We loved seeing the turnout for Foodie Friday and the Butler Moon Market last week.

Talk about a great way to kick off summer. There was food, shopping and even the weather cooperated, offering some sunshine for the occasion — even though the calendar won’t say it’s summertime until mid-June.

Butler Downtown hosted the first Foodie Friday of the summer at the parking lot on North Main Street. Food trucks and other food vendors lined the parking lot, offering a wide array of samplings.

Down the street, the first Butler Moon Market of the season kicked off, too. The craft and vendor show also offered an array of less edible, but still interesting items for people to check out.

And live music could be heard across downtown as hundreds of people gathered for the occasion.

It’s great to see the community come together for events like this.

Events like this one create a sense of community around downtown Butler, bring people to downtown and often introduce them to the businesses that line Main Street.

If people come for a Foodie Friday or the Butler Moon Market, they may return to visit one of the shops they walked by while there.

Further, after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s refreshing to see people come together for any occasion — especially within relative safety from the spread of COVID-19 by being outdoors.

The next Foodie Friday and Butler Moon Market take place on Friday, June 19. The events continue every third Friday of the month throughout the summer.

We hope to see you at the next one.

— TL