April showers bring May flowers with return of Brunch & Bouquets

Downtown Johnson City is celebrating the return of May flowers with the second annual return of Brunch & Bouquets. Brunch & Bouquets is an event that allows attendees an interactive experience in downtown Johnson City with some of the local restaurants and other businesses, providing special brunch prices while participants make their own floral arrangement at each stop they make. Main Street Director Lindsey Jones said the event is a way to celebrate the spring-time feel. "Last year, we did it on Super Bowl Sunday, so this year, we're trying to gauge it around Mother's Day and spring flower season, and just getting ready for summer months," she said. "We're excited to see who all can make it out to this event." Jones said around 150 have previously participated in Brunch & Bouquets, as well as 12 to 15 businesses taking part in the event. Individuals start their bouquet with a flower stem from 1976 Flowers, and then walk and tour downtown to collect more flowers and finish with a complete bouquet once visiting all the affiliated businesses. Attendees traversing the downtown area and exploring the different options available to them also leaves a positive impact and helps give participants visibility to the businesses in the district, Jones said. "By encouraging people to come downtown on a random Sunday morning, we're encouraging and increasing foot traffic downtown, but also sales and promotions," she said. "A lot of times, the people who sign up to participate aren't familiar with many of the businesses that they're visiting, and they can follow along on a post card or on our digital app and also see everyone who's participating and explore new businesses." Jones added Brunch & Bouquets also helps to promote the downtown liveliness to newcomers in Johnson City by being a unique experience anyone can partake in. "It's really guaged for everybody and it brings out a unique crowd," Jones said. "A lot of people that moved here recently, or even people that are just new to the area in general, maybe it's the Tri-Cities as a whole. It gives you a new, fun way to experience our downtown district. Brunch & Bouquets will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 17, and tickets to participate can be purchased on the Downtown Johnson City website. As the date grows closer, Jones said she's most excited to see the end result of everyone's bouquets. "I love seeing the bouquets people make along the way and the pictures they take with them," she said. "It's really cute to see, and people really loved it last year and got super excited about how nice the bouquets are that they made, and how big and beautiful they are."