I was like ‘Why can’t we do one?’ I can’t do nine. I don’t have the bandwidth and I don’t think the town does either, but we can do one.”

BBCA Chairman Bryan Hoffman

Live music, food trucks, and dozens of vendors: Welcome to the first-ever Barrington Street Fair.

The event will be held this Sunday, July 17, from 3 to 6 p.m., and promises something for just about everyone. Organized by the Barrington Business and Community Association, the street fair will feature nearly 50 vendor tables, three food trucks, and live musical performances. Most of Wood Avenue will be barricaded off for the street fair.

Bryan Hoffman, chairman of the Barrington Business and Community Association, said the idea was borrowed from a neighboring town.

“State Street in Bristol, they do it nine times a year, where they shut down State Street and they do these wonderful street fairs,” Hoffman said. “I was like ‘Why can’t we do one?’ I can’t do nine. I don’t have the bandwidth and I don’t think the town does either, but we can do one. So I proposed the idea in the beginning of the year…”

The pitch was warmly received, although it was initially planned for Waseca Avenue.

“I’m going to credit (Barrington Town Manager) Phil Hervey, who said ‘What about Wood Avenue?’” Hoffman said. “It’s a much better location.”

The street fair will fill most of Wood Avenue, while the food trucks will be located in the Webster Bank parking lot. Arts Alive and Gypsy Caravan will perform near the intersection of Wood Avenue and Maple Avenue. 

“With the farmers market and street fair, the idea is to bring people into the community in the hopes that they’ll come back again. It was a hope for a trickle down effect of helping the businesses by helping the community first,” Hoffman said. 

The BBCA has organized farmers markets that are held the second Thursday of each month this summer at St. John’s Church — the next farmers market is this Thursday, July 14 from 4 to 7 p.m.

Hoffman said there is another reason the BBCA has been planning these new events: “The real impetus was that Covid had us isolated, or in our homes for two years. We lacked community as a result. We learned we’ve got to be outdoors. We need fresh air. These are all outdoor events, and that’s not an accident. It’s also about bringing a sense of community to a town that I think is wonderful, but hasn’t always had it.”

Sarah Huard is a BBCA board member and has helped organize these events. As a Realtor in town, Huard has seen many new families relocate to Barrington from other areas such as Boston and New York. She said those cities offer a lot of fun events.

“They have events and we didn’t have any,” she said. 

“We were like ‘What can we bite off our first year?’ Bryan’s thought was ‘Let’s try farmers markets.’ ‘Let’s try a block party,’” Huard said. 

Last month, the BBCA held its first farmers market at St. John’s Church and the event was warmly received. Approximately 150 people attended the event, which featured 20 vendors. This month, the BBCA farmers market will have more than 30 vendors. 

“I don’t know where I’m going to put them all,” Hoffman joked. 

And just a few days after the farmers market, the BBCA will offer its first-ever Barrington Street Fair. 

Huard said she has conducted more than two dozen interviews of local businesses and finds that most of them appreciate and need the support from the BBCA.

“The more events we create, the more we’re supporting the infrastructure … some of these businesses have been here 40-50 years. They’re eager for more activities,” she said.