The Foreigner Journey Experience, performing the radio anthems of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bands Foreigner and Journey, will headline Day 1 of the Savin Rock Festival at 8 tonight in West Haven’s Old Grove Park, 1 Palace St. (Publicity Photo)

From Broadway to West Haven: Nick Fradiani headlining Savin Rock Festival on July 27

Broadway star and “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani will headline Day 2 of the Savin Rock Festival at 8:15 p.m. Saturday in West Haven’s Old Grove Park, 1 Palace St. Fradiani will entertain festivalgoers with original songs, classic covers and Neil Diamond gems during a high-energy show. The Guilford native and former West Haven resident won Season 14 of “American Idol” in 2015 and just finished starring as Diamond in the Broadway production of “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.” (Publicity Photo)

Foreigner Journey Experience headlines Savin Rock Fest tonight, Nick Fradiani headlines Saturday night

WEST HAVEN, July 26, 2024 — Broadway star and “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani will headline the Savin Rock Festival on Saturday night in Old Grove Park, 1 Palace St.

Tonight, the festival’s opener will feature the tribute band Foreigner Journey Experience. Watch the band’s Savin Rock promotional video.

See the full schedule of concerts, food trucks and more.

Mayor Dorinda Borer said the annual event will pay homage to West Haven’s proud amusement park heritage.

According to Borer, the shoreline festival will showcase the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Savin Rock Park, once known as Connecticut’s Coney Island and locally as “the Rock.”

The event is presented by the Savin Rock Festival Committee from 5-10 p.m. today and 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday.

Along with live music, the festival will include the traditional midway of rides and games by Marenna Amusements and, of course, boatloads of seafood and other mouthwatering dishes.

Marenna will offer wristbands for unlimited rides for $25 and 25 tickets for $20.

According to committee Chairman Ed O’Brien, a number of nonprofit organizations will have informational booths in the 154-year-old Grove, and a fleet of food and dessert trucks will offer burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fried dough, lobster rolls, gyros and meatball bombs, as well as ice cream.

The craft fair, a festival staple, will also take place, spread beneath the park’s oak trees.

Parking costs $10 for nonresidents and is free for residents, provided their vehicles are registered in West Haven.

Parking is available in the grass lot off Oak Street, across from the Surfside public housing complex at 200 Oak St., and in the municipal lot at 6 Rock St., the former Savin Rock Conference Center.

Handicapped parking is available in the municipal lot on Altschuler Plaza, off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

Parking is also available at West Haven High School, 1 Circle St. The city will run a shuttle from the school to the Grove starting at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The festival will open at 5 p.m. today with a greeting by Borer and the national anthem sung by West Haven High sophomore Paige Kenny.

Radio personality Brian Smith will serve as the “ringmaster” of ceremonies for a seventh time.

Covergirl, “Connecticut’s premier party band,” will play “the hits you love in an unforgettable style” from 6-7:30 p.m., followed by the Foreigner Journey Experience, performing the radio anthems of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bands, including Foreigner’s “Double Vision” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” from 8-10 p.m.

Day 2 will kick off at 9 a.m. Saturday with the Rotary Club’s pancake breakfast, followed by the Department of Parks and Recreation’s bocce tournament at 11 a.m.

From 10 a.m.-4 p.m., firefighters of the West Haven Fire Department, led by Fire Marshal Roger Sicotte, will demonstrate the department’s 35-foot smoke trailer and show children what to do in case of a fire. Sicotte will also have a fire safety and public education table with informational materials.

From noon-1 p.m., the Savin Rock Theatre Company will present a performance by Broadway singers.

At 1 p.m., don’t miss the inaugural “Great Bartender Race,” which is sure to serve up nonstop fun and laughs. Teams of four will compete in a relay race at Oak Street Beach to determine who has the best bartenders in West Haven.

At 2 p.m., West Haven firefighters will demonstrate the Jaws of Life tool by prying open parts of a vehicle to free those trapped inside.

From 2-3:30 p.m., two bands from the Rock House School of Music, Echo Box and MeltDown, will open the diverse musical lineup by playing respective sets of rockers.

From 2-4 p.m., children’s activities will fill the Grove, including airbrush tattoos, balloon twisting and face painting. Also, look out for princesses and superheroes — even Dennis the Clown — interacting with children around the park.

From 6-7:30 p.m., tribute group Faster Things will play the hits of the Allman Brothers Band, including “Melissa,” “Ramblin’ Man” and “Jessica.”

Before Faster Things take the stage, West Haven’s own Grace Kelly Nowak will sing the national anthem.

At 8:15 p.m., after a spirited introduction by Borer welcoming Fradiani from Broadway to West Haven, the Guilford native and former West Haven resident will entertain festivalgoers with original songs, classic covers and Neil Diamond gems during a high-energy 90-minute show. Fradiani won Season 14 of “American Idol” in 2015 and just finished starring as Diamond in the production of “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical,” which ended its Broadway run on June 30.

West Haven’s flagship festival was established in 1982 by the Chamber of Commerce — initially under the direction of Brian M. Stone, David Gesler and Michael Shiner and thereafter by John L. Perrone and his wife, Mary Perrone — to bring organizations, clubs, businesses and families together for a summer festival that celebrates life in one of America’s oldest maritime communities.

From the dawn of the Savin Rock House hotel in 1838, the Rock had long been a resort hub until it was officially incorporated as an amusement park by the Savin Rock Park Co. on Memorial Day 1925, when it opened to 300,000 visitors and 66,000 automobiles in one spectacular day.

For the next 40 years, the famous seaside park captured the hearts and imaginations of “Rock rats” young and old. “The playground of New England” closed on Sept. 21, 1966, to pave the way for the Savin Rock Urban Renewal Project.

West Haven requesting bid proposals for former Savin Rock Conference Center site

City requesting bid proposals for Savin Rock Conference Center site

WEST HAVEN, July 25, 2024 — The city will go out to bid and request proposals to develop the vacant former Savin Rock Conference Center on the West Haven shoreline, Mayor Dorinda Borer announced.

The city-owned site at 6 Rock St. had been proposed for a taproom for Woodbridge craft brewery New England Brewing Co., but a lengthy appeals process initiated by the owners of Jimmies of Savin Rock restaurant was one of the major obstacles in derailing the multimillion-dollar project.

“It is unfortunate that after many meetings and correspondence with the owners of Jimmies, there was no reasonable resolution, and NEBCO has indicated that the lengthy legal journey ahead does not fit into their timeline, nor does changing the footprint, which would eliminate the production component,” Borer said.

The mayor also indicated that while she connected NEBCO to developers interested in buying the 26-acre waterfront site formerly known as The Haven, the brewery indicated that building a brand-new facility does not work into their business model.

“We can no longer allow this dilapidated, vacant, eyesore conference center to sit on our beautiful shoreline when we know this site is a jewel waiting to be polished,” Borer said. “With its bountiful opportunity and incredible views, I’m confident this site will come back to life, but at the same time, we need to capitalize on the location to drive revenue to our bottom line.”

The mayor said she’s excited to see the various developers’ official proposals for the conference center building, as she has been inundated with interest in recent months.

The city will start requesting bid proposals from interested developers this month and “will work with any successful bidder from Day 1 to ensure the proposal does not run into similar challenges,” Borer said.

To enhance the redevelopment of the 22,000-square-foot conference center building, the mayor said she’s looking to expand parking for the site and has commissioned a traffic feasibility study for parking on Captain Thomas Boulevard, which also was a challenge for previous proposals.

According to city records, the building was originally constructed in 1971 next to the prominent Savin Rock landmark and previously housed The Casino and Harbour Mist restaurants and originally Phyllis’ Restaurant.

It was eventually closed and sat vacant for a number of years until then-Mayor H. Richard Borer Jr. secured three grants — two federal and one state totaling $946,000 — in 1994 to purchase and renovate the building, which reopened in April 1997 as a city-owned banquet and meeting facility.

Through the years, the Savin Rock Conference Center was host to weddings, showers, birthday parties, professional conferences, charitable benefits, plays, concerts and more.

The administration of former Mayor Nancy R. Rossi closed the building in February 2019.

Deadline extended to July 31 for Small Business Grant program

WEST HAVEN, July 25, 2024 — The city has extended the deadline for the ARPA Small Business Grant program until July 31.

For details, visit the ARPA Small Business Grant webpage.

All Funk’d Up bringing funk hits to Grove on Aug. 9

WEST HAVEN, July 25, 2024 — The city's Summer Concert Series will continue at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 in Old Grove Park, 1 Palace St., with funk and R&B hits performed by All Funk’d Up.

The two-hour concert is free and presented by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The rain date is Aug. 12.

To check if a concert has been rescheduled because of rain, go to Park-Rec’s website.

Join us Aug. 9!

‘Discover West Haven’ video series launched

WEST HAVEN, July 18, 2024 — “Discover West Haven,” the city’s new video series, showcases all that West Haven has to offer, Mayor Dorinda Borer announced.

West Haven: “Miles of Shore and So Much More!”

Check out the video.

Lamont provides $1.7M for Borer, Cavallaro plan for Molloy School conversion to community center

WEST HAVEN, July 16, 2024 — (Pictured): Gov. Ned Lamont is joined by Mayor Dorinda Borer, right, on July 12 to announce $1.7 million in state bond funding to convert the former Anna V. Molloy Elementary School at 255 Meloy Road into a community center to provide services and programs for seniors, veterans and youths.

Shown with them are, from left, West Haven Department of Parks and Recreation counselors in training, Board of Education member Heather Shea, state Rep. Bill Heffernan, Municipal Veterans Rep. Rich Deso, Superintendent of Schools Neil C. Cavallaro, Board of Education member Patrick O. Egolum and resident Mary Malenda.

The news conference included remarks by Lamont, Borer and Cavallaro, along with other officials and stakeholders.

Lamont allocated $1 million to the latest State Bond Commission agenda to complement a previous $700,000 bond award for the relocation of a senior center that will now add space and services for veterans and youths as well.

Currently, the Molloy building is the temporary home of Washington Elementary School students until a new Washington School is built at 369 Washington Ave.

Watch the news conference.

(City Photo/Andrew Kosarko)