To the editor:
I am writing in response to a letter in the Warren Times dated March 15th by Jerry Laroche.
In that letter he states how "We had a civic parade, a military parade, along with a horribles parade. Concerts at Burr's Hill, a carnival, fireworks, a foot race through the streets of town and many other events. Now we have nothing! Yes we do have the Christmas Festival and they do a great job with that." He then asks the Town Fathers to bring back these great events.
Now while I agree that several of these things are no longer happening, there are many other things that have taken their place. He did fail to mention many things happening in Warren, such as, The Warren Quahog & Art Festival some 30 years old that brings thousands of people into town, The Fusion Fest, The Finish for a Guiness 5K run, The Warren WalkAbout , The Italian Festival, The Portuguese Festival, The Chicken BBQ at the Pete Sepe Pavillion, The St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner, The numerous Church Dinners, The Fire Dept's many Clam Bakes and Chowder Events, The Veterans Day Celebration. Last year we had the first annual "Folks Fest" that Dave Wescott graciously allowed to be held at his 30 Cutler St. Mill which was a wonderful afternoon of music, food, crafts, and art, and was attended by hundreds. Last summer we had 10 concerts at Burr's Hill Park and The Warren Summer Concert Series is alive and well. Last Spring I was asked if I would be interested in managing it by the Warren Recreation Board and together we, with funding from the town and individual sponsors paid for 10 bands to perform. Thanks to our Corporate Sponsors, Navigant Credit Union and Twigg's Automotive we were able to purchase a "state of the art" 10,000 watt speaker system. The Church Street Coffeehouse provided the rest of the equipment and the expertise to run it. This year’s concert series is going to be even bigger than last year’s. The Coffeehouse has for 16 years provided both a monthly concert series and a weekly Open Mic as well.
Yes, while some of these other things have unfortunately gone by the wayside, this town offers a lot, to not just it's citizens, but to visitors as well and all of this happens because of volunteers and people willing to help financially support these wonderful events.
Rick Norman
Joyce Street