The Mansfield Downtown Partnership held its first festival in 2004 as a way to bring “town and gown” together in a day of community celebration. The Partnership sought to demonstrate the potential of the Downtown Storrs area, which the Partnership, the Town of Mansfield, and the University of Connecticut were working to redevelop.

The first festival featured about a dozen booths hosted by local businesses and community organizations and took place in parking lots behind the commercial buildings in the downtown.

Since that first celebration, both the festival and Downtown Storrs have grown quite a bit!

By 2019, the Festival - now named the “Celebrate Mansfield Festival” - had expanded to over 70 booths lining the streets of Downtown Storrs and featured a wide variety of entertainment on Betsy Paterson Square and throughout the event site.

After a pandemic pause in 2020 and a reduced-size event in 2021, the Mansfield Downtown Partnership was excited to return to a full formatted Festival in 2022.

In 2023, we hosted our 20th annual celebration - the largest to date - with over 80 activity, craft, food, and sponsor booths plus food trucks, a “touch-a-truck” activity for kids, and four performances areas!

Please join us in celebrating our community on Saturday, September 28, 2024!

The Partnership’s Festival committee begins planning in the early winter each year. If you are interested in participating in the 2025 Celebrate Mansfield Festival, please contact us to receive information about participation opportunities.

Photos above courtesy of John P. Manfred (2004 image) and Brian Bystrek (2019 images).