The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (CDG), a Main Street Iowa organization, is thrilled to announce its sponsorship of the Nitty Gritty Antique Festival and the Rhubarb Botanicals Farmers Market for 2025.

“This year has been one of transition for the CDG and our volunteers. Along with welcoming a new director, we’ve had four festival committee chairs step down since July. As a volunteer-led organization, this situation prompted the CDG Board to review all events under our umbrella for 2025,” stated executive director Jessie Thurn.

The Nitty Gritty Committee recently announced changes to the locations of their July 4 event, after parting ways with the CDG as the event organizer. The CDG received a request to sponsor the event, which was unanimously approved.

“It was a challenging conversation with the Nitty Gritty committee members in January regarding the CDG stepping back from organizing the festival. Nevertheless, we are excited to sponsor their efforts and look forward to seeing how this change positively impacts their success.”

The CDG is also pleased to support the Rhubarb Botanicals Farmer’s Market by sponsoring two vendor spaces for their 22-week market.

“A key part of the CDG mission is to enhance the quality of life in the communities we serve. When the opportunity to sponsor and collaborate with Rhubarb Botanicals arose, we knew we wanted to make it happen,” Thurn said. “We are eager to promote our organization and the communities we represent at a few of the mar- kets. We believe the consistent presence of the markets will benefit  the health of our community members and attract new visitors to our towns.”