The first Silly Sunday of this summer brought out dozens of local artists, merchants and food and drink vendors.
At a tent near the Heber Avenue intersection, Mecia Emery displayed colorful dog collars that she made by hand at home in Park City. She hoped to sell 50 to 60 of them.
Her business is called Luni & Roo, named after her two dogs. Most of her sales happen online, but she said setting up in person at the Silly Market is a great opportunity.
“It's honestly the best marketing for us,” Emery said. “We get a lot of exposure, and it's super fun just being out and meeting all these new faces and everyone's dogs, and business-wise, we tend to do pretty well, every Sunday.”
Last year, Luni & Roo only had a booth at the market a couple of times, but Emery said she signed up for a tent every Sunday this summer.
It was the very first Silly Market appearance for Heber City photographer Johnny Adolphson, but he was also at Art Around the Square in Midway a week prior.
He didn’t know exactly how many prints he wanted to sell but said he also planned to come back every Sunday this summer.
“For me, selling out of the tent is huge,” Adolphson said. “It's one thing for people to see my art on either their phone or on the internet. But it's another thing to come out and see the real prints and the large acrylics and the large metal prints and the art speaks for itself when you see the big pieces in person.”
Adolphson said he’ll be at Art Around the Square on July 4 and 24 and Midway Swiss Days in late summer.
Alex and Amanda Boyd from Murray said they were looking for a toy-maker whose tent they’ve visited for years, ever since the artist was 10 years old. After attending a wedding the night before, they wanted to spend a relaxing day in Old Town and support the local economy.
“We'll probably spend like two or three hours, hang out and get a coffee and walk around,” Alex Boyd said. “I think we like to make sure the local economy is really strong. It's a cool part about Utah, and the outdoor community here.”
Silly Sunday, on lower Main Street, runs Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except August 7, 14 and 21. The last day is September 25.
