The sky was an ominous dark gray, tornado weather. And even as it turned out there were no tornados (this isn’t Kansas anymore), the wind was so strong it knocked down utility poles.

But people still came to Collingswood (www.collingswood.com) last Saturday. They shopped in Haddon Avenue’s dozens of eclectic boutiques, ate at its fine restaurants, and checked out the art galleries. The one-day blow did not stop the monthly Second Saturday celebration in one of the hippest downtowns in New Jersey.

On Second Saturdays, downtown Collingswood stays open late. Some stores bring in musicians, like the trio playing Irish music among the pretty hand-painted furniture at Painted Cottage (www.paintedcottagestudio.com). Down the block at Jubili Beads & Yarns (www.jubilibeadsandyarns.com) crafters could find handfuls of just about anything they need. A few doors down visitors sipped wine and enjoyed cutting edge artwork at Fusion Gallery (www.fusionnj.com).

And everywhere, restaurants were hopping — visitors were eating French at Water Lily, (www.waterlilybistro.com), Cuban at Casona (www.mycasona.com), Mexican “influenced” at The Tortilla Press (www.thetortillapress.com), Italian seafood at Joe Pesce  (www.joepesce.net). Remember to BYO. Collingswood is a dry town.

It is also home to a Shakespearean theater company (www.collingswoodshakespeare.org) and the Collingswood Book Festival (www.collingswoodbookfestival.com), which attracted 20,000 attendees last year. It’s scheduled next for October 4.  

The borough wasn’t always this vibrant. As recently as the mid-1990s there were plenty of empty stores and it looked like downtown had lost the battle against specialized national retailers and the Cherry Hill Mall.

Then local folks committed themselves to pedestrian-oriented development. They refurbished luxury housing and obtained funds for preservation of historic buildings, which attracted upscale retailers and restaurateurs who loved the town’s early 20th century architecture.

In short, Collingswood got hot because it was so cool. Or was it the other way around? No matter. What counts is that this downtown is now one of the coolest and hottest in the state.