CITY OF HARTFORD TO HOLD SECOND DOMINGO! OPEN STREET FESTIVAL ON PARK

Published on September 22, 2022

HARTFORD, CT – Today, the City of Hartford, in partnership with Hartford HealthCare, announced details for the second DominGO! open street festival, which will take place Sunday, September 25th from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, stretching from Park Street and Prospect Avenue all the way across town to Park Street and Main Street. Previously planned for July, this event was rescheduled to this Sunday due to July’s extreme temperatures.

Park Street will be closed to vehicular traffic all along the event route starting at 9:00 am on Sunday, reopening at 3:00 pm.

DominGO! Hartford will transform two miles of streets into car-free public spaces, connecting our communities and creating new places for fun, healthy activity for all ages and abilities. Community members will be able to enjoy biking, walking, running, and exercising, as well as visiting local businesses, eating at neighborhood restaurants, and enjoying activity hubs located along the route.

“The DominGO! open streets initiative is an experiment in reclaiming public space for a different use, bringing the community together to experience their city and our major avenues in a new way," said Mayor Bronin. “This Sunday, we'll celebrate on Park Street, letting folks enjoy two miles of streets closed to cars but open for walking and biking, music and arts, and great shops and restaurants. I want to thank Hartford HealthCare and all our local partners for their invaluable support in organizing DominGO! We’re looking forward to this second DominGO! event." 

Each DominGO! Hartford route will include three activity hubs, where guests will find water, first aid, and restrooms. Activity hubs will also feature family-friendly games such as jump rope, basketball, soccer, and live musical entertainment, as well as dance classes and fitness challenges provided by Hartford HealthCare and free health screenings from Cigna. Activity hubs will also include live entertainment throughout the day. Musical acts will include Felix Manuel y Su Grupo, Ray Gonzalez, DJ Peter Cee, and Joe Linhart and Friends. 

“DominGO! Hartford aligns perfectly with our mission to improve the health of the communities we serve,” said Bimal Patel, president of Hartford Hospital. “We are proud to partner with the City for this great event that will help revitalize our neighborhoods, support locally owned businesses, and make critical health screenings and testing available to all.”

"At Cigna, we recognize the benefits of the outdoors and social connection on people’s health and well-being," said Brian Cuddeback, Vice President of Sales, Cigna Connecticut. "Our sponsorship of DominGO! Hartford is a great opportunity to promote a healthy lifestyle while supporting the Hartford community."

To support the success of the DominGO! program, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the City of Hartford, 224 EcoSpace, the Commission on Cultural Affairs, and AARP Connecticut partnered to produce an Arts Activation program. In April, the City released a call-for-artists, asking residents and organizations to submit their ideas for art and cultural expression that interpret city streets as public space for people. Artists submissions were reviewed and selected by a panel put together by the City’s Commission on Cultural Affairs, and individuals and groups were awarded $500–$5,000 each based on project size. Recipients for the September and October DominGO! days include Balam Soto, Amanda Naimie, Jackie Bright, Hiram “Hydro” Cardona Jr., Kerry Bilda, Anne Marie Williams, Jedda LaRue, Brendaliz Cepeda, Pop Tart, Lashawn Robinson, and more.

“We are excited to partner with the City and 224 EcoSpace to activate Hartford’s streets through this new endeavor” said Erika Frank, Senior Community Officer at the Hartford Foundation. “We know that showcasing artists and supporting community engagement with the arts is a critical component of supporting higher opportunity neighborhoods.”

“Hartford has a lot of amazing talent, artists, educators, and creatives. We need to continue to provide and fund more space and resources for arts and culture throughout our community, for our community. We look forward to a wide range of artists, performers, and ideas, funded by the Arts Activation program this Sunday on Park Street,” said Lindaluz Carillo, Commissioner on the Hartford Commission on Cultural Affairs. “From interactive projection art to the traditional Puerto Rican dance Bomba Plena, Park Street will be alive with art, culture, and celebration this Sunday.”

While DominGO! Hartford’s primary goal is to encourage attendees to be active, the program also aims to support local artists, non-profit organizations, and small businesses. Businesses along each route are encouraged to activate their storefronts and interact with people as they travel up and down the route. Non-profit organizations participating include BiCi Co., Our Piece of the Pie, the Institute for the Hispanic Family, the Big Red Book Truck, Active City, SINA, Frog Hollow NRZ, Parkville NRZ, BikeWalk CT, and the Women’s League of Voters.

DominGO! Hartford will next take place on Main Street on October 23rd from 9:00am–3:00pm. To learn more, visit www.domingohartford.com.

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