ELKTON, Ore. — Elkton Community Education Center has announced this year's Blooms & Butterflies celebration and the annual 5K Butterfly Run on Saturday, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the ECEC, 15850 Highway 38 West in Elkton.

The day begins with the annual Butterfly Run, a 5K family-oriented fun run/walk featuring a scenic route along the Umpqua River.

Race day registration starts at 8:15 a.m., with the 5K beginning at 9:30 a.m.

A free ¼ mile loop Kids’ Run will precede the run start through the ECEC garden for kids 10 and under.

There are awards for top finishers and for the Best Butterfly Costume.

Online registration is available at https://butterflyrun2018.eventbrite.com or on-site the morning of the event.

At 10 a.m., craft and food vendors open for the day. Visitors can shop for lawn and garden art, wind chimes, birdhouses, locally-made sauerkraut, coffee and tea, wooden pens, beeswax candles, jewelry, children’s books and crafts, and more from over 20 vendors.

Other activities throughout the day include ECEC’s Monarch Village Dedication (12 p.m.), a nutrition workshop by Eugene Natural Grocers nutritional health coach Yaakov Levine (Make Your Next Plate Great @ 1:30 p.m.), and Roseburg's Timberland Corvette Club show (all day). The Timberland Corvette Club in Roseburg was established in the 1970s and currently meets at Elmer's restaurant on the third Wednesday of each month. They support and donate to the UCAN food program and are open to new members.

An Italian lunch will be available on the Greenhouse Patio from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. while supplies last and the Outpost Cafe will be open all day for espresso drinks and smoothies, sandwiches, ice cream, and snacks.

Live music featuring Elkton’s Decor’mm will entertain visitors throughout the day on the Greenhouse Patio.

Summer student employees will lead visits through the butterfly flight room, providing information on the butterfly life cycle and their host plants.

While supplies last, children can make their own birdhouse to take home. Visitors can tour historic Fort Umpqua throughout the day, also led by student employees. While at the Fort, visitors can view the Mountain Man Encampment and check out Elkton spinners in action.

The gift shop is open all day and features crafts from local artists, garden art, and historically themed gifts. Plants from the ECEC nursery will be on sale.

An art show of works by Elkton-area artists is also on display in the library.

ECEC is a nonprofit organization founded to provide cultural, educational, and social activities to participants of all ages.

For more information, call (541) 584-2692 or visit www.elktonbutterflies.com.

(Photo courtesy ElktonButterflies.com)

(posted 6/14/18)