York's Mother's Day street fair was canceled. But there's an alternative on Beaver Street

For almost thirty years, Alexandria Keener Hammond and her family attended the Olde York Street Fair, a Mother’s Day tradition in downtown York since 1975.

This free event took place in Continental Square and along Market Street, offering activities for children and featured hundreds of art, craft and food vendors, filling the streets with thousands.

“The street fair has always been a fun memory for me and something I’ve always enjoyed doing with my family,” she said.

In January, Keener found out the city would not be hosting several events for the rest of the year.

“When I saw that, I thought the likelihood of the street fair happening this year was slim to none.”

According to Mayor Michael Helfrich, York city does not produce its own events, and there is no formal event committee.

“We hire an organization to produce the events for the city," Helfrich said. There was a contract held with a previous special events producer which ended this year, and it was not renewed. The YorkFest arts event typically held in August has also been canceled this year.

Helfrich said the city recently received a proposal from a local organization interested in producing special events. While this organization hopes to host the street fair in the future, they did not have enough time to plan and host the event this year.

Due to COVID, the street fair had been canceled two years in a row, and Kreener said the presence of a large outdoor event like the street fair has been missed.

That’s when Keener took it upon herself to begin planning her own version of the outdoor gathering – The Mother’s Day Outdoor Market.

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Over the last several months, she reached out to 18 small businesses in York County who agreed to be vendors for the event.

“I wanted to pick vendors that moms and families would enjoy,” she said.

One vendor is Local Stems Flower Farm, a farm located in East York that will be offering homegrown tulips, daffodils and lilac bouquets for purchase.

"I'm excited to participate in the Mother's Day Market because flowers are such a traditional and iconic Mother's Day gift," said Cassie Frack, owner of Local Stems Flower Farm. "My hope is that they help make some very deserving moms smile and feel appreciated this year."

Joedian Douglas and Michael Fleming, owners of Liebe Krafted Designs, will also be in attendance, selling handmade candles.

"York is our home, so doing an event here is always a good thing. Bonus is that we have worked with Alex before," Douglas said.

Rob Thomas, who will be taking over Molly's Courtyard Café in June, is setting up a coffee stand at the event, promoting his new shop downtown: Harmony Café.

Other vendors include Bricker's French Fries, a "mom and me" photography station, local dog rescue, and more.

"There will be something for everybody – I just want people to come downtown and have a really great family experience," Kreener said.

The Mother’s Day Outdoor Market will be held on Sunday, May 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will take place on North Beaver Street, between West Philadelphia Street and West Market Street, stretching from White Rose Bar and Grill to Holy Hound Taproom.

Lena Tzivekis is a reporter for the Hanover Evening Sun/York Daily Record. Email her at etzivekis@gannett.com, or message her on Twitter at @tzivekis, and say hi, or let her know where to get the best cup of coffee!

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: York's Mother's Day street fair was canceled. But there's an alternative