MIDDLEBURY — The members of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church are, if anything, resilient. The railroad construction with its newly formed bridges seem to be swallowing their church from both sides of their street corner and now blasting of the railway foundation has started. Peasant Market, their annual community fundraiser, is coming up this Saturday, July 7, and the impact of the construction has increased with each year.
“We have adopted a proceed as if success is inevitable type of attitude” said Sandy Archibald, co-chair of Peasant Market 2018, “and so far it seems to be working.”
The loss of parking spaces for customers due to the construction is their biggest concern and that’s where Paul Vachon from Elderly Services in Middlebury stepped in. He is providing a free shuttle loop between the Mary Hogan School parking lot off Court Street and Peasant Market on the Middlebury town green. It is scheduled to run every half hour starting from the lot from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday.
“We are so grateful to Paul and Elderly Services for helping solve our parking problem,” Archibald said.
Losing the sidewalk near the front of the church has also had an impact. The spot where donations are normally dropped during the 2 weeks of collection is now part of the new bridge so the new drop off site is much smaller.
“It’s not ideal, but we are working with it,” says Archibald. “We have carts and a hand truck for the really heavy items.”
The new logistics of advertising Peasant Market has forced members of the publicity committee to be a bit more creative.
“We are hoping our bright yellow signs, the availability of a shuttle, our website and the addition of yard signs will help bring more people to the sale,” said Ryan Nevius, the publicity co-chair.
Construction has caused pedestrian traffic to be rerouted this year to the other side of the street so the handcrafted inlaid wood kayak for their raffle, along with their sandwich board with important information about donation collection and Peasant Market are no longer visible to people walking by. To remedy this situation, The Festival on-the-Green committee agreed to share their window display space at the National Bank of Middlebury on Main Street with Peasant Market during the weeks leading up to the sale.
Peasant Market is near and dear to the members of St. Stephen’s because it is the core of their community outreach program. In 2017, the net profit of Peasant Market funds provided $15,000 in grant money that went to support several local charities. They also serve a free Monday community lunch during the school year and a Rector’s Fund for those who are in need for emergency situations.
This year Peasant Market is set for Saturday, July 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It features booths full of books, furniture, fabric and linens, toys, flowers and garden items and clothing. There is a midway with games to entertain children while parents shop, a fresh squeezed lemonade stand and a lunch grill with sausages and the like with vegetarian friendly sides.
For more information and online raffle ticket sales, visit their website at ststephensmidd.org or call the church office at 388-7200 between 8:30 a.m. and noon, Monday through Friday.