Congrats to the West End Association for another successful Rockwell Park Festival

Posted By: David Fortier August 21, 2022

By David Fortier 

Come Sunday morning, Mary and I will have celebrated our 39th anniversary with dinner out at Pint & Plate on Saturday and a quiet night watching a new show, Endeavor on PBS. It was a nice meal. The place is a gem. We are lucky to have it – and the other Rusgrove enterprises here in town. (Facebook informs me that there is another in the offing, but in South Carolina! Congrats!) 

Speaking of congratulations, congratulations to the West End Association for a terrific Rockwell Park Festival 2022. You would never know there was a two-year COVID hiatus between the last festival and this one, simply because it appeared to come off without a hitch. I say this from being one of the vendors. TBE had a booth there, and I spent most of the day there. 

It’s always fun to see who comes by, and it’s fun to call people over to chat. Mike Letendre came and treated me to a cheeseburger. (Thanks, Mike.) And Laura Bailey, with her family in tow, came by to spend some time at the booth before heading out to take photos.

Our presence at the festival is important for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, people need to learn about our online community newspaper—because, apparently, there are a lot of people who don’t know about us. Second, it is to correct the misconception that we are part of the Press. We are not. We are a competitor. It is the reason we exist is because the Press is no longer the Press we loved and turned to. 

By our very existence, we accomplish a couple of things. We push to make the Press more accountable, do a better job. At the same time, we add solid community reporting so that people get more information. That’s the point. More news. It’s a win-win, but it only works if people recognize that there is a competition going on. That way they (you) have a choice, to support one or the other of us, or both. Overall, competition serves us all. 

To succeed, TBE needs people to recognize how that can help by supporting us financially (not nostalgically as so many do the Press). So spread the word and support us with a small recurring monthly donation of $6. TBE intends to be a responsible, trustworthy source of local Bristol news for all of us–so that we all benefit. That is a challenge to the status quo.

Ah, the Rockwell Festival. The organizing, which took months, really showed as the 150 or so vendors and 12 bands and food trucks all entered the park from 7 to 10 a.m. and then exited from 5:30 p.m. on, volunteers directing traffic and lending a hand whenever to help out. In between it was good to see the park filled with visitors having a good time. 

*** 

As the festival was getting underway over at Memorial Boulevard, or the new Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School (BAIMS), a ceremony was underway commemorating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the school 100 years ago. The speeches were broken up with the spirited arrival of Albert Rockwell and his bride (actors and script provided by the Bristol Historical Society) in a circa 1920 Packard automobile. 

The ceremonies were followed by more tours of the new school, which by all accounts, is a marvel with its renovated and improved theater, classrooms with wall-sized white boards, recording studios and black box theater. 

*** 

Reading/listening this week, let’s try something new, a podcast called “Cool Tools,” with guest Larry Keeley, an innovation scientist, who talks about his favorite gadgets. According to the show notes, Keeley pioneered “the specialized field of innovation effectiveness and has taught thousands of Masters and PhD innovators both at Kellogg’s MMM Program and at Chicago’s highly regarded Institute of Design.” It’s just fun listening to people like Keely talk about stuff. 

For reading, I finished an historical novel with the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of Francesco Franco. “The Fountains of Silence” by Ruta Sepetys is considered a cross-over novel, meaning that it is read by both teens and adults. For me, it turned out to be a good read, both enlightening and engaging. 

Enjoy! 

“Come Sunday morning” is intended to be a weekly review, a recounting of the past week and an anticipation of week to come. Among its features will be reviews of old and new books, sharing of favorite podcasts, some family news, Bristol events and happenings and issues surrounding education, work and community journalism. He can be reached at dfortier@bristoledition.org.      

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