Residents browsed art, fundraising sales and storefronts last weekend as part of Wander Through Wilton on Main Street and Howard Street. STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI—

Residents browsed art, fundraising sales and storefronts last weekend as part of Wander Through Wilton on Main Street and Howard Street. STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI—

Erin Cunningham with candles from her business, Mugxury Candles STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI—

Sarah Severance buys a tray full of plants from Wyatt MacFadzen, 9, of Lyndeborough, at the LCS/FRES PTO Plant Sale at the Main Street Park in Wilton during last weekend’s Wander Through Wilton event. STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI—

Wilton residents explored storefronts, the Riverview Artists Mill and the first outdoor arts market last weekend as part of the Wander Through Wilton downtown event.

Wander Through Wilton is a semi-regular event where stores downtown offer special deals, along with live performances in the park or other events. Last weekend’s event included a raffle of a basket of locally made goods for those who collected stamps from various locations on their “Wander Pass.” Just in time for Mother’s Day, a local Boy Scout troop was selling potted flowers, as were the Lyndeborough Central School/Florence Rideout Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization.

Megan Nantel, PTO secretary, was in the Main Street Park on Saturday assisting with the plant sale as well as a preview of the Scholastic Book Fair.

“We’re just trying to sell out,” said Nantel with a laugh.

The plant sale goes to support PTO events for the children at the grade school, such as regular skate nights in the FRES gymnasium. The plant sale was supported with donations from Fox Den Farms, Achille Agway, House by the Side of the Road, Brookdale Fruit Farm and seedlings donated by community members.

In addition to the plant sale, there was also a selection of children’s books from the Scholastic Book Fair for sale. The fair in the FRES gymansium through May 15, and in-person and online shopping are available. Orders can be made online at scholastic.com/bf/springfreslcs. For in-person shopping hours, visit the LCS/FRES PTO Facebook page.

At the Wilton Riverview Artists’ Mill, artists had their studios open and art for sale – some for a good cause. Through a fundraiser event, “We Art Ukraine,” wanderers who bought fine art had half of the cost of the sale go to support international nonprofit charities supporting the Ukraine relief effort.

The outdoor Wilton Arts Market is expected to be a new monthly market set up outside the Riverview Artists Mill on Howard Street. Nanette Perrotte, a vendor at the market offering bath products, said she intends to be a regular at the market, noting that a lot of work has been done by the town to revive Main Street in Wilton. Currently, all the storefronts in the downtown have been filled, some since mid-pandemic.

“What’s exciting is being here at the onset of the rebirth,” said Perrotte. “I’m definitely going to come back and support that effort.”

Small markets like the Wilton Arts Market are bread and butter for some vendors, such as Cindy Collard, who owns Quarter Moon Farm in Hancock, which grows certified organic garlic and makes a variety of garlic products. Collard said she had been building up the business pre-COVID, but it became her full-time job mid-pandemic, when her office shut down. Though she offers her products in some local stores, about 75 percent of her sales comes from farmers’ markets and arts markets like Wilton’s.

“Once you go once, you come back and people remember your name,” Collard said.

Business has also become increasingly part of the household income since the pandemic for Erin Cunningham and Corey McNabb, a couple who make candles, each under their own label. Cunningham owns Mugxury Candles, homemade candles without paraffin that are made with soy wax and housed in ceramic mugs that are usable after the candle has melted. Cunningham customizes each candle with creative touches to indicate its scent or as a creative touch.

“We started making candles last year as a pandemic hobby, and it’s taken off,” Cunningham said. “I was burning so many candles during the pandemic, I got interested in it.”

Cunningham, a big proponent of thrift stores and upcycling, said all those candles she was burning left her with a lot of useless glass jars and other candle-holders, and it made her think of creating a candle with a container that would have a use after the candle was gone. The soy wax she uses is easy to clean out and leaves the mug safe for regular use afterwards.

“People seem to like it, and it’s a nice, sustainable, practical gift,” Cunningham said.

Last year, starting on Labor Day, Cunningham was able to sell more than 450 of her candles. And for McNabb, who makes his own candles under the brand Dragon’s Den Candles, it has become nearly a full-time occupation. While both Dragon’s Den Candles and Mugxury have Etsy stores, Cunningham said they do especially well when shoppers can put their hands on them.

“When you can hold them, smell them, people appreciate the artistry more,” Cunningham said. “That’s not something you can get from looking at a picture online. Having events like this, that are geared towards art specifically, where people come with that appreciation, helps a lot.”

Deb Mills, an energy medicine practitioner with offices in Peterborough, was offering Reiki sessions at the market. She said the market was a chance for her to reach a new circle of potential customers who are still in her area.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

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