Fair Haven Flourishes At Quinnipiac Riverfest

Olivia Charis photos

Azucena Rojas with her mom and business partner, Angeles Romero.

At the 10th annual Quinnipiac Riverfest on Saturday.

Fair Haven businesswoman Azucena Rojas moved her Mexican grocery outdoors for the day — and further connected with the neighborhood she calls home — during a festive, sun-dappled 10th annual Quinnipiac Riverfest.

That neighborhood celebration took place Saturday afternoon at the Quinnipiac River Marina on Front Street. 

Families, business owners and community volunteers spent the afternoon exploring local popups and enjoying live music.

One of those local business owners on the scene was Rojas, who, with her mother Angeles Romero, runs Rodeo Groceries at 335 Grand Ave. 

On Saturday, Rojas set up a table alongside dozens of other Fair Haveners to bring her grocery — which specializes in goods from Mexico — to a neighborhood festival triumphantly emerging from a two-year pandemic hiatus.

This is our first time ever doing like a vendor thing,” she told the Independent. We just decided to do it because…our clientele is [mostly] Hispanic.” She noted how many people visited her booth and were shocked to find that her and her family’s business is in the heart of the neighborhood they have grown up in. 

The Riverfest is an opportunity for business owners like Rojas to further connect with the Fair Haven community, and vice versa.

Music Haven performing at Riverfest.

Community building was a highlight of the afternoon. Some vendors, like Rojas, reside in the neighborhood. Others, like Dee Wilson, live just outside of New Haven. 

Wilson and her two daughters manned a hand-made bracelet booth for the afternoon. Wilson said that this was also her first time being a vendor at the Riverfest. 

For a little over four months she has been helping her daughters sell their handmade creations. The girls, this is their thing,” she said. I feel like I should just promote young entrepreneurs.”

Building community for the sake of future generations was a goal shared by many vendors and participants alike. 

Elephant in the Room Boxing Academy founder Devonne Canady shared a similar message with the crowd. We’re teaching them how to be good people, not just boxers,” Canady said. EIR Boxing, located on Ella T Grasso Boulevard in the Hill, has been open for 12 years, offering boxing classes to people from ages eight and up. 

Sound School student Joseph, and Instructor Pebbles.

The Sound School, a local high school, also hosted a booth brought together by the high school’s agriculture program students. The booth sold a variety of plants — all grown, irrigated and harvested by the students. 

In addition to local business and food vendors, there were also environmental organizations focused on Fair Haven preservation. GreenWave and Save the Sound in particular hosted booths to share their vision for creating a safer, cleaner, and healthier neighborhood for future generations to come. 

GreenWave trains people to scale regenerative ocean farms, fighting climate change and providing jobs. The founder of the organization, Bren Smith, is a resident of Fair Haven. Even though they do work nationally and internationally, they have a hub here in the neighborhood. 

Xochitcl Garcia and Daniela Flores, members of Save the Sound, also spoke of their organization’s efforts to involve Fair Haven residents in environmental preservation efforts. 

Their booth was primarily focused on recruiting residents for a photo voice project that allows them to share environmental concerns and ideas. 

Garcia noted how language barriers, given that much of Fair Haven’s population is Spanish-speaking, can create inaccessibility that Save the Sound seeks to overcome in bringing everyone together to fight the climate crisis in Fair Haven. She said Save the Sound wants to pave the way for bigger projects that are more long term for the community.”

Lee Cruz (right) welcoming neighbors to the fest.

Lee Cruz, a long-time Fair Havener and one of the organizers of Saturday’s festival alongside the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association, spoke passionately about the importance of the Riverfest as a means of bringing awareness to Fair Haven and New Haven as a whole. 

Cruz said he wants people to come and experience the beauty of the waterfront neighborhood. He noted the rich history and culture of the area. “[My children] can hear English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Hindi, Hebrew, and French… just around our block,” Cruz said. 

Perfect 70 degree weather and a bustling sense of community lived up to what Cruz called a day ordered…special from Amazon.”

Out in the sun at Riverfest.

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