Niagara Gazette — Old Falls Street is about to get a little bit busier, and some of those leftover Niagara Holiday Market huts are gong to be part of the action.

Global Spectrum, the company hired by the state to oversee events along the downtown strip, announced this week plans to expand their list of daily activities during July and August.

The expanded offerings include free fitness classes and a new kids’ club. 

The company also announced that six businesses have agreed to occupy vending huts constructed for last year’s Holiday Market in the weeks ahead. The huts, several of which came into play as part of the “sideshow” of events developed by Global Spectrum as part of last week’s Nik Wallenda walk across Niagara Falls, are scheduled to be open Thursdays through Sundays during July and August, offering passers-by coffee, chocolates, jewelry and other items.

“We are happy to welcome back these wonderful vendors who were encouraged to spend the summer with us after they experienced a profitable time on Old Falls Street last winter,” said Ryan Coate, Global Spectrum’s general manager for Old Falls Street, USA and the Conference and Event Center Niagara Falls. 

Several vendors have signed on for what Global Spectrum is calling Shops on Old Falls this summer. The lineup includes Kornerstone Coffee, Sparkle! Jewelry & Accessories, Martinsville Emporium, Circle of Life, Elizabeth House, and Barker’s Chocolates. The vendors will be stationed along the strip in the repurposed shelters initially erected for the Holiday Market. They are scheduled to be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each Thursday through Saturday in July and August and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Sunday in July and August. Vendors have the option to open earlier or close later according to their own discretion, Global Spectrum officials said. 

The expanded 2012 schedule will also offer two other options for visitors in July and August - Fitness on Old Falls and the Old Falls Street Kids’ Club.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays this summer will feature the complimentary Old Falls Street Kids’ Club, overseen by members of Deep Roots Niagara, a collection of interactive performance artists that will encourage and entice children of all ages to participate in age-appropriate educational games, physical activities, science and nature projects, arts and crafts, interactive theatre, and much more. The Kids’ Club will be presented on the Middle Block of Old Falls Street, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

Fitness on Old Falls will involve complimentary sessions of Zumba and Pilates, facilitated by instructors from ChrisFit in Niagara Falls. Sessions will be held beginning 5:15 p.m. each Monday and Wednesday in July and August on Old Falls Street’s Middle Block. Guests are encouraged to bring their own work out items, as a limited number of mats will be available.

“This summer, Old Falls Street will have a built-in audience for its Kids’ Club as we are proud to host day-camp participants from the Niagara Falls Boys & Girls Club and Niagara Falls Housing Authority,” Coate said. “Other children, either residents of Niagara Falls or visitors to the area, are encouraged to join in on the fun for as long as their schedule allows within that timeframe.”

The new activities compliment Old Falls Street’s existing lineup of daily activities that began on Memorial Day and will run through Labor Day, including food and beverage vending, Ride Niagara bike rentals, Tunes at Noon live music performance each day at lunchtime. 

For more information or to download a full 2012 Schedule of Events, visit www.FallsStreet.com. A new comprehensive Old Falls Street, USA, map can also be obtained on the site.