It all starts with the weather. If the organizers of Warren Walkabout could coerce Mother Nature into their planning meetings, they would demand a day like this past Sunday. A warm, sunny, spectacular fall day attracted a massive crowd to the streets of downtown Warren.

Yet the smashing success of Warren Walkabout goes far beyond the whims of wind and sun. Warren has something special going on, are there are reasons why it works.

First of all, the downtown district is more vibrant, inhabited and healthy than it has been in a lifetime or two. By keeping rents affordable enough for courageous entrepreneurs to give it a go, downtown landlords have helped infused life in the district. Quirky art galleries attract dynamic restaurants, which attract quaint shops, which attract artsy retailers, which attract hip bars, which attract healthy food vendors, and on it goes. Downtown Warren is teeming with small businesses of all shapes, sizes and varieties, and on Sunday they were buzzing with business.

The second winning ingredient in Warren Walkabout is that it celebrates what is already there. Towns nearby have equally walkable streets located close to the water, but their version of a downtown festival is to invite dozens of businesses from other towns to set up shop within barricaded streets to sell goods and wares to out-of-town visitors.

Warren Walkabout has a brilliantly simple theme: Come see what we’ve got going on!

Visitors find a place to park (car or bike) and simply walk the streets. Amazingly, the congestion is tolerable. Cars continue driving through the district. Pedestrians stroll the sidewalks and cross (mostly) at crosswalks. Businesses open their doors or set up displays outside, or both. And Warren shows its best self.

A visitor on Sunday could order food, sample treats, listen to live music, try boozy drinks, wander into exciting galleries, join a spontaneous dance party, chat with young entrepreneurs and soak in small-town life.

It’s a great event, and Sunday was a great day. If anyone missed it or wants another chance to walk about Warren, part two is this Sunday, Oct. 27, from 12 to 5 p.m.