The Town of Fairfield enjoys a relatively compact and walkable downtown, with a diverse array of restaurants, retail shops, offices and other commercial establishments, with nearby residential neighborhoods offering a mix of housing types and styles. Fairfield enjoys a robust and vibrant restaurant scene offering everything from casual pub fare to upscale eateries to suit the most discriminating palate. Meanwhile, shoppers can find a variety of national retailers, specialty boutiques and local mom and pop stores that help give the downtown a unique sense of place. Fairfield's downtown is accessible by train, and the downtown also serves as a major transportation hub with surface parking for more than 1100 vehicles.
Our Networking Event in Downtown Fairfield has been developed to feature an asset, an opportunity, and a challenge - and will feature:
4:00 pm - Networking & Tours at Fairfield Theatre Company
Includes self-guided tours of ART/PLACE Gallery and StageOne Theatre.
4:30 pm - Downtown Fairfield: An Overview
Mark S. Barnhart, Director of Economic Development
An Asset: Arts as an Economic Driver.
FTC is a nonprofit center for arts and culture located in the heart of downtown. The organization works to establish and sustain venues for the presentation of plays, films, visual arts, and arts education.
Since its establishment in 2001, FTC has evolved into one of the region's most energetic and productive performing arts centers, presenting over 250 concerts, plays, films, art shows, children's workshops, and other arts-related productions to over 40,000 patrons each year.
5:00 pm - Fairfield University Bookstore and Fairfield Accelerator & Mentoring Enterprise (FAME)
An Opportunity: A key downtown property owner encourages the Town/Gown Partnership.
A unique partnership between Fairfield University, the Town of Fairfield, and Kleban Properties, FAME exists to support entrepreneurs by providing resources necessary at various stages of a company's development. FAME's suite of services include operational support, mentoring and advising, funding assistance, networking opportunities, technology & design support, and professional development.
5:45 pm - Fairfield Community Theater
A Challenge: A landmark downtown anchor, the former two-screen movie theater on a key site, now shuttered.
A historic movie theater in the heart of downtown, Fairfield Community Theater has been been shuttered since 2011. Despite several lease offers, this key site in downtown remains vacant. We will explore the short history and put our heads together in potential creative problem solving!
6:00 pm - Complimentary Reception
We will conclude our event with our traditional reception. Gather with your colleagues and enjoy and opportunity to catch up!
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