The Spring and Summer bring many community events to the Church Street Marketplace, such as this weekend’s First Annual Champ on Church Street Fun Run!

Registration commences at  7:45am, followed by a welcome and warm-up with Champ. The run starts at 8:30am and is a half mile course that goes up Church Street to Pearl Street and back down Church Street to Main Street, suited for kids age four to thirteen.

After the run, kids can head to Healthy Kids Day at the Greater Burlington YMCA from 10-3 p.m. Look for free goody bags and featured activities such as bicycle-powered fruit smoothies, make and eat sculptures, live music and traveling magic show, health screenings, car seat checks, bounce house, free swim and family gym and many community information booths stationed throughout the lobby.

In addition to kid activities in the downtown, a walk to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis (MS) will take place in Burlington, starting at Burlington High School on North Avenue. Walkers plan on hitting the bricks at approximately 10:30am. If you happen to find yourself in one of our many outdoor cafes on Saturday (weather permitting) you’ll know what is going on!

The primary goal of Walk MS is to raise funds that will support education, advocacy, services, and research  for individuals with MS and their families. All participants are required to raise $25, and be at least 12 years of age. For more information in regards to the Walk MS, visit here.

Next weekend brings plenty of fun activities and community events to downtown Burlington as well as statewide.  Green Up Vermont Day, an annual state-wide clean up day in Vermont is on Saturday, May 5th, 2012. Check out their website to see how you can get involved and stay tuned for the scoop on the Marketplace! 

Our construction contractor – Wright & Morrissey – will begin work on the top block much sooner than we had anticipated. Starting Tuesday, April 17, Wright & Morrissey will be on the top block staging equipment and preparing for construction. On Wednesday, April 18, Wright & Morrissey will begin excavating a trench in the center of Church Street on the top block. For the next few weeks, they will lay conduit in the trench on the top block, then they will cover up the trench and rebrick the surface. Currently, they are in the midst of recalculating the construction schedule for the other three remaining blocks. We’ll get that information out to you as soon as we receive it, and will update out website accordingly.

Buskers on the Marketplace, a sign of the Summer months to come!

This year, however, we still see remnants of Winter during our transition period into Summer. This is mostly due to the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship happening at Gutterson Fieldhouse and Cairns Arena in Burlington, VT Saturday, April 7th-Saturday, April 14th. The event will draw a number of sport enthusiasts and tourist to Burlington to support the U.S. Team as well as other international teams representing: Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Switzerland and Germany.

Women's USA Hockey Team

The opening round Group A game is at 7pm between the U.S. and Canada, the gold medal game is scheduled for April 14 at Gutterson Fieldhouse. For a tournament schedule visit here For tickets visit here and support our red, white and blue!

The recycling cans are on the way to Finish Solutions.

We are continuing our recycling program thanks to Casella Waste Management! The cans are currently undergoing a makeover so that it is easier to differentiate between the recycling cans and regular waste cans! The process includes removing old coatings and corrosion through abrasive blasting. The cans’ surface will then be prepared for a powder coat refinish by ‘baking’ the cans and washing them with an iron phosphate to provide proper adhesion and corrosion protection in the future. Do you recycle at home? Look for blue recycling bins in the next few weeks on the Church Street Marketplace. Thanks to Finish Solutions in St. Albans, VT for helping us with this project.

Led by S.D Ireland’s pink mixer, the parade will ride up Church Street shortly after 12PM, turn left on Cherry Street, left on Battery Street, left on Main Street and continue to Williston Road before heading back to the S.D Ireland plant on Grove Street.

After the Parade, the McFadden Academy of Irish Dance will perform in front of City Hall at 12:30pm.

“Burlington Bears Its Art” is a mix of community, art and business, a 24/7, non weather dependent event spanning from May 2012 to September 2012.

“Burlington Bears Its Art” will increase tourism in the Burlington area, generate revenue for area businesses,create an art walk on the Marketplace and also provide recognition to Burlington and Vermont artists.

Fiberglass bears arrive as “blank canvases”  and are then sent to local artists to be decorated. Businesses can sponsor a bear for $2500 with a contracted artist or  or for $1500 without an artist. Bears will then be displayed prominently in our downtown and the region. At the end of September, the bears will be put up for auction and partial proceeds will benefit COTS.

To sponsor a bear, contact Matt McMahon at the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce at 802-863-3489 x 208 or matt@vermont.org.

First Run, a Burlington New Year’s Day tradition follows First Night Burlington’s celebration. Create a costume, then bring the kids, the stroller, even the family dog, and run or walk the 5K course through downtown. Kids’ Fun Run starts at 10:30 a.m., then a 5K at 11:00 am. Find out more at  www.runvermont.org.

February brings us the Burlington Winter Festival in conjunction with the Penguin Plunge, more details will be posted soon, so make sure to visit our website or send Adna (akarabegovic@ci.burlington.vt.us)  your ideas for the Burlington Winter Festival.

Can’t quite find enough time to do your Holiday Shopping? We’ve got you covered!

Church Street Retailers:  Apple Mountain, Banana Republic, Ecco, Eddie Bauer, Expressions, Hatley, Homeport, Kiss the Cook, Monelle, Outdoor Gear Exchange, Sweet Lady Jane, Tradewinds, Whim and many more are staying open until 10pm on Saturday, December 17th, one week before Santa arrives to give you some extra shopping hours!

Burlington Town Center will also be open until 10pm on Saturday, December 17th!

Church Street shops have an array of great deals for the holidays and the Marketplace continues to have events and activities.  During the weekends we offer Miniature Horse and Buggy Rides on the Top Block from 11am-3pm gratefully provided to us by FairPoint Communications, the sponsor of the Holidays on the Marketplace.

Have you done your Holiday Shopping yet? Church Street Marketplace stores: Apple Mountain, Banana Republic, Ecco, Eddie Bauer, Expressions, Hatley, Homeport, Kiss the Cook, Monelle, Outdoor Gear Exchange, Stella, Sox Market, Sweet Lady Jane, Tradewinds, Whim, Zinnia and many more are staying open until 10pm to give you extra time for shopping, on Saturday, December 17th!

Trouble parking? Valet your car! Valet service is run by Green Mountain Services on Fridays and Saturday from NOON-10pm through December 24th. On December 24th, valet parking will take place only until 6pm.

Happy Holidays to all!