Smiles abound at Fairfield First Fridays

FAIRFIELD — Live music. Children running about. Smiling faces everywhere.

That was the scene in Fairfield’s Central Park Friday during Fairfield First Fridays, the first art walk held in-person for more than a year.

“Everybody seemed happy and glad to be back in Central Park,” said Fairfield First Fridays Executive Director Marla Brader. “It went really well.”

Friday’s event was designed to make the public feel comfortable about returning to in-person gatherings, which is why the number of arts and craft vendors was small, the children’s games were spaced out, and the two musical acts that evening were in two places, with the Roman Cadillacs performing in Central Park while Chris Heaton and Igor performed a block away outside the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

Brader said the evening was a good learning experience because she discovered that people are ready to return to normal. She said the board probably won’t continue with the experiment of having two bands in different locations.

“Most people seemed to feel comfortable congregating in Central Park, so we’ll probably have everything in Central Park for the July event,” Brader said.

Brader said she expects the July event to have more arts and crafts vendors. She said she did not reach out to invite many vendors to the June art walk because she wanted to see if the public was ready for a big crowd.

“When you restart an event that hasn’t happened in 1.5 years, you don’t know what the response will be,” she said. “We felt that by limiting the space taken up by tables and tents, we were allowing people to spread out in small groups without feeling congested.”

The July art walk will be Friday, July 2. It will feature a drawing for prizes for people who have turned in their punch cards for the Jefferson County Trails Council’s scavenger hunt. Participants can pick up scavenger hunt punch cards at The Ride: Bike Sales and Service (123 N. Court St.), trailhead kiosks, Fairfield Recreation Center, and Maharishi International University Recreation Center.

Completed punch cards should be returned to The Ride: Bike Sales and Service or mailed to the Jefferson County Trails Council (P.O. Box 2375 Fairfield, IA 52556).