We have lived in the same town for about six years now, and every year we would not miss our favorite local event-the downtown Stroll, the local businesses provide free food and drinks, mostly residents of this small town hang out on the street for 2, 3 hours in the evening and enjoy live music.

This year my hubby came home a little bit early from work. We walked to the downtown. When we walked by a friend’s house, it occurred to me that he might not be aware of this event, so we stopped and knocked on his door, and he joined us. We first stopped at the grocery store, they had fresh bread and extra virgin olive oil for dipping, and delicious fresh watermelon juice and wine. Next door real estate office offered small ham and cheese sandwiches. Starbucks had small frothy mocha drinks and different kinds of cakes. The eyeglasses store had cheese and fruit platter and wine. Our favorite Thai restaurant had spicy beef curry, jasmine rice, papaya salad, and Thai iced tea. While I was eating Thai food, I saw my dear friend’s hubby walking with his kids, I asked him where my friend was, he said that she was home cooking dinner. Apparently they did not understand the tradition of the downtown Stroll here. He called her to quit cooking and came and enjoyed the festive event . We met a lot of neighbors and friends, Moms and Dads, it’s a lot of fun.

At the end of the Stroll, a lot of people were drawn to the Kids’ band, including little toddlers enjoying the music and dancing in front of the band. It was such a wonderful evening. It’s a small town, so we feel homey, seeing a lot of familiar faces. A lot of people were hanging out, yet it was not too crowded.

How about your town or city? Do you have such local event?