An event to show Morden's hospitality to visitors for the 2017 Esso Cup didn't get the response the City had planned.

"Discover Downtown" was meant to draw pedestrians to enjoy Morden's downtown area with its shops and boutiques. Vendors were meant to line the streets in an open-air market.

"I spoke to some of the vendors, and it was a little slower than they would have liked to see," said community development officer for the City of Morden, Cheryl Digby.

"Overall, however, they seemed to be fairly happy with the event."

Digby believes, while the concept was solid, the event could have been promoted better and retailers downtown didn't have much notice. A few employees of one business said they didn't know what was happening until the street in front of the shop was blocked off on Friday.

"We thought this would be a great opportunity to promote Morden and to showcase our downtown," said Digby.

This won't be the last event highlighting Morden's tree-lined centre. According to Digby, it's one of the most "beautiful, vibrant" features of the community.

"We're told time and time again, what a friendly community we have," she added.

"We look forward to working with retailers and the Morden Chamber to host a successful event in the future."