downtown vendor fair
Downtown Tracy came alive Saturday, in the form of a new vendor fair
It’s not often that you can brush elbows with real life princesses — especially in downtown Tracy — but Saturday was an exciting exception.
In a scene that reminded longtime Tracy residents of the glory days when a large skunk would weave his way around tables full of clearance items during Stinker Day, hundreds of people flocked to 3rd St. to enjoy a Vendor Fair, that for at least one day brought vibrance and vitality to an otherwise quiet downtown.
“We don’t do anything downtown anymore,” said Lynn Manguson, one of the organizers of the event along with Sid Fultz, owner of Tattle Tales, a few buildings down from Manguson’s Vintage Vault Boutique & Spa shop. “People newer to Tracy don’t even know of Stinker Day — you have to explain it to them … it’s like Crazy Days.” About 20 vendors were on hand, as well as a number of food/drink trucks and even a couple face painters. The goal was simple: to energize our downtown.
“This is just to get people to downtown Tracy,” said Fultz. “It’s to get out and shop and support local. We’ll try to make this happen every year.”
Manguson said people started showing up on 3rd St. right at 8 a.m. and they kept coming.
“That was great,” she said. “Some of (vendors) were people we know; we found some on Facebook, asking other people. I’m really excited with how it turned out. We want to make it an annual thing.”
The timing — as well as Saturday’s weather — was perfect, as the event landed a few days before the Lyon County and Murray County fairs, which kicked off this week in Marshall and Slayton, respectively.
“That was one of our priorities when we picked the day,” said Manguson. “It just happened that we didn’t have anything else on this date.”
For the kids, the day was about fun. Little girls stood in awe of Elsa and Anna from “Frozen,” and Ariel from “The Little Mermaid.” The Disney trio — from Simply Ever After, a character company based out of Sioux Falls — turned heads the moment they turned the corner from Morgan St. to 3rd St. For business owners downtown, the day was about drawing people to a downtown that pales in comparison to the pre-Amazon halcyon days when Stinker Days was a popular annual event.
“We wanted people to come down and see that there are a few businesses downtown,” Manguson said. “Kind of let ‘em know what’s going on — just have something fun, something for people to do. Maybe somebody else will get the idea to buy a building and start a business!”
