Sunny skies at September Sip & Stroll
The crowd outside of Middleboro Town Hall. Photo by Christian Uva
Bronze Star Bagels owners Christopher Walton and Tim Trocchio, who sold out all their bagels. Submitted photo 
Estelle, 10, raised money from her bracelet sales for Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Submitted photo
The Second Love Social Club's book van. Photo by Christian Uva
The Walnut Plant Gardens' booth. Photo by Christian Uva
The crowd outside of Middleboro Town Hall. Photo by Christian Uva
Bronze Star Bagels owners Christopher Walton and Tim Trocchio, who sold out all their bagels. Submitted photo
Estelle, 10, raised money from her bracelet sales for Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Submitted photo
The Second Love Social Club's book van. Photo by Christian Uva
The Walnut Plant Gardens' booth. Photo by Christian Uva
MIDDLEBORO – The weather held out, and the people showed out at this year’s third Sip & Stroll in Middleboro on Saturday, Sept. 12.
“I think it was one of the best in 16 years, and that’s because Mother Nature truly understood the assignment,” said Lorna Brunelle, the event’s p
Over 110 vendors set up shop out front of Middleboro Town Hall to sell artwork, handmade crafts, caramel apples and much more. Brunelle said that this event had very good foot traffic – around 7,000 visitors – due in large part to the weather.
Visitors dined on pizza and drank beer from Central Cafe. Brunelle said they sold hundreds of pizzas and had to run between their stand and the restaurant for more beer every time they ran out.
Vendors ranged from another 85-year-old veteran selling his woodworking creations to a 10-year-old student named Estelle selling bracelets to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Brunelle said that she tries to cycle 10 to 15 new vendors into every event. One of the newest vendors, Bronze Star Bagels, which is run by fellow veterans Christopher Walton and Tim Trocchio, sold out within an hour.
Brunelle solicited the help of the Maverick cheerleaders from the Middleboro YMCA and local Scout troops to intern at the event. The interns helped vendors set up and break down the stands.
The funds raised by the event help pay for scholarships at the Burt Wood School of Performing Arts, which Brunelle runs at the Alley Theater on Center St.
Sip & Strolls pop up in eight towns around southeastern Massachusetts throughout the year. Brunelle, a Middleboro resident, said that she’s been asked to bring the event to other locations. But she said she won’t move it from Middleboro.
“Middleboro is my home,” she said. “So how would I ever take the stroll out of the town that supported me and basically raised me?”
Brunelle said the event continued to drive her while she recovered from cancer surgery. “It gave me something to look forward to,” she said. “And I feel like the stroll is something to look forward to for everybody in the community.”
The fourth and final Sip & Stroll of the year in Middleboro is scheduled for Nov. 7.
