Indianapolis residents Sarah and Andy Fisher walk by Woodrow Hupp of Little Hocking as he performs outside First City Records on Front Street during Marietta Main Street’s Summer Shop Hop Saturday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Some people strolling along Front Street Saturday were there for Marietta Main Street’s Summer Shop Hop. Others were just in the neighborhood and taking advantage of a sunny – but not too hot – day.

“It was nice, and I’ve always wanted to go to Front Street and look at all the shops,” Parkersburg resident Brooke Willis said after she and her friends stopped in Just A Jar Design Press.

She, Marietta resident Sylvia Suratt and Belpre resident Rachel Lamb didn’t realize that Main Street’s seasonal shopping spotlight, with participating businesses marked by balloons, was happening when they made their plans.

“But we’re a part of it now,” said Lamb, holding a bag from one of the stores.

Marietta resident Lois Casto invited her friend, Thelma Curfman of Parkersburg, to come downtown because of the Shop Hop, with multiple businesses featuring special promotions and purchases entering customers in a raffle for a prize basket.

From left, friends Brooke Willis, Sylvia Suratt and Rachel Lamb walk into Just A Jar Design Press on Front Street Saturday during Marietta Main Street’s Summer Shop Hop. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“There’s a lot of people out, so that’s nice to see,” Casto said.

It also drew Rusty and Robin Corbin from Ravenswood.

“(It’s) just a good day,” Rusty Corbin said.

Andy Fisher said he hadn’t been back to Marietta in over a decade but was in from Indianapolis, visiting family with his fiancee and they decided to browse the shops.

“We love it,” he said. “It’s just a lifestyle that seems to be a little less stressed than what we’re used to.”

Balloons, like these outside Schafer Leather Store on Front Street marked businesses participating in Marietta Main Street’s Summer Shop Hop on Saturday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Tim and Kim Schorr were in Marietta for the first time from Chesapeake, Va., for Saturday’s Jamey Johnson concert at Peoples Bank Theatre.

“It’s beautiful,” Kim Schorr said. “People are very friendly.”

First City Records owner Aaron Whited said he expects the Shop Hop to be one of the biggest days of the summer for his business, so he planned multiple activities, including live music, a concert ticket giveaway, a listening party and prizes. He also got 500 more record albums out on the shelves for customers to peruse.

“It gets a whole bundle of eyes on downtown,” Whited said. “I see a lot of brand new faces, so I want to put my best foot forward.”

Around noon, Little Hocking musician Woodrow Hupp was playing guitar and singing in front of the shop.

Little Hocking resident Woodrow Hupp performs outside First City Records on Front Street during Main Street Marietta’s Summer Shop Hop Saturday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“It’s amazing out here,” he said. “The sun beats my guitar up a little bit, goes out of tune, but I can handle it.”

Hupp said he enjoys playing in Marietta, where people seem to appreciate music, especially when it’s performed live.

“In the days of digital everything, here we are, my acoustic and me,” he said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.