While warmer temperatures each year tend to bring the locals out of hibernation, a slew of events are scheduled in the coming weeks to encourage everyone to get back out and explore all the county and region have to offer.
Among the opportunities coming up — the Flandreau Flower Shoppe’s Spring Celebration this coming Thursday through Saturday and a Spring Fling event scheduled in downtown Flandreau for April 29th. Organizers hope that the weather will cooperate so that the doors to local businesses can be open or businesses can move some of what they hope to feature out onto the sidewalks between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
First National Bank of Flandreau, Gone 2 Pieces, Hunkake Cafe, JJ’s Coffee Spot, a newly remodeled space on the corner of Wind Street and 2nd Avenue, The Merc and more will be offering something special that morning.

One of the organizers, Kelly Wosje, said that she and Jen Callahan, who organizes the Flandreau Farmer’s Market, were talking recently about wanting to do something more to bring people downtown and encourage more support for local businesses. This is just one opportunity to come out of that conversation.
“If they have never thought about banking at First National Bank, they can experience the great customer service by just stopping in, or see that Lewis drug provides more than just filling prescriptions, that The Merc is more than a liquor store, Gone 2 Pieces has some fun products, the various options that JJ’s Coffee Shop offers. Honestly this is just me putting in minimal effort trying to provide exposure to our town and make it feel alive,” Wosje said.
The newly remodeled space that Wosje works out of is in a building owned by Brenton Yost and was previously home to Clary’s Gun Shop. There are now two office spaces inside the west half of the building. There is a front space as well that was intentionally left open, according to Wosje. She and Yost hope that it will become a community resource and gathering space as well as a display space for various artists who might be interested in selling their work. Further restoration work, Wosje said, is scheduled on the exterior of the building hopefully sometime later this year.
The Saturday of the Spring Fling, the storefront will host a local boutique, Tammy Stenger’s handmade cards, and a Succulent Make and Take that will include a pot that can be decorated and a succulent for a minimal cost per pot. Proceeds, Wosje said, will be donated to a local nonprofit.  
“The other idea behind this event is to create a sense of community. What I mean by that is, as you walk by someone downtown that you don’t know, say Hello! We have such a diverse community and we need to embrace that,” Wosje added.
“The Holidays and Flandreau Fridays Committees are doing some awesome things to promote Flandreau. This is just something fun to fill in the gaps, so to speak. Jen and I are also in a season of life where we can come up with fun ideas and put them into action.”