Torrington unveils new marketing plan, slogan: 'It's happening here!'

Kate Hartman/Register Citizen -- Mayor Ryan Bingham announced the new slogan for Torrington, "It's Happening Here!" at a press conference Monday morning.

TORRINGTON >> Mayor Ryan Bingham, along with city marketing consultant Stephen Warshaw, announced Torrington's new rally cry, "It's happening here!" and launched a new community-driven events website at a press conference at the City Hall Auditorium Monday morning.

The website,, will be a one-stop-shop for what's happening in Torrington.

The major announcement was the culmination of a hectic 90-day planning period where Warshaw, who was hired as the city's marketing consultant through a $100,000 Arts Catalyst Placemaking Grant from the Department of Economic and Community Development, created a branding plan for Torrington.

The city matched the $100,000 grant with sales tax revenue.


Warshaw, who lives in Warren, said phase one of the process was meeting people and becoming an "insider" in Torrington. He conducted 47 interviews with people about their perspective of the city. Through those conversations, Warshaw said he learned about the move of Skee's Diner, the Warner Theatre's new film projection system, Sanctuary Power Yoga's classes in Coe Memorial Park, Remember When's new espresso bar and other local developments.

"Those things all happened without me," Warshaw told the large group of locals gathered at the press conference. "The rally cry seemed obvious."

Warshaw explained that "It's happening here!" makes sense because it's true. There are a lot of things happening in Torrington.

The website, which was created by Evan Dobos of PictureThisWEBCENTER, located at 5 Water St., is designed to promote all of those Torrington events. The website is user-driven, so local businesses and organizations are encouraged to submit their own events to the website, which will keep content fresh and up to date.

"It's too often that I go around town and people say, 'I don't know what's going on,'" Bingham said. "I think of all the things I know are going on."

This website will solve that problem.

"[We] identified a real need for a platform like this," said Dobos.

People can submit events as far into the future as they like. For each listing, details including the time, location and directions to get there will be included.

There will also be a "community projects" tab where people can submit their ideas for programs and change that doesn't currently exist in the city.

"It's like Kickstarter for Torrington," explained Dobos.

People can look over the different proposals. If they like they idea they can pledge to support it. Pledges can start as little as $10 and go up from there. No money will be collected until the idea is fully funded, said Dobos.

For ideas that cost less than $2,500, the city will be participating in a quick-pitch type program, said Warshaw. People will get the opportunity to ride the elevator at City Hall with Rose Ponte, economic development director, and share their idea. Each month, the city will vet the proposals down to one and they will get funding. For ideas that cost more than $2,500, the website is the place to go.

The website will provide locals an opportunity to see what's going on in their town and also create the change they wish to see.

The website is live today. However, it is still a work in progress, and new buttons will be rolled out over time. There will be a, "glorified map of local venues with robust information for each venue," said Dobos. A blogging forum and pages for photos and video will also be added.

"The real denominator here is happenings," said Warshaw.

Ponte explained that this new slogan and website will allow people to see Torrington the way city officials see it, as an exciting area of the Northwest Corner where things are constantly happening.

"We want to fuel the creative economy," said Ponte. "This is an opportunity for us to get the word out."

"This is a very exciting time for Torrington," said Bingham. "We're ready to see a huge resurgance for Torrington and the Northwest Corner. This initiative will only be successful if you are active in the website. We encourage you to be a part of it and give us feedback."

Visit to check out the new website.
