KENT, Conn. — One of the community’s popular summer pastimes will return to town in the coming days.
The Sidewalk Sale Days, a free multi-day event that celebrates all things Kent, will be held Thursday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 10.
Music, special events, food, art exhibits, self-care demonstrations, psychic readings, daily events for children and families, nonprofit booths, and a variety of shopping opportunities, with many businesses offering sales and discounts, will be offered.
Sales range from 10 to 75 percent, depending on the business.
The four-day event, sponsored by the Kent Chamber of Commerce, will be held rain or shine or heat.
The extended weekend of events “brings visitors to town, which is the mission of the chamber of commerce,” said Kent Chamber of Commerce Administrative Director Lyn Stirnweiss. “Visitors can see what a great town we have and experience great food.”
Throughout the four-day event, stores including House of Books, Foreign Cargo, Pantages Gems & Jewelry, ACE Hardware, Terston Home Accents & Apparel, Fife ‘n Drum Gift Shop, Sundog Shoe & Leather, Tarot in Thyme, Heron Shop, and Kent Greenhouse & Gardens will offer sales and discounts in-store and/or under a tent on their property.
Some shops will offer other events, such as psychic readings and aura photography at Tarot in Thyme; popcorn at ACE Hardware; a drum circle at Foreign Cargo; an “unloved pots” sale by Alison Palmer Studio at Heron Shop; and self-care and demonstrations with Dow Integrative Institute on the lawn of Tarot in Thyme.
Attendees will “get great bargains and discover stores they might know were here,” Stirnweiss related.
Joe Speranzo, owner of Sundog Shoe & Leather, said of the event, “Business wise, it’s kind of lifeline at the end of a season.”
He said these particular days enable business owners to “turn over inventory, clean out some spring stuff and make room for the fall stuff” by offering sales for shoppers.
Restaurants and other eateries will display their culinary skills for patrons throughout the event.
Multiple eateries—ranging from the Fife ’n Drum and Ore Hill/Swyft to the 109 Cheese Market and the recently opened Kent Kitchen—that dot Main Street and its side streets will be open, as will be Bull’s Bridge Inn in South Kent and The Old Oak Tavern in Gaylordsville.
Stirnweiss said the town’s “exposure” during the multi-day event “is always a great thing because then people are exposed to Kent if they don’t already know of it and what it has to offer.”
Aside from bargains on plants and shrubs, clothing, home accents, footwear, books, gifts, and more, a handful of special events will be held, including St. Andrew’s annual tag sale, the library’s outdoor book sale, a Town to Trust Music Series concert, a Margarita Taste Off, and new this year, a firefighter’s muster.
The first big highlight will be musical entertainment by George Potts & The Joint Chiefs Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. near Kent Town Hall on Kent Green. The performance is part of the Town to Trust Music Series.
Book enthusiasts can explore the wide range of books for sale at Kent Memorial Library’s outdoor book sale at 32 N. Main St.
It will be open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting.
Come Friday, those hunting for treasures can stop by the opening of St. Andrew’s Parish’s giant tag sale at 1 N. Main St.
Early bird admission is $30 from 8:30 to 10 a.m., followed by free admission Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.
A perk of this year’s tag sale is the acceptance of credit cards, according to Stirnweiss. “That’s a huge draw.”
Kent Wine & Spirit at 5 Bridge St. will host the first of its two Margarita Taste-Offs Friday, from 1 to 5 p.m. A cocktail specialist will serve three types of Margaritas; the public can vote for its favorite. The second taste-off is set for Saturday, also from 1 to 5 p.m.
The community’s farmers market will be held at its usual time from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday at the field across from Kent Greenhouse & Gardens.
The first annual firefighter’s muster to benefit firefighters and first responders is expected to draw attention Saturday on the grounds of the Connecticut Antique Machinery Association at 31B Kent Cornwall Road, just north of the center of town.
Local firefighters and members of the public will compete in various friendly games, with four local fire departments winning prizes between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
It will feature food, kids’ events, and more.
Kent Memorial Library will play host to a few activities, too.
Lunch Bunch story time is set for Thursday at 12:30 p.m. and a beach-themed story time is planned for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at the library.
In addition, the library will present an outdoor sensory play party in the Golden Falcon lot at 20 N. Main St. Children, who should dress for mess, will have an opportunity to play with slime, ooblek, kinetic sand and water.
Golden Falcon Lot will be the venue for numerous local nonprofits that will share information about their organizations with the public. Kent Affordable Housing, Kent Historical Society, Kent Land Trust, Kent News, Inc., the publisher of The Kent Dispatch, Kent Quilters, and the town’s political parties are among the participating nonprofits that will have representatives on hand to meet with the public, talk about their missions, and in some cases, offer activities.
Kent News invites children to try their hand at a kid reporter activity and the Kent Quilters will sell small, quilted items.
“Just having nonprofits on field gives them better exposure,” Stirnweiss said, emphasizing how townspeople and visitors can learn about these groups.
Sidewalk Sale Days dates back some 50 years and always occurred during early August.
Parking for Sidewalk Sale Days is available throughout town. The Kent Welcome Center (directly behind the Kent Station Pharmacy) has public bathrooms.
For a full schedule of activities and ongoing updates, visit the Chamber site.
For more information contact the Kent Chamber of Commerce at 860-592-0061 or info@kentct.com.
