The crowd of about 300 people at Sunday afternoon’s Family Day Free Concert in Wilton’s Merwin Meadows was on its feet and dancing as the music of some of Paul Simon‘s greatest hits filled the air. The park was the perfect setting for the concert, as families relaxed over picnics and kids of all ages played on the playground and swam in the pond.
Organized by a new Wilton non-profit called CT Friends of the Performing Arts, the concert featured three acts–Jay and Ray, Idle Kyle and Graceland Experience featuring Bakithi Kumalo, the bassist from Paul Simon’s band. Several other Wilton non-profits were invited by CTFoPA to set up tables for community outreach, as part of CTFoPA’s mission to promote community engagement in all aspects of Wilton life.
There seemed to be universal approval of the event, and lots of happy faces in the crowd. “This is great! I hope they do this every weekend next year!” was something many people in the crowd told GOOD Morning Wilton–in between singing along to “You Can Call Me Al” and “Graceland.”
Getting more people into Wilton’s Merwin Meadows was something town officials set out to do this year, after a series of upgrades and improvements were made to get the park ready for summer. That fit well with the CTFoPA mission, part of which is to, “Enhance the image and reputation of Wilton as a fun place to visit and live as well as a recognized show stop between NYC and Boston for performing artists.”
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