Tony Inzero Farmers Market opens season July 7

West Haven, June 29, 2022 — The Tony Inzero Farmers Market will open its 2022 season July 7 in the Oak Street Beach parking lot off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

The “Start of the Season” celebration will feature food trucks and live music by West Haven’s Howie Horvath.

Through Oct. 15, the market, nestled on the right side of the Oak Street parking lot, will include state farmers selling homegrown fruits and vegetables and crafters selling wares from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays.

It will also include more than 20 different vendors, crafters, organizations and food trucks throughout the season.

Parking is available in the Oak Street municipal lot and on Palace Street. Oak Street is on the senior shuttle route and the CTtransit route. In addition, a van will run from the West Haven Senior Center, 201 Noble St., to Oak Street on Thursdays.

The Department of Elderly Services will start distributing farmers market vouchers to eligible city residents in the second week of July. For information on the voucher program, call the department at 203-937-3507.

The farmers market is sponsored by the city and has operated since 2000. It was dedicated in 2010 in memory of Anthony F. “Tony” Inzero, a leader in the downtown business community who co-owned Flower Affair on Campbell Avenue for many years and was a founding member and longtime president of the West Haven Business Association.

To participate in the farmers market or for information, contact Killian Gruber, the market’s manager, at [email protected] or 203-937-3518.

For the latest news on the market, go to West Haven Farmers Market.

Tony V croons the oldies at concert series Thursday night

West Haven, June 29, 2022 — The West Haven Summer Concert Series continues Thursday on the Green with oldies performed by Tony V.

The concert is free and scheduled from 7-9 p.m.

The Thursday night series will follow July 7 in Old Grove Park with classic rock and pop anthems by Spellbound, sponsored by West Haven Vietnam Veterans Inc.

The lineup will continue in the Grove with funk, pop and indie rock hits by NovelTease on July 14, horn-powered rock classics by Rubber City on July 21 and R&B favorites by Shaded Soul Band on Aug. 4.

See the Schedule.

Concerts postponed by rain will move to the same time and venue the following Monday. For rescheduling information, go to the Department of Parks and Recreation’s website at Park-Rec.

Tree planting marks Arbor Day event in West Haven

West Haven, June 23, 2022 — Throwing shovels of mulch, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, city officials and volunteer “tree tenders” dedicated the planting of an American white oak at Painter Park’s main entrance during West Haven’s Arbor Day observance Thursday.

The event, organized by Tree Warden Leo Kelly, was the first of many tree plantings planned for parts of the city under the auspices of Kelly and his tree tenders.

The group of volunteers — about 30 in all — is tasked with helping the city implement a $10,000 grant from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to plant and maintain trees in urban areas of West Haven.

Kelly said many city trees have been lost because of storms and utility projects and have not been replaced or replenished. The tree tender initiative hopes to change that, he said.

Rossi marked the annual tree-planting ceremony, held at the park’s Kelsey Avenue entrance, by reading a mayoral proclamation declaring Arbor Day in West Haven.

Reading the proclamation, Rossi said the white oak, one of the preeminent hardwood trees native to eastern and central North America, “is a long-lived oak whose name comes from the color of the finished wood. It can reach a magnificent height and can develop into a massive broad-topped tree with large branches striking out at wide angles.”

The tree was recommended by Kelly and paid for by the city.

“The spirit of Arbor Day remains strong and underscores the importance of planting trees to provide us with clean air and water, habitat for wildlife and endless natural beauty — all for a better future,” Rossi said.

At the tree planting, Rossi and Kelly were joined by Republican Councilwoman-at-Large Colleen O’Connor, Parks and Recreation Director Mark E. Paine Jr., and tree tenders Dawn Evans, Jeanne Lisosky, Marie Oberempt, Jenny Reed-Haggans and Claire Zoghb.

The ceremony also recognized West Haven’s recent designation as a Tree City USA community for its commitment to urban forestry.

For a sixth time, the city earned the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City distinction by meeting the program’s four requirements: forming a tree board or department, creating a tree care ordinance, having an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita, and holding an Arbor Day observance.

The Tree City program, established in 1976, is sponsored by the Lincoln, Nebraska-based foundation in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.

Rossi has been working with Kelly and the Tree Commission to improve West Haven’s tree inventory process and implement a sustainable and safe treescape.

“Leo Kelly is a tremendous resource for the Department of Public Works and the city,” Paine said. “And it’s not just because he’s a good steward of parks and trees, he engages the public and makes them a part of the process.”

Arbor Day was founded in 1872 by Julius Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

By the 1920s, each state had enacted public laws mandating an Arbor Day observance. The customary observance is to plant a tree.

On the first Arbor Day, April 10, 1872, more than 1 million trees were planted.

Click Here to view the City Of West Haven City Notes - June 29, 2022