ALDERSON W.Va. (WVDN) – Alderson Main Street is launching a new event, Lion Days. It is in celebration of the tame lion who roamed the streets of Alderson in the 1890s and in concert with the old folk saying for March, “In like a lion, out like a lamb” or vice versa.
March is quite an in-between season with winter on the wane and spring not quite here. It is the perfect time for a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities. Lion Days will begin on March 18 with businesses and residents decorating and celebrating “French,” the Alderson lion, by adding ribbons to their lion statues, flying lion flags, or decorating the lamp posts in town with a lion theme. There might even be some lion-shaped cookies leaping around.
On Tuesday, March 26, when parents, grandparents and caregivers are running out of things to do to entertain the school-age children enjoying Spring Break, those children are invited to come to the basement of the Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church to create mural-sized lion paintings. Each child will make their own painting using supplies provided by Alderson Main Street. Parents whose children want to participate in this free art activity should contact Cheryl Mansley at cherylmansley@gmail.com or by phone at 304-702-0554 to sign their children up and get more information.
Lion Days will culminate on Saturday, March 30 at the Historic C&O Train Depot in Alderson at 2 p.m. with a gathering where the story of the Alderson Lion will be told and the mural-sized paintings created by the children will be displayed.
If you like to dress your pet in costumes, try your creativity by dressing them like a lion and sharing a photo of them as a comment on the announcement of Lion Days on the Alderson Main Street Facebook page.
AMS President Don Sutherland said, “We are excited to try this new event and hope to add more activities each year.”
