Good morning! 

In all this craziness and uncertainty caused by this year’s events the West End Association has been zooming and trying our best to cope. Many of our members are busy giving out masks, hand sanitizing supplies and volunteering at local shelters and pantries. We hope everyone stays active, yet safe.

We would like to update everyone on our progress this year. We have been working hard behind the scenes trying to continue some sort of normalcy.  We have had to alter or cancel many events, meetings and current operations but we remain strong and committed to our neighbors.

We were in the middle of our annual Taste of Bristol campaign when the shutdown occurred. This caused a major disruption in the operations of Bristol’s restaurant scene. Many were forced to completely close and unfortunately, some will not return. All of the participating restaurants agreed to honor the certificates through May. This was greatly appreciated. Now with things starting to reopen, we ask our members to remember to shop and eat local. We have decided to purchase gift certificates from several of the local restaurants instead of asking them to donate, and will have the drawing soon. Winners will be contacted via phone or email.

After much discussion, we were forced to cancel the Rockwell Park Summer Festival. The need to oversee such a large crowd, maintain proper sanitizing procedures and enforce social distancing created a scenario where we felt it was impossible to achieve with our small group of volunteers. Public safety is always our major concern and the rules for large gatherings are still being formulated by the State, giving us no time to properly plan a safe event. Our sponsors have been generous in the past and we believe that they will continue to support us in the future after their current challenges in their own businesses have been overcome. We look forward to holding the festival next year on Saturday, August 21, 2021.

The West End Association recognizes our position in the community and we stand firm in utilizing our platform to nurture and engage our neighbors and community partners to address social, economic and educational disparities. We are an advocate for diversity and inclusion and we cherish the long-standing relationships we have with many organizations within the city of Bristol. Our meetings and membership are open to all who share our mission to help create and maintain a safe, friendly, and family oriented neighborhood, filled with thriving businesses, convenient public transportation, and attractive amenities and activities. We envision that people in our neighborhoods will demonstrate their pride by taking responsibility for the ongoing care of their homes and businesses, the parks and river, and one another.

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Dave Hamelin
President
West End Association
        The mission of the West End Association shall be to help create and maintain a safe, friendly, and family oriented neighborhood, filled with thriving businesses, convenient public transportation, attractive amenities and activities. We envision that people in the neighborhood will demonstrate their pride by taking responsibility for the ongoing care of their homes and businesses, the parks and river, and one another.