There won’t be a Summer Fest again this summer, but there will be more activity on the green in Brookfield Center that organizers hope will bring people in.
The township is planning to hold two craft and vendor fairs, and to again participate in the Route 7 Garage Sale.
Township officials have been looking for ways to draw people to the township, and township Office Coordinator Tabatha Dickson said she is modeling the effort after Shop Small Hubbard, a joint promotional effort for the city’s small businesses.
“They started small and it’s a huge success, so we can start small and hopefully follow suit,” she said.
The township’s participation in the Route 7 Garage Sale attracted 21 vendors to the green and a steady stream of visitors checking out what was for sale there and at other locations in the township. Local restaurants reported strong sales that day.
In terms of organizing the day, “It wasn’t that hard,” Dickson said.
The craft and vendor fairs will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 4 and July 23. Twelve-by-12-foot spots on the green are available for $20 each.
Non-profit groups are welcome to hold fundraisers and other events.
The Route 7 Garage Sale will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 3.
Dickson also is looking for two food trucks to work the fairs at a cost of $50 each.
Anyone interested in participating can contact Dickson at the township administration building between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays, or call 330-448-6960. The registration deadline for the first fair is May 31. Dickson said she’s already had interest from people who want to participate in all three events.
Summer Fest, which was organized by Brookfield United Methodist Church, was last held in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the church has created a food pantry and moved to smaller events, such as the rummage sale held the last two years.
“We found new ways to minister,” Pastor Dick Smith said. “We found new ways to reach the community. We’ve been able to make a mark in the community with what we’re doing because we’re helping people.”
The rummage sale will be back, in August, and the church plans to have more of a presence at the Route 7 Garage Sale.
For the church, Summer Fest, which had been a two-day community festival, would take too much organizing time for a group of volunteers who already are spending a lot of time running other church activities.
“We can’t let something like that run our lives, especially now that we’re involved more in ministries in the community,” Smith said. “We like the rummage sale because we get to meet people, we get to invite them in, kids come up, the community comes in. In the Summer Fest, we’re all about making food and checking on the port-a-potties and running around picking up trash. It’s not so much a people thing.”
