By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Thousands of people are expected downtown this Saturday for the annual Bazaar on the Bricks event.
About 60 vendors, including downtown merchants, Downtown Hays Market vendors, and additional regional vendors will participate in the annual sidewalk sale.
Main will be closed starting Friday night from Seventh to 12th streets. The market will run from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free to attend. The event is sponsored by Downtown Hays Development Corp.
Sara Bloom, DHDC executive director, said shoppers will have a wide selection to choose from, including some of the best deals of the summer from downtown merchants.
“Anything and everything,” Bloom said of what people will be able to purchase Saturday during the event. “We will have multiple downtown business that will be participating. Whether they are putting items out on the sidewalk or not, there are going to be great bargains inside their stores. These will be the biggest markdowns of the year for them, so we get excited for that.”
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Goodwin Sporting Goods went out of business last year and will be selling the last of its merchandise at Bazaar on the Bricks. Bluetique is offering $10 and $15 shoes. Some businesses, such as Simply Charmed and Paisley Pear, began their sales earlier this week.
About 30 to 40 vendors who normally would be located at the Union Pacific Plaza Pavilion will move onto the street.
“You are going to find anything from essential oils and clothing to handmade products — lots of produce. We have lots of produce coming this weekend — to honey and jewelry and everything in between.”
Children’s activities will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the pavilion. These will include mini carnival games, arts and crafts, a bounce house, face painting, and the Nex-Tech train. All the children’s activities are free and open to the public.
“This is a tradition for Hays. The Bazaar on the Bricks — the sidewalk sale — has been going on in Hays for decades,” Bloom said. “This is a tradition we want to see continued in downtown Hays. It gives the stores an opportunity to come outside of their doors. It gives the community an opportunity to come out and interact with each other and the store owners.
“The Downtown Hays Market is only six years old, so it hasn’t been a part of this as long as the event has been going on, but it is a chance for them to showcase their products again and interact with those brick-and-mortar businesses.”
You can still register to be a vendor until Friday. Cost is $75.