It’s a cultural thing.

As you may know, last month Stonington received approval from the State to establish two Cultural Districts, one in the Borough that includes Town Dock, and one in East Mystic that includes the Seaport. This makes us the only town in Connecticut with two such districts, and our newly established Cultural Districts Commission is hard at work drafting a vision statement and establishing goals and policies. Good government work takes time.

But then Joe Marandino showed up. Whether it was a sign from the heavens or a message from the deep I do not know, but Mr. Marandino wrote to this editor:

“I am a Connecticut based metal sculptor artist up in Tolland Ct. and have been trying to find a fishing boat captain I could talk to in regards to getting a photo taken of my 44" Yellowfin Tuna steel sculpture on a fishing boat.”

That was arranged next day courtesy of Joe Gilbert of Empire Fisheries, and the sculpture was hoisted in short order over FV Starbrite’s deck. An auspicious if unplanned start to the CDC’s mission!

Thank you Joe Marandino, and we share your work here: