Nashua Summer Stroll offers food, music, dancing and more
Her official title is Communications and Events Specialist for the Mayor’s office, but one of Kathleen Palmer’s jobs is to plan very large parties. A case in point is this weekend’s Summer Stroll in downtown Nashua, which will take place along Main Street from 3 to 8 p.m. this Saturday, July 26.
“We’re very excited,” Palmer said, “to double the footprint of last year’s hugely successful event. This is the second time we’ve held this event. Last year, we thought it would be fun to create a warm-weather version of the popular Winter Stroll that is put on by Great American Downtown. So the City of Nashua Economic Development Division created this version. We weren’t sure how many people would come to a summer event, but we were very pleasantly surprised.” In fact, the attendance at last year’s event was estimated to be around 4,000 people.
This year’s Stroll will shut down much of downtown for a block party with games, prizes and live music, Palmer said.
“This will go from the intersection of Factory and Temple streets on Main, all the way down to Eldridge Street, which some locals will know as Bagel Alley. Last year we partnered with Positive Street Art to have a large local artists’ and makers’ area, where people could share their talents with the attendees. This year we have expanded to have other businesses and nonprofits attending as well.”
More than a dozen food vendors and food trucks are slated to be on site. As listed on the Summer Stroll Facebook page (search for “Nashua Summer Stroll” on Facebook), these will include: Pureni Tea (purenitea.com), The Frosty Pedal (a bicycle-powered ice cream vendor, thefrostypedal.com), The Donut Shack (specialists in apple cider doughnuts, facebook.com/thedonutshacknh), Berry Sweets (dealers in chocolate covered fruit, berrysweetsft.com), Soel Sistas (comfort food specialists, soelsistas.com), Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee (a full-service coffee shop on wheels, travelintomscoffee.com), Oh Sugar Shack (fresh-squeezed lemonade and walking snacks), Alltown Fresh (Upscale coffee and sandwiches, alltownfresh.com), Bubble Bee Milk Tea (Boba tea and dumplings – facebook.com/Bubblebeemilktea), Pete’s Push Carts, Hazy Ice Cream (facebook.com/hazyicecreamllc), Biria Gordita Tacos (@birriagorditatacos on instagram), and Holly’s Kona Ice (shaved ice treats, facebook.com/HollysKonaIce).
One of the biggest changes to this year’s Summer Stroll, Palmers said, is what will be available for children.
“We also very much underestimated how successful the Kids Zone would be last year,” she said. “We just had some fun things for kids to do on High Street, at the corner of Main, but it got so overwhelmingly busy that we have now moved it down to be closer to the Bagel Alley end of the event so we can have a much more expanded footprint. There will be a gaming van — that’s a 30-foot van [where] you can go into air-conditioned comfort and play some video games if you need a break. We’re also going to have police horses for the kids to meet this year, and the ActorSingers are going to put on a performance from their upcoming kids’ show. Positive Street Art is bringing back their inflatable Paint Splatter Tent, which will be down in the Kids Zone.”
One goal of the Summer Stroll, Palmer said, is to inspire neighborhoods throughout Nashua to host their own block parties.
“We really want neighborhoods to start doing kind of old-timey block parties together. “We’d really love it if some of the other neighborhoods in town would also start doing things like this. Just get to know your neighbors, get together.”
Nashua Summer Stroll
According to a press release from the Mayor’s Office, “nearly 80 vendor tents, many food trucks and treat purveyors, and activities will be set up on Main Street for attendees to walk around and enjoy starting at 3 p;m. Main Street will be closed to vehicular traffic at 1:30 p.m. … Main Street will reopen to traffic at 9 p.m.”
Live music starts at 3:30 p.m. on the main stage, which will be set up at the Pearl/Main intersection.
3:30-4:30 p.m.: The FAR gets the energy going with hot hits and pop favorites.
4:30-5 p.m.: Theo Martinez, HTM Dance, will give free dance lessons right in the street.
5-6 p.m.: El Grupo Chevere takes the stage – now you can use what you learned.
6:30-8 p.m.: 4 R Souls drives it home with expert precision covers of classic rock.
Positive Street Art will hold “The Official After-Party of the Nashua Summer Stroll” at Martha’s Exchange (185 Main St.), beginning right after the live outdoor music. Tickets available online at shorturl.at/R66gV.
Visit eventhub.net/events/Nashua-Summer-Stroll-2025_6345.
Featured photo: Courtesy photo.