Norwich — It feels like summer has just begun, but organizers of the 134th Connecticut State Firefighters Association Convention and Parade already have their sights on the Sept. 15-17 weekend when hundreds of firefighters and firetrucks will descend upon Taftville for the annual event.

The Taftville Volunteer Fire Department was selected to host the event as part of its 100th anniversary. The spectacle was last held in Norwich in 1908, and likely won't come again for another 100 years, convention Chairman Gregory Schlough, a retired Taftville volunteer firefighter, told the City Council last week.

The convention includes several public events, as well as closed meetings and luncheons for association members and guests, and could bring thousands of visitors to the Rose City, Schlough said. The Sunday, Sept. 17, parade alone is expected to feature some 300 fire apparatuses, along with numerous floats, vehicles and marchers from local civic groups.

The parade will line up on the long access road to the Lisbon incinerator that runs along the north bank of the Shetucket River. The parade will enter Norwich on Route 169, turn right onto Route 97, left onto North B Street, left onto North Second Avenue, right onto Providence Street and end at the entrance to Wequonnoc School.

Afterward, firetrucks will park on the school grounds, at the Taftville Post Office, at Sacred Heart School and along some village streets. Parking bans will be posted, and residents will be contacted ahead of time with parking restrictions, Schlough said.

Along with the parade, a top attraction will be a more solemn convention feature, the two-day presence of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation 9/11 mobile exhibit. The tractor-trailer houses artifacts and memorials to the emergency responders, including Siller, who died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The trailer will be parked at Wequonnoc School on Providence Street-Route 169 and will be open free of charge from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday, when it will close for the parade until about 3 p.m., reopening until late evening, Schlough said.

Schlough told the City Council last Monday that a year's worth of fundraising for the convention has been mostly successful, but has fallen about $34,000 short of the $85,000 goal. The convention committee will meet Wednesday to decide how to scale back some festivities to remain within the truncated budget.

One likely cut will be a post-parade picnic the convention committee had hoped to host for all parade participants and spectators at no cost. The food for that event was priced at $15,000 to $18,000 alone. Schlough said the picnic on the grounds of the Wequonnoc School might be scaled back to just serve parade participants.

The convention itself will take place Saturday at Kelly Middle School, with dozens of vendors expected to set up as early as 7:30 a.m. The convention will convene at 10:30 a.m. in the 800-seat Jacqueline Owens Auditorium for association members only.

Fundraising is continuing for the convention. Donation checks can be made out to “Taftville Convention” and sent to the Taftville Volunteer Fire Department, 134 Providence St., Taftville, CT 06380.

The $10,000 cost of the 9/11 trailer is fully covered through a sponsorship by All Waste Inc. of Hartford. Stanley Tools also donated about $3,000 worth of tools for the 9/11 trailer. The tools will be the top prize in a fundraiser raffle that also includes donations by local businesses.

Raffle tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance by contacting Schlough at (860) 608-2396 or by email at gaschlough@snet.net. Winners will not have to be present at the Sept. 17 drawing.

c.bessette@theday.com