The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley One of the 90-plus hand-made flowers in downtown Elkins glisten in the sun as a tree full of ribbons blows in the wind in the background Saturday afternoon.

ELKINS — Over 90 handed-painted flowers helped brighten what was already a sunny day in Elkins as area residents celebrated the first day of spring on Saturday with the Sprout into Spring event.

Due to COVID-19 still casting a dark shadow on public events, no major events with large gatherings were scheduled this year.

But the awesome array of homemade flowers, coupled with a sunshine-filled day with temperatures in the low 60s, and the colorful ribbons dangling in the trees, gave everyone who ventured downtown a breath of fresh air to take in.

Mountain Heart Community Services was able to set up next to Allegheny Insurance in the afternoon to pass out gift bags to residents. The bags were filled with items to help young and older gardeners get things started this spring.

“There are still bags at the bottom of Mountain Heart’s flower next to Allegheny (Insurance) if someone wants to go by and pick one up,” said Bobbi Trimboli, volunteer for Our Town Inc. “They contain books about gardening, seeds, little starter pots, children’s gloves, adult gloves and a child-size spade. We were really glad they were able to come out.”

The flowers were handed out to community members, teens, children, nonprofit organizations and businesses who wanted to design a flower for Saturday’s celebration and the weeks leading up to the event.

The wooden plywood sheets, firring strips, paint samples and assembly accessories were provided by Elkins Builders Supply and volunteer employees from there primed the sheets to be used. Pieces were cut to dimension and shape by staff and volunteers from the Wood Technology Center.

D&E students, missionaries from The Church of Latter Day Saints and the Children’s Museum planning committee joined members of Our Town, Inc. to put up many of the colorful ribbons seen blowing in the trees on Saturday.

“We couldn’t have asked for better weather for the first day of spring,said Trimboli. “I’m overwhelmed with the amount of community response and the people participated in making the flowers. It was way more than we ever thought it would be. We started with 50 flowers cut and then we kept getting calls for more and more.”

Our Town Inc., which set up and planned the event, consists of Julie Civiello, Penny Heflin, Vickie Keller, Doug Starcher, Susie Wagoner, Tammy Dolly, and Trimboli.

Once it’s time for the flowers to come down, they will be available for purchase to those who designed them. The ones that are not bought by their owners will likely be auctioned off.