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Quinnipiac Park hosts community events

With broad views of river, oyster boats and two historic bridges, and a wide stretch of grass to gather and play, the Quinnipiac River Park makes an ideal place for celebrations of all types. On a sunny Saturday at the peak of spring, the park hosted two community events, both promoting important causes.

In the morning, more than 1,200 children, family and community members convened at the Quinnipiac River Park to celebrate the 10th New Haven Family Stroll & Festival, an event created by local childcare center Friends Center for Children to raise awareness and much-needed funds for high-quality early care and education. The event began with a 1.5 mile loop over the neighborhood’s two iconic bridges  —  the Ferry Street drawbridge and the Grand Avenue Turnbridge. The ​“Strollers” then returned to the park for food trucks, face painting, parachute play, magicians, musicians, Zumba, bubbles, arts and crafts, and, of course, education – from over 60 community organizations.

Amid all the activities and excitement, two messages resonated. The compassion theme of this year’s stroll — emphasized on stickers, bags, water bottles and banners — prompted attendees to consider “how do you share your kindness with others?” Special guests New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, State Sen. Martin Looney, and State Rep. Robyn Porter joined the festivities and shared their commitment to supporting equitable access to quality early care.

“We’ll continue to work hard to make sure that our young people have what they need, and also their caregivers and parents have what they need so we can be whole families,” promised Porter.

Later in the evening, though clouds and drizzle dotted the sky, a smaller but equally passionate group came to the park to celebrate a significant milestone. The day before, Urban Resource Initiatives (URI) had planted its 10,000th tree, fulfilling a campaign launched in 2010 to plant street trees to improve the urban infrastructure and help make Elm City a tree-friendly city once again. The 10,00th tree, a shingle oak, was planted feet from the Quinnipiac River. Fittingly, to celebrate the occasion, a party in the park was in order. Sponsored by the New Haven Green Fund, the event included sweet songs from Goodnight Blue Moonshine, food from local food trucks, and an award presentation acknowledging the commitment of volunteers, partners, staff members, funders, and advocates.

Similar to the earlier gathering, the consideration of equity and justice underscored the festivity.  “Nationally, low-income and majority Black and Brown neighborhoods have disproportionately fewer trees, which can be a source of clean air, temperature control, and beauty.” (New Haven Independent).

In June, the New Haven Preservation Trust hosted its annual preservation awards at the Park. A crowd of around sixty people, mainly local residents, members of the Trust, and award recipients, were present on a sunny late-afternoon to see this year’s honorees receive their awards.  All three awards were for projects located in Fair Haven: a 19th century shipbuilder’s house on Perkins Street, two houses joined and reinvented as classroom space for the Cold Spring School, and the late nineteenth-century Grand Avenue Bridge. Mayor Elicker gave introductory remarks and joined the team from the City in receiving the award honoring the recent work on the bridge, which formed the background to the event.