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Community Corner

Register Now For the 2014 Dream Ride Experience to benefit Special Olympics, August 23-24

The 2014 Dream Ride Experience, presented by Bozzuto’s Inc. and the Hometown Foundation to benefit Special Olympics, will take place, August 23 -24 in Farmington (CT). The event will unite motorcyclists, classic and exotic car enthusiasts, and families and friends who want to be a part of a fun, festive event to support Special Olympics. A motorcycle ride with starting points at Harley-Davidson dealerships across the state and drawing participants from three countries – the US, Canada and Australia and 12 states (including Connecticut) and a host of activities are planned. These include a Twilight Car Cruise & Wrangler Rally, Dream Show car exhibit, celebrity guest appearances, kids’ activities and miniature golf. To view a full schedule of events and register, go to www.dreamride.org

Satellite locations throughout Connecticut will serve as starting points for Dream Ride. All will converge at the Farmington Club on Sunday, August 24th: 

Brothers' Harley-Davidson, Branford: Registration 9:00 am/ Departure 11:00 am 
Danbury Harley-Davidson, Danbury: Registration 9:00 am/Departure 11:00 am 
Dream Show - Farmington Club, Farmington: Registration 7:30 am/ Departure 9:30 am 
Fairfield University, Fairfield: Registration 9:00 am/Departure 11:00 am 
Gengras Harley-Davidson, East Hartford: Registration 9:00 am/Departure 11:00 am 
Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson, New London: Registration 9:00 am/Departure 11:00 am 
The Farmington Club (Main Event Location), Farmington: Registration 8:00 am/Departure 10:00 am 
TSI Harley-Davidson, Ellington:Registration 9:00 am/Departure 11:00 am 
Yankee Harley-Davidson Inc., Bristol:Registration 9:00 am/Departure 10:00 am 

Registration is $30 for adults for a one-day pass (includes Twilight Dream Cruise on Saturday night or Dream Ride/Dream Show on Sunday) and $50 for a two-day pass (includes Twilight Dream Cruise on Saturday night and Dream Ride/Dream Show on Sunday); $15 for children 10 – 16 (each day); and free for children under 10. Register by August 15th, and receive an official Dream Ride Experience t-shirt. Additional fundraising to support Special Olympics is encouraged. And, follow Dream Ride at facebook.com/DreamRide and twitter.com/DreamRideExp. To find out about sponsorship opportunities, call 203-250-5660 or email ccaramia@bozzutos.com

Dream Ride Experience highlights will include: 

Saturday, August 23rd – 

• Dream Ride presents national recording artist Lonestar at the Farmington Polo Grounds, 152 Town Farm Road, Farmington (CT). General admission tickets and lawn seats are $30.00 and may be purchased at www.dreamride.org. Gates will open the day of the show at 5 p.m.; the concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be held rain or shine. 

• A Craft Fair at The Farmington Club and ice cream/golf at Farmington Miniature Golf, 1048 Farmington Avenue, Farmington.

• The Twilight Dream Cruise & Wrangler Rally presented by and originating at Papa’s Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, 585 E. Main Street, New Britain. The Cruise will conclude at The Farmington Club and be followed by a party featuring great food and live music. 

Sunday, August 24th – 

• A motorcycle ride with nine satellite sites across Connecticut converging at The Farmington Club. (Motorcyclists from other states and countries will arrive throughout the weekend.) 

• Dream Show, an elaborate auto show at The Farmington Club to be judged by a panel of notable car connoisseurs. 

• An all-day party featuring great food, vendors, live music, a kids’ corner and pet adoptions. Celebrity guests will include Wayne Carini, host of the Velocity channel’s “Chasing Classic Cars”, John Ratzenberger, best known for playing mail carrier Cliff Clavin on the sitcom Cheers, lending his voice to Pixar’s feature films including Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and Cars, and host of “Made in America” and Tim Harris, a Special Olympics athlete and owner of “Tim’s Place”, a Tex-Mex restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico know for providing “the friendliest service in the world” and offering “breakfast, lunch and hugs.” 

The Dream Ride Experience aims to unite thousands of motorcycle and car enthusiasts to enjoy the ride, celebrate Special Olympics athletes and join in a movement that inspires respect, acceptance and inclusion for all people with and without intellectual disabilities – both on and off the playing field. Last year’s Dream Ride raised $520,000 for Special Olympics. The event has raised $2 million since its inception. 

Event sponsors include Bozzuto’s Inc. Monster, Dasani, Trantolo & Trantolo, Aqua Turf, The Farmington Club, Steinger, Iscoe & Greene, The Hometown Foundation and your local IGA Supermarket. About Bozzuto's, Inc.Bozzuto's, Inc., is a family-owned, full service, wholesale food distribution company headquartered in Cheshire, Connecticut, that serves over 700 supermarket retailers from Maine to Maryland and Ohio to Long Island. Bozzuto's is a proud supporter of IGA and is a five-time winner of IGA’s highest honor, The President’s Cup. 

About The Hometown FoundationThe Hometown Foundation is a non-profit, charitable foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals and their families in hometowns and surrounding communities where we operate. The Hometown Foundation honors and assists five key areas of interest: Children, Cancer, Diabetes, Military, and Emergency Response Personnel. 

Special Olympics ConnecticutSpecial Olympics Connecticut provides year-round sports training and competitions for over 14,000 athletes of all ages with intellectual disabilities and Unified Sports® partners - their teammates without disabilities. 

Through the joy of sport, the Special Olympics movement transforms lives and communities throughout the state and in 170 countries around the world by promoting good health and fitness and inspiring inclusion and respect for all people, on and off the playing field. (www.soct.org)

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