BURRILLVILLE – In June, some 2,000 to 3,000 visitors gathered on Pascoag Main Street for an event featuring live entertainment, activities and more, with the official reveal of a new mini-park to be known as Fountain Square.
Area businesses joined other vendors, bringing their food, drink and goods out into the roadway for the party, which marked completion of a project honoring village history through the installation of a replica of the fountain that was once used to provide water to horses traveling through.
The event, put on by the Burrillville Redevelopment Agency, aimed to draw attention to recent improvements to the village, as well as the thriving business community. Crowds gathered for the fun and every business along the street participated, offering specials and various services beneath twinkling lights installed above the roadway last year.
The event was so fun, in fact, that now, the agency has decided to do it again at a, “Fountain Square Fall Splash,” scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30 from 4 to 9 p.m.
“This is a spinoff from the successful Spring Splash,” said agency Chairman Jim Langlois. “The first event was very well received.”
“Even before the Spring Splash was over, we had people saying, ‘you have to do this again,’ – not just attendees, but business owners and town officials,” he added.
Langlois noted that the event will feature a similar format to the one in June, with Pascoag Main Street closed to traffic, and guests able to move freely about the area with their drinks and other purchases, creating a block party atmosphere.
This time around, more local businesses will join the party, including Art Box Studio, Sticks Pizza truck, The Taco Shop and Dinolicious. The Pascoag Fire Department will serve doughboys and show off their new truck, Engine 44. Liberty Farms will offer carriage rides, while Cow’s Tail Deli will move some of their cooking outdoors. The agency itself is planning more surprises and new games and activities, with details still in the works.
And it’s not just restaurants planning to spill into the roadway, with various vendors offering demonstrations and activities.
“They’re showcasing their talents and services,” Langlois explained.
The Aviator’s will perform live music for the, “Splash,” with DJ Wisevlad offering songs between sets.
The plan, the chairman noted, is to have the band perform outdoors inside a bandshell constructed as part of the Fountain Square project. At the spring event, entertainment had to be moved inside Bravo Brewing Company due to cold and slightly rainy weather.
“We’re hoping to have them outside in the park,” he said.
Event parking signs will direct visitors to local lots, but the agency has also planned for overflow parking at Houser Field, with shuttle buses running to and from the area. In the event of rain, the event will be held the following day, on Sunday, Oct. 1, but the hours will change from 2 to 7 p.m.
Langlois said that feedback from the first event was overwhelmingly positive.
“It was really interesting to see,” he said. “We knew that we had created a buzz about it but we didn’t know if it would turn into attendees, and it did.”
“It gave the Redevelopment Agency a sense of accomplishment, when you drive through Pascoag and the parking lots are filled, the streets are lined with cars, and all the businesses are active,” he said. “It’s a very good feeling.’
He noted that everyone, from police and fire, to the administration, Town Council and the Department of Public Works, has been very helpful in the planning and coordination involved.
“We have a very good group of business owners who are motivated to do these types of things, so the Redevelopment Agency is more than happy to work with them.”
Pascoag, he said, is still something of a, “hidden gem that is starting to bust out a little bit.”
“It’s a great time to be a business owner in downtown Pascoag, and it’s also a great time for anyone thinking about opening a business in the area.”
The Fountain Square Fall Splash will take place on Pascoag Main Street on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 4 to 9 p.m.
