Tour 684 kicks off new venture
Tour 684 in Milton made its debut May 7 with the first of six monthly events over the summer and into the fall.
The event brought together Milton businesses hosting small vendors and artisans from around the Cape Region. The event helped shine a spotlight on businesses both inside and outside downtown Milton.
Among the businesses hosting booths were Brimming Horn Meadery, Dough Bar, Frantic Frets, Fuel Automotive, Irish Eyes, King’s Homemade Ice Cream, Lockwood, Ogre’s Grove, ProStitch Embroidery and Salon Milton.
Tour 684 was the brainchild of Mary Knight of Frantic Frets and Kristin Sinnott of Ogre’s Grove, who wanted a way to bring more attention and promotion to Milton businesses while also giving a platform to local farmers and vendors.
Knight said she was happy with the response to the first event, both in terms of visitors and in the number of vendors participating.
“We had about 30 applicants as vendors for this first event,” she said. “I think it's a great start to a new event.”
Knight said the weather was a bit iffy – much of the day was gray and overcast – but held up for the majority of the event.
“There’s always a little bit of nerves kicking in before a new event. I had a good idea on how we were going to set things up. Having our neighbors on both sides cooperate gave us so much land to work with,” she said.
Frantic Frets was one of the busiest spots at the event, with eight vendors on-site including Milton-based Totem Farms, and The Crafty Couple of Lewes, run by Brandon and Danielle Roach, who make home decor from whiskey barrels. Milton Garden Club was also represented, selling plants and accessories. There was live music by Sticky Notes and food available from the Broadkill Store on Tour truck.
While vendors did not have to pay to set up a booth, they were asked to provide an item of a minimum $10 value that would be given away at the end of the event.
As COVID-19 restrictions ease and more people get vaccinated, non-beach towns like Milton have become more of a destination, as people look to get away from beach crowds and traffic.
“We’ve already seen that, just in our businesses. In the last three weeks, we’ve seen an increase in foot traffic. Part of me didn’t want to promote this too much because I didn’t want 1,000 people showing up. We want it so that the vendors will have some success. We want to make up some of that ground we lost over the last year,” Knight said.
The next Tour 684 will be held from 3 to 7 p.m., Friday, June 4. For more information, visit Tour684.com.
