naugy blog

Detailed explanation on downtown Naugatuck Construction. See the full plan here. Updates to follow.

Fresh, Fun, and growing!

Saturday, May 20th will be a special day in the Borough of Naugatuck. This is the day of our annual Spring Festival with live music, food, free space for vendors and other festive events. Planning for the festival commenced several months ago but the festival continues to expand. The festival is set to take place on May 20th and will include a car show, live music, and the grand opening of our brand new Naugatuck Skatepark. In addition, there will be a downtown food truck festival that takes place on the 20th, and will extend into May 21st. The festival is being enhanced by the inclusion of last year’s Food Truck Battles on Parcel B where food trucks from the region battle to see who is the best in various categories. Each food truck will be judged by the crowd as well as a group of select judges. Imagine food eating battles on stage monitored by numerous comedians, including but not limited to our own Dave Reilly. Lots of music and free events for the kids, bounce houses, games and carnival rides. To top off the weekend, we are proud to announce the grand opening of the Naugatuck Skate Park on Friday May 19 at 6pm as well as ongoing festivities on the 20th and 21st including 12 bands, more food and other exciting activities. We are extremely proud of our premier Skate Park and there will be a host of activities at the Skate Park all weekend. If you’re into sports, Naugatuck High School is hosting a regional track and field meet on Saturday May 20th . Check out Coach Ralph Roper and our fabulous boys and girls NVSL championship teams in action. If that’s not enough to interest you, check out the Town-Wide Tag Sale run by Naugatuck Outreach Partnership. Saturday, May 20th , will indeed be a special day in Naugatuck.

Most people come to Linden Park to walk by the river, play soccer or to catch a salmon or trout in the Naugatuck River. If you come to Linden Park during the rest of this month or in March, you can witness the contagious excitement evident at the construction site for the new Naugatuck Skate Park! Dave Peterson from Rampage together with his team of employees and local volunteers are building a high end, 15,000 sq. ft. Skate Park with a 14 ft. capsule, an 8 ft. quarter pipe with vert and many other special features. The entire workforce is filled with enthusiasm and new ideas as they finish the designand construction of the park. Rampage also received the benefit of outstanding work from the Naugatuck Street Department. The Street Department reduced costs significantly at the Skateboard Park by processing materials in house and providing excellent compacted fill to the site as well as assistance in grading and compacting to Rampage. The Rampage team together with the Street Department and volunteers are creating a spectacular park. The next item on the agenda is to plan a Grand Opening, The date will most likely be in April. Stay tuned.

What to expect in 2023 and 2024

The foundation of every great Town is a large number of people who really care about their community. In Naugatuck, a vast majority of our citizens love their town and they always step up to the plate to help out whenever necessary. This fact is especially true in times of crisis or tragedy. On November 18, 2022, the Borough experienced the most horrific tragedy imaginable. A one year old baby’s life was taken from us. The Naugatuck Police Department immediately began an investigation and man hunt. It was all hands on deck until the fugitive was captured. The police social worker and other Police Officers worked with the family to help out as needed during the hunt for the killer. Every member of the department as well as many other town departments did their part to assist the family of baby Camilla. The police department designated the color pink as the color to be worn by officers to remember "Baby Camilla". The officers began wearing pink ribbons. Pink bracelets were purchased and worn by the NPD. Naugatuck citizens and many business locations set up pink lights and signs throughout the town. The community rallied to come to a vigil for Baby Camilla and her family on a rainy night. The gazebo was lit in pink. The citizens of Naugatuck once again stepped up to the plate to help the family. Pink bracelets were purchased to go on sale to help Camilla's mother. The post to sell the bracelets went viral. The first batch of bracelets sold out in 2 hours at all Dunkin locations, the Loaded Goat and Town Hall. More bracelets were received and they are selling like wildfire.  Naugatuck has once again rallied to help a family in need during an extreme crisis. We are a tight knit community and we have once again come together again in tragic circumstances.

All great rivalries are built on respect. This is especially true in the case of the oldest football rivalry in the State of Connecticut – NAUGATUCK vs. ANSONIA. For the past 122 years, Thanksgiving morning in both towns is dedicated to a football war that means the world to both teams as well as both communities. Naugatuck has the utmost respect for the Ansonia team and its coaching staff. We recognize that their record in the big game on Thanksgiving morning over the past 50 years has been far superior to ours in football. It is equally true that our record in all sports combined over the past 50 years has been far superior to their record. Records don’t mean anything when it comes to rivalries. The game on Thanksgiving morning in Naugatuck will be a war. You can’t win a war unless you prepare to win. There is no doubt in my mind that as I write this blog, head coach Chris Anderson and the rest of his staff are planning strategy for the game. In Naugatuck, we strive to be the best in everything. We are very proud of our coaching staff as well as our players and everyone connected with our sports programs. Coach Anderson and his team are preparing to win. They are working hard to improve every day and they embody the spirit and culture of the gritty community of Naugatuck. Two things are guaranteed on Thanksgiving morning. Our team will fight to the death and they will never give up. Money back guarantee. Another component of a great rivalry is that after the game, over a period of years, our young warriors become friends with their competitors throughout the Valley. The Valley is a very special place. We all compete whether it be in football, softball, basketball, swimming, soccer, shuffleboard, or any other endeavor. It is our nature and culture. Part of our culture is to continue to support our team as we get older in life. We still go to the games. We come home for Thanksgiving, celebrate Valley New Year on Wednesday night and go to the game on Thanksgiving morning. The tradition will go on forever. We remain proud of our team and we retain our respect for our rival. NAUGATUCK VS ANSONIA – Its what its all about. See you at the game.