Shakespeare Market debuts Sunday on former theater property
STRATFORD — A twice-monthly outdoor market will debut this Sunday on the property where a fire destroyed the American Festival Shakespeare Theater two years ago.
At community forums to brainstorm what to do with the property after the theater burned down, residents suggested one short-term use repeatedly.
“During those forums, over and over again the idea of having an outdoor market came up,” Tom Dillon, who served on the
task force that organized the meetings, said. “It was suggested by many people and it really just came out of our community.”
Last year, Dillon said he started going to other outdoor markets and talking to vendors.
One, Dave Finn of Barkhamsted-based Eagle Wood Farms, noted that many were committed to markets throughout summer — but had nowhere to go in the winter.
“He said ‘Why not set up a winter market?’ ” Dillon recalled. “It seemed like it was worth a try.”
The effort has already paid off.
About 20 vendors will be at the market this Sunday, he said.
More than 70 have already reached out asking to participate in the future.
“We’re working very hard trying to figure out how to be fair to everybody,” Dillon said.
The market is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the property, 1850 Elm St. The event will also feature live music from Rick Reyes.
COVID-19 safety and social distancing will be a priority, Dillon said.
The property’s 14 acres allow for plenty of spacing — and room for more vendors if the pandemic becomes less severe.
The markets are scheduled for the first and third Sundays of the month through April 18, but judging from the interest received so far, they could become a regular fixture as the property’s long-term future is debated.
“I think there’s legs to continue this all year round,” Dillon said.
“There’s been a huge, huge swelling of support.”
Mayor Laura Hoydick called the outdoor market an “exciting new venture” at this month’s Town Council meeting, during which she also gave a brief update about the future of the property.
The initial task force formed by the town after the fire wrapped up the community forums in 2019.
The most frequent answers for long-term use were a multipurpose facility, a theater and open space/recreation.
A three-day arts and culture festival themed “Arts from the Ashes” was held on the property eight months after the fire.
Since then, the town formed another subcommitee to look at possible uses of the land — within the deed restrictions imposed when the property was transferred to the town by the state in 2005.
Among the restrictions in the deed: 20 percent must remain open space and “the entire property shall remain accessible to the general public for their enjoyment in perpetuity.”
The deed also says the town must “make reasonable efforts to utilize the premises for public entertainment purposes, including, but not limited to, continuing its historic use for theater purposes.”
Last year, a group of theater and business professionals announced a plan to put a re-creation of Shakespeare’s Globe theater on the property.
Separately, the subcommittee formed by the town presented findings to the Redevelopment Agency last month. The agency is expected to discuss the property again this month, Hoydick told the Town Council.