Wisconsin folks are a tough breed.
And here, Mother Nature doesn’t dictate when the festival season ends. We’ll make those decisions for ourselves.
Hearty spirits bundled up and flocked to Downtown Menasha on Saturday for one more 2019 edition of Bazaar After Dark. It was an afternoon and evening of live music, food, beer, games and artistry.
The brisk temperatures didn’t get in the way of the fun.
“In a few months, this will be shorts weather,” musician Nicholas Raymond said.
Food trucks set up around a stage in the lot aside One Menasha Center. Folks listened in to musicians at another stage in Curtis Reed Square while playing giant Jenga and table tennis. Once again, the bazaar will live on downtown through a mural that took shape as the event unfolded.
A unique array of vendors drew in customers with their work from handcrafted writing utensils to whimsical killer plant pieces ala “Little Shop of Horrors.”
Sarah Rathsack of Appleton set up for her first bazaar experience and was pleased by the traffic she received for her dream catchers. She brought a propane heater, but she didn’t need it through the first few hours.
“The bazaars are popular events and I wanted to join in the fun,” she said.
Pulse, a program of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce, devised the bazaars as opportunities to draw attention to underappreciated business districts in the region. Events were also held in Brillion and Little Chute this year.
They’ve become a favorite for offering something a little bit different.
And setting up with winter in the air was something even more different.
“This is probably the coldest gig I’ve played,” Raymond said.
