Sailfest in New London is back after two-year pandemic hiatus
Sailfest, the annual street festival on the Thames River waterfront in New London, returns July 8-10 after a two-year COVID hiatus, with carnival rides, fireworks, more than 200 vendors, a road race, live music and tours of the replica of the schooner Amistad.
“We start booking entertainment in November. In 2020, we tried to honor our commitments to the entertainers and do it virtually, but it’s nothing like being in person. People are excited it is back. It brings people from outside the area back into the community,” said Barbara J. Neff, whose Neff Productions has organized Sailfest since 1996, in collaboration with The Downtown New London Association.
“It’s like a Christmas in July for merchants down here. The city pretties itself up, slapping a new coat of paint on the buildings, new paint on the streets, polishing everything up. We always look our best for Sailfest,” she said.
Sailfest takes place on State and Bank streets and in Waterfront Park. The hours are Friday 3 to 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Michael Passero, mayor of New London, said Sailfest also will show off how the waterfront area has changed. “Visitors will ... experience firsthand our downtown’s revival and the housing construction boom driven by Electric Boat and the offshore wind industry,” Passero said.
Sailfest was inaugurated in 1976, to coincide with the end of a New York-to-New London sailboat race. That race no longer takes place, Neff said, so every year New London tries to bring in one large ship to honor the festival’s nautical roots. The replica of the Amistad — the ship that was the site of an uprising of captive Africans in 1839 — will be open for free tours. That replica is owned by the Mystic Seaport Museum.
This is the 43rd Sailfest. Sailfest did not happen in 2000 because OpSail, another maritime festival, took place instead. OpSail continues to this day, but in September. Sailfest also did not take place in 2020 and 2021.
The heart of Sailfest will be Saturday, July 9, at 9 p.m., when the Mashantucket Pequot Thames River Fireworks display will take place. The music-synchronized pyrotechnics are ignited from barges anchored off New London’s City Pier. The fireworks can be seen for miles on both the New London and Groton sides of the river.
“After two long pandemic years we are thrilled to return,” said Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. The tribal nation has sponsored the fireworks since 1993. Butler said this year’s display will be bigger than usual to celebrate the return after two years.
The show will be produced by Garden State Fireworks of New Jersey, which also has produced shows at Super Bowl XVLIII, the Washington D.C. Fourth of July Celebration and the 2021 presidential inauguration.
Entertainment will take place on two stages, the Parade Plaza Main Stage and the Hygienic Art Park Latin Stage at 79 Bank Street. Performers on the Main Stage, starting at noon on Saturday, are the U.S. Coast Guard Jazz Band, Jeremy Beck & the Heavy Duty Horns, Luis Pabon Dance Arts Centre, Brian Jai, Frank Colmenares, Leaf Jumpers, Hoolios, Midnight Flyers, The Unattended, Silver Steel and Shaded Soul. On Sunday, the Main Stage lineup starts at 1 p.m. and includes Otis & The Hurricanes, Undivided and Red Light. The Latin Stage lineup, on Saturday from 2 to 9:45 p.m., is DJ Nando, salsa lessons, Bachata Versatil, bachata presentation, Kendrick el Codiciado, Grupo Impacto, and a DJ. Local restaurants also will have live music.
A beer tent in Parade Plaza will open at noon on Saturday, and Sunday and will feature local brews including Outer Light, Tox, Gray Sail and Whalers.
Other events include a “Jokes N’ Tokes” comedy show with Jessie “Bad Boy” James and Dame FK & Friends at The Draft Choice, 318 State Street, on Saturday at 10 p.m. ($10 presale, $20 at the door); a dress-like-a-pirate day at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday; a woodcarving exhibit on Saturday and Sunday at the Thames River Gallery at 239 Bank Street; and a 5K road race on Sunday at 9 a.m. starting at Union Station on Water Street. Register for the race at runreg.com/sailfest-5k-2022.
A limited-seating barbecue dinner on Fisherman’s Pier will take place on July 9 for $75 a person. Food service starts at 6 p.m. and guests may watch the fireworks from the pier and stay until 11 p.m. To register, visit sailfest.org.
Sailfest visitors can park in the garages on Eugene O’Neill Drive and on Water Street.
WCTY 97.7 and WNLC 98.7 will broadcast live from Sailfest starting Friday. K-HITs 100.9, which is coordinating the music for the fireworks show, will broadcast live July 9 from 5 to 11 p.m. A full schedule of events is at sailfest.org/event-schedule/.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
