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“I don’t know—it’s just a really nice feeling. Just being there.”
There’s another part people don’t always realize, too.
“I think the main thing that would surprise people,” Lily says, “is that people come from all over… like across the country… to sell their products and be part of it.”
That wasn’t obvious at first.
“When I heard people came from California, I was like—wait, what? I thought this was just a Connecticut thing.”
It’s not. And once you’re in it, you start to see something else, too.
“There’s so many different people,” she says. “Sometimes things get a little stressful… but everyone kind of works together.”
It’s not perfect. It’s busy. People are figuring things out in real time. But somehow—
“In the end, it all comes together.”
That’s the part that sticks.
Not just the scale of the event, but what it feels like to be in the middle of it all. People showing up, helping out, doing their part—whether they’ve known each other for years or just met that morning.
“It feels like a community,” she says. “Like people have your back—even if you don’t know them.”
For anyone who might feel unsure about volunteering—whether it’s the size of the event or not knowing where you’d fit—her perspective is pretty simple. You don’t have to know everything. You just have to be willing to help.
There’s always something to carry. Someone who needs a hand. A place to jump in. And somewhere along the way, you start to see what she sees—that all those small moments… add up to something much bigger.
(Also: bring snacks. You’ll need them.)
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