Exploring Sandy Hook With a Passport

Tony Barbagallo and his 7-year-old son, Maxwell, were coming home from youth baseball practice when they spotted the crowds and heard the music at Sandy Hook Center and decided to stop and explore.

The father and son duo took a paper passport they were issued and went on a mission to visit the all of the businesses in Sandy Hook Center, including a laundromat where Maxwell received a tootsie roll and a sample of fabric softener.

"It was kind of like a treasure hunt," Tony Barbagallo, 42, said, adding that there were several that he had never been in during the years his family has lived in town.

That experience was the whole idea behind Saturday's Passport to Sandy Hook, an inaugural event sponsored by the Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity community group as a way give area businesses more exposure.

"There are a lot of shops tucked down here," said Katherine Pineau, owner of Katherine's Kitchen. "There were definitely a lot of new faces."

At least a couple hundred people attended the event, which ran from 11 a.m. through 4 p.m. Those who filled out passports were eligible to receive gift baskets and other items, all of which totaled $1,300.

The warm weather likely contributed to the turnout. In addition to live music, there was face painting, game playing, food sampling and other freebies.

"It's good exposure for everyone," said Sharon Doherty, one of the owners of PJ's Laundromat.

Toy Tree also benefited from the foot traffic, many of whom stopped in front of a table where Christina Caporale invited them to play a game of "Spot It," a matching game that is fun for both young and old, the store employee said.

Cub Scouts Pack 570, represented by Joseph and Michael Queenan and their father John, also did brisk business selling the Scouts' signature popcorn items.

"We sold out of four different kinds today," John Queenan said.

The festivities drew Trish Uhl, and her children, David; Jennifer, 10; and Katrina, 6; as well as Jennifer's friend, Haley Streck, 11, to the area for hours where they had their face painted, shopped for Halloween costumes and explored shops they had always been curious about.

"I even got something for myself," Trish Uhl said, adding that it was the first time she got a chance to visit the Wishing Well, a boutique she had always been curious about..

David Uhl said that he enjoyed his turn at the Bouncy House the best.

"I like the Bouncy House because you can jump so high," he said.