Street Fair showcases vibrant, engaged nonprofit community

SALISBURY — After several days of rain, Saturday, Aug. 10, was bright, sunny and above all dry for the third annual Lakeville Journal/Millerton News Street Fair on Academy Street in downtown Salisbury.

The fair coincided with the 127th birthday of the Journal, which launched its first edition in August 1897. Northwest Corner nonprofits joined the celebration with dozens of representatives engaging with community members.

Bill Spalding was operating in a grey area between the Habitat For Humanity of Northwest Connecticut and the Rotary Club of Salisbury.

Asked if he was rotating or habitating, he cheerfully replied, “Both!”

Kelly Rybczyk held down the Project SAGE table. Although now a volunteer, she said she worked for the organization for five and a half years organizing the Trade Secrets fundraiser, as operations manager, and as interim director. She currently works for Community Access to the Arts (CATA) in Great Barrington but keeps her hand in at Project SAGE.

The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News were present with copies of the latest papers. New subscribers and donors were gifted t-shirts with memorable headlines of the past such as “Area man sees moon-shaped UFO.”

Next to The Lakeville Journal/The Millerton News tent, a face painter worked on young Amanda Lucas of Lakeville as her mother looked on.

A couple of earlier face-painting clients shyly eyed the table of brownies and cookies next to the Journal tent, edging ever closer, until they were informed that it was indeed acceptable to help themselves. They did.

Shoppers wasted no time investigating Honeychurch Homes’ tent sale. A straw hat was an early favorite. Elyse Harney Morris tried one on for about 15 seconds and then said, “Sold.”

Mark Alexander’s Mortal Beasts and Deities stilt walking group dominated the upper atmosphere, especially Abigail Elwood Veiovis of Pittsfield, who was maneuvering on what Alexander said were 12-foot stilts.

She corrected him, “Eleven feet eight inches.”

Veiovis made her way carefully along Academy Street to the Academy Building.

The Salisbury Associations’ Lou Bucceri couldn’t resist asking if she’d mind changing a light bulb while she was up there.

Curious how Veiovis was going to get off the extra tall stilts, a reporter followed her back to base, where she sat on a plank between two ladders.

She said she trained in Venezuela, where the stilt walkers got on and off without such aids. They used much shorter stilts, however.

Music was provided by Danny Tieger and Northwest Passage.

There was a lobster truck and a crepe truck and hot dogs and hamburgers and a lot of laughter as the afternoon progressed.

Patrick L. Sullivan

Stiltwalkers from Mortal Beasts & Deities promenaded along Academy Street.