Bennington celebrates spring with MayFest
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Brian Boudreau of Shaftsbury and Patty Surdam of Bennington prepare a moose on Main Street in Bennington on Friday afternoon for today's MayFest. Surdam said at 4:30 p.m. that they had been working on the moose since about 6:45 a.m. It's located within the area that will be closed off for Bennington's annual street fair today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. PATRICK MCARDLE / RUTLAND HERALD |
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By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: May 23, 2009
BENNINGTON – In a sure sign of spring, the Better Bennington Corp.'s MayFest will take place today at the Four Corners downtown from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For MayFest, the town shuts down Main Street where it meets Route 7 and east to around the former middle school. Parts of School, Valentine and Silver streets will also be closed off to make room for 125 exhibitors selling crafts and other items, more than 20 food and drink stands and a host of entertainment, according to Better Bennington Corp. Executive Director John Shanahan.
"It's our 24th year and it's the first time it's ever sold out. We had to start a waiting list," he said.
Shanahan said the 10 entertainment stages are also a first for MayFest. Musical acts performing on the stages include "everything from the pan flute and violin to contemporary and rock," Shanahan said.
Street musicians and cloggers, karaoke, a climbing wall provided by the Vermont National Guard and livestock from the local 4-H Club will also be part of the free street fair.
"There's always been a history of 'Is there too much tchotchkes here? Is there too much fine art? What is the show supposed to be?' We want it clearly defined as a festival, a street festival featuring arts and crafts," Shanahan said.
MayFest will host another premiere — the cast-iron fountain, restored by the Bennington Rotary Club, which will be installed between the Bennington Superior Courthouse and the former blacksmith shop which is now the home of both the Better Bennington Corp. and the Bennington County Industrial Corp. The fountain was rescued when the former Bennington Graded School was demolished in the mid-1950s.
Today's MayFest may get a boost because it coincides with the first weekend of MooseFest 2009. Echoing the event from 2005, the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce has arranged to have dozens of ceramic moose, decorated by local artists, placed in various spots downtown.
Some moose are located as far away as Arlington and Hoosick Falls, N.Y., but most can be seen in a walking tour which covers most of the same area that will be closed off for MayFest.
In past years, the rain-or-shine MayFest has struggled to attract visitors in bad weather but the National Weather Service's outlook for today is mostly positive with temperatures in the mid 70s and only a "slight chance of showers."
Shanahan said vendors on Main Street would also be offering special deals during MayFest like restaurant Alldays & Onions, which will have an outdoor barbecue and beer garden.
For the past few weeks, municipal employees have been cleaning and repainting the streets and Better Bennington Corp. members have been sprucing up.
"So Main Street right now is in perfect condition. It's the best it's going to look," Shanahan said.
For more information, visit www.betterbennington.com.
patrick.mcardle@rutland herald.com
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