Several area artists are busy hanging paintings and displaying their creations in pop-up shops along Simcoe Street today, which has been closed to vehicular traffic for the day.
The closure is a pilot project pitched by the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts and Cassie MacKell, owner of Low Down restaurant, and supported by the Town of Collingwood staff and council.
Simcoe Street is pedestrian-only from Hurontario to St. Paul Street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. If successful, it could be a regular Saturday occurrence for the summer.
MacKell said she's excited to see it happen, and looking forward to the day. She was setting up the Low Down patio this morning.
"There's a lot more participation than I was anticipating," she said.
She is setting up her pandemic-size patio today, which extends into some street parking spaces, but depending on the response to the street closure pilot, she may expand the patio further on Saturdays.
She's also hoping to see other food vendors on the street during the Saturday closures if they continue.
Though she originally pitched a multiple-day closure every week, she's glad it got reduced to Saturday-only.
"There are already people walking around for the farmers' market, and it's great to have further for them to go," said MacKell. "Whether you spend money or not, it's a nice way to spend an afternoon."
The idea behind closing the street to traffic is to also make more room for people to keep their distance while browsing.
For Pierre Marcoux and his artist wife Lee Anne Cohen (Mad Pots) space to feel safe and comfortable is an important factor.
Marcoux was on the street early this morning to take care of the pop-up shop while Cohen was throwing more pottery before joining him for the day.
"It's been tough to go shopping lately, you just go get what you need and get out fast," said Marcoux. "At least here you get a chance to browse ... and feel comfortable. And it's a nice day."
He thought a pedestrian-only street was a great idea not only for Collingwood but for most towns and cities.
"It's better interaction face-to-face," he said. "A lot of people would benefit from closing streets on weekends ... I think it would be a benefit not only for the artists, but it would bring an uptick in tourism."
Artist John Burton has a home studio and typically only shows his work at special events, most of them on Simcoe Street.
He's a competitor and past champion of the Art Crawl Battle of the Brushes, and also a regular participant in the Art and Music Festival put on by the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts.
Without physical events like those happening this year, he didn't have an opportunity to show and sell his work, so he was glad to set up today on Simcoe Street.
The Collingwood Farmers' Market is also on today until 1 p.m. at the Pine Street Parking lot of Second and Pine Streets. You will be required to wear a mask inside the farmers' market space.
Masks are not required when you walk outside on Simcoe Street, but they are encouraged where physical distancing is not possible.
Collingwood council has endorsed the one-day closure for a pilot project with the potential to implement the closures every Saturday for the summer if today is a success.
