Winter is the Pits

One of Waterbury's great grassroots groups, Spirit of Waterbury, put together a winter festival at Hamilton Park this afternoon, the second in their series of Hidden Spaces, Secret Places events. The weather was more mud season than snow season, but everyone still had a good time. An estimated 1,000 people attended the event, which included a small bonfire, several pit fires, s'mores, chili, soups, hot chocolate, food trucks, and a mobile pub.

A Brief History of Waterbury's Black Barber Shops

Black barber shops have been an important center of African American communities since the 1800s. Black barbers were among the first African American entrepreneurs to build their businesses in Waterbury. The city's first black-owned barber shop opened in 1846, catering to a primarily white clientele. During the early 1900s, Waterbury’s African American community grew large enough to support a black barber shop dedicated to that community, located in the North Square neighborhood.