DARIEN, CT — As officials begin to work on the vision and master plan phase for Great Island, the town will host the first public event on the 60-plus acre property this fall, giving residents a taste of the possibilities for one of Darien’s crown jewels.
The Great Island Advisory Committee and Board of Selectmen on Monday unanimously voted to move forward with hosting a pop-up polo event at Great Island on Oct. 26 with a rain date of Oct. 27.
GIAC Chair and Selectman Monica McNally said the town was approached by a group out of Westport about the event.
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“They have held similar events at the Fairfield [County] Hunt Club, and are looking forward to doing it here,” McNally said, noting The Hamlet would be the main sponsor.
“Activities would be you’d watch a polo practice, and then a couple of matches, and there will be a couple of activities for the kids, like pony rides, face painting, that kind of thing,” McNally said.
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Organizers are looking to provide food — either a boxed lunch that can be purchased in advance from a caterer in town, or through food trucks on-site. Details are being finalized with the Department of Public Health, McNally said.
Approximately 200 people can be transported to Great Island by bus for the event, which is described in Board of Selectmen documents as the “Great Island Fall Festival.” Others can also walk onto the island and attend, McNally said, noting the event will come at no cost to the town.
“We’re really excited. I’m personally really excited for this because I feel it’s really important to get people onto the island so that they can figure out what they want to do there,” McNally said during the Board of Selectmen meeting. “We’ve had it open and we’ve had a lot of people that have enjoyed walking, but we need to draw people in with a different type of activity.”
Other board members also expressed excitement.
“I love the idea of having an event to shine a light on Great Island and start to get people used to saying, ‘Wow, there’s something going on, I want to go there, I want to be part of it,'” said First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky.
“I think this is going to be a very popular event. I think people are going to be excited. It’s a really good opportunity to see the property in its natural state doing a polo event,” Selectman Marcy Minnick added.
Minnick said she wants to make sure the town is prepared if there’s a large turnout.
The horses would be transported to Great Island a few days in advance and taken care of on the island, according to McNally. They’ll be transported off the island the day after the event.
Darien is also planning to hold its first public outreach event for Great Island on Sept. 21.
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Monday’s GIAC and Board of Selectmen meetings are available to view on demand on Darien TV79.
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