A Sip and Stroll with a little more stroll than sip

MIDDLEBORO — Sip and Stroll looked a little different in front of the Middleboro Town Hall on Sunday, May 31, featuring a little less sip but a whole lot of stroll.

Sip and Stroll, a Middleboro-born, trademarked event added a new installation this May after an iteration of the event originally planned for Charlestown had to be relocated due to continuing clean-up efforts from storm damage.

In all, 96 vendors, five food trucks and a local restaurant took part in the craft fair, welcoming in around 3,500 people about two hours into the event, said organizer Lorna Brunelle, who has been putting on Sip and Strolls for the past 16 years.

“Today we’ll probably have like 4,500, which is great, considering a lot of people lost yesterday in their yards because of the weather,” she said.

Originally scheduled for Saturday, May 30, moving to the event’s rain date meant that liquor couldn’t be served, though there was no limit to other beverages and food like lemonade, cannolis and chocolate covered strawberries.

“Thank goodness we secured the rain date because Mother Nature chose violence yesterday,” Brunelle said.

With the changed date, 27 of Saturday’s planned vendors weren’t able to attend, though after choosing to reschedule the event on Thursday, Brunelle was able to contact other vendors who had other Saturday events get rained out.

“It feels bananas after all this time to bring thousands and thousands of people together,” Brunelle said. “It just blows my mind.”

Proceeds from the Sip and Stroll go toward scholarships for students in the Burt Wood School of the Performing Arts, which Brunelle founded.

This year, 40% of students attend with a scholarship, and with each booth costing $95 to participate, the majority of the Sip and Stroll’s proceeds will go toward funding these scholarships.

“My favorite is seeing the confidence that happens when we invest in our scholarship recipients, we’re investing in our confidence,” Brunelle said.

Twenty interns helped keep the event running, including Burt Wood School students and students from Middleboro High School and Nichols Middle School.

“We have kids from our school who are here to just kind of give back and say ‘Thank you,’ because they’re on a scholarship with us,” Brunelle said.

Will Donahey, now a college student who attended Burt Wood School of the Performing Arts with a scholarship, was among the volunteers.

“It’s really awesome, and you just feel so grateful that the community will come out and help support you,” he said. “Being able to access and have the ability to perform and be a part of the arts is a great opportunity.”

Among the 96 vendors was Middleboro resident Sarah Zigouras, who works at Trades of Hope, an organization that partners with artisan groups in both the United States and abroad to help artisans overcome what Zigouras called “extreme situations,” such as trafficking, violence and poverty.

Zigouras has been a part of Sip and Stroll for the past 12 years, helping with registration and paperwork.

“We had excellent crowds today — lots of people came out,” she said. “We really appreciate all the support and people stopping and shopping.”

Deborah Thompson of Marion was another vendor at the fair, there to share a children’s book she wrote and sign copies. The book, called “Nova’s Wish,” is about a baby reindeer named Nova who is found alone by an angel named Stella.

“You look at this and you think it’s kind of a Christmas-y story, but the kids see it, they love it,” Thompson said. “People buy it for birthday presents, for baby showers, it’s just pretty popular.”

During the Sip and Stroll Thompson had people come up to her for her autograph, which she said is “very humbling" and noted that "people really are just so encouraging."

Lakeville resident Shilo Henriques has participated in Sip and Strolls for the past three years, selling creations made from sea glass she finds and out of antiques like China tea sets.

She said she finds the event to be a “great way to get out and get connected with the community.”

She added, “I just love the vibe, and it’s home, it’s local, and this is where I live, so I love to bring crafts engagement to my neighboring hometown.”