StroudFest makes creative use of empty lot with 'Party Patch'
Locals and visitors alike bid farewell to summer at Saturday's StroudFest, taking in the best of food and entertainment that Stroudsburg Borough had to offer.
The weekend's festivities kicked off with a performance by local band Contact Collective on the festival's Main Stage. This year, that stage and most of the festival's activity were relocated to a new "Party Patch" at the corner of 8th and Main streets.
Traditionally centered around Stroudsburg's Courthouse Square, the move was in response to concerns regarding traffic to and from the Penn Stroud Hotel on North 7th and Main.
Local lore:Stroudsburg officials haunted by old jail, propose redevelopment plan
At a Borough Council meeting held in July, Penn Stroud Hotel owner Keyur Patel and his attorney Geoffrey Worthington advised council that the Borough needed to leave North 7th Street open for hotel customers to access the hotel's parking lot from both 7th and Monroe Street entrances during festivals and events.
Sherman Theater President and CEO Rich Berkowitz soon announced that the 16th StroudFest would relocate most activity to the corner of 8th and Main streets. Dein Properties donated space needed for the Main Stage and Food Court for the festival.
On Saturday morning however, Penn Stroud's parking lot was seen to be closed, and Courthouse Square, while typically bustling on any given weekend, was home to a handful of scattered vendors and festgoers. The Monroe Farmers Market, which traditionally sets up shop in Courthouse Square and other nearby thoroughfares on Saturdays, remained solely on Monroe Street.
Calls made to the Penn Stroud Hotel went unanswered as of Sunday afternoon.
Despite the relocation, festgoers were all smiles as they perused hundreds of vendor and informational booths along Main Street and at the new "Party Patch" space at 8th and Main. The space was once home to the Carlton House building, a former boarding house that was damaged by fire and later demolished in 2014.
This year's Main Stage was the focal point of the Party Patch, and was adorned with colorful banners and signs to celebrate the occasion. The air was alive with music at any corner of the Burg, with an acoustic stage on the 600 Block of Main Street and the Showcase Stage across from the Sherman Theater. Live music even delighted shoppers at the outdoor Artisans on Ann market hosted by the Potting Shed.
"StroudFest is always a success and thanks to the Sherman Theater, the vendors, the businesses and of course the people coming to StroudFest, it gets better every year." Stroudsburg Mayor Tarah Probst told the Pocono Record.
She said while Courthouse Square couldn't be utilized for StroudFest this year due to "unforseen circumstances," Probst was confident the borough would be able to make use of the square "next year."
"As Mayor of Stroudsburg Borough, I would like to send a 'thank you' to everyone who attended, our first responders that were there to secure our safety and again, a big thank you to all the participating sponsors and the Sherman Theater."
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Sherman Theater makes creative use of empty lot space for StroudFest
