Walkin’ on Wednesdays, other events launching

Main Street Amherst began rolling out new dates and staging events postponed due to coronavirus caution.

Although many events were postponed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Main Street Amherst has begun rolling out new dates and putting on events for late summer.

The organization will hold its first Walkin’ on Wednesday on July 8 in downtown Amherst, which previously was scheduled to begin in June.

The event will take place from 4 to 7:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of July, August and September and will feature a farmer’s market and car show.

“I think people are ready to get out and be about,” said Main Street Amherst Executive Director Teresa Gilles. “We ask everybody to be mindful and try to keep the distance between each other.

“If you feel comfortable wearing a mask, wear a mask. It’s totally up to you.”

The first event will feature 12 vendors, which includes local farmers who will bring locally grown food available for purchase, Gilles said.

Those vendors will be spread six feet apart, and will be sure to stay in contact with other potential vendors to give farmers another opportunity for income, she said.

Main Street Amherst is excited to resume putting on events, Gilles said.

“We’re really excited about that, to be able to go forward and hold those events,” she said.

Some event series, however, were not as lucky.

The Main Street Amherst board canceled all Amherst After Hours and the children’s Explorer’s Club for 2020.

Other events, like basket bingo and the Wine and Chocolate Walk, were rescheduled to the fall.

The tentative date for basket bingo is Sept. 27 and the Wine and Chocolate Walk is Oct. 18.

Once the time comes, Gilles said she will contact the businesses involved with the events to be sure they still are able to participate.

With 350 tickets already sold for the Wine and Chocolate Walk, she said it will be possible to limit the amount of attendees in a shop at any given time to try samples.

The event present an opportunity for customers to meet owners of stores and put a face to the merchandise, Gilles said.

“It’s a great way to get your name out there,” she said.