Year in review: Quiet change and enduring spirit in Falls Village

FALLS VILLAGE — The year 2025 saw some new faces in town, starting with Liz and Howie Ives of the Off the Trail Cafe, which took over the town-owned space at 107 Main St., formerly occupied by the Falls Village Cafe.

As the name suggests, the café’s owners have made a point of welcoming Appalachian Trail hikers, including be collaborating with the Center on Main next door on an informal, trail-themed art project.

The Center on Main also welcomed a new face in 2025, with Britta Sallik joining the organization as its community connections manager.

Farther up Main Street, the David M. Hunt Library brought on Anna Pattison as its new assistant director and youth programming coordinator.

At the Congregational Church, parishioners marked the end of an era as the Rev. Rich Reifsnyder presided over his final service on Sunday, Oct. 12. Reifsnyder, who began his tenure in February 2018, said the position was initially intended to be short-term.

“A couple of Sundays here and there,” he said. “Then it sort of developed.”

In 2025, Hunt Library kept its calendar full with a wide range of well-attended programs, many of which spilled outdoors during the warmer months.

Highlights included a cannoli-making workshop with Matthew Yanarella, who wisely took the somewhat messy demonstration outside.

The library also hosted a series of outdoor summer concerts, culminating in an entertaining and unexpected open mic night on Aug. 8.

Programming extended beyond the arts and culinary pursuits as well. On April 16, Pat Campbell of Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities (ECAD) visited the library with Titan, a golden retriever–Labrador mix, offering a demonstration of how service dogs are trained.

On March 22, Zarifa Adiba, a musician from Kabul, Afghanistan, and the author of Playing for Freedom: The Journey of a Young Afghan Girl, spoke at the library about her journey from the dangerous streets of Kabul to a new life in Flushing, New York.

Titan, a four-month-old service dog in training, greeting the Sher brothers, Eli and Noah, at the Hunt Library Wednesday, April 16. By Patrick L. Sullivan

Vehicles of all sorts filled the downtown streets twice over the summer. The Falls Village Car and Motorcycle Show on July 13 attracted more than 600 entries and more spectators than ever, according to organizer Judy Jacobs.

And the vintage race car parade on Aug. 28 wound through Salisbury and Lakeville before finishing up in downtown Falls Village. Featured this year were vintage vehicles from the early 20th century, courtesy of the Rag Time Racers, a California-based group of race car enthusiasts specializing in very early vehicles.

A heavily modified 1951 Ford F1 pickup truck on display during the Car and Motorcycle Show in July. By Patrick L. Sullivan

Over at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, work began on a “land lab” for the Agricultural Science and Technology Education Department when students cleared brush at the newly acquired, two-acre plot of open field and woodland a half mile up Warren Turnpike on Sept. 22. The area is planned to be a native forest management area meant to teach students about the health and maintenance of an ecosystem.

The Emergency Services Center hosted a special Planning and Zoning Commission meeting with the Falls Village Housing Trust and Habitat for Humanity on Nov. 5. The two housing groups provided an update on the status of affordable housing developments on River Road, with the Trust’s Jandi Hanna saying she expects to break ground in 2026. Bob Whalen of Habitat said his organization will be filing an application for either houses or duplexes some time in 2026.

Meanwhile, First Selectman Dave Barger responded to resident complaints about the town’s electric vehicle charging rates by pushing the device’s supplier for a reduction.

By the end of July, the price per kilowatt-hour had fallen from $1.45 to between 45 and 49 cents.