NORTHAMPTON — Downtown Northampton will come alive next weekend with a full slate of activities for families on Friday and Saturday, including the return of a once-annual celebration of local food.
The Downtown Northampton Association (DNA) will host the Taste of Northampton on Saturday, Sept. 10, from noon to 7 p.m.
Main Street, from the rainbow crosswalk outside Thornes Marketplace to the intersection of King and Pleasant streets, will be closed to vehicle traffic while revelers take in some of the best food Northampton has to offer.
“Fitzwilly’s will serve delicious scallop chowder, pulled pork sliders, and Mexican Street Corn!” organizers wrote in social media materials promoting the event. “Woodstar Cafe will have a bunch of cookie types, including vegan options — as well as refreshing iced coffee, iced tea, and iced honey lemon ginger beverages!”
DJ Roger Jr. will host a salsa dance party and Progression Brewery will open a beer tent. Other participating restaurants include Paul & Elizabeth’s, Roberto’s, HighBrow, Haymarket Cafe, Great Wall, Florence Pie Bar and more.
“The Taste hasn’t happened probably for a solid decade. … Over time, it grew into an incredibly expensive, incredibly complicated event to put on,” DNA executive director Amy Cahillane said, “and I think the focus came away from celebrating restaurants and it became more of a fair.”
In the past, the Taste lasted for several days. High costs and staffing shortages for many area businesses led organizers this year to “scale it down to something that was achievable and went back to focusing on our local food community,” Cahillane said.
On Friday, Sept. 9, the 12th annual Chalk Art Festival will present the work of 25 artists competing for cash prizes. The public is encouraged to watch the drawings take shape from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and view the completed works in the evening. Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra will present the prizes, awarded by a panel of judges, on the steps of City Hall at 5 p.m.
“Chalk art sites are situated throughout downtown Northampton, and include Forbes Library, Pulaski Park, Click Workspace, the Roost, Northampton Brewery, A2Z Science & Learning Store and others,” organizers wrote in announcing the event. “Maps of the chalk art locations, along with their assigned artists, will be available at www.northamptondna.com and northampton.live, and printed copies will be distributed by a variety of downtown venues.”
From 5-8 p.m., Northampton will hold its monthly gallery walk, Arts Night Out, and Historic Northampton is hosting the Paradise East open mic night from 6-8 p.m.
The Florence Civic & Business Association’s Chicken BBQ, once an annual event that was on hiatus during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, returns next weekend with a menu highlighting local businesses.
The noon event planned for Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Florence Civic Center features live music from the Johnny Memphis Band and will be held rain or shine until 3 p.m.
The menu features barbecue chicken, corn on the cob from Golonka Farm in Whately, baked potatoes from Szawlowski Potato Farms in Hatfield, garden salad, cheesecake and chocolate chip brownies.
“Meals are also available for take-out to be enjoyed later during the Patriots season-opening game,” Miss Florence Diner owner Georgianna Brunton said on Wednesday. Her historic restaurant will provide and bake the chicken.
A kids’ menu of hot dogs and hamburgers also will be offered.
Tickets are $20 per adult and $5 per child 10 and under, and can be purchased at Cooper’s Corner, Bird’s Store, Miss Florence Diner, Streetlight Financial, Florence Hardware, Florence Village Flowers, The Barber Shop, MurDuff’s Jewelry Store and the Pie Bar.
“It’s a great way for community folks to come out and mingle in a safe outdoor area,” Brunton said, adding that local business leaders and elected officials, including members of the City Council, are expected to attend. She said Justin Pelis, the new interim executive director of Look Park, will be on-hand, as well.
Brunton said the event dates back to the 1950s. The latest Chicken BBQ was held in September 2019 and organizers say it was a sell-out.
An advocacy group called Safe Streets Northampton is amassing a team of volunteers to count the bicyclists who use major city roads and intersections during the morning commute.
Elena Huisman, one of the organizers of the effort, said the goal is to provide city leaders with data about bicycle use to help them make informed decisions about transportation infrastructure.
“We’ve mentioned it to the city and they seem receptive to having that data on-hand,” Huisman said. Bicycling is a viable form of transportation, not just recreation, she said, and Safe Streets hopes to provide annual data to identify and respond to trends.
Volunteers have signed up to count bicyclists one day between Monday, Sept. 12, and Thursday, Sept. 15, from the hours of 7-9 a.m.
“Anyone who has a couple of hours to spare one day in September is a good candidate,” Huisman said, adding that the goal is to keep volunteers close to the neighborhood of their choice.
Locations include downtown Northampton, downtown Florence, the Childs Park area and Village Hill. Counting will not be done on days that it rains.
Volunteers will fill out a spreadsheet provided by Safe Streets, which can be printed out at home, picked up or hand-delivered by bike.
“We recognize standing on a street corner for two hours, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., is asking quite a lot, so we’re trying to make it easier,” Huisman said.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.