BURRILLVILLE – It will be a chance to catch up with friends and neighbors, to enjoy outdoor activities and live entertainment, and to see all that village has to offer, from services and dining, to locally-crafted brews.
The Fountain Square Spring Splash will take over downtown Pascoag on Saturday, May 20 for an event to highlight the opening of a new park that will include participation by around 20 local businesses and organizations. Put on by the Burrillville Redevelopment Agency, the “splash,” will mark the official opening of Fountain Square Park, as area businesses spill into the street for an evening of celebration.
The event will begin at 4 p.m., with music by DJ WiseVlad and attractions including horse-drawn carriage rides offered by Liberty Farms, a scavenger hunt, and an arts and crafts station with Art Box Studio. Pascoag Hose Company will offer touch-a-truck at the fire station, and the Burrillville Historic & Preservation Society will have a booth highlighting village history.
Redevelopment Chairman Jim Langlois noted that every space along the strip has agreed to participate, including groups such as Well One, which will offer information on their latest and ever-growing healthcare services.
“They’ve expanded their operations there quite a bit,” Langlois said.
Restaurants – extending as far out as Cow’s Tail Deli – will offer food and drink specials, and expanded seating with tables on the sidewalks and street.
“Every business is going to be doing stuff outside,” Langlois said.
At 5:30 p.m., a short speaking program will mark the unveiling of the mini-park at the center of it all, a manicured square featuring a working fountain, a replica of those once found throughout town to accommodate horses traveling through, along with a bandshell. A small stone plaza has been installed, featuring benches and two storyboards, including one about similar structures once present throughout Burrillville.
The agency has been hard are work getting ready for the unveiling and in the coming days, a landscaper will finish the final plantings and the new fountain will take its place at the center.
“The park is coming out really nice,” Langlois said. “We are so pleased with it.”
The Live Music Band will move into the bandshell, a small stage with sound and lighting, at 6 p.m., performing until the event wraps up around 9 p.m.
There will be no parking on Pascoag Main Street to allow businesses to prepare for the event starting at noon on Saturday, and the street closes to traffic completely at 3 p.m. Signs and event staff will direct visitors to nearby municipal lots until those are filled, at which point parking will move to Hauser Field, with a shuttle running to and from the village until 9:30 p.m.
The agency itself will put on the scavenger hunt, with participants visiting every business along the strip and bringing back evidence of their travels for a chance to be entered into a drawing for various gift certificates. The group will also host a “birthday lights contest,” where visitors can enter their name in a drawing to have Pascoag’s twinkling lights lit up in a favorite color to mark their special day. Around six winners will be drawn over the next six months.
Those lights, installed over the village street last May, will be specially animated for the evening.
“The reason for this event is really threefold,” Langlois explained, noting that the agency hopes to bring attention to all the improvements made in recent years to downtown Pascoag.
He noted that the central attraction is the opening of Fountain Square, but the event also serves to bring awareness of the area businesses.
“That’s the idea of the scavenger hunt,” he said.
The chairman noted that since the agency first came up with the idea, it took on, “a life of its own,” thanks to help from town departments and contributions from the business community such as Bravo Brewing Company, which signed on as a co-sponsor.
“I want to thank the businesses and organizations on Main Street. Everybody’s on board. Everyone is enthusiastic,” Langlois said. “It’s nice to see what is being done to improve the business district.”
The rain date for the event is June 3 and NRI NOW will publish information regarding any changes if mother nature interferes.
“It’s a big effort,” Langlois said. “We’re expecting a good crowd.”
