3rd Thursday Street Fest: From Willimantic with Love

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3rd Thursday Street Fest

by Erin Morelle and Karen GilbransenWinter Caplanson photos

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Envision strolling Historic Main Street

in Downtown Willimantic, immersing yourself in a stream of musical, visual, and gastronomic delectables. Five stages offer a wide variety of musical genres, delighting thousands of smiling people at the 3rd Thursday Street Fest. You’ll find everything from Irish to neosoul; salsa to blues and roots; djs with rap and electronic beats; and cover and alt bands playing classics and new music to entertain the masses. You’ll find your kind of music and something new to make you move!

The strength of Willimantic’s diversity shines in the delicious ethnic international cuisine available at 3rd Thursday Street Fests. Sample authentic empanadas, falafel, tikka masala, footlong hotdogs, sumptuous ice cream, an enormous array of creamy fudge and kettle corn, pulled pork, fried seafood, everyone’s favorite doughboys, and pizza.

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The strength of Willimantic’s diversity shines IN

THE DELICIOUSETHNIC INTERNATIONAL CUISINE

AVAILABLE AT 3RD THURSDAY STREET FESTS.

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how great

AND INTRODUCED PEOPLE

HUGE R

UNFAMI

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Wash it down with micro-brewed beer, including Willimantic Brewing Company’s brews, and Hosmer Mountain’s locallycrafted soda. Over 100 vendors and crafters showcase a wealth of goods, including hand-made pottery, glass, soap, art, jewelry, clothing, purses, and semiprecious stones. Street performers play with fire, hula hoop, and juggle for the crowds while children’s activities engage and amuse the younger folk.

Come dance, shop, eat and laugh with us in Downtown Willimantic in 2020 from 6-9 pm on May 21st, June 18th, July 16th, August 20, and September 17th! Contact 860-450-0918 or visit WillimanticStreetFest.com for information and the full schedule. Join us!

STREET FEST HAS PLAYED A

Willimantic is

OLE IN REMINDING PEOPLE

Started in 2002 by Willimantic Renaissance, a local nonprofit organization, the 3rd Thursday Street Fests draws over five thousand attendees on the third Thursday of each month from May to September. “Street Fest has played a huge role in reminding people how great Willimantic is and introduced people unfamiliar to the town we love,” explains organizer Karen Gilbransen. She also heads up planning and execution for many other community events in Willimantic, including Romantic Willimantic Chocolate Festival, Thread City Hop Fest, and Trick or Treat on Main Street.

LIAR TO THE TOWN WE LOVE

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Street performers play with fire, hula hoop, and juggle

FOR THE CROWDS

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Are you interested in organizing a public event in your community?

Here are Karen’s top tips:

You’ve got a great idea for an event. Maybe a swap meet? A music festival? <Insert awesome event idea here!>

It’s exciting, isn’t it…when you’ve got a great idea kicking around your head? You want to get going, but aren’t sure where to start.

First stop? It’s almost always your town hall. Check-in with the Recreation Department if you’re using a town-owned venue; they’ll be able to walk you through the process of reserving the space and will know the town’s requirements. If you aren’t planning to host an event on townowned property, meet with the representatives of the venue you’re using.

If you’re planning on having food, your next stop is the health department. Your local sanitarian will know what permits your vendors will need, and what you may need as the organizer.

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want to get going, but

168

You

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Planning on serving alcohol? You’ll either need a temporary liquor permit from the state - or a restaurant to partner with, that’s permitted to have off-site liquor.

Depending on the size and location of the event, a check-in with your local police department never hurts.

It’s always best to communicate your plan early on in the process. The last thing you want is to find out late in the organizing process that there are significant obstacles.

Now that you’ve checked in with the appropriate authorities, it’s time to make sure you’ve secured everything else you need. First up? Insurance. Events need to be insured. The cost will be determined by the details. Attendance is a factor, and whether you’re having food and/ or alcohol. There are a lot of options to secure an event-specific policy, from local insurance agencies to online resources. You may be able to partner with a local organization, the town, or the venue itself to help offset the cost.

Don’t forget toilets, handwashing stations, tents, tables, and chairs (if needed), and to set aside money for marketing. You may not want to run traditional newspaper display ads, but you can’t go wrong with posters, community television announcements, creating a Facebook event, and possibly some paid ads on social media.

Most important? Have fun! It’s a wonderful thing to see people coming together to enjoy themselves and your town at an event you’ve created - and hopefully you’ll create a fun, lasting

aren’t

tradition that people

sure

will enjoy in years where to start.

to come.

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It’is a wonderful thingto see people coming together

TO ENJOY THEMSELVESAND YOUR TOWN AT

AN EVENT YOU’VE CREATED

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