Deadline For Celebrate Mansfield Booths Extended

STORRS, CT — The Mansfield Downtown Partnership has extended the deadline to sign up for activity and food booths at the 19th-Annual Celebrate Mansfield Festival.

This annual "celebration of the people, businesses, and organizations that make Mansfield a special place to live, learn, and grow" is scheduled for Sept. 24 from 2 to 8 p.m. on and around Betsy Paterson Square (2 Dog Lane) in Downtown Storrs. In the event of inclement weather, the Festival will be staged inside E. O. Smith High School (1235 Storrs Road).

The Partnership invites Mansfield-located businesses and community organizations and UConn
departments, programs, and student groups to host an activity booth or food booth at the Celebrate
Mansfield Festival. The cost for a 10-by-10-foot booth space is $25.

"The Activity Booths are a unique feature of our Festival," Partnership Executive Director Cynthia
van Zelm said. "They are a great way for businesses and organizations to connect with our community and
for folks to show their fun, creative side."

Activity Booths are required to feature a free, hands-on activity for any age. The activity can be tailored
to the mission of the business or organization, or it can be just for fun. Past Festivals have featured a
wide range of activities including trivia games, bean bag tosses, making shadow puppets, digging
through compost to find worms, jump rope challenges, spinning wool into yarn, hula hooping, and even
notarizing wills.

Food Booths offer a way for local restaurants to show off their fan favorites or highlight a special menu
item. For non-profit organizations, the Food Booths can be used as a fundraiser (Activity Booths cannot
be used for raising funds).

The activity booths will be open from 2 to 6 p.m., while the Food Booths will be open from 2 to 8 p.m.

All participants, volunteers, and visitors are asked to keep in mind the low-waste goals of the Celebrate
Mansfield Festival. For participating businesses and organizations, this means planning their booths to
minimize the amount of waste generated (e.g. info displays that can be reused rather than paper
brochure handouts, using repurposed materials for crafts and games). Volunteers and visitors are
asked to be mindful of how they sort any waste and to use the provided bins for recycling, compost,
and trash.