We welcome anyone and everyone to join us.”
This year, planting will take place on Saturday, May 18. Volunteers are asked to meet at Exchange Street between Cafe 108 and Mesa Grande at 9:00a.
