Outdoor Events Announced At Mill Pond Park

Press release from Newington Parks and Recreation:

May 11, 2021

The Newington Parks and Recreation Department announces today the commencement of safe outdoor special events at Mill Pond Park. That’s right, the COVID-19 restrictions have been reduced, so it is time for people to enjoy their strong community outdoors! So, mark your calendars and save the dates for Thursday, June 10th, Friday, June 11th, and Saturday, June 12th. The Newington Parks and Recreation Department will be hosting a thrilling weekend including the St. Patrick’s Day Party in the Park, Food Truck Friday, and Motorcycle Madness respectfully. “This will be a weekend to remember for both young and old alike,” said Bill DeMaio, Superintendent of Newington Parks and Recreation. “There will be excitement, fun, live concerts, dancing, beer and wine tents, VIP areas, food trucks, train rides, contests, and prizes of all kinds!”

It all starts on Thursday, June 10th from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. with the St. Patrick’s Day Party in the Park. Bag pipe music will melodically fill the air of the park as the event begins. The famous Mulcahy Academy of Irish Dance in Glastonbury, will have both youth and adults demonstrating the Irish jig and Irish step dancing. The Jolly Beggars, a nine-piece Irish Celtic band, will perform from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. For the first time ever, the Department has hired a company to shoot foam on the dance floor, in between the cornhole boards, and at the VIP area, for those who are crazy enough to run through it all. But wait there is more…A large VIP area will be set up near the stage for those interested in purchasing VIP tickets. VIP tickets can be purchased in advance for only $25.00 each or for $40.00 each ticket at the event. There are only 190 tickets being sold for the VIP area. This special VIP area will offer a free Guinness etched glass drinking mug, Guinness tchotchkes, food, desserts, one free beer, and a beer tasting table featuring Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s, Nitro Coffee and more! Refreshments including delectable Irish soda bread will also be offered. The highlight of the evening, just may be, the ability to take a color picture of you and your friends/family and having a Guinness computer shoot your picture into the foam of your beer. Wow! Our business partners for this event are McBride Carpet and Wayside, The Bar & Grill, and Century 21 Northeast.

But the hits keep coming……On Friday, June 11th from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. the Department will feature our first ever Food Truck Friday event at Mill Pond Park. How does a night of upbeat Jazz sound to you? The popular band, Booyah, sponsored by AJ Bafundo & Co. LLC, is an enormous crowd pleaser. “There will be tons of food to enjoy while watching the performance including fried Oreos, chocolate covered everything, and the BEST fried dough,” said Joe Harvey, Recreation Supervisor. Train rides will be offered for both adults and children for only $3.00 per person. Chip Stamm, owner of Century 21 Northeast, will be the main sponsor of this event. The beer and wine tent will also be set up for everyone’s pleasure. Beer will be sold for $6.00 each and wine will be sold for $5.00 each, provided by our good friends at Happy Harry’s Wine and Liquor Warehouse. This is going to be a great evening of fun!

To complete a fun filled weekend with our friends from the Newington Parks and Recreation Department, just wander back to Mill Pond Park on Saturday, June 12th for an afternoon and evening of stunningly gorgeous motorcycles. The Motorcycle Madness event will begin at 4:00 p.m. and continue through 8:00 p.m. Motorcycles of all types will enter the park for only $10.00 each and $15.00 each if they wish to be included in the judging contests. The judging contests will consist of five different categories, including: Crazy Chrome, Perfect Paint, Terrific Tank, Sponsor’s Choice, and Mayor’s Choice. Trantolo & Trantolo LLC, the leading motorcycle promoters in New England, are the Platinum Sponsor for the event. Geico of Newington is our Gold Sponsor, West Hill Automotive is our Silver Sponsor, Brookfield Indian Motorcycle is our Stage Sponsor, Century 21 Northeast is our Bronze Sponsor, and CycleFish is our Media Sponsor. Happy Harry’s Wine and Liquor Warehouse will be providing the beer and wine tent again for refreshments. There will also be a featured rock-n-roll performance by the band, Shovelhead, a popular four-piece motorcycle band. Spectators are all welcome to attend for free to view the magnificent motorcycles. There will be fun and activities for people of all ages who comes to the park on June 12th, you won’t want to miss it! For more information, please contact the Newington Parks and Recreation office at 860-665-8666 or visit our website at www.newingtonct.gov/parksandrec. Remember, with Newington Parks and Recreation we are “Building a Strong Community!"

This press release was produced by Newington Parks and Recreation. The views expressed here are the author's own.