Try a sample of treats at the Springtime Sweet Stroll
“In a nutshell,” Emma Stetson, the owner of Wine on Main in Concord, said, “there are five stores, all in a row on North Main Street, and during regular business hours on Saturday, each of us will have a local baker with a different treat that they’ve chosen. We’re calling it a Sweet Springtime Stroll.”
Stetson regularly partners with small baking businesses for wine tasting events, she said, and felt inspired to take that idea a little further.
“I have longstanding connections with a couple of bakers,” she said. “One woman named Katie Pope [of Confections by Kate NH] I’ve worked with for many years on cookies. Another woman, Ashley [Savoy] from Savvy Sweets and Treats, we work together on cupcakes and macaroons. There are so many talented local bakers who want to collaborate with us, it’s been hard to find space for everybody, because I already have existing connections and people that I work with for our regular in-store events. So I thought that if we were able to do a bigger event with multiple bakers and multiple stores involved, it would be a great way to showcase people I wouldn’t otherwise have kind of the space in the regular schedule to work with. I wanted everybody to be able to have a platform, so I figured this was a way for all of the people who were coming asking to work with us to have a day where everyone could feature their products.”
The concept of Sweet Springtime Stroll is fairly straightforward, Stetson said.
“Everybody buys a ticket ahead of time. It’s $25 per person. They check in here at Wine on Main and get a passport and a wristband. In their own time, throughout the day, and in any order they want, they can visit each store and each baker and show their wristband and passport and redeem a different sweet treat in each store. It’s all included in the ticket price. If they don’t eat all the various sweet treats — which will include macarons, cookies, cupcakes, and peanut butter cups — they’ll be able to take them home with them, with no additional purchase required. The $25 gets them a treat in each store. And additionally each store that’s hosting a baker will have special coupons and promotions that day for people who are participating.” Stetson will offer a discount on wine purchases, for instance.
Carol’s Confections (carolsconfections.com) will be the guest-bakery-in-residence at Wine on Main on Saturday.
“She’s going to have some really decadent cookies for people to collect,” Stetson said. “I love her chocolate cookies with a bold red wine, like a cabernet sauvignon.”
Ashley Savoy of Savvy Sweets and Treats will serve cookies and French macarons.
“I’ll be actually stationed with two businesses,” Savoy said. “And so I’ll have sourdough chocolate chip cookies and macarons. I haven’t decided which macaron to make yet. This is great exposure for all of the businesses that are going to be involved. Sometimes it can be hard as a cottage baker to get the word out to people about what you do, without a brick and mortar location. This is a way to connect with the community, and give people a little taste of what’s local and what’s around.”
Sweet Springtime Stroll
When: Saturday, May 23, between 1 and 4 p.m.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in person at Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828) or through the Wine on Main website at wineonmainnh.com/event/sweet-springtime-stroll. All proceeds will go to the bakers.
Featured photo: Ashley Savoy from Savvy Sweets and Treats. Courtesy photo.