Festival is in it's 44th year
ALMA, MI -- The slogan for Tom Billig's Flowers and Gifts in Alma is "Dream, Imagine and Create", it features interesting trinkets and many seasonal gifts including decorative rain boots for spring, bright colored parasols and designer hummingbird feeders. These are just a sampling of what you might find in this unique shop that locals tell us, is one of the two main stop for tourists when they arrive in town for the Highland Festival coming up in Alma this weekend.
Another of the stops is the "Treasures" shop next door. "Treasures" is truly the key word here... as some of the items whisk you back to your past. Old books, an antique spinning wheel, old newspaper clippings of historic events are among the many items that you can find here. Also, in honor of the Highland Festival, a selection of Celtic jewelry. Linda Winn, the owner says "We have a little bit of everything....it's just a major shopping experience for Alma." Since the shop doesn't only feature antiques, I asked her the best way to describe it. She said "it's treasures!"
The Treasures shop used to occupy the space now taken by Tom Billigs. The two businesses work closely together. "Sometimes if people buy a vase or something special then they will take it over there and she will put the flowers in it," says Winn. She says the Highland Festival is an important time to bring people to Alma because it's a place that has seen it's better days but still has plenty to offer. "I have always lived here so I just kind of lay it on the line and if we make it we make it and if we don't we don't", says Winn. "It's been beyond my expectations."
The Highland Festival is this weekend, the 28th and 29th, and has a Scottish theme.
