Fall is the harbinger of many fairs, festivals and craft fairs like this weekend’s 49th annual Mattoon Street Arts Festival featuring over 100 artists and crafters.
The free arts and crafts show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10-11.
Held in the city’s first historic district, on a street lined with restored brick Victorian row houses, the festival is the oldest arts and crafts show in Western Massachusetts.
“2019 was our biggest attendance in decades until COVID-19 hit. We are at capacity for vendors this year, so we are hoping for a good turnout. As usual we have somewhere between 20-25 new vendors,” said Bob McCarroll, a member of the Mattoon Street Historic Preservation Society, sponsors of the event.
Among the new vendors at this year’s festival will be Holyoke painter Kimberly Beauregard, who recently retired from teaching.
Beauregard, who works mostly in acrylics, has been painting since she was a child. She went on to attend Massachusetts College of Art and transferred to the University of Hartford to major in illustration and education.
“Until now I have only shared and given family and friends my art. But now that I am retired, I am doing more to promote my work and have been selling my fine art prints online and at shows,” Beauregard said.
The painter, who describes her style as realism, paints mostly American landscapes.
“I’ve been all over the United States and my paintings are based on photographs I have taken or sketches from downtown Holyoke to Colorado to Florida to Rhode Island to New Hampshire to Maine,” she said.
Dan Levine and Theresa Ryan believe that enjoying their favorite dessert, crème brulee, doesn’t have to wait until they visit a fine dining restaurant.
So, they set out to create their own line of crème brulee desserts in California called CremeBru.LA before locating to Amherst in late 2020. Until now they have been selling their tasty product in attractive glass jars at farmer’s markets and other venues in Easthampton, Amherst and Northampton, and saw Mattoon Street as a way to further expand their footprint into the Springfield area.
“It’s not easy, not something everyone can do, but we have worked out the process over the years. What differentiates us is that you wouldn’t go to an ice cream shop that only sells vanilla – we have some 30 flavors to offer,” Levine said.
As for torching them to get that nice crust, you better have your own torch at home, or they will torch them for you on the spot. However, the crust only lasts about 90 minutes before it liquifies unless you get it home to refrigerate or freeze for the future.
The event also features daily performances by strolling performers.
Food will be available for purchase from Nosh, Moe’s Dogs, Granny’s Baking Table, Soulao’d Kitchen, Joyful Ice, and Island Cow Ice Cream.
Mattoon Street is located off Chestnut Street, near the Springfield Museums. Free festival parking is available in the TD Bank lot on Dwight Street and Harrison Avenue. On-street spaces are free on weekends.
For more information, visit mattoonfestival.org.
Source: masslive.com
