The Live Like Norah Foundation is set to host a Yadkin Spring Market event Saturday, April 6 at the Yadkin County Agricultural & Educational Building, located at 2051 Agricultural Way, in Yadkinville from 8 a.m. — 2 p.m. More than 25 vendors will be set up showcasing a variety of products including woodworking crafts, candles, freeze-dried candies, jewelry, baked goods, flowers and garden items and more.
In addition to some multi-level marketing companies the fair will feature many small home-based businesses.
“I’m excited to see all the unique things that will be at this show,” said event organizer Jennifer Smitherman.
A food truck Vivian’s Rocking Concessions will also be on site. The food truck is run by a 13-year-old with an “entrepreneurial spirit,” Smitherman said.
Siv Ashley will also be showcased at the vendor fair with her book “A Teenager’s Survival: The Siv Ashley Story.” Ashley, who now lives in Yadkin County, is originally from Cambodia. Her family, along with many others in the country, were sent to work camps in the mid 1970s where children were forced to work 12-hour days with little food. Her book tells her own survival story and how her Christian faith helped her make it through.
Advanced tickets for the Yadkin Spring Market are $2 per person and includes two entries into the raffle drawings. Day of the event tickets will be $5 per person at the door and includes one entry in the raffle drawings. All door money goes straight to the foundation.
The Live Like Norah Foundation was established in 2021 by Smitherman in the wake of her daughter’s murder. Seventeen-year-old Norah was killed in a incident of gun violence at the hands of a classmate in November of 2021. In the wake of Norah’s death there was an outpouring of support for the Smitherman family and some of that was coming by way of financial donations. Jennifer Smitherman said she quickly knew she wanted those funds to go back into the community that Norah loved. Smitherman describes her daughter has having a “heart of service.” She was involved in helping organize blood drives, an active volunteer at her church, a student athlete and honor student.
“She made it her purpose to include everyone,” Jennifer said of her daughter Norah.
Just 17 days after Norah’s tragic death, the Smitherman family applied for 501©3 status for the Live Like Norah Foundation as a way to keep their daughter’s legacy alive.
The Foundation’s first fundraiser was the sale of yard signs bearing the phrase “God not Dead” in Norah’s own handwriting, against a backdrop of purple, Norah’s favorite color.
Jennifer explained that she discovered the phrase in Norah’s handwriting on the back of a picture frame. From the childlike writing and missing apostrophe s, Smitherman gathered Norah had been fairly young when she wrote this message but said that it summed up Norah’s strong Christian faith.
The Live Like Norah Foundation sponsors numerous community events and organizations that were important to Norah. There is also a Live Like Norah shop which features religious items and books, apparel, home décor and more. The shop is located at 604 Tennessee St. in Yadkinville.
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