Hartford Reporter

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.

Original source can be found here.