RHODYLIFE

Being outside & feeling normal

Posted 10/28/20

Jean Williams of Middletown still has the sewing machine her mother gave her when she was 16. And she puts it to good use. Usually by this time of year she will have done multiple craft shows where she sells her blankets, towels and scarves. But the

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RHODYLIFE

Being outside & feeling normal

Posted

Jean Williams of Middletown still has the sewing machine her mother gave her when she was 16. And she puts it to good use. Usually by this time of year she will have done multiple craft shows where she sells her blankets, towels and scarves.

But the pandemic put a stop to that. Then she learned of the Outside Marketplace hosted by the city of Warwick at Pawtuxet Village Park every Saturday through Dec. 12 and liked what she saw. She felt comfortable being outside and she liked the measures being taken to ensure distancing. This is the only show she has done all year.

Other vendors share her enthusiasm for an outdoor show and especially for some return to normalcy, as do the shoppers.

Rebecca Simone had barely entered the park before discovering she couldn’t resist a Halloween themed sign. A Rhode Island native, Rebecca and he family now live in New Jersey. Not knowing what travel restrictions might be imposed during the holidays she didn’t want to miss an opportunity to visit her mother. With her two children in tow, Bradi and Louie, she and her “best friend” Meg Clark spent a good part of the morning discovering what more than 35 vendors had to offer.

But it was more than that – it was being outside, meeting and talking with people although they were masked and made a point of not crowding.

Russell Moore, the city’s director of economic development and tourism, and Debbie Wood, who knows the crafts fair community, staged the first of the Saturday markets on Columbus Day weekend. A $40,000 “take it outside” state grant will enable to city to purchase a 60 by 80-foot tent with heaters that will be erected in the park. Moore said the tent will accommodate 20 vendors properly distanced. The tent is on order and may arrive in time to be erected for this Saturday.

Yet if the weather Saturday is anything like last Saturday, a tent won’t be needed.

Tina Bingham, chair of the Gaspee Days Memorial Day arts and crafts show that was canceled this year because of the virus, found some of her vendors at the event, leaving her to hope next year’s festival, as well as Gaspee Days, will be a go. Overall, she thought the Outside Marketplace was a great idea.

Linda Affonseca who was assisting her mother Judy Bissell of JB Designs with her display smiled as musicians, who also had a table, played along with some big band tracks from the 1960s.

“I’m starting to feel normal,” she said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

outside, Pawtuxet Village

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