There was a big party going on in downtown Aurora Friday night and Debby Nelson of Sugar Grove was happy to be there.
“We just wanted to see what’s going on in downtown Aurora. We grew up here and came back to see what’s happening,” Nelson said at the Aurora Downtown group’s Stolp Block Party held in conjunction with the organization’s monthly First Fridays event. “Some good music and some food would make for a perfect evening.”
The block party included special attractions such as live art and food trucks.
The downtown block party, officials said, was offered for a few years before the pandemic hit and was back this year following a scaled down back-to-school event held instead a year ago.
More than 30 downtown businesses participated in the events Friday evening along with Tapville Social which brought its mobile kiosk which was serving beer and wine.
Aurora Ald. Ron Woerman said he “was just excited to see everyone down here and the hustle bustle of what this downtown should be like.”
“I’m hoping this is going to continue and we’re going to continue to see the growth with all the development that is coming down here,” he said. “I think this is just the beginning of what we’re going to see here in downtown Aurora.”
Debby Nelson’s husband Ed said for him, “seeing people out – seeing people able to share their wares and some of their foods and venues” highlighted the evening.
He added that events like the one held Friday were good for the local economy.
“Just seeing people getting out and spending money and helping get us out of this recession is good,” he said. “This helps keep the downtown vibrant.”
“As far as the logistics of it – whatever works,” he said. “My wife loves the arts and crafts and I’m going to be following her around. Hopefully, I’m not going to need an extra set of hands to carry all the things she buys home. We enjoy getting out and it’s good to see people out here and enjoying what the downtown has to offer.”
Vendors were offering various products in the mall area downtown as part of the Community Advocacy Awareness Network’s Business Entrepreneur Unity Expo organized by Mary Fultz that ran along with First Fridays. Heather Tutwiler of Aurora was promoting her Scentsy business featuring perfumed products at the event.
“This is the first time I’ve come to First Fridays and I wanted to be here just to be a part of the community and share the things that Scentsy has to offer,” she said. “It’s good to see things and people coming out and interacting with the public and it feels good. This is about building relationships and meeting new people.”
Alexa Gomez of Montgomery was pushing a stroller and said she was just enjoying the evening by taking a walk through the party area downtown.
“I just want to take a walk and maybe have some ice cream,” Gomez said. “We might visit some of the vendors on the way back.”
Cam Cuttner of Oswego and his wife Victoria also came to check out the booths and food options and said “I think these events are good.”
“We just came here for something else and we just kind of saw all the booths and people and just walked over,” Cam Cuttner said.
Cuttner said for him, “there are no downsides to having local festivals.”
“There’s nothing wrong with these kinds of things – they’re good for everyone,” he said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
