Street Fair returns to Arlington

The annual Arlington Street Fair returned to the downtown area this year with more than 150 vendors selling unique local goods and crafts.

This year’s fair was held from July 9 to 11.

“It is going great. There’s lots of people and everyone is really excited that we’re actually having it,” said Jeri Rugtvedt, organizer for the event and a local small-business owner.

The fair was canceled last year and organizers were happy to be able to put it on this year.

“All of us were really excited about being able to bring this back,” said Rugtvedt.

Visitors to the street fair also enjoyed the event being back.

“After having the pandemic with everything shut down, everyone is excited that there’s finally something that’s open,” said Rugtvedt. “They were really anxious to get out, so it’s going great."

Locals said they liked coming down to shop from the variety of vendors.

“We like seeing people and faces that we haven’t seen in quite a while because of the pandemic, and just all the little small businesses and mom and pop shops that we like to come and support,” said fair visitor Trina McLaughlin.

Local Andrea Kenna said she has come to the fair for many years.

“Every year they do such an amazing job and there are way bigger towns that don’t put on half as good a street fair. There’s so many local crafters and vendors. It’s incredible,” she said.

Kenna also enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere at the event.

“People are friendly and it’s great to talk to people,” she said.

There are a lot of nice people that come down to enjoy the fair every year, said Rugtvedt.

“I love being able to meet all the people and just make friends with all the people. There’s quite a few vendors that I’m friends with on Facebook now,” she said.

Bo Kontas, an artist and vendor at this year’s fair, said she enjoys the number of different vendors, from specialty food items to woodworking to local organizations.

“It’s wonderful. Such a variety of products and everybody seems so happy to be out,” she said.

Many people enjoy the variety of products that the fair brings to Arlington.

“They like that we have a wide variety of vendors and there’s something for everyone here,” said Rugtvedt.

This year included new features such a petting zoo, the only frozen yogurt food truck in the state and a Texas-style barbecue food vendor, which were all well received by visitors, said Rugtvedt.

The event is organized by the Downtown Arlington Business Association. More information about their events is available at arlingtonwa.org.