If there’s a town that presents itself better in the spring than Smithfield, we’d love to see it.

Locals who might be susceptible to taking our town’s splendor for granted should get out of the house this weekend and enjoy Second Saturday festivities downtown.

The Smithfield Farmers Market in the parking lot of the Bank of Southside Virginia, 115 Main St., is a great place to start the day. Get there before noon to enjoy live music, crafts and, of course, locally sourced food to please every taste bud.

From there, take a stroll down to the new Gazebo Art Market on the front lawn of The Smithfield Times office, 228 Main St. Co-sponsored by the Arts Center @319 and the Smithfield & Isle of Wight Convention and Visitors Bureau, the market is a warmup for larger artist showcases on Hayden’s Lane this fall and next spring.

Sometime before 1 p.m., check out the Pickers Market in Joyner Field behind 315 Main St. “Find vintage treasures or just enjoy ‘pickin’,” organizers implore.

History buffs can get a free guided walking tour of Ivy Hill Cemetery, complete with a discussion of its signs, symbols and notable gravesites. Tours begin at 10 a.m. at the cemetery’s entrance, 451 N. Church St.

Downtown merchants’ Spring Sidewalk Sale & Stroll will make the stroll along Main Street even more eventful than usual. Among the merchants offering special deals will be The Christmas Store, Sew Personal, River’s Edge Apparel, The Strip Joint, Fleur de Fou, When Pigs Fly … Magic Happens, American Laser Arts, Imagine Art Gallery, Nelms House, Yummaries, Maggie Casey’s Celtic Treasure, Victoria’s Rose, Relics, Beyond Main and Cowgirl Crossing.

All of that walking is sure to leave you hungry and thirsty, so we encourage you to end the day by supporting Smithfield’s locally owned restaurants, which continue to recover from a year of COVID-related restrictions on their sales.

The forecast at this writing calls for a chance of early showers, with rain becoming more intermittent in the afternoon — nothing to ruin the festivities. A predicted high temperature of 70 is a reminder to enjoy downtown Smithfield in the spring, before the dog days of summer bring much less pleasant heat and humidity.