Mayor Bronin: Summer in the City events signify Hartford's post-COVID resurgence

Photo | Sean Teehan Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin speaks at an event in Bushnell Park Thursday promoting the "Summer in the City" series.

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By Sean Teehan

A week ahead of the planned Hartford Bonanza Independence Day celebration, Mayor Luke Bronin said that and the other large public events planned this summer signify a city bouncing back from COVID-19.

"This is our time to come back, we are ready to welcome our residents back to Bushnell Park, back to the Riverfront, we're ready to welcome the region back to Hartford," Bronin said during a Thursday event by the outdoor Bushnell Pavillion promoting Hartford's "Summer in the City" series.

Hartford Bonanza, a weekend of entertainment and events centered at Bushnell Park in the city's downtown, is the third of 10 Summer in the City events planned this summer. The Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Juneteenth Celebration were both held earlier this month.

Events included in the five-year-old Summer in the City series -- such as Hartford Bonanza, and the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz -- were held virtually last year due to pandemic restrictions, but will all be held in-person this year.

Raytheon Technologies Corp. is serving as Summer in the City's presenting sponsor -- as the former United Technologies Corp. did before merging with Raytheon -- and New Britain-based tool manufacturing giant Stanley Black & Decker is also sponsoring the series.

"This feels exactly like the moment we've been waiting for," said Randy Bumps, Raytheon's corporate responsibility global head. "This really is a rich collection of 10 artistic and cultural events that will span Hartford's warm summer months."

Upcoming Summer in the City events include: