RIVERFRONT RECAPTURE INC
50 Columbus Boulevard 1st Floor, Hartford, CT 06106 www.riverfront.org

---

Organizations Filed Purposes: Riverfront Recapture' s mission is to connect people with the Connecticut River. This is accomplished through its goal of restoring public access to the Connecticut River and recognizing its potential to improve the quality of life for the region by increasing recreational and economic opportunities.

Riverfront Recapture is responsible for managing the riverfront park system that spans Hartford and East Hartford. This includes several functions from development of the parks, programming entertainment and activities for all ages, and coordination of the park maintenance and Ranger services. Most of the events and programs were curtailed in 2020 due to COVID-19 but 745,000 visitors did come to the Riverfront to enjoy the parks.

ENTERTAINMENT AND EVENTS: Under normal circumstances, Riverfront Recapture offers family-friendly entertainment in the parks, ranging from cultural performances and festivals to sporting events. Riverfront Recapture produces many events such as the Dragon Boat and Asian Festival and numerous small concerts and arts events. Riverfront also collaborates with other organizations to present a diverse schedule of events such as the Taste of the Caribbean, which is a festival of food, music and dance. The Hartbeat Music Festival is a day-long celebration of local musicians. Most of these activities were suspended in 2020.

RECREATION AND OUTDOOR ADVENTURES: These activities range from structured programs such as the Community Rowing program to more passive activities like walks. The parks, on both banks of the Connecticut River in Hartford and East Hartford, and the river, provide venues for a variety of land and water recreation. The Community Rowing program serves adults and students from "learn to row" to Masters experience levels. The season normally culminates in the annual Head of the Riverfront Regatta which attracts more than 3,000 participants plus 6,000 spectators, placing it in the top ten one-day regattas in the U.S. Riverside Park is home base for the Riverfront Adventure program which includes a ropes course and dragon boating. A majority of the participants are youth groups, but companies also come out for team-building experiences. Riverfront encourages general use of the parks for picknicking, running, walking, bird watching, and bicycling, etc. and is available for charity walks and 5K runs. The athletic fields' uses include softball, cricket, volleyball and Pop Warner football. Public boating is possible from three boat launches. Riverfront partners with a number of schools and groups for all of our programs. Programs generally involve participant fees, but many youth programs are either free to participants or subsidized from grants. Most of the structured activities with the exception of some limited rowing were canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. The parks did remain open, including the boat launches.

PARK MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: Projects are underway to expand the park system north of the Boathouse to connect to the Windsor riverwalk. Funding was secured in 2017 for the extension of the riverwalk north of the Boathouse. The City of Hartford is managing the project with a firm that is providing design and permitting services. Construction of this extension is expected to be completed in 2022. This new stretch of riverwalk will end at the boundary of land at the Hartford/Windsor line that Riverfront purchased through a separate entity, Riverfront Land, Inc. The new property will allow for the uninterrupted connection of riverwalk from Charter Oak Landing in Hartford to the Windsor Riverwalk and beyond. The parcel will also provide opportunities for many other activities that will make this location a key attraction on the riverfront. Beginning in 2017, Riverfront Recapture took over the responsibility for park maintenance from the Metropolitan District Commission. Volunteers have been incorporated into the maintenance plan as companies are increasingly looking to engage employees on community projects. Compared to pre-COVID levels, only a handful of volunteers came out in 2020. Riverfront manages the parks for the City of Hartford and Town of East Hartford. The municipalities are connected by walkways on the Founders and Charter Oak Bridges. The Riverfront has been a catalyst for economic investment with the development of hotels, a convention center, a science center, and entertainment complex, and housing on adjacent land. Rangers provide hospitality and information, in addition to creating a secure environment for park visitors. Rangers are responsible for opening and closing the parks on a daily basis throughout the year. Between May and October, the busy season for the parks, the Rangers have an increased presence. They provide information and directions to park visitors, assist with parking and boat launch activities, and enforce park rules. Safety precautions to deal with social distancing were implemented for park visitors and certain park amenities were restricted based on CDC guidelines, however the parks remained open and busy throughout the year.

---

---

Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202111339349302596_public.xml