By Kimberly Pistone
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SIDNEY – Summer is here and with it The Great Sidney Farmer’s Market returns. The farmer’s market will kick off on May 20 with the Downtown Sidney Spring Street Fair, bringing a variety of entertainment and vendors for a special opening day.

This year’s farmer’s market includes 42 vendors that will be there all season, along with other vendors that will come periodically throughout the summer. These booths include crafts- including candles, crochet and woodworking, fresh produce, baked goods and house plants. While there are many familiar vendors from past years, there are also some new ones, including Ma & Pa’s Sweet Shop LLC, a new Sidney food truck which sells candy. The Winery at Versailles and the Historic Sidney Theatre also will have booths each week.

The fresh produce and baked goods are always popular and often sell out quickly, so people interested in these items may want to show up at the square downtown as soon as the market opens at 8:00 a.m. all through the summer.

The street fair on May 20 is an extension of the farmer’s market and runs in conjunction with opening day. While the farmer’s market will close at noon, festivities on opening day continue longer. The street fair is sponsored by SeniorMark.

The street fair will include three food trucks- Kona Ice, Dave’s Tasty Dogs, and Eicher’s Subs on the Go. At the time of writing, there is one spot available for a fourth food truck and interested vendors can contact Sidney Alive.

There will also be a variety of free live entertainment.

At 9:30 a.m., Kayla Brulport, owner of Sunshine Feeling LLC, in Sidney, will be offering morning yoga. She will be doing a gentle flow class appropriate for all ages, abilities, and attention spans. There will be a few mats available, but she encourages anyone who has a mat and might want to use one to bring their own. Additionally, Brulport will have a box set up for a raffle for either 5 yoga classes or an EPT session, a $50 value. The winner will be selected at random the following day.

At 10:30 a.m., the eclectic duo Thick & Thin will be performing a mix of country and rock music spanning from the 1960s to present day.

There is a free United Way Kids Zone from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. More than 20 local organizations will be providing games and activities for kids during this time. Agape Distribution will be handing out thousands of toys to kids in attendance.

At 11:45 a.m., The Yellow Springs Ukulele Club will be showing their skills with their band 4 String Fun. The group always starts their set with “Hey Good Looking” because it is fast and peppy and helps get people in the right mood for their music. Chris Murphy, one of the band members, has been playing the ukulele for almost 10 years. Murphy said, “You can’t be grumpy and play the ukulele.” They play a variety of genres of music to appeal to different parts of the crowd.

At 1 p.m., Limited Time, a four member band, will be performing classic rock from the 1950s to the 1980s.

While the Downtown Sidney Spring Street Fair officially ends at 2 p.m., the festivities continue longer. The Egyptian Breeze Belly Dance Troup, also from Yellow Springs, will begin their performance at 2:15 p.m. Janet Mueller has been belly dancing for 25 years. She said her favorite thing about belly dance is how happy it makes everyone- both dancers and audience. They end their set with some audience participation, which kids are always brave enough to do, and sometimes they even convince their adults to join in. Mueller said, “We need fun in our lives. Let’s have sparkly things and dance together.”

The Great Sidney Farmer’s Market will be every Saturday from May 20- Oct. 14 from 8 a.m. to noon. The Downtown Sidney Spring Street Fair is May 20 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with entertainment ending at 3:15. Both events are at the square in downtown Sidney.