Driver street fairs welcome crowds

Published 11:02 pm Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Driver Street: Gregory Parker, owner of Arthur's General Store, has helped organize the Driver Street Fair this summer, which is being extended into August. It's free to come and participate, if you have a hobby or interest you'd like to share with others. Call Parker at 538-3810.

If you’re passionate about what you do, there might be a place for you at the Driver Street Fair.

Organizers are bringing together local artisans and groups that have a skill or passion to share with others at the fairs, which continue through August and September. The next is tonight, 6-8 p.m. in Driver.

“It’s just an informal street fair for the population at large,” Arthur’s General Store owner Gregory Parker said. “It’s about being proactive and sharing what you do with others. It’s like a human bulletin board. It’s real ‘rootsie’ and laid back.”

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The fair is a not a place for vendors to sell items, but rather a forum to share projects and passions and to network with one another.

“We just wanted to do something where if you do woodworking or quilt making — anything you do in your house or your garage — or are in a guild or club, you could bring that out and show people, maybe generate some more interest,” Parker said. “It’s something that won’t cost anyone a nickel. It’s a community show-and-tell, you could say.”

Parker and other area business owners began the fairs earlier this year, with music, classic cars and locals coming out to enjoy it all.

“The economy these days is tight, tight, tight,” he said. “This is just something homegrown, something you’ve got on hand, that you enjoy doing. We do live music and bring out classic cars. We brought out some games, like corn hole. We’ve had some crowds.”

Parker hopes more people will come out and bring anything from their families to games to their handiwork with them.

“We’ve had volunteer groups — like Driver Express — and local artisans who do jewelry come out and show their stuff,” Parker said. “We’re hoping to attract more artists ¬— painters, carvers, woodworkers, people who do stained glass, magicians and photographers at any level of expertise. Even if you’ve been taking photos of travels for the past 5 years, come out and show them to people.”

Bring a table, and Parker said he’ll help set up your station right there in his parking lot at Arthur’s.

“It’s nothing complicated,” Parker said. “It’s just something fun and free to do on a nice summer night. You don’t have to feel guilty about going out or bad that you didn’t. Just come out and enjoy your own community.”

The Wednesday night street fairs are scheduled for tonight and Aug. 18.

For more information, call Parker at Arthur’s General Store at 538-3810.