62nd Annual Newtown Labor Day Parade 2024

It's 2024, and the Parade Committee is working hard! We can't wait for the floats, fire trucks, festive music, and more! The 62nd edition of The Newtown Labor Day Parade. Save the date and join us on September 2nd, 2024, for this fun, family-friendly event. And it's the ONLY Labor Day Parade in the state of CT!

Help us make this event even more special! Share the event and invite your friends and family for some pre-barbecue fun!

This year's parade theme is "Garden of Plenty."

The Newtown Labor Day Parade Committee is pleased to announce Jim and Sue Shortt as the 2024 Grand Marshals for the 62nd Annual Newtown Labor Day Parade. Jim and Sue have been integral parts of our community for years.

About the Shortt Farm:

Shortt Farm is a beautiful 6-acre, USDA-certified organic vegetable farm located at 52 Riverside Rd, Sandy Hook, Connecticut. It was founded in 1995 by Jim and his late mother, Dolly Shortt. Jim and Dolly farmed the original 4-acre property on Riverside Road, and the store carried a mix of veggies, plants, and animal feed. A garden center was added, selling various trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals.

Shortt Farm is a beautiful 6-acre, USDA-certified organic vegetable farm located at 52 Riverside Rd, Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

Shortt’s Farm was founded in 1995 by Jim and his late mother, Dolly Shortt. Jim and Dolly farmed the original 4-acre property on Riverside Road, and the store carried a mix of veggies, plants, and animal feed. A garden center was added, and they sold a variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals.

They purchased a Cherry Street property in 2008, adding 10 acres to the farm, closed the retail garden center, and changed their focus to farming. We started our CSA and have since grown this incredibly popular program. Today, we still sell our vegetable plants and some gardening-related products.

In 2021, they purchased 6 acres adjacent to our Riverside Road property and have been transitioning it into more farmland for them to cultivate.

Sue, Jim, and their sons James and Jesse are first-generation farmers who grow and sell many different types of vegetables, including hard-to-find heirloom varieties. They also have everything you need to grow your own food with the very best bedding plants, fertilizers, and mulch for your garden. In addition to organic produce, they have farm fresh eggs, Ferris ice cream, local honey, syrup, pickles, and jams/jellies. There are many benefits to shopping locally. The food tastes better and is more nutritious, and collectively, we are helping to create a stronger local food system as we support small farms.

Sue and Jim are excited to constantly expand their farm, hoping that James and Jesse will be the second generation to continue serving Newtown and surrounding towns with amazingly fresh produce and local products from other small businesses in the area.

Shortt’s Farm is an old-fashioned, family-run business, and they hope to continue the tradition for many years. Though the farm is growing, they remain steadfast in their mission to make local, organic, fresh products available, with love from our family to yours.

Many thanks to our beloved Newtown Bee for this recent article about the committee’s selection https://www.newtownbee.com/06142024/honoring-sue-and-jim-shortt-with-a-new-garden-of-plenty/

They invite you to support the 62nd Newtown Labor Day Parade. This Parade is 100% self-funded and organized by volunteers. Your continued generosity will allow us to bring the Parade to our community each year. The Newtown Labor Day Parade is a registered 501(c)3.

Host or Publisher Event Guide in United States