Mostly clear early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable..

Mostly clear early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.

Derek Gladysiewski, the master carpenter for The Chalk Shop, strikes a pose during last year's Catwalk on Chestnut fashion show.

The fifth annual Catwalk on Chestnut takes place today with music beginning at 5:30 p.m. and local celebrities modeling outfits at 7. 

Derek Gladysiewski, the master carpenter for The Chalk Shop, strikes a pose during last year's Catwalk on Chestnut fashion show.

The fifth annual Catwalk on Chestnut takes place today with music beginning at 5:30 p.m. and local celebrities modeling outfits at 7. 

Fashionistas from the Meadville area will strut their stuff down the asphalt before area glitterati in an atmosphere that rivals what New York and Paris have to offer as the annual Catwalk on Chestnut takes place this evening.

The block-long celebration of Meadville fashion coincides with the monthly First Friday event for downtown businesses that will feature extended hours, special offers and in-store activities. Stretching down Chestnut Street between Park Avenue and Market Street, the fashion show will present styles available from and inspired by a dozen participating shops.

“It’s a lot of fun for people to get dressed up,” said Heather Fish regarding the enduring appeal of the uniquely Meadville-style extravaganza, “and it’s a fun way to see a lot of downtown businesses.”

Fish, who is president of the Meadville Independent Business Alliance that puts on the fashion show, will be among the business owners showing off their shops in connection to the Catwalk. The event highlights the creativity cultivated by the contemporary downtown business scene, according to Fish.

Fish is also owner of Hatch Hollow, which overlooks the catwalk. For a business that combines a co-working space with an art gallery and offers an extensive selection of art supplies for sale, dressing models for a fashion show could present a challenge, but that’s where the creativity comes into play.

“My plan is to collaborate with other people and businesses that do sell clothes,” she said. But her models also will incorporate knitted pieces from “Darn Yarn: Crochet and Knit Happens,” part of the fiber arts show that opens in her shop today. Other businesses that don’t sell clothing are taking similar approaches to join in the fashion fun.

Around the corner at the Market House, for instance, creative collaboration was also the plan as several vendors planned to sashay on Chestnut. With time for preparations ticking down on Wednesday, Mary Melvin, owner of the Save Room for Dessert bakery located inside the Market House, jokingly brainstormed on possibilities for working her soft pretzels into the ensemble she’ll be donning for the event. Melvin is one of five vendors who will take to the catwalk wearing outfits that incorporate items available at the Market House.

Whether some of the stylings prove to be edible or not, the activities this evening will stretch well beyond the catwalk. At the Market House, Meadville Public Library will cater to the younger crowd with a storytelling event beginning at 5:30 plus books and prizes, while a food truck is available outside the historic structure, according to Kerstin Ams, the market manager.

But while there’s something for everyone taking place on and around Chestnut Street, everyone will want to be sure to catch the actual fashion show scheduled to begin at 7.

In what might be a nod to Meadville’s rural surroundings — or what could be the absolute cutting edge of experimental fashion — the models strutting down the street will joined by several porcine prancers.

That’s right, according to Fish, for the first time ever, the Catwalk on Chestnut will feature pigs parading along with some of the models. Details were scant on Thursday, and there were no plans to rebrand the alliterative but sometimes confusing “Catwalk” name for the event (sometimes people wonder where the cats are, Fish explained). It was another example of the creative collaboration that brings the event, and the downtown area, to life.

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.

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