The new arcade opening at Sand Hill Plaza is a labor of love from two fathers who wanted to give kids in Newtown a special gift after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
So it's fitting that, according to co-partner Andy Clure, he worked with town officials not only to find a spot for the non-profit venture, but to make sure that some of the gifts sent to Newtown in the past months went to good use. Clure credits tax assessor Chris Kelsey for helping arrange for some of the bears that populate the claw game to be the same ones that turned up in town as gifts.
"It’s a great, safe atmosphere -- a place a kid can be a kid again," he said. "A lot of these things you can’t simulate in the house."
The arcade will be free to Newtown residents. It is being stocked in preparation of its grand opening Saturday at 1 p.m. Clure says it will open to the public for a "soft opening" on Friday afternoon after school. For more information, visit the arcade's web site and Facebook page.
Patch previously reported on the initial announcement that this arcade was opening.
