There was something for everyone at the 61st annual Mini Mart, where thousands of attendees strolled through the streets of Sea Cliff and explored handmade goodies by over 200 vendors on Sunday, Oct. 5. The festival, which highlights local artists and designers, has become a hallmark of the North Shore.
“It’s a really cherished tradition,” said Roger Hill, president of the North Shore Kiwanis Club.
The event brings approximately 12,000 to Sea Cliff’s downtown each year. Families with small children explored children’s toys and clothing, while fashion and jewelry lovers had their pick of handmade statement pieces.
Perhaps no booth represented the all-inclusive offerings of the mini mart quite like that of two sisters – Lauren O’Leary and Kristy Solomon – with seemingly opposite tables: one full of bright, colorful baby clothes and the other decorated in edgy, black-and-silver accessories made of tires.
“I get the customer that comes to my table and says ‘so cute’ while my sister gets the customer that says ‘so cool,’” O’Leary said.
Both create each product by hand, they said.
“We both offer a completely different vibe from one another, while together we both offer a unique and completely handmade product,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary has been making baby clothes through her business Little House of Colors since 2010, while Solomon has been upcycling truck and bicycle parts into accessories through her business Rubberpieces since the ’90s.
Other fashion vendors included Glam Mom and Silk Road Spaceship, while jewelry offerings included Joede Designs, Aqua Brasil, East End Everlasting, K. DiResta Design and Beth Lerner Jewelry.
The Village of Sea Cliff started the festival in 1964, and the Kiwanis Club took it over in 1972. For the past 53 years, the Kiwanis Club has organized and operated the fair, raising funds for local charities.
Hill said partnering organizations, like NOSH Food Delivers, Lion’s Club and scouting troops, set up at the fair as well. Event Co-Director Lisa Larsen Hill, who is also Roger Hill’s wife, said “it’s a festival with a purpose.”
This is the final year Lisa Larsen Hill and Roger Hill will spearhead the event on their own, as younger Kiwanis Club members will be joining them in leading next year, they said. The year after that, the couple plans to let the younger members take the lead entirely.
“We certainly will be around next year, because you can’t do this with just dumping it on somebody,” Larsen Hill said. “But we know that they are going to take it to a whole other level.”
Another quirky booth selling at the Mini Mart was WinesGoneWhatNow, which turns old household objects like silver-plated teapots and cheese graters into art. Evelyn and Mike D’Achille, the founders and proprietors, said they’ve done well at the Mini Mart in years past.
“The weather is in our favor, but we usually do well here. I think that Sea Cliff is a very artistic town, and I think the people here get our art,” Evelyn D’Achille said.
Stacey Revesz, a Mini Mart attendee, said she was looking forward to the event since attending since her first time last year.
“I thought it was super fun, so I was looking forward to this year,” she said. “I marked it on my calendar and made a point to come today.”
Revesz said she enjoys the uniqueness of each table.
“My favorite booths are the handcrafted things that people sell, like the really unique ideas that I’ve never seen before. Like local, small businesses, family owned — I like that kind of stuff,” she said.
Because the event was all day, attendees entered and exited as they pleased.
“We got here around 9, so it was a little dead, which is kind of the way I like it,” Kyle Knoll, a Sea Cliff resident, said. “You know, right at the beginning, you get all the good deals.”
