Publicity Photos
By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney, featuring Tony Kishman of the Broadway musical “Beatlemania,” will headline the Savin Rock Festival on Saturday in Old Grove Park, 1 Palace St.
On Friday, the festival’s opening night will showcase The Stevie Experience, performing a tribute to the “music, story and legacy” of Stevie Nicks.
Mayor Dorinda Borer said the annual event will commemorate West Haven’s storied amusement park heritage.
According to Borer, the shoreline festival will pay homage to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Savin Rock Park, once known as Connecticut’s Coney Island and locally as “the Rock.”
The event is presented by the Savin Rock Festival Committee from 5-10 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday. The sponsors are Premium Parking, Affordable Waste Systems, CDM Smith, Gilbane and The Frankson Fence Co. Inc.
Along with live music, the festival will include a free inflatable park and, of course, boatloads of seafood and other mouthwatering dishes.
show some of the family-oriented events at the city’s annual gala. Thousands are expected to crowd the former site of the amusement park to witness several national and local headliners.
According to committee co-Chairs Sherri Lepper and Ed O’Brien, a number of nonprofit organizations will have informational tables in the 155-year-old Grove, and a fleet of food and dessert trucks will serve eats and sweets on the nearby Palace Street.
The food trucks are: Cousins Maine Lobster (lobster rolls/Saturday only), Greek Style Grill (authentic Greek street food/Friday only), Holy Guacamole (tacos, quesadillas, loaded nachos/Saturday only), Louise’s Homemade Food & Baked Goods (fried dough, meatballs, sausage and peppers, eggplant), Old Mexico (birria tacos, burritos, steak nachos), Shoreline Prime (steak and cheese), Silver Sands Pizza (wood-fired pizza), Spuds Your Way (loaded baked potatoes), Supreme Poutine (hand-cut fries, homemade sauces), Szabo’s Seafood (lobster rolls), Taste of Grill (gyros) and What the Truck BBQ (smoked barbecue).
The dessert trucks are: Dad’s Cannoli, Mister Softee (soft-serve ice cream), Repicci’s Real Italian Ice & Gelato and Tiki Sweets & Treats (old-fashioned sweet and salty kettle corn).
The two-day event will also include a beer garden — serving beer and wine — from 5-9 p.m. Friday and noon-9 p.m. Saturday. It will also include the traditional craft fair, spread beneath the park’s oak trees.
Parking costs $10 for nonresidents and is free for residents, provided their vehicles are registered in West Haven.
Parking is available in the grass lot off Oak Street, across from the Surfside public housing complex at 200 Oak St., and in the municipal lot at 6 Rock St., the former Savin Rock Conference Center. Parking is also available at West Haven High School, 1 McDonough Plaza.
Handicapped parking is available in the municipal lot on Altschuler Plaza, off Captain Thomas Boulevard.
The festival will open at 5 p.m. Friday with a greeting by Borer and a performance of the national anthem.
WOW Radio personality Brian Smith will serve as the “ringmaster” of ceremonies for an unprecedented eighth time.
From 6-7:30 p.m., the Rum Runners, “one of Connecticut’s most popular cover bands where the party never ends,” will play a high-energy set of “the best classic and new music out there,” followed by The Stevie Experience from 8-10 p.m.
Day 2 will kick off at 9 a.m. Saturday with the Rotary Club’s free pancake breakfast, followed by the Department of Parks and Recreation’s bocce tournament at 11 a.m.
For the first time, the festival will offer helicopter rides for $50 per person. From 10 a.m. to dusk, the five-minute rides will take off from a cordoned-off grass area off Oak Street, adjacent to the Jimmies restaurant parking lot, and will fly up and down the West Haven shoreline.
City police officers will have a bicycle safety table and hand out bike helmets and locks while supplies last.
Firefighters of the West Haven Fire Department, led by Fire Marshal Roger Sicotte, will demonstrate the department’s 35-foot smoke trailer and show children what to do in case of a fire. Sicotte will also have a fire safety and public education table with informational materials.
From 1-2:30 p.m., the second annual Great Bartender Race will provide nonstop fun and laughs on Oak Street Beach, with teams of four competing in relays of skill to determine West Haven’s best mixologists.
From 1:30-3 p.m., the Savin Rock Theatre Company will present a performance by Broadway singers on the main stage.
From 2-4 p.m., children’s activities will fill the Grove, including face painting and henna tattoos. Bocce the Clown will interact with kids around the park.
From 3-4 p.m., the inaugural cornhole tournament will pit West Haven’s finest against the city’s bravest, a no-holds-barred contest that is sure to become a festival staple.
At 3:45 p.m., West Haven firefighters will demonstrate the Jaws of Life tool by prying open parts of a vehicle to free those trapped inside.
Members of West Haven Professional Firefighters Local 1198 will hold their annual fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. All proceeds will benefit MDA, including sales from beverages, popcorn and chips and ticket sales from a bounce house, a dunk tank, a speed pitch and raffles.
From 4-5 p.m., salsa dancing will take over the concrete pad in front of the stage.
From 6-8 p.m., the Voices of Rock will perform an electrifying classic rock tribute show featuring the powerhouse voice and captivating stage presence of Sean Byrne, the lead singer of last year’s festival tribute band, the Foreigner Journey Experience.
VOR will take audiences on a nostalgic journey through the iconic anthems of rock legends Styx, Foreigner, Starship Led Zeppelin, Journey and Queen. From the soaring melodies of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” to the heart-pounding riffs of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” the show not only pays homage to the greatest hits but celebrates the spirit of rock ’n’ roll. With a talented backing band, stunning visuals and an immersive experience, VOR will deliver an unforgettable night filled with classic tunes and crowd favorites, inviting fans to sing along and relive the glory days of rock music.
From 8-10 p.m., Kishman’s McCartney tribute show will entertain festivalgoers with an energetic set of hits culled from Macca’s timeless catalog.
Hailed as “the quintessential Paul McCartney,” Kishman has performed to audiences worldwide for 40 years and is regarded by “Beatlemaniacs” as the world’s best McCartney look- and sound-alike. From the Beatles favorites that fans know and love to the Wings hits and the solo material, there is something for everyone in Kishman’s multimedia show, which is supported by world-class musicians.
West Haven’s flagship festival was established in 1982 by the Chamber of Commerce — initially under the direction of Brian M. Stone, David Gesler and Michael Shiner and thereafter by John L. Perrone and his wife, Mary Perrone — to bring organizations, clubs, businesses and families together for a summer event that celebrates life in one of America’s oldest maritime communities.
From the dawn of the Savin Rock House hotel in 1838, the Rock had long been a resort hub until it was officially incorporated as an amusement park by the Savin Rock Park Co. on Memorial Day 1925, when it opened to 300,000 visitors and 66,000 automobiles in one spectacular day.
For the next four decades, the famous seaside park captured the hearts and imaginations of “Rock rats” young and old. “The playground of New England” shuttered on Sept. 21, 1966, to pave the way for the Savin Rock Urban Renewal Project.