Brockport Merchants hosts annual
Sidewalk Sale and Street Fair July 8-10

Community groups showcased at Brockport's sidewalk sale
As part of the Downtown Brockport Sidewalk Sale and Street Fair, members of the Merchant's Association are offering a portion of the closed off Main Street area as a Community Showcase.

"The Community Showcase will highlight all of the wonderful things that go on behind the scenes in the community," Pat Kutz of Lift Bridge Books said. "We've been looking for a way to get local clubs and organizations to participate in the sidewalk sale but the fee for a booth has always been a stumbling block for the groups."

This year, Kutz said, those behind the scenes groups, clubs and not-for-profits can come down on Saturday, set up a booth free of charge, and spread the word about what their group does. "The sidewalk sale event is as much about the downtown merchants as it is a celebration of community," Kutz said.

Booths will be staffed by groups ranging from Boy and Girl Scouts to the Brockport Garden Club, food pantries, high school clubs and organizations and the Sweden Senior Center.

The downtown event kicks off Thursday, July 8 with a super bargain extravaganza. The Brockport High School Band will perform in the evening.

Friday is Cool Kids Day. A live band tops off the Friday events.

The Community Showcase is scheduled for Saturday. For information on the Community Showcase contact Kutz at Lift Bridge at 637-2260 or by e-mail: patkutz@liftrbridgebooks.com.

Vendors can contact Colleen's Café at 637-0490 for an application.

The annual Sidewalk Sale and Street Fair runs July 8 and 9 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, July 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Community Showcase booths will be set up on Saturday.

Cool Kids Block Party set
In the midst of the Brockport Sidewalk Sale Street Fair, the Cool Kids Block Party will be "the happening" place to be.

The block party, billed as the "coolest fun on the canal," includes a HydroBronc, funyaks, paddle wheels on the canal, a petting zoo and a tube toss. Museum madness events include a train display from the Medina Railroad Museum, sunprints from the George Eastman House and 19th century festival games with the Genesee Country Museum. Also this year will be an "instrument petting zoo" sponsored by the Rochester Philharmonic, a football toss with the Rochester Raptors, magic, karaoke, street chalk graffiti and much more.

The Cook Kids stage opens at 10:30 a.m. with a performance by Gary the Happy Pirate followed by the Magic Guy, a Black Lightning Wild West Show, wildlife encounters and a juggling festival.

During the course of the day's events participants in the Can-imals on Parade sculpture contest will be busy building their creations. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m.

The block party is scheduled for Friday, July 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. as part of the Brockport Sidewalk Sale which runs July 8, 9 and 10.

Can-imals on Parade! organizers gearing up for day-long event
The first year it was 2,400 cans, last year it was 7,000 and this year's goal is 10,000 cans raised for CAN-imals on Parade! a community fun and fundraising event scheduled to take place during Brockport's Sidewalk days.

CAN-imals on Parade! brings volunteers together in a community atmosphere of collecting 1,000 canned foods or non-perishable food items and building an animal-themed sculpture. Entrants can use any and all materials to construct their sculptures and are given a 10 foot by 20 foot area on Main Street in which to work their creativity. "The first year we did this we had a couple of contestants and it was awesome," Steve Appleton, Cool Kids director said. "I'm all about creative arts and community service and this event combines the best of both."

Last year more than 11 agencies in three counties benefited from the canned goods and non-perishable items raised during the CAN-imal event. Appleton said volunteers should check with the organization they wish to donate to and see what items are most needed by them. "Many of the pantries need diapers, ethnic foods or paper products and those are sometimes items that aren't thought of when donating," he said.

Prizes will be awarded in four categories: most cans; coolest sculpture (public votes on this one); Peace award; and Attitude of Gratitude Award. Appleton explained that the Peace Award will be based on collaborative efforts of various groups on one sculpture and the Attitude of Gratitude will go to the team that collects the items most needed by their donor organization.

The event is sponsored by the Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester and Wal-Mart of Rochester. Appleton said that prizes are coming in from Six Flags, Roseland, the Monroe and New York State Fairs, Seabreeze, museums in the Rochester area as well as tickets to sporting events. "This is truly becoming a community-wide event," he said.

CAN-imals on Parade! will take place Friday, July 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the Downtown Brockport Sidewalk Sale and Street Fair.