About Us
Welcome!
The new Restore with the Arts team welcomes you to our website!
In the weeks to come, we plan to introduce you to our team and our vision for the future music events at the Twilight Concert Series.
We hope you will be patient during this summer of transition and we welcome constructive feedback!
Thank you!
Denise Jones-Gagne
President
Frank Critelli
Vice-President
Dave Cooley
Secretary
The origin of Restore with the Arts, Inc. dates back to 2005 when Steve Robichaud started having musicians play on the patio at the Sandman Gallery on East Main Street in Meriden. A few years later the gallery was moved into the downtown area and continued booking small bands to perform for the daytime lunch crowd. The summer events were changed to evenings venue to benefit those who worked during the day. It was around this time that the positive impact of these events were felt. A collaboration with the city provided us with a mobile stage to accommodate larger bands, better lighting and a relationship with the town that continues to the present.
A pivotal moment in our growth was the addition of Dave Grodzicki and, shortly after, Meriden events planner Carrie Teele. We shared a similar interest and love for the city that we grew up in. This evolved into what it is today, Restore with the Arts Inc.
When the city created a 14-acre water retention plan to alleviate our downtown flooding problems, forward-thinking planners incorporated a park setting with walking paths, a bridge and open waterways and, to our great delight, an amphitheater on what is now called the Meriden Green.
The following summer, along with a collaboration with city, we moved our Twilight Concert Series to the new venue and started booking larger bands appropriate for the size of the amphitheater. Support from local businesses, civic groups and individuals have been a key reason for our continued success and ability to offer our town access to free musical entertainment. Our concerts attendance now ranges from hundreds to thousands of attendees per performance.
In 2017 we registered with the state as an Organization and in 2018 became a 501c3 non-profit.
Our goal is to continue to grow and expand our offerings primarily to our community while making it appealing to the central Connecticut population. We strive to make Meriden the preferred location for music in our state.
About Steve Robichaud, Founder
Steve Robichaud is the founder of Restore with the Arts, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit and remains on the board today. He is a graduate of the Career Academy of Broadcasting in D.C. and worked at WTWN in Vermont and then WBMI in Meriden. He enlisted in the Air Force, married (Barbara), had two children (Matthew and Danielle) and retired from a marketing career at SNET in 1995.
He started a second career as owner of The Sandman Gallery Frame Shoppe and Café in Meriden until his retirement in 2017.
His career in the entertainment sector began by hosting musical performances on the patio in front of the gallery in 2005. In 2011 he partnered with the City of Meriden and the Parks Department to use their portable stage. In 2012 he partnered with Dave Grodzicki and Carrie Teele to expand its musical outreach to the Meriden community. In 2016 Restore with the Arts was incorporated and in 2018 became a 501c3 non-profit.
Steve now resides in New Bern, NC and continues to be actively involved with the non-profit.