PHOTOS: Bargain-Hunters Hit New Canaan for Annual Sidewalk Sale

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Bargain-hunters descended on New Canaan in droves starting Saturday morning for the Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale, running through 4 p.m.

Parts of Forest, Main and Elm Streets were closed to pedestrian-only traffic for the major annual event, organized by the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce.

Scenes from the annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale in New Canaan—July 14, 2018. Credit: Michael Dinan

“It’s going awesome,” the Chamber’s Laura Budd said as the Sidewalk Sale got into full swing. “It’s a beautiful day. The vendors are up and running and people are already shopping. We love to see it. And the humidity is low, which is going to allow everyone to stay a little bit longer.”

Temperatures hovered a comfortable 75 degrees under mostly sunny skies through the morning, and a breeze blew through the tents and tables where shoppers sifted through clothes, jewelry, toys, olive oil, furniture, home goods and assorted other items and visited information booths set up by nonprofit organizations such as Wildlife In Crisis, New Canaan Mounted Troop and New Canaan Historical Society.

L-R: Jeff and Beatrice Mellick of Beachmate at the annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale in New Canaan—July 14, 2018. Credit: Michael Dinan

Beatrice Mellick of New Canaan-founded company Beachmate, set up on Elm Street near Togs, said the Sidewalk Sale is “exciting,”

“There are a lot of people out and we are thrilled to be able to support local, as usual,” Mellick said. 

Beachmate recently donated about 10,000 of its original shovels to the Kids Wish Network. 

“And they gave them to military families,” Mellilck said. “It was fantastic. We were thrilled and so now we are ‘guardian angels.’ ”

At the intersection of Elm and Main, the New Canaan YMCA was set up with Karl Chevrolet, which always puts on a major interactive family-friendly display. 

Scenes from the annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale in New Canaan—July 14, 2018. Credit: Michael Dinan

“We have the Crash Course inflatable obstacle course,” New Canaanite Steve Karl of Karl Chevrolet said. “You start at the start gate and it’s a figure 8. So it takes about two minutes to go through and you can race each other.”

Kids lined up for that and found other places at the Sidewalk Sale to shoot basketball hoops, throw horseshoes and blow bubble. Stroller- and leash-wielding parents also took breaks in the shade of umbrellas set up in the Pop Up Park, where East Avenue’s popular La Pescaderia and Burtis Avenue’s Green & Tonic had set up tables, joined by a Mexican food truck and Melt Mobile.

Scenes from the annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale in New Canaan—July 14, 2018. Credit: Michael Dinan

On Main Street, Phil Williams of local ‘Business of the YearNew Canaan Music offered huge sales to passersby.

“We have blown-out Melissa & Doug stuff half-off, just realigning certain product lines, so the beneficiary on that is the customer, of course,” Williams said. “Ukuleles on sale, guitar packs on sale, amplifiers left and right, all on sale. So it’s a good day.”

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