On July 29th, 2018 Global City Norwich hosted Peruvian Fest 2018, a community block party which celebrated the proclamation of independence for Peru. Over 1,500 attended from areas all over New England. We teamed up with the Peruvians United of CT and reached out to the large population of Peruvians (approx. 5,000) in the Norwich community to participate with traditional folk dances, traditional music, food and art. Peruvian and non-Peruvian people attended the festival and participated as vendors. The fest boasted a giant waterslide, a llama and two alpacas, and children’s games. The only two Peruvian restaurants within our county (New London) attended the festival as vendors. The minister for the Consulate General of Peru surprised us as well as honored us with his presence. Other public officials such as the Senator, State Rep, Mayor, City Council members attended as well as many community leaders of the Norwich area and local areas. The festival speaks volumes as a direct result of the festival is the gain of two new Foundry 66 members who will be utilizing the new space upstairs for MixxedFit and Zumba classes. Global City Norwich serves to unite the community together by celebrating, supporting and encouraging all facets of diversity and culture through global themed events. With the overall objective to stimulate economic growth, entrepreneurship and community building Global City Norwich is perfectly in line with the mission and spirit of the NCDC (Norwich Community Development Corporation) as we complete the first quarter.
In addition to creating community events, GCN also gears up other projects. One of our ongoing projects is hanging global flags throughout Downtown Norwich and mounting them to store fronts. Global Flags compass a range of flags from different countries as well as tribal flags. This project since starting in June, has had an overwhelmingly positive impact in our community as well as throughout neighboring regions. Engaging with business owners, landlords and residents as we ask permission, educate and give information about GCN and the purpose of the flags has sparked cohesiveness in Downtown in just the few short months of GCN’s existence.
Meeting and engaging with a variety of different organizations and communities such as Rotary, the local library, local churches, local schools, local Chamber of Commerce, tribal leaders and tribal members, City Council members, City employees and officials, veterans as well as small and large businesses in the early stages of building GCN is an extreme necessity. Learning about the needs of the community by meeting people at their places of worship or workplace or wherever is a best fit is true engagement and has organically developed friendships, ideas, and real human connections. These relationships and collaborations are the core of GCN and the upcoming projects for 2018 and 2019 are a direct result of conversations that have taken place in the past 4 months.
Upcoming GCN events:
Polish Fest 2018 – Oct. 21
A long-awaited Polish Fest is finally coming, and it will be held on Franklin Street. With the support of many members of the Polish Fest living locally in Norwich, Greenville all the way to Colchester and New Britain, the excitement is quickly growing daily as we progress with festival plans. The famous Polanie Polish Folk Dancers from New Britain, the hall of famed Maestro’s Men, The Divine Providence Church and many more other Polish community members are all on board for this great event.
Sunday Indoor Global Markets – Nov. 2018 to May 2019
2019 Festivals: Haitian Festival, Cape Verde, Tibetan Festival, International Zombie Run, Puerto Rico Festival, Filipino Festival, Pacific Islands Festival, Mediterranean Festival, Ellis W. Ruley Art Festival and much more in the works.
