It’s that time of year when the Crookston Chamber and Visitor’s Bureau offers its Adopt A Basket program in downtown Crookston. Crookston Chamber Executive Director Terri Heggie said this will be the 11th year of the adopt a basket program. “This will be our 11th annual adopt a basket program beautifying our streets in downtown Crookston towards Memorial Drive and across the Robert St bridge,” said Heggie. “This gets supported year after year by community members, and even those outside of our area that would like to purchase hanging baskets in honor of a loved one or on behalf of their business. We average between 65-80 baskets every year. Letters have gone out to individuals who adopted baskets last year. We’ve also shared the information and the form to fill out on our Facebook page, our website, and through constant contact. If you’d like to have this information emailed to you, we can also do that. You can just email me at theggie@visitcrookston.com.”
Plaques will no longer be included with the baskets due to difficulty attaching them to the light poles. Instead, information on the baskets will be shared through various means, including social media said, Heggie. “There is a small change this year,” said Heggie. “We found that the engraved plaques are hard to adhere all season to the poles. We’ve found many laying on the ground, or some have been lost, which is unfortunate. So, we are going to eliminate that from the adopt a basket program this year. However, we still want you to share with us who you are honoring with your basket or if this is on behalf of a business. We will make sure we share that information with the Crookston Times, KROX, our website, and Facebook page. We’ll try to make sure that we give ample recognition to the individuals being honored with a basket.”
Heggie also noted the effort put in by the City of Crookston staff to water and maintain the baskets so that they last as long as possible. “The price remains the same,” said Heggie. “One hanging basket is $65, and again, that’s stayed the same throughout the years. These baskets look beautiful when they are in full bloom. It adds such a pop of color to our streets. You know, they don’t stay that way without the help of the summer staff of the City of Crookston who take care of them, water them, and try to do their best with the mother nature part of that equation to keep them as beautiful as they possibly can throughout the summer.”
