by Matt Bower
Aug 25, 2009
In a time when schools are being closed and airport expansion is being examined, some fear Warwick is losing a sense of community. That wasn’t the case Friday at the Norwood gazebo.
Cellar Full of Noise, a local mostly Beatles cover band, filled the gazebo as an audience of more than 100 strong gathered on the green to hear music, share in some ice cream sundaes and get to know one another a little bit better for an event dubbed, “Have a Sundae on a Friday.”
“This serves as the epicenter of Norwood, bringing people out and getting neighbors to meet one another,” said Carl Salustio, president of the Norwood Neighborhood Association, proudly as he listened to the music and greeted neighbors as they passed by. “People have described it as that old fashioned neighborhood feel like you see on TV.”
Salustio said Norwood has only had the gazebo for two years, but has been running community events like the one on Friday ever since it became a reality. Describing the area, referred to as the triangle, before the gazebo, Salustio said there was nothing there.
“I woke up one night and said to my wife that we should put a gazebo on the triangle and she just laughed at me because she thought I was joking,” he said. “I had a fundraising background coming out of the Army and I told her we will get a gazebo for the neighborhood.”
With the help of volunteers and grant funding, the gazebo became a reality and it’s been put to good use ever since.
“It’s been much more successful than expected and we’re using it more than we thought,” Salustio said.
“This went far beyond what we initially wanted to do,” added Jeff Parker, one of the volunteers serving ice cream, which was provided by Warwick Ice Cream. “It’s really galvanized the community.”
Past events have included distributing candy at Halloween, inviting the Norwood Baptist Church to sing Christmas carols and last month, an end of July block party was held featuring the Jennifer Minuto Band as part of the Warwick Summer Concert Series.
“Originally it wasn’t going to be part of the concert series, but we got scheduled in for it and they said it was the best turnout of all of them,” Parker said. “Jennifer Minuto enjoyed it and wants to play here again.”
Gary Kondvar, another volunteer serving ice cream, said he’s really seen the neighborhood events bring the community together.
“We usually get about 150 people or more coming out to these things,” he said. “People even use it during the week, whether they’re waiting for the bus, eating lunch or just taking time to relax and enjoy the green.”
Kondvar said some volunteers from the association also planted a garden around the gazebo and brought in some URI Master Gardeners to help out.
“It was a true community effort,” he said.
The gazebo provides for such a perfect neighborhood setting that Ann Gemma, wife of state Representative Al Gemma (D-Dist. 20, Warwick) and avid painter, is currently working on an oil painting of a photograph of the gazebo and the green provided by Kondvar. Gemma said she’s already started working on the sketch and when it’s finished will be 16 x 20 inches in size.
Salustio said the association plans to make the “Have a Sundae on a Friday” event an annual one, and is even looking at doing a neighborhood yard sale and have people visit different houses while shopping for items.
“We have a very active leadership of about 20 members in the association, which currently has about 200 members,” he said. “With their input and ideas, we’re able to do this. Each volunteer brings a certain skill or special contribution at any level, which helps a lot.”
Salustio said the strength of the organization is the willingness of everyone to pitch in.
“The volunteers get a certain satisfaction out of helping someone, and it’s nice to give something back, especially in these trying times,” he said. “We encourage people in the neighborhood that are not familiar with the organization to contact us or come to one of our meetings and get involved.”
Salustio said meetings are held at the Norwood Boys and Girls Club. He said the association often works together with other neighborhood associations and has a great working relationship with the community police division.
“We’re happy to help out in any way we can,” he said.
For more information or to get involved, visit the association’s Web site at www.norwoodnari.org, or contact President Carl Salustio at 785-0616, or by e-mail at norwoodna@verizon.net.
GOING FOR SECONDS: GOING FOR SECONDS: Tyler and Kyle Brown, who are visiting Warwick from Georgia with their Grandma, Gail Ramsdell, line up for a second helping of ice cream.
ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS: From left, Emily Deluca, Sophia Deluca and Sara Gilo take a break from dancing and running around at the Sundae on a Friday event held at the Norwood Gazebo last Friday.
FULL OF NOISE: Cellar Full of Noise, a local neighborhood band that volunteered to play music for the event, treated the crowd to classics from The Beatles and the Bee Gees.
