The celebration’s planning commitee has invited the community to engage in a week of events showcasing Wallingford.
While students may think Choate has been around for a long time, the town it calls home has an even more extensive history. Wallingford, founded in 1670, was established long before Choate. The historical town will mark its 350th anniversary in 2020 with a Jubilee Week from June 20 to 27. Choate has decided to partner with the Wallingford 350th Jubilee Committee to host a non-denominational service in the Chapel, a women’s art show in the Humanities Rotunda, and a ball during the week-long celebration.
Each day of Jubilee Week will have a theme. Sunday, June 21, will be Religious Day, dedicated to the variety of cultures and religions in the town of Wallingford. The Jubilee Committee requested to use Choate’s Chapel because of its non-denominational status. The Religious Day service will involve local leaders from many different religious backgrounds.
Mrs. Lorraine Connelly, Choate’s Associate Director for Marketing and Media, and Ms. Alison Cady, Director of Strategic Planning and Communications, are working with Choate alumnus Jerry Farrell ’86 to plan the service. They plan to invite religious representatives from across Wallingford to read passages from holy texts. “It’s very nice because we’re going to involve all of the chaplains in town and the rabbi in the local synagogue, who happens to be a Choate parent,” said Mrs. Connelly. “There are these many wonderful connections between Choate and members of the community.”
Choate will also host the art show for Wallingford’s female artists on Tuesday, June 23 and the ball on Saturday, June 27. These two events are still in preliminary planning stages.
Students will have the opportunity to participate in the festivities in many ways. Jubilee week will begin with a parade for which Choate students are invited to build floats. “I think putting together a float would be really amazing,” said Mrs. Cady, “I think the Wallingford community really appreciates the energy that Choate students bring to town, and they miss that when it’s not here, so I think something representative of the diversity of backgrounds and hometowns of Choate students would be really interesting.” In addition, the religious service will require a chorus, another opportunity for Choate students to engage in Jubilee Week.
The brunt of the planning is being handled by the Wallingford 350th Jubilee Committee, whose leaders, Ms. Christine Mansfield and Mr. Jerry Farrell, have already organized a few local events. In 2016, the Governor’s Foot Guards, accompanied by the Wallingford Police and Fire Department Honor Guards, marched across town in a military parade, from Moses Y. Beach Elementary School to the town’s Main Street post office. The parade commemorated the Honorary National Guard membership of three Wallingford government representatives. In 2017, the town held a car show sponsored by local car dealerships. This year, the committee plans to arrange a ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the death of Major Raoul Lufbery, a resident of Wallingford who was a flying ace in the First World War. According to Mrs. Mansfield, the purpose of these celebrations is “to honor our history, to celebrate our legacy, to record for our future.”
Choate has a long history with the town of Wallingford. Mrs. Connelly and Mrs. Cady have taken the opportunity to celebrate this shared history and give back to the community they call home. Mrs. Connelly explained that Choate has “been part of the town’s history for more than a hundred and twenty-five years. A good portion of our history and Wallingford’s history is a shared history. That’s important.”
