When Windsor opens up

By Ryan Percy

Pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders and pets took to the streets on Sunday to transform a stretch of Windsor into a festival for the third year in a row.

On Sept. 23 an eight kilometre stretch of road from Sandwich Town to Ford City was closed off, from Sandwich Street down University Avenue to Wyandotte Street and then down Drouillard Road. Vendors, artists, non-profit organizations and many other groups set up booths, food, stands and activities to engage with the community.

Bollywood music from a Zumba dance class filled the air in the downtown core while children learned to paint with algae at the University of Windsor’s new building at the Windsor Armouries.

Not just sellers were out on the streets. Members of the Windsor Express basketball team were cycling around to promote an active lifestyle under the Downtown Windsor Community Collective SPORT 4 ALL program. Children got their faces painted and people learned about the various free services provided by non-profit organizations in the city.

Tina Piper, 40, was taking part for the first time as a seller, sitting in a booth set up with Scentsy products with her 13-year-old daughter, Aime Hartley. Piper said for her first year she was amazed at how well she did, selling all of the products she brought.

“We sold about $500 and would have made more if I had more stock,” Piper said. “In addition to our sales we got a lot of party leads and quite a few orders.”

Wendy Irwin is a painter who uses teal paints to show her support for people with ovarian cancer. She said her paintings have previously been sold to help raise funds for her sister in the United States who has over US$100,000 in medical bills. While she did not sell any of her paintings at Open Streets she did sell a few of her bracelets on display and said she wished she had a chance to walk around more and see the other vendors.

“Lots of friends and family came by and some girls from my paint class as well,” said Irwin. “I will be more prepared [for next year’s Open Streets] to have more paintings done and some smaller pieces as well, I tend to go for the gusto on large paintings.”

Windsorites were not just the only ones to take to the streets. While Canadians from outside of Windsor attended, even United States citizens came to the event. Ann Longino, 54, and her husband Jim, 54, came from Chicago and said they had a wonderful time, enjoyed the waterfront and said Windsor pizza was good by Chicago standards.

“What I liked about [the downtown core] in particular is that it is very international, very safe and very welcoming,” Ann said. “There is a lot of interesting people to see and talk to.”

Along University Avenue a local runner in the municipal politics race was out selling his wares — spicy sauces, honey and oil. Ward 6 candidate, Jeff Denomme, 35, was on the street selling his own hot products under his Papa D’s brand. He said Open Streets was a chance for local artisans to exemplify what represents Windsor.

“Open Streets is a great idea, it’s something that happens around the world,” Denomme said. “I’m glad to see Windsor finally getting on board with it. It gets people out in their communities, being active and seeing new businesses.”

While not everyone who attended Open Streets left with more money in their wallet, most left with smiles on their faces.