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One of New Canaan’s most anticipated events of summer is set to take place this month.
The New Canaan Chamber of Commerce’s annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale will run July 18 and 19 downtown.
Spanning the commercial centers of Elm, Forest and Main Streets, the Sidewalk Sale will feature nearly 100 stands of local businesses and merchandise from all over New Canaan, according to Laura Budd, the Chamber’s executive director.
“Our Sidewalk Sale is two days long,” Budd said. “Friday, July 18th features our local stores on the sidewalk. Merchants see products in their store that they just want to move along, so this gives them the opportunity to come outside in the summer and make room for all the great new products they want to get for the holidays and rest of the year.”
The stores that will have their stands up on the 18th will be up during their usual store hours, and will not interrupt the flow of traffic, Budd said.
On Saturday, the full Sidewalk Sale opens and the one-way stretch of Elm and parts of Main and Forest will be made pedestrian-only, for residents to shop, walk around and enjoy food, she said.
“On Saturday, July 19th, the Sidewalk Sale hours will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but we start closing down the streets at around 7:30 a.m. because vendors have to come in and set up their booths.” Budd said.
The New Canaan Sidewalk Sale is so popular because it always has a wide variety of stands, from clothing to The Society of Santas, for visitors to enjoy, Budd said.
“What makes our Sidewalk Sale unique versus other communities is that it’s both a Village Fair and a Sidewalk Sale,” she said. “We will have a food truck, butchers who are going to be selling hot dogs, and music on Main Street and at the South Avenue intersection from both the School of Rock and the Town Band.”
Merchants will be selling lemonade, ice tea and other refreshing drinks, there will be ice cream from Gelatissimo at Main and Elm, and the YMCA is hosting a fun family night, Budd said.
The New England Dance Academy, New Canaan Football Club and New Canaan Aquianas will be among those participating in the Sidewalk Sale this year, she said.
Walter Stewart’s Market will have its traditional stand set up on upper Elm Street.
“We typically do a farm stand with all of our locally featured farm products,” Walter Stewart’s Vice President/Owner Doug Stewart said. ”We’ll sell fresh vegetables and fruit like corn, blueberries, peaches, squash and cucumbers, and a bunch of different Connecticut produce from featured farms.”
He added: “We love participating in community events and we think it great that so many people come out and support the local businesses. It’s super fun for us to be a part of and to have a presence on Elm Street.”
The Sidewalk Sale is “a really fun day for everyone involved,” Budd said.
“It takes some planning on our end here at The Chamber of Commerce, but a lot of vendors come back year after year because they enjoy it so much,” she said.
Budd said she is “most excited to showcase all of the local merchants and amazing merchandise New Canaan has.”
“It’s a great chance for people to shop in a store or get to know a store that they don’t usually visit,” she said.
Budd said she is also excited for representatives from local nonprofits that don’t have storefronts to meet people.
“The Sidewalk Sale is a community effort, and everyone can contribute something,” she said.
“When we start to close down, our amazing department of Public Works comes in with a whole crew, street sweepers and giant loaders, and they clean all the garbage. The Chamber could not do any of this without the Public Works, the police and the EMTs.”
Sidewalk Sale 2024
July 20, 2024. Credit: Michael Dinan
