Jackie Kyles ABR, CNE, SFR

The Come-See-Me is one of Rock Hill’s signature events. It has been ranked in the South’s Top 20 Spring Festivals for numerous years and has been featured in Southern Living magazine twice. The festival’s mascot , “Glen the Frog,” was created by nationally-acclaimed illustrator Vernon Grant, a Rock Hill resident who also created the Rice Krispies gnomes, “Snap, Crackle, and Pop®.”

This year’s ten-day Come-See-Me Festival will be held from April 15th—April 24th. It will feature a wide variety of activities, many of which will be held in Old Town. A sampling of these activities includes:

♦ Chalk on Main. April 16th, 4:30pm to 7:30pm.

Kids, families, and artists will decorate Main Street

with chalk art. Buckets of sidewalk chalk will be

provided. An overhead photo will be taken at 7pm.

♦ Beach Bash. April 16th, 5:30pm to 10pm. Evening

of beach music by Ocean Breeze. Food and drink

vendors will be on-site. Old Town Amphitheater

behind City Hall.

♦ Parade: Old Town Flair. April 17th, 10am. Bands,

mascots, dancing, and floats will celebrate Rock

Hill’s rich history. Parade will begin at 151 Oakland

Avenue, turn right on E. White Street, turn left into

Wachovia parking lot, and turn left on Main Street.

♦ Garden Showcase. April 17th, 11am to 2pm.

Featuring the reconstructed pergola and restored

gardens of the former Mauldin Home. Woman’s

Club of Rock Hill, 607 Aiken Avenue.

♦ Sundaes with Glen and Mother Goose. April

18th, 2pm to 5pm. Join festival mascots and

Mother Goose for ice cream from PW’s, games,

crafts, children’s entertainment and more. Kids can

bring stuffed animals to be repaired. Glencairn

Garden, Charlotte Avenue.

♦ Glencairn Garden Concerts. April 19th—22nd,

12pm to 1:30pm and 6pm to 7:30pm. Bring lawn

chairs or blankets to enjoy food and free entertainment.

Pack a picnic or buy food from Southern

Salads at lunchtime or Penn Station at dinner.

PW’s will sell ice cream during all concerts.(my personal favorite ice cream)

Complete lineup of scheduled entertainers can be

found online. Glencairn Garden, Charlotte Avenue.(prettiest garden in the SC...in my humble opinion...I am a Rock Hill native)

Official event sponsors: Comporium Communications,the City of Rock Hill, Carolinas Medical Center—Pineville, Williams & Fudge, Inc., and the Rock HillCoca-Cola Bottling Company.

The Rock Hill, SC real estate market is warming up with spring in the air! Within the Piedmont Regional MLS system (of course the numbers are subject to change) here is what the current market looks like:

Homes For Sale: 754 - 29 of these homes are Foreclosures

Homes Under-contract: 88

Homes Sold since 01/01/2010: 39 - 11 of these homes were Foreclosures

The average price of homes sold in Rock Hill since 01/01/2010 is $170,968. If you are considering buying or selling a home, now is the time to call a Realtor...not just any Realtor, call someone that knows the real estate market and knows the area! I am a native to Rock Hill and love my home town, love real estate and would love to share my knowledge and experience with you by assisting you in the purchase or sell of your most valuble asset...your home!

The Committee For Responsible Pet Ownership was called today about a dog that had been left behind after her people had moved out of the mobile home located at 2963 Lesslie Hwy , Rock Hill , SC 29730 . Bonnie Lindberg and I went over to check out the situation.

When I approached the dog she came out with her back hunched up like she were hurting. After assessing the situation I called animal control. When I gave the girl that answered the phone the address she said that they had already been out. She was talking with someone in the office with her, they said that they could NOT come back out until there was someone there to ask them to remove the dog. THE PROPERTY IS VACANT!!!!

We were told that someone was suppose to be moving into the property but they were not there. So after animal control told us that they were not coming we called the sheriff's department. They told Bonnie that we needed to call animal control that they could not do anything. It was best that animal control did NOT pick her up because they would have taken her back to their facility and KILLED her and no one would have ever know...this would have been swept under the rug yet again.

This poor animal has endured enough suffering and neglect and she does NOT deserve to be taken to animal control and murdered by people that for some reason think that sweeping abuse under the rug is acceptable. It is NOT!!!!! I was born and raised in Rock Hill and I am SICK and TIRED of ignorance and abuse being the norm.

The old textile mill located in Rock Hill, SC on Chatham Avenue received two prestigious awards! Known now as the Cotton Factory once operated as a textile mill and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The remodeled Cotton Factory was completed in 2007. McClure Nicholson Montgomery, the architectural firm that worked on the project, was awarded the American Institute of Architects' Tower Award for Historic Restoration and Preservation of the Rock Hill Cotton Factory.

The Cotton Factory also recently received one of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association's "Timmy" Awards for Best Commercial-Retail Nonresidential Project. The Cotton Factory is currently occupied by Williams & Fudge, New South Interiors, and Springs Creative.

If you are planning a move to South Carolina and you are not sure which city or town would be the best fit for your family, the answer is clear! Business Week Magazine named Rock Hill the best place in South Carolina to raise children…for the SECOND year! I am very proud, as is every other Rock Hill resident and native of this fine town!

Business Week hired a company to do the research, OnBoard Informatics, a New York City based company that provides real estate analysis. They had to select one town and two runners-up for each of the 50 states. The town had to have at least 45,000 residents and a median income of between $40,000 and $125,000. The data that was used included school performance, number of schools, household expenditures, crime rates, air quality, job growth, family income, museums, parks, theaters, other amenities, and diversity.

We also have something that could bolster Rock Hill's case for next year: City leaders recently approved Rock Hill's first children's museum, an interactive play land inspired by the work of late local artist Vernon Grant (who created Snap, Crackle and Pop, the cereal characters). It's slated to open next year in a prominent downtown building.

One of the museum's advocates, Mayor Doug Echols, touted the community-wide practice of asking, “Is it good for the children?” before making any big decision. “By asking the Number 1 question, “Is it good for the children?” in all aspects of our lives and business dealings, we ensure that our children's well-being is a top priority,” he said.

Rock Hill is also home to Winthrop University, a four-year liberal arts college that was ranked the eighth-best public university in the Southeast by U.S. News & World Report in 2006.

Rock Hill has tons of fun things to do! You have summertime water sports with Lake Wylie, or canoeing the Catawba River to see the world's largest standof Rocky Shoal spider lilies.

There are museums, historic sites and professional sports teams just a few minutes north in Charlotte. You can also hop in the car and a two to three hour drive will land you with your feet buried in the warm sands at the coast or enjoying the cool breezes of the gorgeous mountain views, South Carolina has it all!

If you think Rock Hill sounds like a great place to live you must put it at the top of your list! For more information and to see some of the great homes that are available in this area send me an email or give me a call! I would be happy to show you what our area has to offer. You can also visit my website at www.LuvThatHome.com!

Affordability, safety*, and school test scores were given the greatest weight.

*Data source can be found at http://www.onboardinformatics.com/