The obligatory fireworks pictures

Yes, the rain kept the crowd at bay, still thousands of us gathered to happily watch $50,000 in tax dollars go up in smoke, flame and ash in a matter of 20 minutes.

Fireworks

Thousands of Middletown residents came out to see the fireworks display over the river on the Second of July. Walking down from the Nation Beat concert at Wesleyan, it seemed that College Street, Main Street, Riverview Parking Plaza, and DeKoven Drive were full of people.  The biggest crowds, however, were in Harbor Park. In fact, the tunnel under the highway was a bit of a "traffic" jam of people after the show.  

Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, as the fireworks became more and more spectacular. In fact, where I was standing people kept saying over and over, "OK, this is the finale" as each burst became more impressive than the last. 

Nation Beat Free Concert Tonite Rain or Shine

From Wesleyan Center for the Arts



CFA’s Summer Series Kicks Off With a Free Outdoor Dance Party

Nation Beat is a six member New York based band that combines rural music from northeastern Brazil and the American South. Their explosive live shows have attracted music fans from a wide demographic, including bluegrass and country music fans, Brazilian music lovers and outdoor festival-goers. They perform a free outdoor concert in the courtyard of Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts—located at 283 Washington Terr. in Middletown—on Thursday, July 2 at 7pm. Concert attendees are invited to come early and picnic as well as stay late and watch Middletown’s fireworks from the hill. For more information on this concert, visit www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or call 860-685-3355.

Nation Beat are rhythm gatherers, harvesting the fruit of 500 years of cultural crossbreeding, which is why the sounds of the northeast of Brazil and the southern United States blend together so seamlessly. At the heart of Nation Beat’s Legends of the Preacher lies a totally original 21st century fusion between thunderous Brazilian maracatu drumming and New Orleans second line rhythms, Appalachian-inspired bluegrass music, funk, rock, and country-blues. Conjuring the spirit of powerful and liberated carnival queens, rising Brazilian star Liliana Araujo fronts the ensemble with her soaring powerhouse vocals. A recent finalist on Brazil’s “American Idol” spin-off program FAMA, Araujo evokes the righteous soul singers of America’s golden age of soul.

In case of rain the concert will be held in Crowell Concert Hall.

Car Vandalism and Break-ins

Unfortunately, there's been a rash of car break-ins downtown recently, especially in the Main Street area, both in daylight and at night. In a few cases, the car windows were broken and in other cases, items were stolen from the cars. The primary target seems to be GPS systems that are attached and visible on the car's windshield. If you see anything suspicious or have any leads that might help the police, call the non-emergency police dispatch number 347-6941.

Eye on the Air, Friday July 3

WESU, 88.1 FM and live on the web at wesufm.org, Friday from 1-2 pm.

Guests

Adam Kubota, from Wesleyan's Center for the Arts (CFA), who will talk about the summer program of dance, music, lectures and comedy sponsored by the CFA. FREE ticket giveaway to listeners!

Arthur Meyers, Director of the Russell Library, who will speak about the effect of potential cuts on library services.

Only Violent Thunderstorms Will Postpone Fireworks

The Second of July Fireworks display scheduled for this evening will go on as planned, according to the mayor's office. The only thing that would disrupt them are "violent thunderstorms" which would require observers to seek shelter. According to the mayor's office a passing rain shower is not enough to squelch the annual display of pyrotechnics.

City Hall closes at three today.

My Vacation with Kabouters In Middletown

Whether you're a Middletown resident vacationing out of town, or an out-of-towner vacationing in and around Middletown, we'd love to hear your story, and see your pictures. Drop us an email: mieyeed@gmail.com

Here's a vacation story from a Vermonter.

From Louise Mulier Sandberg
I live in central Vermont and on June 22 drove down I-91 to Middletown for my granddaughter's graduation from middle school on the 23rd. Aside from the graduation ceremony, which was happy and grand, I went with my son Stephen (aka fishmuscle) to attend a Common Council meeting on Monday evening, on Tuesday strolled around downtown a bit, briefly visited the incredible Kidcity Children's Museum and saw the outdoor display of gnomes celebrating the "right to dry" with clothes hanging on a clothesline. Having grown up in Holland where gnomes ("kabouters") were a real part of my childhood, I totally identified with Kidcity's gnomes, for they very much look like the little earthmen I remember! From there I spent a quality hour-and-a-half in the fabulous public library. There, I was happy to find a novel by one of my favorite authors, Dutch-born Jan de Hartog, a great writer who, persecuted by the Nazi's during World War II, fled to England (and eventually the U.S.A.), and switched from writing powerful Dutch to writing equally powerful English.

I spent the rest of my time in Middletown with my son and daughter-in-law and their wonderful daughter and son ages 13 and 8 at their mini-farm where they keep chickens, three young pigs, a milk goat and a tiny horse.

Anyone wondering what kind of vacation that was, well, it was great. Our 130-acre farm in Vermont is the kind of place people would spend much money to travel to in order to enjoy peace and quiet and boundless beauty, and by charming urban contrast Middletown gave me a wonderful change of pace and environment.

Good Transportation

I'd like to recommend the Spring issue of GOOD magazine to anyone interested in the issues of transit, cycling, walkable neighborhoods or highway policy.

The articles range from solidly practical (how to choose a bike) to whimsical (the development of floating cars). There's a great image on how to arrange a busy urban intersection to suit all the people and vehicles that need to use it (showing lots of colored pavement and large street trees). And there's a piece on San Francisco's 30-year-old casual carpool system, where strangers share a ride and get a free pass at the tollbooth, plus stuff about light rail, stimulus funding and zipcars.

It's not on the newstands any more, but you can read all the articles from this link. Food for thought.

City solicits bids to develop Maromas land

The Department of Planning has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop 256 acres of city-owned open space in Maromas. This land consists of 4 parcels which are more or less contiguous from the River to just across Reservoir Road, and a 5th parcel south of Brooks Road. The State Deed Restriction allows the development of the land for agriculture, hiking trails, camping, and active recreation.

History of the land
The land in question was purchased by the General Hospital for the Insane of the State of Connecticut, in a series of transactions between 1866 and 1949. The Hospital, now known as Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH), used much of the land as a farm for its own use until World War II. In 2005, the State gave the properties to the City, with a restriction in the deed that would preserve them as open space. Currently, the properties include farm fields and forests. The properties are abutted by a few houses, mostly on their western borders. To the east are the forests of Maromas, which have remained largely undeveloped due to its rugged terrain.

This spring, the City granted an easement across some of the land to the Buckeye Pipeline company, for them to run a fuel pipe to the new Kleen Energy plant. Bill Warner, City Planner, told the Economic Development Committee (EDC) at their June 9th meeting that the pipeline project would clear much of the area, suggesting that it would be a good time for the city to see what interest there would be in developing the land. The EDC then voted to advertise an RFP for the site.

Solicitation of proposals
The RFP clearly delineates the restrictions on the land. The State deed restricts the use to "agriculture, parks, natural areas, forests, camping, fishing, wetlands preservation, wildlife habitat, swimming, hiking, or other active recreational purposes." The parcels are zoned R-45 (residential lots of greater than 45,000 square feet) and RF (Riverfront). Those zones allow, by Special Exception, "parks, playgrounds, playfields, golf courses, boating areas, community building, developed open space, such as arboreta, botanical and zoological gardens and similar recreational uses." The RF zone allows, by Special Exception, marinas and boatyards.

There are quite extensive requirements for proposals. These include:

• A description of the developer's business plan and the proposed future use(s) of the property
• Anticipated investment in the property
• Letters from Banks and other financial institutions demonstrating the developer's financial capacity
• A $10,000 fully refundable deposit (bank check or letter of credit)

I asked Warner whether a Land Trust or other conservation group would be discouraged from a hiking trails proposal. He suggested that a non profit could propose something without the formal RFP process, but said, "The RFP really is designed for income generating uses which can develop the land."

Active recreation is prominently featured in the RFP, "Active recreation is usually a structured (organized) activity requiring the use of physical facilities. Activities in this category include, but are not limited to, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, dog parks, golf courses, playgrounds, and boat ramps."

An 18-hole golf course was proposed nearly 50 years ago for some of the land that is the subject of this RFP. This course, which would have included all of parcels 3 and 4 in the map above, is no longer possible because some of the included land is now the site of Middlesex Community College. However, according to a 2007 report from the Planning Department, the combination of parcels 3 and 4 with parcels 1 and 2 would be sufficient for an 18-hole course. The report also sketches out other possible uses such as baseball and soccer fields.

Evaluation of proposals
The deadline for proposals is July 31st. All proposals will then be reviewed by EDC before going before the full Common Council.

For What It's Worth

This from the July 1 edition of Writer's Almanac with additional material from www.librarycompany.org:

It was on this day in 1731 that Ben Franklin founded the first circulating library, a forerunner to the now ubiquitous free public library. He started it as a way to help settle intellectual arguments among his group of Philadelphia friends, the Junto, a group of civic-minded individuals gathered together to discuss the important issues of their day.

Each of the 50 charter members bought an initial share into the company (40 shillings), which helped fund the buying of books, and then paid a smaller yearly fee (10 shillings) that went to buying more books and maintaining the library. In exchange, the members could borrow any of the books. Donations of books were gladly accepted.

They called their charter the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the next year, Franklin hired America's first librarian, Louis Timothee. At first, the books were stored at the librarian's house, but by the end of the decade, they were moved to the Pennsylvania State House, which is now known as Independence Hall.

The collections grew with the nation and reflect the country’s many faces and varied interests. From the Revolutionary War to 1800, when the national government was in Philadelphia, the Library Company also served as the Library of Congress. Until the 1850s it was the largest public library in America. All of the books the Library Company acquired year by year over more than two and a half centuries are still on its shelves, along with many others added since it was transformed into a research library in the 1950s. In the 21st century, the Library Company serves as a resource for a variety of readers, from high school students to senior scholars, from novelists to film producers, and anyone else with an interest in our collections.

Fireworks This Weekend (the Musical Kind)

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Fernando Antonio Ferrer Cruz, whose stage name is Fernandito Ferrer, returns to The Buttonwood Tree on Friday July 3 for a 7:30 p.m. show. Born in Puerto Rico, Ferrer's music blends traditional elements of his native land with modern American folk & folk-rock influences. His guitar work is exemplary, quite percussive at times, and his voice is emotionally expressive. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/fernanditoferrer - for reservations, call 347-4957.

Boney's Music Lounge presents 2 evenings with drummer Liviu Pop. Friday night, his group features organist Jerry Z in a funky, soul-drenched set of music. Saturday, the band includes Warren Byrd (keyboard) and Tim DeHuff (guitar) and the music goes in a bluesier direction but no less soulful. The first set both nights begins at 8:30 p.m. For more information, call 346-6000.

Area dance buffs know that Vinnie's Jump & Jive, 424 Main Street, has classes and events going on all the time. This weekend is no exception - Friday evening is devoted to Salsa Dancing, with the "intro" class at 6:30 p.m., "Beginner" instruction at 7, and "Intermediate" at 8. Saturday, the emphasis shifts to "Swing" with "Beginner" instruction at 7:30 p.m. and the weekly "Swing Dance" (with live music) from 8:30 - 11 p.m. (Author's note - after I posted this, I learned that the July 4th events were canceled.) To find out more, call 347-6971, extension 3777.

The Chimney Swifts of St. Sebastians

One of the unexpected delights of living downtown is the return, each summer, of a colony of chimney swifts which roosts in the tall chimney of St. Sebastian's Church. It is not the only colony downtown, as there is another which roosts in a chimney at the old high school on the corner of Pearl and Court Streets.

Chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are migratory birds which winter in Peru, and migrate to North America in the summer. Their ancient roosting sites were hollow trees and rock structures, but as these disappeared with development, they have adapted to tall chimneys. As some of these chimneys disappear, or are capped, roosts for these birds are threatened. This is of some concern since the birds are ferocious flying bug eaters, consuming a third of their body weight in an evening of hunting. They are unable to stand on the ground, because their legs are suited to cling to vertical surfaces with sharp claws. They build crescent-shaped nests, that look a bit like soap dishes, to hold eggs, and eventually young swifts. These nests, made with sticky saliva and twigs, are the traditional ingredients for the Chinese dish, bird's nest soup.

In my observation the noisy chirps of these swifts is noticed first in May, when, in the evening they begin to gather and circle the chimney at St. Sebastians in an aerial dance that lasts about twenty minutes. As the birds gather at dusk, they begin to circle the chimney in a wide arc, swooping and chirping noisily as the size of the aerial flock grows to about a hundred birds. Then, as if on some signal, the birds begin to drop precipitously, one after another, into the chimney, until after only a few minutes the sky is empty of the birds.

It's never failed to amaze visitors to the house when I've pulled them out onto the porch at dusk to observe the flight of the swifts, and their amazing disappearing act. The swooping, chirping and the final dive into the chimney is always a spectacular sight.

Last night, the nightly flight was made even more dramatic when a thunderstorm to the north served as backdrop, and lightshow for the roosting activity.

I notice that as the summer wanes, so does the number of swifts which gather in the evening. You can observe the activity easily from the parking lot of the church, or from Broad Street, near the corner of Washington. The gathering occurs just after the sun has gone down, these days, between 8:30 and 9:00 pm.