I'd like to start off by thanking everyone who made last weekend so amazing. The Midsummer Festival Committee spent the year preparing for all the festivities along Lyme Street. Special thanks to Elsbeth Dowd (Lyme Art Association), Cheryl Poirier (Economic Development Commission), Emily Clark (Florence Griswold Museum), Francesca Nebel (Lyme Art Association), Jolie Collins (Lyme Art Association), Kathleen Demeo, Mary Seidner (Lymes Youth Service Bureau), Wendy Bury (Lyme Art Academy), and Katie Huffman (Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library). All of these volunteers have taken time from their already busy days to plan the festival.  

The kick-off concert, featuring Locomotion, on the Flo Gris grounds was well attended. This year Stephanie Gould and Caitlin Perkins from the Lymes’ Senior Center co-organized with the Flo Gris Museum.

Ace Sound and Pyrotechnics worked together to plan our fireworks display for Saturday evening.   The team arrived at noon to set up the launch area. I greatly appreciate Fire Marshal Dave Roberge for overseeing and inspecting this setup procedure.  

Finally, we must thank all the departments in the Town of Old Lyme who came together to ensure our safety throughout the day. A special appreciation to the Old Lyme Fire Department, Old Lyme Volunteer Ambulance Association, Old Lyme Public Works and the Old Lyme Police Department including our 2024 Rangers.  

The Old Lyme Town Band under the direction of Richard Chiapetta provided us with two special concerts; one on Saturday before the fireworks and the second on Sunday afternoon, during the town-wide ice cream social. Everyone enjoyed the musical selections.  

This week I want to draw your attention to a survey that our Economic Development Commission created to serve two purposes. 

The primary purpose is to understand seasonal residents’ off-season newspaper access and subscriptions. Our current ordinance requires posting notice of town meetings in major newspapers during the months of November through May. The cost of posting these announcements has risen throughout the past two years. We want to make sure the ordinance matches the newspapers you rely on for Old Lyme town meetings. The survey seeks to learn more in general about where you get your information on Old Lyme news, events, and activities. By understanding where our residents get their news, Old Lyme departments and commissions can better consider where to send press releases, or information on upcoming activities and events.  

The survey also provides a chance to promote some of the Town of Old Lyme's communication channels, such as the First Selectwoman's newsletter, Notify Me, Everbridge, and the Town of Old Lyme and the Emergency Management Facebook pages. 

We hope you will take the time to participate in the survey it takes approximately 4 minutes to complete.

The Town Clerk would like to remind those residents who have dogs to stop in or go online to renew their license. New dog owners should use the same link to register their pet.

The Old Lyme Fire Department has been awarded a Community Impact Grant from Eversource in the amount of $2,500 to support the Old Lyme Fire Prevention Open House. Eversource is pleased to honor those that serve the communities where they live and work.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Olympics. Congratulations to Liam Corrigan and his fellow crew members making up the Men's Four Boat that won Gold in Paris. Old Lyme is proud of you!