Is it egg rolls you seek? Or flavored marshmallows? Whatever you crave, you can find it among the food vendors at Thursday’s Downtown, a weekly outdoor festival held downtown.
Two stages flank the event, and dozens of food vendors line the street. You’ll also find a ton of artisan wares here, ranging from jewelry to wooden toys and goat milk soap.
Deanna King of DK Wood Toys and 269 Design, of Sparta, Wisconsin, loves selling at Thursday’s Downtown, saying she’s been a vendor there for the past eight years.
“We have a good show here,” she said.
She sells handmade wooden toys, including trains, boats, and trucks as part of DK Wood Toys and then sells personalized items by way of spoons, cutting boards and mugs, and cups.
Down the block from King is Morgahn Mulholland, who operates under the business name of Morgs Mallows Based in Winona, she’s a second-generation Thursday’s vendor, taking over from her mom the recipes for flavored marshmallows and being so popular she’s sold out of all of her marshmallow snacks two weeks running at Thursday’s Downtown.
Mulholland has 27 flavors of marshmallows and is in her first year at Thursdays.
Twenty years ago, at age 4, Mulholland followed around her mom at Thursday’s Downtown, who at that time had nine flavors of marshmallows. The best-seller now is S’mores.
“You’ve got a campfire right at home,” Mulholland said of the tasty treat.
Charlene Vantassel lives in Arizona but summers in Minnesota, and enjoys selling her handmade jewelry at Thursday’s Downtown. Her business is This n That Gypsies.
She sells bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, among other pieces.
“It’s my first year here and I love it,” Vantassel said. “You get to meet people from all over the world. I have very good sales, and am very happy here.”
Just a ways away from This n That Gypsies is Simple Soaps For Simple Folks, which is a goat milk soap business hailing from local burb Byron, Minnesota.
Owner Shanna McCann might be the elder here at Thursday’s, having been a vendor here for 13 years. She said Mayo Clinic patients like finding small, easy items like soap to bring home, which helps her business.
McCann has 45 types of soap, along with soap savers, lip balms and solid hand lotions.
During her years selling at Thursday’s, McCann has noticed the street fair change over from a primarily artisan marketplace to a music- and food-focused venue. But artisan vendors still do well here.
“The event has shifted,” she said. “Now there’s more focus on food vendors and music, whereas before it was primarily based on quality artisan vendors. But I love being here.”
Thursday’s Downtown runs from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. each Thursday during the summer. But be aware, there are only two Thursday’s Downtown left this season, as it winds down mid August.
