The event is held every summer as an outdoor activity for local residents and families, but this year, as the festival coincided with Sophomore Parents Weekend, there were more people in Hanover to enjoy the festivities.
"I saw a lot of my friends out with their parents," Erin McDonald '08 said. "I think it was a great move on Hanover's part to have their StreetFest during parents weekend."
The concurrence of Parents Weekend and the street festival was entirely coincidental, according to Jim Rubens, chair of the Downtown Marketing Alliance.
"It was great to have the representation of the parents," Rubens said.
The event also included appearances by Bill Richardson, candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, and Miss Vermont.
Richardson, who allegedly holds the world record for the most hands shaken, added to his tally during the festival. According to New Hampshire's communications director for the Richardson campaign, Alex Goepfert, Richardson hopes to gain support through grassroots efforts like his attendance at the street festival.
"A lot of [Dartmouth] students were with Bill Richardson," Valerie Fleischer, a Hopkins Center employee, said.
The Hood Museum hosted a costume and Polaroid activity, and Hopkins center provided brochures and literature about upcoming events. They were the only two Dartmouth organizations to participate in the festival.
"It's mostly community members," Fleishcher said.
Students and families enjoyed the festival as an alternative to campus-organized events.
"It was definitely a much better family-friendly activity than some of the info sessions that were held for families this weekend," McDonald said.
Hanover businesses and organizations profited from the influx of visitors.
"For many parents from far away, this was sort of like a mini-vacation, so they were probably more likely to spend money at the little shops and restaurants in town," McDonald said.
Though the StreetFest aspires to attract artisans from all over, according to Rubens, the event primarily focused on food and retail stores in Hanover.
"We have a lot of different venues with different cultural foods," Rubens said.
Hanover retailers such as Juliana, Bella and Folk participated in the StreetFest as an opportunity to sell unwanted items from previous seasons at reduced prices.
"Where are the arts and crafts?" said one disgruntled visitor who brought her own lunch despite free food like chips and salsa provided by Margarita and french fries with aioli sauce from the Canoe Club.
While the event featured few artisans, individuals and families enjoyed the jubilant atmosphere and the live music, which ranged in genre from country rock to jazz funk.
"It's a festive family focus event," Rubens said, when describing the mission of the Downtown Marketing Alliances' to provide a "flair of family fun."
