Flurry of customers brings success to Chester’s first ‘Starry, Starry Night’ event

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It was a frigid Saturday evening — one that made holding a camera near impossible. But it was brightened by lights adorning trees, the gazebo and many of the shops on the Green in Chester. And that bone-freezing cold quickly dissipated from the warm and welcoming atmosphere inside the shops, which stayed open late on this “Starry, Starry Night,” greeting customers with warm hearts, a cheering drink and a bite to eat.

Iris Fischer-McMorrow of Fischer Arts, who helped organize the three-hour event with many of the other 23 participating business owners in town, said on Monday that “Starry, Starry Night” generated “a lot of excitement and a sense of community.”

She adds that, “We had so many out-of-town visitors, but the best thing is that so many people in the community came out. Community participation is what made our event so exciting.”

And despite the single-digit temperatures and gusty wind, she says, “People wanted to get out and be celebratory.” Fischer-McMorrow adds, “A number of the businesses I have heard from said they had phenomenal (customer) turnout … I’ve heard a lot of feed back from folks — businesses and customers — who would love to see this as an annual event.” So now, she says, “we need to assess and see what we can do better.”

All photos by Cynthia Prairie and Shawn Cunningham. Click any image to launch the gallery.