NORTHAMPTON — After skipping a year due to the pandemic, the Sidewalk Sales made a return to downtown over the weekend.
Many business leaders and customers said the return of the long-running summertime staple provided a sense of relief, though the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on some people’s minds and may have impacted turnout.
Terri Pajak, manager of Synergy clothing store, said that while “it’s nice to be able to have (the sales) this year,” foot traffic seemed to be down over the course of the four-day event.
“There’s still a pandemic going on, so I think some people are avoiding crowds,” said Pajak, who has worked “well over 20 Sidewalk Sales,” originally as an employee of the now-closed Faces shop.
Over the past week, Pajak has noticed more people wearing masks — including her own staff, who returned to a mask-wearing policy after the store previously dropped the requirement for employees. Some shoppers wore masks in and outdoors at the event.
Additionally, while sunny weather is “usually perfection” for drawing customers to the sales, Pajak suspects that the weekend’s pleasant weather after a rainy, cool July may have attracted people away from downtown and towards other outdoor activities that gained traction during the pandemic, like cycling or hiking.
But the sales are still “something that make people hopeful and happy,” Pajak said, particularly due to the event’s iconic status downtown.
No one seems to know exactly when the Sidewalk Sales began, though Gazette photos document the annual event occurring as far back as 1968. The sales, which have been run by the Downtown Northampton Association since 2016, give businesses an opportunity to boost their sales and clear out summer inventory in preparation for autumn, Pajak said.
Dani Antes, store manager at the Cedar Chest, said that sales had a slow start on Thursday — which she attributes partially to rainy weather — but traffic increased as the weekend went on.”
Saturday “was phenomenal,” Antes said, “and very close to 2019 sales.”
Antes also noticed increased vigilance among attendees, with customers seemingly split “half and half” with mask wearing. Previously, Antes said she saw a brief period where most people went unmasked.
While more customers seemed to exercise extra caution at the sales, Antes thinks that this increased diligence among residents and businesses made people more comfortable attending the event despite a recent rise in COVID-19 cases around the country, and the highly contagious delta variant of the virus that now accounts for most U.S. cases.
Easthampton resident Maria Curtin-McKenna said she came to the Sidewalk Sales “looking forward to being back to the excitement on the street and helping the businesses,” especially after she significantly limited her outings during the pandemic.
Still, the sales are “not quite” a return to normalcy, McKenna said.
“It’s good to see people out and about,” McKenna said, “but I’m still wearing a mask even though I’m vaccinated.”
For others, the event’s return brought a stronger sense of relief.
Cathy Walz, owner of The Blue Marble gift shop, said she was pleased with the event’s turnout and what she described as a “festive atmosphere” downtown.
“Traffic has been great inside and out,” Walz said.
“We all really needed things to celebrate,” she added. “It’s just been really exciting to have something normal to celebrate and enjoy … It’s felt like a party.”
The Northampton tradition also attracts people from beyond the local area: Michele Karasik, a Connecticut resident who shopped at the sales on Sunday, said that the Sidewalk Sales were a major draw to Northampton when she was planning a day trip.
Malea Rhodes, an artist and potter with Cycle Pottery, also expressed appreciation for the sales.
“With life feeling a little more normal right now, I think people are excited to get out and celebrate a regular Northampton event,” Rhodes said. “It’s nice to have it back.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.