2019 Sidewalk Days Wrap-Up
My history with Downtown Duluth Sidewalk Days goes way back. When I was a just a kid, I saved my allowance for weeks, took the bus downtown, and bought Christmas presents for family members during this annual event. Fast forward to 2019 and my relationship with this event forever changed: this marks the year I became a vendor participant.
It was exciting! The first day didn’t exactly go as planned. When I arrived, cars were parked where I was supposed to set up. (They eventually moved.) Then, the canopy tent I bought said it stood six feet high at the awning – but when I started to set it up, I discovered that the awning didn’t even reach my nose. It wasn’t even six feet high at the center! (I know, I should have tried it out at home first. But, priorities.) So, I took a few deep breaths, centered myself, and made due. (Zen plus sisu – watch out world!) That night, I combined a quick Pintrest search, a garage raid (my own), plus some mad skills and had the problem MacGyvered by the next morning.
Thursday and Friday were much hotter – and sunnier – so I was very happy to have figured out the canopy situation. Neighbors on both sides were seasoned pros and very welcoming. I learned a lot just by watching them.
By the end of day three, I had a very small patch of sunburned skin near my right eye. It stung very badly, like a bee sting. I did some Spring Forest Qigong energy healing on it and within a couple hours the pain was completely gone. By morning, so was the redness. Spring Forest Qigong is very healing.
Over the course of the three-day event, six different people stopped by, pointed to my “free chair massage” sign, and said they wanted to see me massage a chair! 74 people stopped by to experience qi~ssage, a Spring Forest Qigong modality which combines key qi (accupressure) points with massage. Many more stopped by to chat and register for the daily and grand prize drawings. All in all, it was a great deal of fun. Hope to see you there next year!
Congratulations to the winners of the daily drawings and grand prize:
Winners of the daily drawings for 15 minute qi~ssage sessions: Amber S., Denise E., and Natalie H.
Winner of the grand prize drawing for a 60 minute MFR or massage session: Andie Z.
Special thanks to the staff of the Greater Downtown Council, the hardworking Clean & Safe team, the Duluth Police Department, the other vendors, and everyone else whose contributions made this such a great event.
