|
|
|
Vol. 02 · № 40
|
|
Week of September 29, 2026
|
|
|
A pocket dispatch from the city
norwalk
oyster.
|
|
|
|
The dispatch · Tuesday
Happy Tuesday, neighbor.
September 29 – October 5, 2026
Fall keeps coming. Saturday the NICE Festival hits its tenth year at Oyster Shell Park — free, noon to 8, two stages of live music from reggae to blues to Latin and world sounds, cultural dance, and 50-plus vendors. Tonight the city holds a Future Norwalk workshop at the Maritime Aquarium, and Monday morning the NRVT walks the trail from the same park. Also on deck: a Garden Club of America flower show Wednesday, the Farmers Market, a lunchtime tree walk at Cranbury Park, a combat-robotics tournament at House of Havoc Saturday, and the SoNo Half Marathon Sunday morning. And in The Pearl: a Fall Clothing Swap at Art Monster Studio next Thursday, with drop-offs starting Monday.
|
|
The Pearl · this week’s feature
|
Community · Free · RSVP
Fall Clothing Swap.
Art Monster Studio · 57 Chestnut St
|
|
Thursday, October 8 · 5–8 PM
Clean out the closet. Take up to 20 back.
Four Norwalk small businesses — Art Monster Studio, DUCK DUCK SOAP, Sol & Luna Spirit Wellness and Smiling Cat Upcycled Goods — are hosting a fall clothing swap for adults. Bring up to 20 clean, gently used items (accessories and jewelry count, children’s clothing does not), then browse the racks and take home up to 20 for free. Leftovers go to local organizations in need.
Drop-offs start Monday, October 5 at the studio, 10 AM to 6 PM. Admission is free and the hosts ask you to RSVP so they can plan for the crowd; a suggested $10 donation supports the Art Monster Children’s Art Program.
57 Chestnut St, Norwalk · Free, RSVP requested
|
|
|
The lead · Saturday at Oyster Shell Park
Ten years of NICE.
The featured pick · Saturday, October 3, noon to 8 PM, the 10th annual NICE Festival fills Oyster Shell Park at 95 N Water St — free, with live music on two stages, cultural dance, food, arts and crafts, and community services.
|
| |
|
|
The Norwalk River, South Norwalk · ca. 1910
Archive image, not this year’s festival: postcard from the Norwalk Public Library collection (PastPerfect, PC 29). The Radel Oyster Company building is visible downriver.
|
|
The Norwalk International Cultural Exchange — NICE — is a volunteer-led nonprofit that started this festival in 2016, and Saturday is the tenth one. The pitch is simple: a free day at the waterfront where the whole city shows up. Two stages carry 24-plus live performances of reggae, rock, Latin, R&B, folk and world music, with headliners Bushman, Bobby Rush and Orquesta Afinke on the main stage. Between sets there is cultural dance — flamenco, African, Asian, Latin, Garifuna and Balinese — and more than 50 vendors selling international food, arts and crafts, with community services in the mix. It runs noon to 8 PM, admission is free, and the park sits on the river in South Norwalk, so leave the car home if you can.
|
|
Where
Oyster Shell Park
95 N Water St
|
When
Sat Oct 3
12–8 PM
|
Admission
Free
all ages
|
|
|
Full lineup & details →
|
|
|
This week · two more to circle
The other picks.
|
| |
|
№ 02 · Tue, September 29 · The Maritime Aquarium, 10 N Water St · 6 PM
Future Norwalk Workshop
A public workshop on where the city goes next, hosted by the City of Norwalk at the Maritime Aquarium tonight at 6 PM. City calendar lists it as open to the public with advance registration through the event page, so sign up before you head over.
Register & details →
|
|
| |
|
№ 03 · Mon, October 5 · Oyster Shell Park playground, 95 N Water St · 9:30 AM
NRVT Norwalk Trail Walk — Oyster Shell Park
Two days after the festival crowd clears out, the Norwalk River Valley Trail and the Norwalk Health Department walk the trail from the park playground. It is a morning walk with other NorWALKERS — a good way to see the riverfront when it is quiet.
Walk details →
|
|
|
Also on the calendar
Six more this week.
|
|
|
Wed 30
|
HMTX Industries, 29 Oakwood Ave · free Garden Club of America show: floral design, horticulture, photography and botanical arts
|
9:30 AM–4 PM
|
|
|
|
Wed 30
|
Norwalk Community Health Center, 120 Connecticut Ave · fresh produce and local vendors
|
11 AM–3 PM
|
|
|
|
Thu 1
|
Cranbury Park, 300 Grumman Ave · a lunchtime walk among the park’s trees
|
12 PM
|
|
|
|
Sat 3
|
House of Havoc, 165 Water St · public combat-robotics tournament and world championship qualifier
|
10 AM
|
|
|
|
Sat 3
|
St. Paul’s on the Green, 60 East Ave · spirituality through art, no experience needed, supplies provided, preteens to adults
|
10 AM
|
|
|
|
Sun 4
|
Veterans Memorial Park, 42 Seaview Ave · half marathon, 5K and kids’ fun run through South Norwalk
|
8:30 AM
|
|
|
|
|
Shuck yeah · a fact from the harbor
|
|
Why Norwalk goes by “Oyster Town”
This week’s festival park carries the shellfish in its name, and the city has earned the connection. Norwalk has carried the nickname Oyster Town for generations, and local oyster growing dates back to the 1800s. Look closely at the archive postcard up top, taken around 1910 from the Washington Street bridge: further south down the river sits the Radel Oyster Company building, a reminder that this waterfront once worked for a living. Every September the Norwalk Seaport Association keeps the tradition going with the Norwalk Oyster Festival, running since 1978. The park will be full of music Saturday; the river beside it is where the oyster business once ran.
|
|
|
Share · grow the list
Know someone who loves Norwalk?
Pass The Oyster along. More readers means more local stories and a stronger community voice.
You’ve referred {{rp_num_referrals | 0}} readers so far
|
|
|
|
|
norwalk oyster.
|
Vol. 02 · № 40
A weekly dispatch · est. 2025
|
|
|
You’re receiving this because you signed up at norwalkoyster.com. Forward it to a neighbor, reply with tips, corrections, or events — a real person reads every one.
Manage preferences
·
Unsubscribe
·
Norwalk, Connecticut 06850
|
|
|
|
