'A total homecoming': Sip and Stroll Harbor Fest comes to Wareham

On a drizzly Saturday late afternoon, Besse Park and Warren's Harborview on Main Street were filled with the sounds of chatter and the smell of fried dough as thousands of people attended Sip and Stroll Harbor Fest on Saturday, June 27. 

Shortly before the first hour, organizers said that 3,000 people had already strolled through the Sip and Stroll grounds. According to organizer Lorna Brunelle, Sip and Stroll has a set of devoted fans who routinely attend the different iterations of the festival across Southeast Massachusetts. And they're committed. 

"If Mother Nature throws a couple of drops on us today, no one's leaving, they're going to take cover, because they're pretty serious about shopping," Brunelle said at the beginning of the festival. 

They did just that. About 45 minutes into the festival, rain started to drizzle down on the colorful tents decorating the park. Some attendees took shelter under trees, but the festival remained packed with people. 

"I just feel really lucky and grateful," Brunelle said. 

Brunelle said that some of the "diehard" Sip and Stroll fans follow certain vendors who routinely come to her strolls, like Wareham's Christina Tomkiewicz who runs Cloverdilly Candle Company. 

Tomkiewicz's company makes soy wax candles and has been a regular vendor with Sip and Stroll since 2019. Tomkiewicz said it was "really neat" that people continue to support her business. 

"I feel lucky," she said. 

Filled with vendors from across Southeast Massachusetts, many from Wareham, Brunelle pointed out her own roots in town. 

"It's a total homecoming, honest to goodness," Brunelle said. She pointed out a house that her sister's grandparents used to live in nearby.

"We used to come down here after dinner and watch all the people fishing and crabbing as kids," Brunelle said. "So to me in the exact park that we'd walk to after dinner and now have this festival where we're bringing together thousands of people in the celebration of community, seeing the beauty of Wareham, like that's not lost on me. It's such a privilege."

Brunelle grew up in Wareham and attended Wareham Public Schools as a child. Her father, Danny Warren, owns the Wareham-based Warren's Harborview restaurant on Main Street. Her brother, Phil Warren, owns RWND Restaurant & Arcade, also on Main Street. 

"I think sometimes people overlook the beauty of Wareham and they jump right over the bridge," Brunelle said. "It's like, look what you're leaving behind when you cross the bridge."

Brunelle said that Wareham is rich in diversity, food and geography. Most of all, Brunelle noted the community aspect of the town.

"The way that they come together to support people is pretty darn amazing," she said. Brunelle added that by bringing Sip and Stroll to town, people are reconnected to the Wareham beauty that they saw in their childhood, like she did when she was younger. 

Attendees of all ages walked the grounds of Sip and Stroll Harbor Fest. Like Brunelle did when she was younger, four-year old Colby Skellett came to the Besse Park grounds with his family. He got a Super Mario plush from crochet artists Designs for Lilly.  

"It's good," he said about the festival.