Local Museums, CRIS Radio, Collaborate to Bring Audio Narration to the Art

CRIS Radio and the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) are working together to offer CRISAccess™ at the museum, which offers instant, on-demand audio descriptions of selected masterpieces on display by using a personal smartphone and QR Code reader.  The new initiative launched earlier this month. The goal of CRIS Radio and NBMAA’s collaboration is to provide its museum visitors with disabilities the same experience and access enjoyed by their friends, classmates and family, officials explained.

CRIS (Connecticut Radio Information System) is a 39-year-old nonprofit and is Connecticut’s only radio-reading service, providing audio access 24/7 to news and information for people who are blind or print-challenged, including those unable to read due to a medical condition/treatment, physical, learning, intellectual or emotional disabilities.

The New Britain Museum of American Art’s founding in 1903 entitles the institution to be designated the first museum of strictly American art in the country. The singular focus on American art and its panoramic view of American artistic achievement make the NBMAA a significant teaching resource available to the local, regional, and national public.

CRIS Radio is integrating QR Code technology to instantly “link and play” audio files of information posted on signs or other printed materials for people who are blind or print-handicapped. Visitors can access the audio files with any mobile device downloaded with a QR Code Reader application.

CRISAccess™ is part of CRIS Radio’s new Adaptive Audio Accessibility services initiative that promotes access to information at museums for people who have difficulty reading posted signs. The audio displays are triggered by QR code (Quick Response Codes) apps downloaded onto smartphones. A patron simply captures the QR code with the camera phone. The QR code apps are available for download on most online app stores, like Apple or Google.

Michelle Hargrave, Deputy Director at the NBMAA, said, "The New Britain Museum of American Art is thrilled to partner with CRIS Radio in this endeavor to bring greater accessibility to the institution. The Museum is committed to being a welcoming, dynamic, distinguished, and educationally ambitious art museum, and we are very excited that this opportunity will open our galleries to a broader audience."

CRIS Radio’s state-of-the art broadcast center is headquartered in Windsor, where numerous audio recordings are produced. CRIS also operates regional studios located in Danbury, Norwalk, Norwich, Trumbull, and West Haven.

National studies report that only 11 percent of people with disabilities visit museums. The collaboration between the two nonprofits provide a low-cost and simple approach to enhance the visitor experience for people with visual or other print disabilities. CRIS Radio based its CRISAccess program on the recommendations of a focus group comprised of people with visual disabilities convened by the Smithsonian.

CRIS has already been working with leading museums in the state and region, with more to come.  Plans are underway to add the Mark Twain House & Museum to the QR code portfolio. Those already up and running include:

• Connecticut Valley Agriculture Museum
• Jonathan’s Dream
• Mystic Aquarium
• New Britain Museum of American Art
• New England Air Museum
• Old Sturbridge Village 

The recently re-opened Jonathon's Playground, in Bloomfield, is the first outdoor venue to use the technology.  CRIS provided audio descriptions of the playground equipment.

The core of CRIS services is the daily recording of articles featured in more than 70 newspapers and magazines, including the most extensive line-up in the nation of award-winning children’s magazines featuring human narration, all available online and on demand.

CRIS also provides streaming CRIS programs directly to hospitals and other health care facilities through their in-house systems, or through Internet radios installed at assisted living facilities or nursing homes.

The Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum also recently launched special digital audio guides for the sight impaired, or for patrons who have reading difficulties, as part of the CRIS museum initiative.  The project was funded by the Windsor Lions Club, with the assistance from the Connecticut Radio Information System (CRIS).

Programs powered by CRIS Radio include: CRIS Radio; CRIS Listen Now (online streaming); CRIS Listen On Demand; CRISKids™ and CRISKids™ for Schools;  CRISAccess™ (for museums); and CRIS En Español (featuring Spanish-language newspapers and magazines). CRISKids and CRISKids for Schools offer teachers a low-cost tool to help improve student literacy and reading ability.

CRIS employs a staff of four full-time and three part-time people. Operations rely on approximately 300 volunteers statewide to help with the production, programming and the day-to-day operations of CRIS.

PHOTO:  At left, Michelle Hargrave, deputy director of the New Britain Museum of American Art, watches as Diane Weaver Dunne, executive director of CRIS Radio, demonstrates CRISAccess, which provides audible information about selected masterpieces on display at the New Britain Museum of American Art.

Done Deal: Upstate New York Will be Home to Northeast’s First Legoland

The bricks have fallen into place, and Legoland will be coming to upstate New York in 2020.  Despite local opposition groups, a change in the preferred host community, and two years of uncertainty, United Kingdom-based Merlin Entertainment has announced that the third Legoland in the United States and the first in the Northeast will be built in Goshen, New York.  The site is just an hour or two from most parts of Connecticut and 60 miles north of Manhattan. There are no indications that Connecticut was ever seriously considered for the theme amusement park.  Currently, there are two operating Legoland locations in the U.S., in California and Florida. 

The $500-million amusement park and hotel are scheduled to be built on 500 acres right off Route 17 near exit 125 in Orange County, New York.  Legoland anticipates generating $283-million in taxes for Orange County over 30 years, more than 1,000 jobs at the park and 800 for construction.

In 2015, Merlin Entertainment had tried to build in a nearby community, but the plan fell through.  They next turned to Goshen, a small community with a population of just over 5,000. New York will support the project by investing $18 million, according to published reports, improving the current road infrastructure, upgrading traffic signals and building a bridge over Route 17. The project will also receive $7.1 million in grants through the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative and $8 million through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

The timing of the announcement followed a planning board vote in October, approving an umbrella resolution for its site plan, and permits to clear and grade the land. The review process took 17 months. The proposed Legoland theme park in Goshen had cleared a major hurdle in September when the Town Board amended Goshen’s comprehensive plan to allow commercial entertainment. A year ago, the plan was in doubt due to a variety of concerns raised locally, from traffic to environment to history.

“We have spent a lot of time building relationships in the community, listening and responding to concerns, and we are looking forward to building a theme park that will enhance the community and be a tremendous neighbor,” said Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive Officer Nick Varney. “I am honored to announce Legoland New York is officially moving forward.”

Merlin Entertainments, the developer of Legoland in New York, is one of the largest entertainment company operating in Europe, operating 123 attractions in 24 countries across four continents. About 2 million visitors annually are projected for Legoland New York, with the facility to be open each year from April 1 through Halloween.

The design of the New York location will build upon parks operating in California, Florida, the United Kingdom, Germany, Malaysia, Denmark, Dubai and Japan, where the most recent Legoland debuted.

“Museum Day Live” Event to Include 18 Connecticut Museums

Eighteen Connecticut museums in twelve communities will be participating in Museum Day Live! On September 23, offering free admission in a national initiative led by Smithsonian magazine and supported by Microsoft, to increase awareness of the assets that museums have to offer residents throughout the country. Museum Day Live! is described as “an annual celebration of boundless curiosity.” Participating museums and cultural institutions across the country provide entry to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket. Individuals can get tickets on-line to any of the participating museums, simply by indicating the museum they intend to visit.  A ticket specific to that museum is then downloaded, and recipients can either print the ticket or show it on their smart phones in many of the museums.

To get free admission, guests must present an official Museum Day Live! Ticket, which provides general admission for the ticketholder plus one guest.  It is not valid for special exhibits, parking, IMAX film screening or any other offer.

Across the country, there are nearly 1200 participating museums, including 457 museums in the Northeast, 188 across the South, 402 in the Mid-West and 136 in the Western U.S.

Participating museums in Connecticut include:

BRISTOL

• American Clock & Watch Museum
• Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center
• The New England Carousel Museum

DANBURY

Danbury Museum and Historical Society Authority

FAIRFIELD

Fairfield University Art Museum 

GREENWICH

Bruce Museum

HARTFORD

• Connecticut Historical Society 
• Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

MASHANTUCKET

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center 

NEW HAVEN

• New Haven Museum
• Yale Center for British Art 

NEW LONDONCustom House Maritime Museum

• Lyman Allyn Art Museum

RIDGEFIELD

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

TOLLAND

• Old Tolland County Court House Museum 
• Old Tolland County Jail and Museum

WEST HARTFORD

Art Museum, University of Saint Joseph 

WOODBURY

Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden

Quantum Science is Specialty for CT Medal of Science Recipient

Professor Robert Schoelkopf, Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics and Director of the Yale Quantum Institute, has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Connecticut Medal of Science for his seminal contributions to the entire field of quantum science and to the new field of circuit quantum electrodynamics. Schoelkopf is a leading experimental physicist, whose research has helped establish the field of quantum computation with solid-state devices.  The Connecticut Medal of Science is the state’s highest honor for scientific achievement in fields crucial to Connecticut’s economic competiveness and social well-being.

Connecticut’s most talented young scientists and engineers were also honored by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering at its 42nd Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner, held this spring.  Winners of this year’s Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair, Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Connecticut Invention Convention were recognized during program ceremonies.

Together with his faculty collaborators at Yale, Michel Devoret and Steven Girvin, Schoelkopf has pioneered the approach of integrating superconducting qubits with microwave cavities, known as Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics. Some of Schoelkopf’s other inventions include the Radio Frequency Single-Electron Transistor and the Shot Noise Thermometer.

He is regularly called on to advise industry and federal agencies on the development and commercialization of quantum technologies, and he is a co-founder of Quantum Circuits, Inc., a Connecticut-based company working to deliver the first quantum computers.

Modeled after the National Medal of Science, the award is bestowed by the State of Connecticut, with the assistance of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, in alternate years with the Connecticut Medal of Technology.

Student work was also honored by CASE.  The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence, established by CASE and presented in partnership with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, was awarded to the top winners of the Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair. The medal was created to recognize and honor H. Joseph Gerber’s (1924-1996) technical leadership in inventing, developing and commercializing manufacturing automation systems for a wide variety of industries, making those industries more efficient and cost-effective in a worldwide competitive environment.

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well-being.

Student Awards:

The 2017 H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence:

• Shobhita Sundaram, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – 1st Place, Life Sciences-Senior Division

Project: Detection of Premalignant Pancreatic Cancer via Computational Analysis of Serum Proteomic Profiles

• Ethan Novek, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – 1st Place, Physical Sciences-Senior Division

Project: Novel Low-Temperature Carbon Capture Using Aqueous Ammonia and Organic Solvents

• Maya Geradi, Wilbur Cross High School, New Haven, CT

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – Urban School Challenge High School Winner

Project: A Study of Circadian Genetics and Abiotic Stress Towards Sustainable Agriculture

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair –

Middle School Winner, Urban School Challenge

• Madison Lee, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy, Hartford, CT Project: Natural Plastic: Milk Plastic Biodegradation Versus Commercial Plastic Degradation

2017 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

• 1st Place: Shobhita Sundaram, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

Project: Detection of Premalignant Pancreatic Cancer via Computational Analysis of Serum Proteomic Profiles

• 2nd Place: William Yin, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

Project: Portable, Low-Cost Tattoo-Based Biosensor for the Non-Invasive Self-Diagnosis and Quantification of Atherosclerosis

• 3rd Place: Haya Jarad, Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT Project: Identification of Novel Small Project: Identifying Quasi Periodic Patterns in fMRI Versus CBF Data
• 4th Place: Gabrielle Stonoha, Manchester High School, Manchester, CT

Project: Growth and Sustainability of Metarhizium on Low-nutrient Substrates

• 5th Place: Lauren Low, Engineering & Science University Magnet School, West Haven, CT Project: A Novel Rapid Diagnostic Test for Zika Virus NS1 Protein Using Nanoribbon Microfluidics

Waterbury, Hartford, Simsbury Receive National Recognition for Main Street Initiatives; Eight Local Efforts to Receive Awards

Three Connecticut communities in the Connecticut Main Street network have achieved accreditation for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by Main Street America, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Connecticut Main Street programs that earned accreditation for their 2016 performance are Simsbury Main Street Partnership, Upper Albany Main Street (Hartford), and Main Street Waterbury.

The accreditation was announced at the 2017 Main Street Now Conference in Pittsburgh. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street programs, which have demonstrated exemplary commitment to historic preservation and community revitalization through the Main Street Four Point Approach.

"Connecticut's Main Street America Accredited programs, Simsbury Main Street Partnership, Upper Albany Main Street (Hartford), and Main Street Waterbury, are well-established Main Street management organizations with histories of strong and dynamic leadership. Each has developed and maintained outstanding programs that increase the economic value of their districts while improving the quality of life for area residents," said Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker, Associate Director of Connecticut Main Street Center.

"Main Street revitalization is sustainable when the professional management organization is committed to engaging local stakeholders (business and property owners, anchor institutions, local government, and local residents) in envisioning a vibrant Main Street, and developing strong partnerships that result in action-oriented steps that bring the Main Street neighborhood back to life."

Working in partnership with Main Street America, Connecticut Main Street Center evaluates each of the state's Designated Main Street Programs annually to identify those programs that meet ten performance standards. Evaluation criteria determine the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.

The recognition doesn’t stop there.  Connecticut Main Street Center will be presenting its annual Awards of Excellence on Thursday, May 18 at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

Among the recipients: a downtown management organization engaging the community in envisioning two underutilized parks as places that downtown residents, visitors, workers and families can mingle with artists and creatives, and a regional planning organization that created a program focused on supporting local businesses, creating jobs and filling vacant spaces in eight village.

In total, eight recipients have been selected to receive the prestigious awards, including organizations and initiatives from Bridgeport, Unionville Village in Farmington, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, and the Northwest Corner.

Among the winning entries: a 14-acre flood control project that created a public park and mixed-use economic development in downtown Meriden; a comprehensive and complete overhaul of the City of Hartford’s zoning language and process; an interpretive wayfinding/signage program that connects Walnut Hill Park, Little Poland and Downtown New Britain; the restoration of a historic ball bearing mill on the banks of the Farmington River into a mixed-use campus in the heart of Unionville Village; a Twilight Bike Race & Street Festival that celebrates biking, food, culture and entertainment in Downtown New Haven; and the redevelopment of a 1903 factory building into 72 units of market rate housing within easy walking distance of jobs and transit in downtown Hartford.

Created in 2003 to recognize outstanding projects, individuals and community efforts to bring traditional downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts back to life, socially and economically, the Awards of Excellence are presented annually. CMSC’s mission is to be the catalyst that ignites Connecticut’s Main Streets as the cornerstone of thriving communities. CMSC is dedicated to community and economic development within the context of historic preservation, and is committed to bringing Connecticut’s commercial districts back to life socially and economically. CMSC is supported by its Founding Sponsors, the CT Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) and Eversource Energy. CMSC is also supported by its Growth Sponsors, UIL Holdings Corp. and the State Historic Preservation Office.

Fun in CT? Ranked 37th in the US, But Among Leaders in Marinas, Fitness Centers, Money Spent on Recreation

While Connecticut ranked 37^th overall among the nation’s 50 states analyzed for their “fun” quotient, the state did have some standout rankings in specific categories – including the amount of money individual residents spend on recreation.  Despite ranking 35^th overall in “entertainment & recreation” categories and 40^th in “nightlife,” the state reached the top five in three sub-categories. In the analysis by the financial website WalletHub, Connecticut ranked third in the number of fitness centers per capita, at 15.7. New England neighbor Massachusetts ranked #1 with 17, and New Hampshire, New Jersey and Montana rounded out the top five in that category.

Connecticut ranked #1 in number of marinas per capita, tied with Maine and Rhode Island. Connecticut has 3.48 marinas per 100,000 residents, the data indicated. Maryland and Vermont ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

In another top five finish, Connecticut ranked fourth in Personal Expenditures on Recreation per capita, at just over $1,900. Minnesota ranked first at $2,058. The Top 5 states, in order, were Minnesota, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

Overall, the “most fun states” were Nevada, South Dakota, Colorado, North Dakota, New York, Wyoming, Oregon, Louisiana, Montana, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Florida, Vermont and California.  At the bottom of the list were Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi.

The overall rankings were weighted 80-20 between Entertainment & Recreation and Nightlife.  The Entertainment & Recreation categories included restaurants, beaches, movie theaters,  national parks, arts venues, and state spending on parks and recreation. The nightlife category included average beer & wine prices, movie costs, music festivals and access to bars.

Data used to create the ranking, which included 22 separate sub-categories, were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Park Service, Council for Community and Economic Research, TripAdvisor, Beachapedia, Stadium and Arena Visits, Graphiq, American Gaming Association and WalletHub research.

Connecticut Main Street Center Award Winners Reflect Excellence, Community Involvement

A downtown management organization engaging the community in envisioning two underutilized parks as places that downtown residents, visitors, workers and families can mingle with artists and creatives, and a regional planning organization that created a program focused on supporting local businesses, creating jobs and filling vacant spaces in eight village centers are just two of this year's Awards of Excellence winners being recognized by the Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC). In total, eight recipients have been selected to receive the prestigious awards, including organizations and initiatives from Bridgeport, Unionville Village in Farmington, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, and the Northwest Corner.  The awards will be presented at CMSC's Vibrant Main Streets event in the atrium of the Legislative Office Building on May 18 in Hartford.

The other winning entries include:

• a 14-acre flood control project that created a public park and mixed-use economic development in downtown Meriden;
• a comprehensive and complete overhaul of the City of Hartford's zoning language and process;
• an interpretive wayfinding/signage program that connects Walnut Hill Park, Little Poland and Downtown New Britain;
• the restoration of a historic ball bearing mill on the banks of the Farmington River into a mixed-use campus in the heart of Unionville Village;
• a Twilight Bike Race & Street Festival that celebrates biking, food, culture and entertainment in Downtown New Haven; and
• the redevelopment of a 1903 factory building into 72 units of market rate housing within easy walking distance of jobs and transit in downtown Hartford.

"This year's winners represent both catalytic and keystone initiatives that ignite and support significant positive change in Main Street communities," said CMSC Associate Director Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker. "From engaging the community in playing a proactive role in local economic development and envisioning new life for their historic public places, to the complex redevelopment of historic mills and factories for modern residential and commercial uses, our 2017 award recipients are leaders in re-imagining Main Streets."

In addition to its Awards of Excellence, CMSC also named the recipient of its 2017 Founder's Award, presented by Eversource Energy. CMSC founding President & CEO John Simone, who will retire in August, was selected to receive the Founder's Award for his more than 17 years of leading the organization's evolution as the voice of downtown, and for championing the tools, resources and political will needed for Connecticut's Main Streets to thrive.

Connecticut Main Street Center's mission is to be "the catalyst that ignites Connecticut’s Main Streets as the cornerstone of thriving communities."  CMSC works at both the local and State level to create and implement successful downtowns that meet the needs of residents and visitors. The organization describes a successful downtown as "one that incorporates housing, retail, social and business opportunities with transportation options for all users – walkers, cyclists, motorists and more."   Created in 2003 to recognize outstanding projects, individuals and community efforts to bring traditional downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts back to life, socially and economically, the Awards of Excellence are presented annually.

2017 Connecticut Main Street Center Awards of Excellence

CT Main Street Catalyst Awards

•  Meriden Green - Recipient: City of Meriden. Partners: State of CT (DECD, DEEP, DOT); U.S. EPA; FEMA; Army Corps of Engineers; Meriden Flood Control Implementation Agency; Milone and MacBroom; AECOM; and La Rosa Construction.
• Downtown Bridgeport Placemaking Program & Downtown Farmers Market at McLevy Green - Recipient: Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District. Partners: Project for Public Spaces; New Venture Advisors LLC.
• ZoneHartford: Form-Based Code Zoning Regulations - Recipient: City of Hartford. Partners: Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.

CT Main Street Keystone Awards

• Collaborative Shared Economic Development Services Project - Recipient: NW Hills Council of Governments. Partners: Goman+York; One Eleven Group; State of CT (OPM); Towns of Canaan/ Falls Village, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, North Canaan, Norfolk, Salisbury/Lakeville and Sharon
• New Britain Historic Trails & Signage Program - Recipients: City of New Britain; TO Design LLC. Partners: National Parks Service
• Upson Market Place, Unionville - Recipient: Brian Lyman of Parker Benjamin Real Estate Services LLC. Partners: Town of Farmington.
• New Haven Grand Prix: a Twilight Bicycle Race & Street Festival - Recipients: CT Cycling Advancement Program; Town Green District (New Haven). Partners: City of New Haven; Taste of New Haven.
• Capewell Lofts, Hartford - Recipient: CIL. Partners: Capital Regional Development Authority; State of CT (DECD); InsurBanc; Guilford Savings Bank; Crosskey Architects; TO Design

Regional Volleyball Tournament Expands in Hartford in 2017

Hartford’s reputation as the place to be for aspiring collegiate volleyball players will continue to grow in 2017, as the New England Region Volleyball Association (NERVA) will be expanding its Mizuno New England Winterfest Tournament at the Connecticut Convention Center (CTCC) in January. NERVA will be adding an additional weekend - Friday, January 6, 2017 through Sunday, January 8, 2017 - to the tournament, which is expected to add 7,000 attendees to the 17,000 visitors Winterfest currently brings to the city of Hartford.

Winterfest, the largest volleyball tournament in New England, is designed to showcase female volleyball players – ages 12 to 18 – to college coaches and recruiters from throughout the Northeast. Each year, NERVA holds its annual Mizuno New England Winterfest at the CTCC in January, over the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.  College representatives from New England and beyond traditionally attend, as well as family, friends, fans and teams from across New England.

In addition to the event’s expansion over an additional weekend, NERVA has committed to holding Winterfest at the Center through at least 2019. The added weekend is expected to bring an additional 900 overnight rooms to the region for a total of 5,400 rooms in 2017 and an additional 1,800 rooms starting in 2018 totaling 6,800 rooms, according to tournament officials. The original weekend brings over 4,500 rooms to the Hartford region.

“We have watched NERVA grow at the Center since 2010 and we are excited to team up with them to offer an additional weekend to Winterfest,” says Michael Costelli, General Manager of the Connecticut Convention Center. “The event brings thousands of visitors and an incredible energy to the Center and the city of Hartford. We look forward hosting the athletes, coaches and spectators for the foreseeable future.”

“The New England Region is looking forward to the expansion of two weekends for our Winterfest tournament,” says Roxann Link, New England Region Junior Commissioner. “All of our clubs, players and coaches have enjoyed playing at the Connecticut Convention Center and are excited that we will be able to add more teams.”

NERVA is one of 40 regions of USA Volleyball, the National Governing Body of volleyball. NERVA represents the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Taking place in the Convention Center’s exhibit halls, the Winterfest always fills up quickly and is maxed out with 200 teams playing on 25 courts, officials point out. The addition of a second weekend is designed to allow an additional 90 teams to participate in the tournament in 2017 and an additional 200 teams starting in 2018.

A year ago, NERVA added an additional tournament at the CT Convention Center over Memorial Day weekend.

State Arts Office Completing Outreach for Strategic Plan, Adding Staff Position

Connecticut’s Office of the Arts (COA), which operates within the state Department of Economic and Community Development, is concluding a months-long strategic planning process to inform the agency’s next five-year Statewide Cultural Strategy. The Office is also looking to hire a full-time program associate, even as budget cuts and layoffs decimate state agencies from tourism to developmental disabilities. It is just one of nearly three dozen state positions currently being advertised by the state Department of Administrative Services.

The aim of the strategic planning effort is to move perception of the arts from "nice to necessary," according to the agency’s website. “To do this, we've engaged a firm to help guide our discussions and considerations and are utilizing a Design Thinking approach to this process.”

The firm, Austin-based Public City, is a culture-driven public engagement consultancy and studio. Public City works “to create authentic culture-based experiences that allow our clients to deeply connect with their publics.”  The firm’s website cites 25 years of experience “strategizing, designing, commissioning, exhibiting, and partnering with cities, businesses, artists, designers, and curators.”  Connecticut is listed first on the company’s client roster, which includes numerous Texas organizations and others from throughout the country.

COA has used social media, Survey Monkey, and regional charrettes for data collection in Connecticut.  Regional charrettes were conducted in collaboration with regional partners and were “small think tank discussions by invitation which represent a wide sampling of voices.”  Facebook and Twitter sites were used, along with the hashtag #CTArts.

The Office of the Arts develops and strengthens the arts in Connecticut and makes artistic experiences widely available to residents and visitors, according to the agency website. Through its grant programs, COA invests in Connecticut artists and arts organizations and encourages the public’s participation as creators, learners, supporters, and audience members, the site explains.

In addition, the Office of the Arts plays an ongoing convening role and provides an array of training and professional development opportunities, and also collects and disseminates state, regional, and national arts information resources via web communications, directories, publications, data-sharing, one-on-one consultations, and referrals.

The staff position that COA seeks to fill will report to the state’s Director of Culture and work “independently to support the grant-making, researching, and developing activities necessary to implement arts and cultural programs in a wide range of artistic areas.”  Applications for the position – with an anticipated salary range between $62,973 and $81,493 – are due by September 22.

Following data collection and analysis in the strategic planning process, COA anticipates sharing results and engaging in further outreach. The final plan was set to emerge this week, according to the COA website.

“We Are Danbury” Media Campaign Launches Drive for Businesses, Residents

Labelled “confidential and proprietary,” the city of Danbury’s “Playbook” for becoming a “City of the Future” is posted on the official website for all to see. That playbook came to mind with the announcement earlier this month that CityCenter Danbury would be launching a media campaign this month to promote the city’s downtown.

The campaign will initially include two 15-second videos and photos posted to various well-travelled websites. Among those featured in the video are Mayor Mark Boughton, the Danbury Titans hockey team, the Palace Danbury, Connecticut Institute for Community and Western Connecticut State University, according to published reports.    Additional videos featuring other businesses are to be featured later, as the campaign continues.

CityCenter Danbury is a partnership promoting Downtown Danbury, bringing together property owners, sponsors, businesses, non-profits, cultural arts, and volunteers.

“This campaign is to proactively go out and approach businesses to let them know downtown Danbury is the place to be,” P.J. Prunty, executive director of CityCenter Danbury, told the News-Times. “It’s the first time we’ve embarked on a specific campaign like this. We want to get businesses to plant their flag in downtown.”

According to Business Insider earlier this year, population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that Danbury grew more than any city in Connecticut from July 1, 2014 through July 1, 2015 going from 83,891 to 84,657, is a .9% population increase. That outpaced Stamford, Milford, Norwalk and New Haven, Connecticut’s five fastest growing cities.

Prunty said the campaign will specifically target lower Fairfield County and Westchester County, N.Y., to try to lure companies from those areas to downtown Danbury where the rents, city services, cost of living and taxes are lower, the News-Times reported. A targeted campaign on social media will emphasize the housing as well as business options downtown. 

The campaign initiative will include brochures targeting young professionals and entrepreneurs, in an effort to increase their presence – living and working – in the city.  “We’re trying to convey that now is the time to strike while the iron is hot. We’re focusing on business recruitment,” Prunty said.

Some would suggest the effort is an outgrowth from the city’s Playbook, which states its intent to “help the City get started with practical and tangible strategic moves, or “plays,” that the City can begin implementing. Six themes were highlighted in the 17-page guide, completed last year:  governance, transformation of education, innovative service delivery, transparency, sustainability, and re-imagined quality of life.

The playbook, which focuses on changes to the way in which city government does business, also notes that “to be the City of the Future, we must become rich in spirit and culture, everready to overcome all challenges and realize all opportunities facing the 21^st century city.”  The report, prepared by the Connecticut-based consulting firm BlumShapiro, goes on to state that “by going above and beyond, Danbury is the creative and cultural center in the region.”

The playbook is included on the website of the city’s Office of Project Excellence, formed a year ago and led by Stephen Nocera, who previously was chief administrative officer in Stratford. The Office’s most recent Steering Committee meeting, in February (according to minutes posted on the city’s website) included items such as a new communications website, restaurant week and streetlight purchases.

As a member of the National Historic Preservation and the Connecticut Main Street Center, CityCenter follows the four principles of design, organization, promotion and economic restructuring. “We strive to accelerate the renewal of the city’s urban core, with quality of life as the underlying theme: building a lasting constituency for downtown; supporting investors, retailers and tenants while retaining those already downtown and making downtown clean, safe and attractive,” the organization’s website points out.

Danbury is certainly not alone among Connecticut communities – large and small – that are stepping up efforts to attract residents and businesses.

Neighboring New Milford announced plans last year to fund a branding and marketing effort with grant funds, spurred by local businesses seeking to draw more people to their downtown area. Local officials stressed that New Milford has the longest green of any town in Connecticut, along with historic architecture and an eclectic mix of shops and artistic offerings.  The grant was issued through the Connecticut Main Street Center.

In lower Fairfield County, the city of Norwalk launched a rebranding initiative earlier this year.  Using the new slogan “The Sound of Connecticut,” the campaign, according to Mayor Harry Rilling “was necessary to help reposition Norwalk. Our visual brand and identity system will become a recognized symbol of Norwalk’s progressive and connected vibe. We understand and live the brand’s values, goals and promises on a daily basis.” The Mayor added that “our brand strategy will influence and shape the way the community and others think, feel and respond to the City of Norwalk.”