Had a great time at Torrington CTs first downtown street fair for this year. Torrington is one of those great old industrial towns with great brick buildings so popular at the turn of the last century. The buildings have fine cornices and decorations, with old shops on the bottom floor and apartments and studios above. But with the influx of box stores and shopping malls, our downtown has gone a little shabby. People complain about the lack of parking and their are too many closed stores. After a battle with folks who want to tear down our lovely center buildings to put up cement box stores and parking lots, the Arts Commission, store and business owners are rallying together to get people to come downtown, meet their neighbors, relax and have some fun.TheWarner Theater was almost demolished years ago. This art deco buildings' roof leaked, carpets torn and stained and paint was pealing everywhere. Some people thought it would be a new parking lot, but local folks got together and raised money to fix it and now, fully restored, it brings in great entertainment and patrons from near and far. This expanded to other businesses. We are so glad that this icon was saved. We have a dance studio, theater studio, micro brewery, sidewalk dining and one-of-a-kind shopping that you cannot get at the box stores.http://www.warnertheatre.com/
I was there last night with my pottery. I got there early, and their was lots of traffic, the streets had not been closed off yet. I considered going back home with my pots, but soon the police had blocked off the street, people set up tents in the middle of the road and I decided to stay. I am glad I did. Over 500 people showed up to hang out, eat, shop, be entertained by live musicians and meet friends. If you missed it, we will be back every Thursday through July and August 5-9 pm. See you there!
