River Fire provides pleasant summer night in Putnam
FOOD AND MUSIC
PUTNAM - With an array of gourmet cheeses, fresh almonds, tiny gherkin pickles and other savory foods on top of a candlelit tablecloth, Putnam resident Linda Colangelo was preparing for an elegant outdoor dinner.
The setting? Putnam’s Rotary Park for the town’s first River Fire event of the season.
“Look at this. Look at this beautiful park,” Colangelo said. “We’re just getting ready for a nice evening.”
The annual summertime event, which draws thousands to town, kicked off with much enthusiasm despite an overcast sky that offered sporadic showers.
Nationally known Neil Diamond tribute band Real Diamond headlined Saturday’s show, but the crowd was also treated to selections from “Les Miserables,” by the musical’s cast performing it at The Hyde School Cultural Center Aug. 1- 3 to benefit Day Kimball Healthcare, Quinebaug Valley Community College Foundation and The Theater of Northeastern Connecticut at the Bradley Playhouse.
Admission to River Fire is free and people can bring their own food, drink, entertainment items, lawn chairs and other belongings to the park. Town leaders say the event is a big marketing tool for Putnam, and also helps bring business to its restaurants and downtown stores.
Colangelo, who said she goes to as many of the River Fire events as she can, has seen the benefit herself.
“We love it. The people it brings in from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, it’s making Northeast Connecticut a destination. This is what community is meant to be,” she said.
Across the park, Putnam resident Tim Maroney was grilling drumsticks against the Quinebaug River’s reflection. He and his wife, Anne Byrne, were hosting friends from Northborough and Shrewsbury, Mass.
“Putnam does it right,” Stacey Clark, of Shrewsbury, said while lounging under a large tree. “This is just great.”
Byrne said she and Maroney moved to Putnam from Massachusetts about six years ago, and have no plans to relocate. The River Fire exemplifies why they are so fond of the region.
“We’re madly in love with the area. We’re going to retire here,” she said.
Like many others, Byrne and Maroney tend to stake out the same real estate for every River Fire, arriving early to set up.
Janina Zarzycka, of Putnam, joined friends from Preston and Salem for dinner along the river.
“We just find it very relaxing. It’s a nice way to spend a summer night,” she said.
Sisters Morgan and Adele Schmidt, 11 and 8, of Preston, played a game of “Dogopoly” with their mother Lisa and a group of other friends.
All of them were excited for Real Diamond.
“We don’t know all of the songs or anything,” Morgan said.
“But we love ‘Sweet Caroline,’” Adele said.
