Paula Routly: Support Burlington on an Evening Passeggiata

Lisa DeNatale on the Church Street Marketplace Credit: Paula Routly ©️ Seven Days

Americans love a marathon — a test of will, endurance and aerobic fitness. More than 5,000 ran in the Burlington one on Sunday, including a relay team of five fearless Seven Dayzers. Thousands more cheered them on, bearing witness to the collective effort.

It was a lot sweatier than the passeggiata four days earlier on Church Street — an evening stroll modeled after a ritual practiced in Italy, Spain and Latin America. In Spanish, it’s called a paseo.

The daily tradition involves rounding up the family and walking — slowly, with no particular goal — through an urban core while making frequent stops to shop, sit for a drink or catch up with friends. Burlington’s version is championed by the Vermont Italian Cultural Association, and I joined president Lisa DeNatale for last Wednesday’s inaugural walk. Even once a week, DeNatale believes it’s good for the hood.

“Now more than ever, we need to support Burlington,” she wrote in an email explaining the concept to friends, fellow Queen City residents and VICA members. Included was a list of “simple instructions about a passeggiata,” such as “There is no destination” and “In Italy, people often walk up and down the street multiple times.” (See below for more.)

I met DeNatale at 5 p.m. in front of Burlington City Hall, which offered a clear view of the Main Street construction site wrapped around Honey Road restaurant. We were joined by Lisa Schamberg and Pat Robins, who remember Church Street when it had two-way automobile traffic. Robins, who owned the office supply store McAuliffe’s, used his influence to advocate for Church Street’s transformation into a pedestrian mall in the early 1980s.

Our quartet had taken just a few steps north when we encountered Burlington City Arts executive director Doreen Kraft, who joined us. She suggested to DeNatale that the BCA Center galleries could stay open into the evening on Wednesdays throughout the summer to accommodate potential passeggiata strollers. DeNatale told me later that other Church Street businesses are hatching similar plans.

In front of Leunig’s Bistro & Café, we ran into a group that included Michele Asch and Sam Donnelly. Asch is part of the family that owns Twincraft Skincare in Winooski, and in 2021 she served on the board of the Burlington Business Association, where Donnelly was recently deputy director. Their respective work for Let’s Grow Kids brought them together. Now both Asch and Donnelly are throwing their weight behind a new nonprofit called Building Burlington’s Future. Asch announced that Donnelly had just been hired as executive director. Apparently one org is not enough to meet the Queen City’s current complex challenges.

Then Joe Carroll from WCAX-TV showed up, and Kraft and I took the opportunity to duck into Little Istanbul, a newish Turkish gift shop that sells elaborately embroidered sneakers, colorful mosaic lamps, pillows, kilims and an impressive selection of spices.

It made me want to try Cappadocia Bistro, owned by the same family, across the street. We’d written about the new eatery in Seven Days, and I’d heard good things about the food and décor from friends.

Leaving Little Istanbul, Kraft and I found our passeggiata party had grown, and stalled, where we left it. So we grabbed Robins and Schamberg and led them to the east side of the street for Turkish treats and coffee.

We lost track of DeNatale, who emailed me later. In the course of three hours, she managed to get up and down Church Street — once.

“Along the way I stopped to talk with friends, who introduced me to their friends and, in some cases, their family,” she told me. “At times I didn’t move for 15 or more minutes, instead chatting and connecting with people I hadn’t seen in a while.”

She estimated that about 75 people showed up for the passeggiata. She didn’t get home until after 8 p.m.

Hopefully she’s started something. The weekly passeggiata is a fun, easy way to bring bodies, and business, back to downtown Burlington — even if I only made it a block and a half. It’s not a race but an altogether different way to demonstrate strength and endurance — just by showing up.

Passeggiata Pointers

There is no start or end point.
There is no official start or end time — generally between 5 and 8 p.m.
There is no destination.
It’s not an event.
In Italy, people often walk up and down the street multiple times.
Shop, and stop for an aperitivo, snack or ice cream.
Socialize.
Bring your family and friends.
Make a dinner reservation.
We hope this becomes a weekly ritual, every Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. In Italy, it’s daily.

Courtesy of the Vermont Italian Cultural Association

The original print version of this article was headlined “Walking the Talk”