The Newtown Board of Town Hall Managers and Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, in concert with The Newtown Office of Economic and Community Development, invite the residents of Newtown to an informational meeting regarding the creation of a Cultural District in the Town of Newtown and The Borough.

The Board of Selectmen at its July 23 meeting unanimously approved a resolution allowing Newtown Cultural Arts Commission to apply with the state to have Newtown designated a Cultural District.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 21, at 6 pm, in The Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.

No reservations are needed, and light refreshments will be served.

Cultural Districts were created by the State of Connecticut/Office of the Arts to “help cities and towns nurture the arts and economic development …” and are “walkable, compact areas that are easy for visitors to recognize.”

“They are special places where community members congregate,” the Office of the Arts has added. “And because each community is unique, each Cultural District looks different.”

Locally, the town will be working with Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut Executive Director Lisa Scails.

A founding volunteer committee along with Lisa Scails has determined an area overlapping the Borough and the Town of Newtown as eligible for the designation. Committee members, Cultural Arts Commission Chair Laura Lerman, ETH Board of Managers members Jennifer Guman and Betsy Paynter, and Newtown ECD Director John Voket have invited members of the commercial and arts community to join the required advisory council. More members are expected to join to August 21 meeting.