Michele Smith was walking down Hawley Avenue in Bellevue with the police chief under her arm. Well, actually it was a life-size cutout of new Chief Matthew Sentner, and she got more than one strange look from passers-by.

For the past few days she's had "Flat Matt" displayed in various stores to promote an event the Bellevue shopkeeper has organized called the Summer Solstice Spectacular.

"It's a big surprise that's for sure," she said about the reactions of residents when they see the cutout. And Ms. Smith can't say enough about the chief lending his image for the event. "He's a really good-natured guy."

The Summer Solstice Spectacular begins today at 10 a.m. when most merchants open their doors. There will be free parking in all municipal lots and on the streets through the weekend. During the event, the cutout of the chief will be put in different locations around town. At each place, visitors will record that they had found the faux chief. The person who finds the cutout most often wins a huge gift basket donated by the businesses of Bellevue. The chief, who was appointed last month, will be around all four days introducing himself to residents and visitors.

There are a multitude of activities during the four days, with today's event from 4 to 6 p.m. perhaps the most ambitious. . It's a wine and food pairing at eight local restaurants. The costs is $20. The wine is provided by Palate Partners/Dreadnought Wines in the Strip District and there are some interesting combinations -- stuffed grape leaves with Wooloomooloo shiraz, shrimp and grits with Sylvester chardonnay and a desert from Vivo of pistachio gelato teamed with sparkling cider.

Visitors will be able to ride the trolley to each restaurant and can use the trolley during the weekend to get around for a minimal fee or just buy a button or flag with the Summer Solstice logo for a dollar and ride all day.

There will be more than 50 events going on this weekend including a music festival challenge tonight and the movie "Ratatouille" tomorrow night, along with a performance by the acoustic trio Glitchpoint.

Also tomorrow, there will be a treasure hunt that asks visitors questions about local merchants with a chance to win another gift basket. On Saturday the treasure hunt continues along with a craft market and car cruise. The day also offers two performances by ventriloquist Dennis Bowman from KDKA-TV with his partner, Chester, an ice cream social, live music, a bike and scooter decorating contest and more.

On Saturday and Sunday there's free duck pin bowling at the Knights of Columbus, free swimming at Memorial Park Pool and the Bellevue Police Department will be giving away free gun locks. Sunday there will be a pampered pooch promenade, a street dance, more live music and events.

Ms. Smith hopes this becomes an annual event and wants to attract visitors from all over the region. "We want to show off a little, to attract people to town to give them an idea of what Bellevue has to offer."

And she believes the town offers something special for everyone.

"The general friendly atmosphere, good-hearted, good-natured people. It is a small town and has that attitude about it. When people come here, they want to stay."

For more information about the Summer Solstice Spectacular go to www.enjoybellevue.org and click on the events button or call 412-761-5773.