Sandy Hook Merchants Have High Hopes for Block Party

PJ's Laundromat owner Sharon Doherty places flowers in a planter, working alongside her friends and family outside Sandy Hook Deli & Catering on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. She's helping make the streets beautiful for an event she says will bring a ray of sunshine to the community, just in time for spring -- the Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (S.H.O.P.)'s Spring Fling block party.

"We want to brighten things up and make it happy and cheery down here again," she says.

The block party is another in a series of S.H.O.P. events scheduled throughout the year. Earlier this year, the organization sponsored a "cash mob" to flood businesses with customers. In the past, S.H.O.P. has organized events like wine tastings and "Passport to Sandy Hook" events. This is their first Spring Fling, and businesses across Sandy Hook are participating.

And some nonprofits are getting in on the act. Wendy Leahy Mitchell is the founder of S.H.A.C.K. -- the Sandy Hook Arts Center for Kids, founded in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting. She's been active with S.H.O.P., helping promote the event.

"All the businesses are coming together to celebrate Spring," she says. "Everything that's happened after 12/14 has really impacted the businesses, and this is a great way to just put on a party for Sandy Hook."

Mitchell grew up in Sandy Hook, and remembers the block parties she attended as a child. While she moved to Bethel five years ago, she had been considering a move to bring an arts presence to Sandy Hook. After the Dec. 14 shooting, she decided to make the move.

"I wanted to be able to provide healing through the arts for the Sandy Hook community after everything that happened," she says. "Eventually all the toy donations and teddy bear donations were going to go away, but this is something that will be a long term."

After Dec. 14, the state of Connecticut awarded $500,000 in funds via a grant from STEAP (the Small Town Economic Assistance Program) to help Sandy Hook's commercial center revitalize. Some businesses saw diminishing profits in the weeks afterward, as residents stayed home during the normally vibrant Christmas season.

"S.H.O.P. has been there for keeping us up to date with the STEAP grant this whole time," says Doherty.

About half the funds have been distributed to date, with a second phase being hashed out in discussions between S.H.O.P. and Newtown's Economic Development Commission. Officials say no details for the second phase have been set in stone, but some are encouraging marketing activities like the Spring Fling as a way to help businesses stay visible in the long run.

For now, Doherty is looking forward to seeing the streets of Sandy Hook full of kids having a good time and enjoying the day -- rain or shine. And beyond that, she says that while it's been tough, she's not worried about the future.

"I'm very optimistic," she says. "I'm always optimistic. The glass is always half full. The sun is always shining in my world -- even on a cloudy day."

When: April 27, 11:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Throughout Sandy Hook Center

At the Event:

• Live music from the Traveling Danburys and the Choir Boys
• Sandy Hook Deli will offer free hot dogs and Pepsi
• $5 hair feathers and a coloring contest at Fun Kuts / Fun Consignments
• A raffle at the Toy Tree
• "Visions of Tomorrow" art show at S.H.A.C.K., featuring artwork from Sandy Hook children
• A wine tasting at at Sandy Hook Wine & Liquor
• Grand Opening at Unique Blessings 
• Special menus at the Iron Bridge, the Villa and The Hook
• Spring sales and special discounts at Sabrina Style, the Country Mill, PJ's Laundromat, Sandy Hook Hair and Wishing Well