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Bringing a World’s Fair of Food and Drink to Clinton

On Friday, July 8, the parking lot behind Clinton’s Andrews Memorial Town Hall will play host to the first annual International Food and Beer Festival. The festival will offer food, drink, and entertainment from cultures around the world. The day could not have been pulled off without the hard work of volunteers like organizer Nicki Dakis.

The event, which is free to attend, will run from 4 to 8 p.m. and currently hosts food from about 20 vendors.

“We have diverse types of food...We have Ethiopian food, Jamaican food, Polish, Italian, and much more,” says Nicki.

Besides the food, the event will also feature beers from around the world, Italian wines, and entertainment representing different cultures.

“We even have room for more vendors or volunteers who need community service hours if people are interested,” Nicki says.

Interested parties can contact Nicki at nickidak@gmail.com. Updates can be found on the Clinton Placemakers’ Facebook page. A rain date is scheduled for Friday, July 15.

The event is being organized by the Placemakers, an organization dedicated to the betterment of Clinton and of which Nicki is the vice president.

“We’re a bunch of people who work to improve the town is ways that kind of fall through the cracks and people overlook,” Nicki explains.

Last year, the group began discussions on how to have some kind of summer community celebration.

“We began thinking about maybe a farmers market or something like that,” says Nicki. “Along the way it kind of morphed into this.”

The idea drew from some local inspiration, as well.

“St. Mary’s Catholic Church last fall held a cultural celebration that I attended to get an idea of what could be done. It’s been a really positive reaction so far,” says Nicki.

Now, with the groundwork laid, the organizers are working to get the word out.

“We’d love to have a big community turnout and we hope this becomes an annual tradition in Clinton. And now we’re just praying for good weather!” Nicki says with a laugh.

Nicki said it took about a year of work to go form the initial concept to getting everything in place for the festival to be a go.

“The hardest part was trying to understand the logistics for the food vendors,” Nicki says while noting the number of rules that govern how food must be prepared.

“I will say the town was very cooperative and easy to work with, as was the health department, which made things easy,” says Nicki.

As for a favorite part, Nicki says that she appreciates the friendships found from working on organizing the day.

“The comradery was my favorite part. Maybe it sounds trite, but the group has been fantastic to work with,” she says.

Helping the community is something Nicki truly prides herself on. During the pandemic Nicki opened Study Hall LLC at 153 Glenwood Road in Clinton.

“We’re a non profit that offers affordable tutoring for kids from the 3rd grade to 21,” says Nicki.

“We try and help kids like the C student who is maybe not reaching their potential by finding the problem and helping. Sometimes it’s learning blocks and sometimes it’s teaching new study habits,” she adds.

Nicki, who has a background in education and is currently a teacher at the college level, says in particular there are kids who have not had tutoring before or perhaps can’t afford tutoring that she is trying to reach.

“We want to be a resource for the entire area,” says Nicki.

For more information on Study Hall LLC, visit www.studyhalltutor.com.

Nicki, who owns the plaza where Study Hall is located, says she also likes to pitch in at Economic Development Commission meetings where she isn’t an official member but a regular attendee.

“I try to be an apolitical person, but I want to help my tenants and I think being involved in town helps, especially as some people don’t even realize we’re there so I want to make sure they’re not forgotten,” says Nicki.

Community involvement is something that has always been important to Nicki as well as something she sees as a shared trait when she looks around Clinton.

“I’ve always been a community minded person and especially been really passionate about education. If everyone did their part to improve the community they live in in some way things would be better everyone,” says Nicki. “And in Clinton I see more people who are willing to get their hands dirty and pitch in.”

Nicki grew up in New Haven and Woodbridge and then lived a number of years in Madison before moving to Clinton.

“I’ve lived in Clinton for about five years now. I loved the non-pretentiousness of Clinton. It just felt like people here are more diverse and that there’s real people here,” says Nicki.

Besides the people, Nicki says she also appreciate the town for its scenery.

“I love the public spaces, the tables and chairs down at the docks or behind Town Hall. It’s like there’s these hidden spaces around I didn’t know about before I moved here,” says Nicki.