King Street Center Lemonade Stand Moves to ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

Tuesday, June 25th, 2024

Burlington, VT - The King Street Center Lemonade Stand is serving up a twist today as they begin their 27th season, returning to the waterfront after two decades on Church Street Marketplace. In partnership with ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, the stand will be serving a variety of hand pressed citrus drinks right outside the science museum.

King Street Center bought the lemonade stand in 1997 from the owner of “Kids Lemonade”, a program that donated the majority of its profits to local youth organizations. That summer, the small wood-framed stand and 10 teens sold lemonade near Waterfront Park. Four years later, the stand celebrated its grand opening on Church Street Marketplace, who generously provided a coveted vendor spot for the nonprofit organization at no cost for the next twenty-three years.

“We are so grateful to the Church Street Marketplace for lending us one of the best spots in the city to serve our community,” said Shabnam Nolan, King Street Center’s Executive Director. “With our new strategic plan focused on deepening connections with families and community partners, moving the Lemonade Stand to ECHO, who has a longstanding history of serving children and families in Burlington, is an exciting opportunity for us.”

Almost three decades later, the King Street Center Lemonade Stand continues to be a cornerstone of the Center’s teen programming. More than building job skills, the stand has connected over 300 Burlington youth to the community and to each other – serving as a catalyst for future opportunities that have led to many successful careers in finance, culinary arts, social work, and more. This type of high-quality prevention programming has been critical to Burlington’s most vulnerable youth population, providing stipends so they can learn while earning money during a time when school is not in session and risk is at its peak.

"King Street Center's work is invaluable to the City of Burlington," said Ted Lawson, ECHO's Executive Director. "As part of our ongoing partnership, ECHO is thrilled to host King Street Lemonade this summer. We're proud to support this opportunity for young people in our community to learn important job skills."

The King Street Center Lemonade Stand will be operating Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. every week through mid-August.

Our first day outside ECHO!