Commerce Chenango and NCSD planning first annual NHS Alumni Weekend
NHS 2023 graduates at their graduation ceremony earlier this year. Commerce Chenango and the Norwich City School District have partnered to create the first annual NHS Alumni Weekend, a celebration of the district through a block party, food and activities in the park, a kick off for the NHS football team, and more. (Photo by Eric Korver)
NORWICH — Commerce Chenango has partnered with the Norwich City School District (NCSD) to begin planning the first ever Norwich High School (NHS) Alumni Weekend, which is scheduled for Friday, September 1.
Although details of the event are still being worked out, the organizations plan to have a block party kickoff on Lackawanna Avenue from 5 to 8 p.m., food trucks and a kids' zone in East Park, live music, an alumni football game at NHS put on by the NHS Boosters from 5 to 6 p.m., and an 8 p.m. bonfire in East Park to kick off the NHS football season, which begins the following day.
While the event is centered around NCSD, those that didn't attend the district or graduate from NHS but live in the area are welcome to attend.
"What we’re really trying to do is create connectedness between the school and community. So the last thing you want to do is be exclusive," said NCSD Superintendent Scott Ryan. "The event is intended to be as inclusive as possible ... Come out and support Norwich and support the people that make this such a great place to raise a family and to live."
The idea began at Commerce Chenango as a way to create some excitement around the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) projects and the concept of "placemaking," which is used to create quality destinations for both work and play, that the city hopes to use to tie together the nine DRI projects.
"As we were talking about how and where we might do that, one of the ideas that came out was to do it and test it on Lackawanna Avenue. It’s a one-way street we could block off temporarily for a period of time and hold some type of a block party there, and then have music and have Rita’s and Park Place set up outside and be able to entertain people on the street with a pedestrian walkway," explained Commerce Chenango President and CEO Sal Testani.
"In combination, I was hoping we could get some type of family-oriented kids zone or kids activity in the park on the other side on the street, and then put some food trucks and vendors in the Frontier parking lot," he continued. "I thought it would be a great idea to try to show that we can create a destination if we create enough energy and excitement around the idea."
Ryan heard about the plans, and approached Commerce Chenango with the idea of making the event an opportunity for community pride with an alumni weekend.
"Our goal at school is to consistently get better in terms of how we connect community and school. I think there is oftentimes a false narrative about what happens in school, as well as I think there’s a false narrative about the efforts that are taking place with the DRI. So what better way to showcase both events simultaneously?" said Ryan.
"There’s an old saying where the school is a reflection of the community, and there are a ton of efforts and people that are truly rallying around the betterment of Norwich, and of course that fits perfectly with our vision," he added.
Commerce Chenango and NCSD have also been collaborating with other community members and organizations to expand the idea. Testani said Mindy Chawgo from the Business Improvement District (BID), City of Norwich Community Development Director Erik Scrivener, owners of Park Place Dee and Dave Cirello, Northeast Classic Car Museum Executive Director Robert Jeffrey, and Rita's owner Mike Hayes.
He also said they're exploring the potential for other local businesses to host events and specials that weekend, such as an event at Hidden Springs Brewhouse after the first NHS football game of the season on Saturday, or a buy one get one free ticket deal for NCSD alumni at the Northeast Classic Car Museum.
With the NHS football game taking place in Hamilton on Saturday, Testani said he's even exploring the possibility of organizing a few fan buses to take community members to the game.
"Imagine if we could get a sponsor for a couple buses to go up to Hamilton. It’s a 45-minute ride; We go up, we watch the game, we come back," said Testani. "We could have an adult fan bus where they serve adult beverages, and we could have a family bus where they have just soda and water for people to go up and back to watch the high school play."
Ryan is also hoping to host an open house of the high school during Alumni Weekend.
"One of the things I’d like to see happen, and I don’t know if we can because of our construction that’s happening, is have a window of time on that day where people can come down and tour the building," he said. "Those people that might be coming back into town for a Labor Day celebration with their family, have the school open from 10 [a.m.] to 12 [p.m.] for example, to come down and just see what the school looks like after being away for an extended period of time."
Details and activities for the first NHS Alumni Weekend are still being finalized, but Testani said the future possibilities for the event are endless. He hopes to make the weekend an annual event to celebrate the NCSD community and kick off the school year.
"We paint the town purple every year. And what a perfect weekend to welcome everybody back before everybody has to go back to school the following week," said Testani. "What a wonderful celebration, and what a wonderful opportunity for people to come back and have a four day weekend Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday to come back to their hometown."
"Who knows, maybe some of those people stick around. Maybe some of those people see what we’ve got going on here and they think, boy, what a wonderful place to be. And if we do it enough, and we get enough of these type of things working together, I think we can show off all those things we’ve got going on."
Although details of the event are still being worked out, the organizations plan to have a block party kickoff on Lackawanna Avenue from 5 to 8 p.m., food trucks and a kids' zone in East Park, live music, an alumni football game at NHS put on by the NHS Boosters from 5 to 6 p.m., and an 8 p.m. bonfire in East Park to kick off the NHS football season, which begins the following day.
While the event is centered around NCSD, those that didn't attend the district or graduate from NHS but live in the area are welcome to attend.
"What we’re really trying to do is create connectedness between the school and community. So the last thing you want to do is be exclusive," said NCSD Superintendent Scott Ryan. "The event is intended to be as inclusive as possible ... Come out and support Norwich and support the people that make this such a great place to raise a family and to live."
The idea began at Commerce Chenango as a way to create some excitement around the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) projects and the concept of "placemaking," which is used to create quality destinations for both work and play, that the city hopes to use to tie together the nine DRI projects.
"As we were talking about how and where we might do that, one of the ideas that came out was to do it and test it on Lackawanna Avenue. It’s a one-way street we could block off temporarily for a period of time and hold some type of a block party there, and then have music and have Rita’s and Park Place set up outside and be able to entertain people on the street with a pedestrian walkway," explained Commerce Chenango President and CEO Sal Testani.
"In combination, I was hoping we could get some type of family-oriented kids zone or kids activity in the park on the other side on the street, and then put some food trucks and vendors in the Frontier parking lot," he continued. "I thought it would be a great idea to try to show that we can create a destination if we create enough energy and excitement around the idea."
Ryan heard about the plans, and approached Commerce Chenango with the idea of making the event an opportunity for community pride with an alumni weekend.
"Our goal at school is to consistently get better in terms of how we connect community and school. I think there is oftentimes a false narrative about what happens in school, as well as I think there’s a false narrative about the efforts that are taking place with the DRI. So what better way to showcase both events simultaneously?" said Ryan.
"There’s an old saying where the school is a reflection of the community, and there are a ton of efforts and people that are truly rallying around the betterment of Norwich, and of course that fits perfectly with our vision," he added.
Commerce Chenango and NCSD have also been collaborating with other community members and organizations to expand the idea. Testani said Mindy Chawgo from the Business Improvement District (BID), City of Norwich Community Development Director Erik Scrivener, owners of Park Place Dee and Dave Cirello, Northeast Classic Car Museum Executive Director Robert Jeffrey, and Rita's owner Mike Hayes.
He also said they're exploring the potential for other local businesses to host events and specials that weekend, such as an event at Hidden Springs Brewhouse after the first NHS football game of the season on Saturday, or a buy one get one free ticket deal for NCSD alumni at the Northeast Classic Car Museum.
With the NHS football game taking place in Hamilton on Saturday, Testani said he's even exploring the possibility of organizing a few fan buses to take community members to the game.
"Imagine if we could get a sponsor for a couple buses to go up to Hamilton. It’s a 45-minute ride; We go up, we watch the game, we come back," said Testani. "We could have an adult fan bus where they serve adult beverages, and we could have a family bus where they have just soda and water for people to go up and back to watch the high school play."
Ryan is also hoping to host an open house of the high school during Alumni Weekend.
"One of the things I’d like to see happen, and I don’t know if we can because of our construction that’s happening, is have a window of time on that day where people can come down and tour the building," he said. "Those people that might be coming back into town for a Labor Day celebration with their family, have the school open from 10 [a.m.] to 12 [p.m.] for example, to come down and just see what the school looks like after being away for an extended period of time."
Details and activities for the first NHS Alumni Weekend are still being finalized, but Testani said the future possibilities for the event are endless. He hopes to make the weekend an annual event to celebrate the NCSD community and kick off the school year.
"We paint the town purple every year. And what a perfect weekend to welcome everybody back before everybody has to go back to school the following week," said Testani. "What a wonderful celebration, and what a wonderful opportunity for people to come back and have a four day weekend Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday to come back to their hometown."
"Who knows, maybe some of those people stick around. Maybe some of those people see what we’ve got going on here and they think, boy, what a wonderful place to be. And if we do it enough, and we get enough of these type of things working together, I think we can show off all those things we’ve got going on."
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