Families weather the heat at Marion Market Place block party

Anne Eisenmenger
Jul 7, 2013
The Toe Jam Puppet Band gets its young audience dancing -- even in the 90-degree heat! BY COLIN VEITCH
Sisters Tori and Meghan Tripp of Marion (left and right) and cousin Angela Desrochers of Acushnet get ready for another visit to the photo booth. BY ANNE EISENMENGER
Alijah Thorpe, 3, of Swansea pauses between testing out some toys at 5 Ducklings Consignment while his mom, Holly, does some shopping. BY ANNE EISENMENGER
A student from The Pound takes a break from demonstrating his martial arts skills to try his hand at Dash of Elegance's bean-bag toss. BY COLIN VEITCH
Brian Travis Jr., 9, of South Plymouth demonstrates martial arts skills learned at The Pound of Wareham. BY ANNE EISENMENGER
Danielle Carter of Dani's Heavenly Delights shows a visitor photos of her many culinary creations. BY ANNE EISENMENGER
And what's a family event without an inflatable dinosaur above a bounce house? BY ANNE EISENMENGER

Last year's "first annual" family block party at Marion Market Place was pretty much a grand opening event for the Adagio Arts & Wellness Center -- an eclectic mix of dance studio, arts center, and language school occupying a corner of the big office/store/apartment building at the intersection of Route 6 and Point Road.

What a difference a year makes!

With the Market Place now fully occupied, the July 7 Family Block Party was hosted by all seven business tenants, featured additional displays from 30 outside businesses, and had Fun 107 radio broadcasting live from the event.

By noon, Adagio owner Danielle Lopes estimated that at least 100 families had already visited, and parking had sprawled into adjacent lots. And that was before featured attraction Toe Jam Puppet Band took the stage at 1 p.m.

Students from The Pound martial arts studio in Wareham demonstrated their skills. Visiting kids (and adults) donned feather boas and over-sized glasses to have their pictures taken in a photo booth set up by Ensemble Events of Marion. Kids tried their hand at a dog-themed bean-bag toss hosed by the Dash of Elegance personal concierge -- and pet-sitting -- service. Purveyors of everything from face-painting to handbags displayed their wares, often with a bottle of water in one hand.

"I did the no-rain dance," joked Lopes. "I forgot the no-humidity dance."

Indeed, as many sweltered under the noonday sun, others sought air-conditioning (and cool drinks) in the Hangman Coffee Hut, air-conditioning (and children's consignment items) in 5 Ducklings Consignment, or air-conditioning (and Zumba) in Adagio.

But even the hot were smiling.

As Tori Tripp of Marion experimented with different boas, she explained that she and her sister and cousin were heading into the photo booth -- "again!"

Bill Heaney of New York Life, a Marion Market Place business, helped a steady stream of young visitors with fingerprinting as a child identification tool.

Nearby, Danielle Carter, owner of Dani's Heavenly Delights, sold elaborately decorated 4th of July and beach-theme cookies. The social-worker-by-day displayed thick volumes of her culinary work and spoke enthusiastically of baking "at night -- all night!"

 

 

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