ZELIENOPLE — Creativity continues to be the theme for local townships and boroughs struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Zelienople, that creativity comes in the form of its Spring Street Beer Garden and Zelienople Open Air Market each Thursday.

A joint effort between the borough, the Zelienople Area Business Association, local restaurants and businesses, the market encourages shops and eateries to bring their business onto the street once a week. From 6 to 8 p.m., every Thursday through the summer, local businesses host sidewalk stands and invite local vendors and artists to set up on Main Street.

Whether it's 5-year-old entrepreneur Maddox Rice and his weekly lemonade stand or a joint venture between restaurants in the form of a shared beer tent, it genuinely has been a community-focused effort, said Matthew Edwards of the business association.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Tuesday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.