Dublin Community Center holds business fair Saturday

The Dublin Community Center hosted a business and new neighbor fair on Saturday evening. The event started at 4:30 p.m., and almost 30 businesses, nonprofits, churches and community organizations located in Dublin or with Dublin ties set up tables and shared information with new residents and people who stopped by.

The community center, commonly known as the DubHub, held a similar event in 2019, but due to COVID precautions it didn’t happen for the last couple years. Those involved were excited to see the event return.

There were cookies and drinks available, and information tables wrapped around the front room and the back room that was added onto the community center last year. Lucy Shonk was up front greeting people as they walked in.

“We’re just hoping for people to connect with each other,” Shonk said.

Shonk and Balmeet Lasky were the main organizers of the event, but they emphasized that it took a lot of community collaboration to pull it all off.

Lasky said the goal of the event was to let “people connect with each other and learn about what’s right in town.”

Gwir Llewellyn was sitting behind a table with pamphlets and information cards about Threshold Care. The business is in Wilton, but Llewellyn is a Dublin resident, so she was invited to join the event.

According to Llewellyn, Threshold Care offers a “consortium of different services for people wanting to do death and dying at home.” Written on the sign behind her was “Home Funeral, Death Midwifery, Green Burial.”

Llewellyn said its “good to network with other businesses” and that Threshold Care has attended similar events elsewhere.

Molly McDowell was representing the Dublin Arts Center and Muse Gallery that she recently opened on Route 101 in Dublin. She had a poster for the next art show, Stefani Esta, out on her table. Esta is a sculptor and uses metal and natural materials in her work.

McDowell is eager and excited to get the word out about the art space.

“So far it’s just been thrilling,” she said of her gallery.

Jerry Branch brought maps and an information booklet about the Dublin Rotary Park. The park is a 40-acre lot with hiking trails and Howe Reservoir on the east side. Branch said its a great place for people to canoe, picnic and enjoy nature.

“We’re trying to increase the use of it,” he said.

At the DubHub table, Denise Frankoff had stickers, artwork and a laptop open with a photo of the community center.

Frankoff said about 125 people have moved to Dublin in the last two years. She hopes that the event will give those who attend a better understanding of the organizations, businesses and community Dublin has to offer.