The Little Compton Community Center hosted its 25th Anniversary celebration recently, giving residents and neighbors to meet each other and gather in a space dedicated to the members of the community it serves. Attendees enjoyed raffles and prizes, free T shirts, music and games, face painting and inflatables for the children, and delicious hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob and chowder for dinner.

“We are really a place for the community to have a place to gather, even beyond our own programming,” said Executive Director Amy Mooney. “We welcome your ideas, we welcome your support, we welcome your volunteerism or your programs.

A suggestion board for ideas has been installed in the dining room, which has already yielded plenty of ideas for future programming, including Kinder Music for toddlers and their parents, pub nights, coffeehouse nights, trivia nights, and all other programming that has taken place in the past that fell to the wayside during and for months after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Bringing back that liveliness to the center is our main goal,” said Mooney. We want to be hustling and bustling, day in and day out. We’re a casual gathering place; you don’t have to come here solely for a meeting, but you can come and grab a cup of coffee, read a book, or work on a puzzle. It’s a quiet town, and we all can feel that at various points in the year, and we’re here to provide another place for people to go.”

While the Community Center has had some challenges with uniting the population and meeting the needs of everyone–“young, old, and in between”– they’re looking to find a balance so that the space serves as a leisurely spot where all are welcome, Mooney said.

“But we are up for that challenge,” she said. “This is your community center, Little Compton. Come on in and make yourself at home.”