POKO Partners L.L.C. is joining with the business community of Wall and Main streets in Norwalk, along with the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency and the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, to hold this year”™s Wall Street Community Festival.
The special community event, the Wall Street Community Festival, has been designed to highlight the Wall Street area and its merchants. The festival will take place on June 7.
“The festival is about getting businesses in the area involved and having some family and fun,” said Brian Griffin, vice president of the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce. “It”™s really a celebration of that area.”
Norwalk officials have found that the event is a successful way to showcase the array of businesses and organizations. The event last year drew more than 2,500 people.
In 2006, the first year of the festival, only15 businesses were involved. In 2007, 70 businesses were involved in the festival.
The festival was founded primarily by Danna DiElsi, owner of Norwalk floral shop the Silk Touch.
“This event is her brainchild, and she”™s made it happen single-handedly every year,” Griffin said.
The festival has also become a platform for plans of development and redevelopment in the area to be viewed. At the 2007 festival, developers showed off their plans for the neighborhood.
POKO has been responsible for the Wall Street revitalization project. The project, which the city has been invested in since the start of 2007, includes 370 residential units, 60,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and 45,000 square feet of public open space.
“This year POKO partners has gotten involved,” Griffin said. “They”™re really stepped it up this year and taken a leadership role by sponsoring the event putting in their funding. It”™s a major step forward for Wall Street area. As the primary developer down there, I feel they really want to bring attention to the area and showcase the area. They are an anchor of the community here and have become a partner in making it better.”
The Norwalk Chamber of Commerce has an open invitation offered to vendors and anyone from the area looking to participate in the event.
