Page 52 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 56 Autumn 2025

Celebrating Our Community

l
l
a
for
d!
i
at
i
ebr
ng
el
ng W
C
Celebrating Wallingford!
by Beatrice Kim
In certain neighborhoods, the word “community” rep- Celebrate Wallingford — where you can see every-
resents an area, or a street of people. Nothing more thing from handmade soaps, to jewelry collections, to
than a specific amount of houses, stores, and a pop- drink and dessert samples with plenty of flyers and
ulation count of people in the area, “community” in brochures in-between, all while listening to the tal-
other places may simply be a way to vaguely describe ented live music performances of local bands — is the
a group of people. perfect way to kick off the fall season!

In Wallingford, however, we take pride in the word
“community”. Community, to us, holds meaning be-
yond a street and a few buildings.

As the leaves turn from green to warm hues of or-
ange, yellow, red, and brown, our community waits in
anticipation for October 4th. The first weekend of Oc-
tober marks our annual tradition of hosting Celebrate
Wallingford, a vibrant festival open to members of our
community as a showcase of local vendors and pillars
of our community.

During the first weekend of October, the North and
South Main and Center Street bustles into action as
local Wallingford businesses and vendors set up their Photo by Wesley Krombel
stalls to the excitement of both locals and visiting
people alike. The nonprofit organization promotes If you are new to Connecticut, have relatives or
and showcases the best of Wallingford annually, with friends visiting from out of town, or are a long-time
local businesses and organizations able to set up un- Wallingford resident, consider coming up to show
der market stalls and tents. your support for your local businesses at Celebrate
Wallingford! It’s a great way to meet representatives
This celebration is the perfect representation of our of different groups that make up our wonderful town,
Wallingford community — one where people of all and you may just find yourself leaving with a new fa-
ages are welcome to take part in showing the ways vorite restaurant to look forward to dining at, or with
they support our town, whether by supporting local weekend plans spent at an event you wouldn’t have
businesses and public services, or by running those heard about without the information booths set up
organizations! Celebrate Wallingford personally throughout the day!
helped me and my family adjust to living in Connecti-
cut, and made us feel so welcome and involved within Be sure to mark your calendars for the first weekend
the neighborhood. It was amazing being able to look of October — and welcome in the season of brightly
beyond the buildings that line the Wallingford streets colored leaves, rainy windows, and pumpkins with a
and interact with the people who care about and rep- celebration of our town!
resent organizations and businesses in our commu-
nity, while sampling merchandise and learning about
new programs and opportunities.

52 WALLINGFORD MAGAZINE - AUTUMN 2025