No cancellations this year, says Sumner. Rhubarb Days, wine walk will just look different

Instead of cutting the cord on another year’s worth of popular community events including the annual Rhubarb Days, the city of Sumner has committed to refashioning them for the pandemic era.

“It’s things like community festivals that people are craving — that connectivity, that community cohesion that we’ve missed so much,” said Jill Starks, executive director of the Sumner Main Street Association.

First up: the annual mid-March Sip & Stroll, usually a structured one-day wine walk, has been rebranded as Shop, Snack & Stroll, running March 1-13. The drawn-out timeline allows families to support Main Street’s plentiful boutiques and restaurants safely and at their leisure, instead of packing everyone into a few blocks in a few hours, explained Starks.

Visitors can retrieve a passport card at any of the 19 participating businesses, to be stamped as they enjoy a pastry at Hometown Charm Cafe or find a spring bloom at VanLierop Garden Market, try a crepe at Craft 19 or check out Mini Oscar’s Annex, an offshoot of Dirty Oscar’s Annex in Tacoma that opened last summer.

You don’t have to purchase anything to get a stamp, said Starks, but it’s encouraged. No matter how many you collect, leave the card at any participating business for a chance to win a wine-themed gift basket.

“That’s as close as we’re gonna get to wine,” laughed Starks.

Since taking on the role last fall, she has overhauled event maps, conjuring clever ways to put on these beloved events with much smaller budgets.

A February initiative called the “Love Sumner Project” has reinforced the significance of these routine gatherings for residents and visitors alike, who have jotted down their favorite Sumner moments on paper hearts adorning the windows of local businesses.

“I raised my family here. I love the quaintness of our downtown. I love the music, these festivals,” recalled Starks of the many messages. “This is what’s so great about being part of a small community.”

After the experiment with the Shop, Snack & Stroll, she is finagling how to manage a craft beverage festival in June, potentially partnering directly with restaurants and inviting craft vendors to showcase their wares. In May, seven buildings will turn 100, and to celebrate the milestone, the association hopes to offer virtual and small-group tours.

As for Rhubarb Days, scheduled for July 23-25, the show will go on, no matter what it looks like. It might involve timed entry, for instance.

“Can I make this happen and still feel fun?” asked Starks, ”like it’s a festival — and we should be here?”

The most difficult part of planning, she said, is guessing what the guidelines might be months ahead of time.

In-person events, where organizers must keep a close eye on capacity counts while sanitizing the day away, will require volunteers, she added, and lots of them — but only if the community is equally ready.

“At the end of the day, I want to produce an event that this community loves and supports,” she said. “If they’re not ready volunteer-wise, then that’s fine. We’ll put it on the back burner for 2022.”

SUMNER SHOP, SNACK & STROLL

▪ Details: March 1-13, downtown Sumner; find a list of participating businesses and more info at sumnermainstreet.com/events/shop-snack-stroll

This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.