NEWBURYPORT — This Labor Day weekend, there will be vendors and entertainment in Market Square after all.
In February, the Chamber of Commerce announced it was canceling its annual Buskers Festival, which for nearly two decades had been one of the city's biggest draws, inviting a mix of street performers, from contortionists to jugglers to magicians, to set up downtown and entertain.
Chamber officials said they were eliminating the festival due to the fact that attendees weren't shopping or dining downtown, saying it would be better to focus instead of plans to bring new activities to the city.
But when Kathy Heywood learned of the news recently that the Buskers Festival was gone and there was nothing scheduled to replace it, she decided to change that.
Heywood gained permission from the City Council Monday to organize and hold a three-day festival over Labor Day weekend in Market Square from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 5 to Sept. 7.
"All entertainers will be performing music that is family friendly," Heywood wrote to the City Council and mayor last week.
Heywood said she will also reach out to local charities, allowing them to set up tables with informational materials about their groups or to sell food or other items for fundraising.
She will not charge those groups with any fees, Heywood told councilors.
"I am in no way trying to make money for myself in organizing this event," Heywood wrote. "I consider this to be public service, a way of giving back to my community and to help others in need."
Heywood, a Newburyport native, has been active in the city's Yankee Homecoming celebration, serving as its general chairwoman in 2004 and coordinating various activities for the celebration, including the fashion show, the kids day in the park and the waterfront concerts. She is active with the Lions Club and has served as its president.
Some councilors initially expressed hesitation at approving the festival on such short notice and wondered about the noise level of performers and if the Department of Public Services would have the staff to clean up after the festival.
At-large Councilor Donna Holaday said she has "tremendous respect" for Heywood but worried about the timing.
"We never receive anything in such a short time frame," she said.
Typically, councilors get a list of vendors and approvals from city boards and the police.
"We usually have a lot more information before us," she said.
At-large Councilor Tom Jones urged the council to support the measure based on Heywood's track record, while acknowledging that doing so is "a leap of faith," saying that he liked that the festival would bring together community service programs and clubs.
"I ask you to take a leap of faith on a local," he said. "Yankee Homecoming was once a leap of faith, too."
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