About Us

In 2014 a group of people who believed in Norwich came together as a committee to create the Norwich St. Patrick’s Parade. We felt that bringing events to Downtown Norwich would help build economic prosperity to the businesses there. We pulled people from businesses to sit on the committee and asked the fire department and police department to assign someone to us. Nobody had any experience in planning a parade but we knew we could do it. Scott Capano of the Harp & Dragon gave us our seed money and we were on the way. Our first year was very successful bringing 3,000-4,000 people to downtown Norwich to enjoy a parade and street festival and spend time at businesses that were open.

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We continued to maintain the status quo for several years until 2016, that was the year there were no fireworks in the harbor. The City of Norwich doesn’t fund or manage events, and the volunteer committee running the fireworks didn’t have enough volunteers or funds to produce the fireworks that year. The community was in an uproar, disappointed there would be none. In 2017 the St. Pats Committee took over production and management of the 4th of July Harbor Fireworks. It tripled the amount of funds we would have to raise a year, but we wanted to make sure we were producing events the community wanted. Special thanks to Michael Aliano and the American Group and Scott Capano from the Harp and Dragon for coming through that year and making sure we had the funds to make it all happen.

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The struggle became real moving forward, raising enough money to have great events and make them better each year was difficult. In 2017 we decided to apply to become our own 501(c)3 nonprofit. A board was selected, bylaws were written, paperwork was filed and the St. Pats Committee became Norwich Events Organization. That’s when the waiting began. That same year the Winterfest Parade Chair came to us and said that their volunteers were waning and getting donations was becoming increasingly difficult, would Norwich Events want to take over production of the Winterfest Parade? After little discussion we agreed. That year with help from their remaining members we funded and produced Winterfest.

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In 2018 we were granted our 501(c)3 status, and we remain an all volunteer, fully sponsorship funded nonprofit that produces some of the largest events in the City. We are not tied to the City, any other organization or business, we are our own entity. Over time many representatives from local businesses have come to sit on our committee and board to enable us to do what we do, and our commitment remains to produce amazing events for Downtown Norwich, support and bolster Norwich business and create a vibrancy in the City making it a better place to live, work and do business. Please visit our website for a complete list of committee members.

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To help fund the organization we also have many paid events that highlight businesses in the City such as the St. Pats Gala, Ron Aliano Service Awards, Soup Challenge, and Wreath Classes. But we also organize the 3 yearly pub crawls for the bars in downtown, 80’s, Oktoberfest and SantaCon.

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We would like to thank this year’s sponsors, who have made it possible to produce these events for the citizens. If you’re looking for businesses that believe in and support the city not only through volunteerism but finances, please support these businesses that not only support us but are committed to Norwich: Byrnes Agency, Chelsea Groton Bank, CorePlus Credit Union, The Edward and Mary Lord Foundation, Eastern CT Savings Bank, Hall Communications, Next Tech Solutions, Norwich Bulletin, Norwich Public Utilities, These Guys Brewing Co LLC, The Wauregan. We STILL need help though, without continued sponsorship and donations we will be unable to produce the events. If you are interested in sponsoring Norwich Events or volunteering to become a catalyst for vibrancy in the City, please visit our website for more information or reach out so that we can meet with you. www.gonorwichct.com.