Derby/Shelton Rotary Club

Derby-Shelton Rotary Plans New Event

Aims to finance pavilion at Riverwalk

Rotary President Linda Homes can't wait to serve you a delicious lobster (or steak!).

The Derby-Shelton Rotary Club will host a Steak and Lobster Bake Aug. 2 at the Shelton Riverwalk, the premiere event in a three-year fund-raising campaign for new community activities in Shelton and Derby.

Rotary president Linda Holmes-Hannon said the club hopes to use the funding to build a new pavilion adjacent to Veterans Park and the Riverwalk, aiming for the project to coincide with the city’s plans to extend the Riverwalk west along Canal Street.

In addition, Holmes-Hannon said, the club wants to establish a fund for big-name summer concerts at the Derby Green and the Riverwalk.

City officials in both cities have been receptive to Rotary’s plans. Mayor Mark A. Lauretti, who has supported the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club’s events for many years, said he has been pleased to have the city partner with the club for such events as Shelton Day. “It is important to make our Downtown a destination area,” he said. “The Steak and Lobster Bake is an innovative event. It sounds like it will be a fun time, with the bonus of showcasing the Riverwalk and Veteran’s Park.”

Mayor Tony Staffieri of Derby said, “The Derby-Shelton Rotary Club is spectacular. The quality and quantities of work they do on behalf of our city is extraordinary. On behalf of each and every citizen of Derby, I thank the Rotary Club for all the work and effort in the past and look forward to their continued effort of making Derby the best it can be.”

James Ryan, head of the Shelton Economic Development Corporation, said he not only likes what he has heard about the planned pavilion and concerts, he also likes the plans for the Steak and Lobster Bake. “It’s a very special event that will bring more people downtown,” he said. “It would be very appropriate for the area.”

Ryan noted the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club already has invested in downtown Shelton, donating a clock that stands near the Farmers Market (a duplicate stands in downtown Derby). In addition, the club is participating in a redesign project for the Derby-Shelton Bridge and it also is planning this year’s Shelton Day festival, which traditionally attracts about 150 vendors and thousands of visitors to downtown Shelton the first Sunday of October.

Naugatuck Valley Savings & Loan and Marks of Design are sponsoring the Steak and Lobster Bake, which will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Riverwalk, 44 Canal St., along the Housatonic River. The band Starving Artist, which has performed at several Shelton Day festivals, will provide entertainment. The club also plans a dunk tank and other activities that day.

For tickets, call (203) 567-0252 and leave a message.

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