The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
A busy summer for city’s PAL
TORRINGTON — The Torrington Police Athletic League is busy so far this summer, and organizers have some new ideas to help support city youths.
Summer Fest, a two-day event of summertime fun, will be held downtown
Friday and Saturday, a first for the group.
Chris Smedick, executive director of the PAL program, works with Torrington police Officer Rob Simon, the department’s community relations officer. He said PAL programs are busy and well-attended,
with extra summer camp sessions added this year.
“We’re on par with what we’ve always done in the summer, except for last year,” Smedick said. “But the summer fest — it’s the first time we’ve tried this.”
According to its website, Torrington PAL “promotes character development and self-esteem while building positive relationships among children, our police officers and the community. Our program works in partnership with the Torrington Police Department providing children with alternatives to crime, violence and substance abuse.”
PAL is holding a summer camp in August, and registration is now open. The camp will be held Aug. 16-20 at Elks Pond.
PAL is also holding a basketball league and a golf camp this summer. Information on these and other activities can be found on the PAL Facebook page.
The summer festival includes the PAL Cruise Night car show on Friday night, sponsored by Royals Garage. Glenn Royals, who originally scheduled the show for July 12, is expecting big crowds and between 300 and 400 cars on display.
The Torrington Police Explorers, another beneficiary of the car show, has a membership of young people who meet weekly and learn about law enforcement techniques and duties, while also preparing for a potential career in law enforcement, should they choose to take that path, according to the department.
“People have been waiting so long — a year-and-ahalf, and this was going to be the very first one,” Royals said recently of the car show. “We’re taking out all the stops to make sure everyone enjoys themselves.”
Royals said the PAL and Explorers programs need financial support all yearlong. “My main concern is I want to get money for these young kids, to keep PAL going and the Explorers going,” he said. “They haven’t been able to raise any money at all this past year.”
Friday’s activities also include a full-scale carnival in the center of the downtown area.
“It’s going to be a large one,” Smedick said. “This is probably one of the biggest events in downtown Torrington this year. And we’re expecting a large crowd. It’s the first post-pandemic car show of the year.”
The carnival runs from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Commerford Farms is donating the rides. Tickets will be available for sale.
“It’s nice to be able to use a local carnival company in Torrington,” Smedick said. “We’re trying to stay as local as we can. We have a wonderful community that supports PAL, and now we want to support them.”
Saturday’s basketball tournament is growing by the day, the director said. “It’s a 3-on-3 tournament, and basketball’s an Olympic sport this year, which is pretty exciting,” he said. “It’s being played in front of Torrington Savings Bank on Main Street, which is our main sponsor.”
PAL is also having dunk tank with a basketball player from Torrington High School and Oliver Wolcott Tech, two boys’ basketball coaches, Officer Simonin from PAL and Ed Bescetta from City Hall. “That’ll be interesting,” Smedick said with a laugh.
Saturday will also have a Touch a Truck event with vehicles from the fire departments, Eversource and O&G Industries. A variety of games —Cornhole, Can Jam, Giant Jenga and Big Connect 4 — will be set up near the Warner Theatre from noon to 5 p.m., and arts and crafts at Five Points Gallery will be offered from 1 to 4 p.m.
Admission is free for children at KidsPlay Children’s Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with sidewalk activities, raffles and story times at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.
The Warner Theatre is showing two free movies Saturday — “Air Bud” at 2 p.m. and “Love & Basketball” at 7 p.m., part of Torrington PAL’s Summer Fest. No tickets are required.
Also on Saturday, a Dress For Success backpack/school supply giveaway is being held at Franklin Plaza from 9 a.m. to noon. At this event, more than 400 area families can receive a backpack and school supplies for each child to prepare for the new school year.
“We collaborate with other nonprofits and schools, and the backpacks are for kids in need, filled with school supplies, for primary grades through high school,” Smedick said.
“Last year we gave out more than 700 backpacks, and we expect to do the same this year. Each child’s backpack will also have a meal ticket for any one of the food trucks, some ride tickets for the carnival, and Dunkin’ provided gift cards for all the backpacks.”
Smedick hopes families take advantage of the weekend fun.
“We’re really looking forward to giving kids and their families a very lowcost opportunity to get out and have some fun, enjoy themselves and do something different,” he said.
“Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. We are so grateful to the Torrington Fire Department, the Police Department, and all the people and groups that have helped us. They’ve all done a great job.”
A greeting tent for visitors to the summer festival will be set up on Main and Water streets. For more information on Summer Fest, visit torringtonpal.org