Celebrate Wallingford

Taking place at the park near the railroad station green, the 21st annual Celebrate Wallingford took place from September 28 to September 30. Wallingford Center Inc. hosted the festival, partnering with the Connecticut Street Rod Association (a classic car club), local churches, and more, to set up event that drew many people. Commercial surplus is definitely an incentive for the sponsors of Celebrate Wallingford, but more importantly than that, this was a chance to give back to the community. Celebrate Wallingford is an annual festival serving both residential and commercial communities around Wallingford since the eighties. It is a tradition inviting new businesses to introduce themselves to the rest of town and long-standing shops to renew their connection with customers.



Rare Find in Wallingford

Jean Kaas, the operator of the Op Shop at Ashlar Village, came across a storage unit over the summer, containing a number of small wood figures. Ashlar Village is a retirement community for senior citizens in Wallingford. Many people donate their extra items to the Op Shop when they move to Ashlar Village. Op Shop, which stands for “Opportunity” or “Other People’s” Shop, then prices the items and sells them. The wooden figurines Kaas uncovered were donated by an Ashlar resident who had lived in Africa for a few years. Not knowing what to do with them, as she did not wish to sell them, Kaas displayed them in the shop until a customer advised her to donate them to the Yale University Art Gallery, which has an African art section. The figures were identified as depicting everyday life of people in an African tribe, unique for the reason that most other carvings from that tribe depict only Gods. They will be on display in the Yale University Art Gallery at 1111 Chapel St. in New Haven.



Banned Book Week

From September 29th to October 6th, 2007, the Wallingford Public Library celebrated Banned Book week. Books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer were amongst the list of books that were “yellow-taped” with caution signs to highlight their controversial status. Many of these books are currently banned from some school libraries, but the intention of this event is to promote diversity in book collection “for a variety of people and tastes,” according to Karen Roesler, library co-director. People may peruse these books, many of which are considered classics, although some adults may find the content objectionable for children.



Connecticut Construction Career Day

October 2nd to October 3rd, the 6th annual Connecticut Construction Career Day Program was held at Mountainridge, a scenic resort in Wallingford. Visiting high school students from around Connecticut had a firsthand experience of various construction careers, as they operated heavy equipment, tried out trade skills, and learned from seasoned industry professionals. The goal of this annual event is to attract a future workforce to replenish the decreasing group of construction professionals.