Stroll 2021 – it’s looking to be better than ever after taking a year off for the pandemic. This three-day shopping extravaganza has become a tradition embraced by locals and visitors alike as an opportunity to avoid the malls, big-box stores and what is sure to be the horror of shipping from online stores this year.Here’s just a smattering of what The Block Island Times found during a preview on Saturday, Nov. 20, as shopkeepers decorated their storefronts, unpacked boxes of newly arrived merchandise, and arranged shelves. It’s not all t-shirts and flipflops in November– the stores are stocked with seasonal wares, apparel, and even items handmade by the proprietors. Sometimes a theme emerges in the goods for sale: one year it’s ugly Christmas sweaters, one year it was funky socks. This year it seems to be hand knit and crocheted items, often by the shopkeepers themselves. Perhaps they are dealing with supply chain problems, perhaps they just like to knit.If you’re arriving by ferry and unfamiliar with the layout of downtown Block Island, you will find most of the stores all along the main road that winds through town with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and
