Brilliant fall foliage and a crisp sunny day were the setting for South Berwick’s second annual Paul Street Block Party Saturday that attracted a steady crowd numbering nearly 700.
Background music by Bill Gearin in the morning and the Air Force Weathermen in the afternoon provided a lively backdrop for shoppers and spectators milling around the booths, many with babies in strollers and some with a canine pal in hand.
The Oct. 24 block party, intended to bring residents together for a fall celebration of the downtown area, drew twice as many vendors as last year and far more people, said Britney Spencer, administrative assistant for the town’s Planning and Development Department, who organized the event.
“It took DeCarlo Brown (former planning development director) and I six months to plan and organize the block party last year,” Spencer said. “It all came together in 10 weeks this year.”
Young families were well represented, as children chased bubbles, decorated homemade lanterns, painted pumpkins and played STEM games. Some competed in cornhole, bounced in inflatable houses, or visited a petting zoo hosted by Seacoast Christian School. A South Berwick fire engine attracted a steady stream of toddlers to tweens climbing aboard for a turn at the wheel.
VFW Post 5744 sold 54 burgers, 36 hotdogs, 18 ham and toasted cheese sandwiches, 45 pounds of french fries supplied by Fogarty’s, 24 fried doughs, 16 soft pretzels, and six sausage breakfast bowls made with sausage donated by Breezy Hill Farm.
“Sales were great,” said Jeff Chase, VFW commander and host of the post’s food booth. It also sold hot coffee, cider and cocoa in the chilly morning and snow cones in the afternoon as the sun warmed the street.
Local resident Ashley Beaupre, owner of SoBo Boards, did a brisk business with her charcuterie cups.
In all, 21 vendors and nonprofits participated. The local nonprofits took the opportunity to raise funds and educate people about their missions while area craftspeople and artists showcased their wares, selling everything from jams and jellies to photographs of autumn leaves.
More than 40 people ended the day by joining the annual Pub Crawl, a fundraiser for the upcoming Home for the Holidays. Catbird, Dufour, Happy Valley and Odd Fellows all had special offerings for pub crawlers wearing bracelets purchased at the Home for the Holidays booth.
The Strawberry Festival Committee provided a tent for the musicians, said Spencer, who noted most of the vendors also plan to participate in the Dec. 5 Home for the Holidays celebration or the Strawberry Festival in June 2027, if not both.
SoBo Central, the community nonprofit, had a large table to highlight organizations and activities that function under its umbrella: Powderhouse Ski Hill; Keep South Berwick Warm fuel fund; Tuskegee-South Berwick Sister Cities project; Lanternfest; and the Community Food Pantry.
A booth jointly hosted by the Central School and Great Works School PTOs and the Marshwood Education Foundation offered raffles, a monster craft, slime fun and pumpkin decorating for the kids.
