News: November 2021

November Report

Winter indoor sessions were postponed because of an increase in COVID-19 cases at the Marion Cross School.  We also made the decision not to open any contracted programs (fencing, yoga, etc) until January, to give more of our youngest community members time to get vaccinated.  
Norwich Recreation Afternoons is still popular, and the kids are still staying outside for the majority of their time with us.

We partnered with the Marion Cross PTO to hang the lights on the Town Green fence and hand out hot cocoa to families on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  The event was well-attended and the lights were hung in record time.  We plan to keep them up until Valentines Day. We will be hanging pine boughs on the fence with the PTO on Tuesday, December 21^st.

The Turco family hosted the Norwich Turkey Trot again this year.  A record number of participants showed up, raising nearly $10,000 for the Upper Valley Haven.  To keep the larger numbers manageable, the format was changed to a staggered start.  The organizer expressed an interest in partnering more closely with Norwich Rec for the event in future years.

Norwich Nailed reopened, with Sarah Rooker as our guest judge.   Simple recipes were on the menu, with a Depression cake and a simple white bread. The entries were creative and looks delicious!  Attendance was low for the first two weeks, but this is likely because of the holiday season.  We will resume the program again after the 25^th.

The Buildings & Grounds crew began helping with a full inventory of Rec equipment.  Equipment is being evaluated, donated to the Listen Center and the Windsor community if it is due to retire.  We are keeping a selection of balls, soft bats and other equipment for our Community Closets.
Residents have already begun reserving nordic equipment through Norwich Rec.  Because we do not have the capacity to sharpen skates, we will be transferring our boxes of skates to Dan and Whit’s and the Marion Cross School.

Ice Rink – we do not have any volunteers signed up to assist with the rink this year.  We will not plan to set up the rink until we have a plan with a full roster of volunteers.
Huntley Meadows grooming – the current snowmobile is being evaluated by the DPW mechanic to see if we can use it this year.  It is past the expected life (30+ avg, and we are over 40), so we need to make sure that we aren’t beginning a season with a machine that will not get to the end of the season. Because we cannot rely on this machine being ready, Ford Sayre Nordic will not be using Huntley Meadows for their younger skiers Norwich program this year.