Today is Sunday, December 29, 2024 
The Park has received a $30,000 grant from the Panoram Foundation for operational and administrative support to continue to build the Park experience through collaboration with Partners, the water taxi operation as well as the development of historic boat tours.
“The Panoram Foundation has believed in the Park from the beginning by providing the funding that allowed the Yale Urban Design Group to complete the Park plan in 2015. Since that time it has continued to support our growth as demonstrated by this generous grant, which is the second consecutive five-figure grant they have awarded us,” said Executive Director Amy Perry. “They are a key partner not unlike the heritage sites and cultural institutions that play an essential role in our growth and success. We are thrilled and grateful for the confidence they have in us today and for our future.”
TRHP Board President Marian Galbraith added, “Panoram’s vision and commitment to our historic institutions has proven to be a true asset to our community.”
We conducted our third annual Water Taxi Rider Survey to find out how people heard about the Park, where they got their weekend activity information, where they were from, their ages, and what they visited while they were here. We also asked for a rating of their experience. This data helps us to make better and more strategic decisions about our marketing, the visitor experience and promotions. It will also provide good insights for our partner sites about where people are choosing to visit. We are happy to report that we garnered an average 4.8 star rating (5 being the highest) for the third consecutive year from the 101 surveys we received representing
We are requesting proposals from licensed commercial tour boat operators to provide water taxi shuttle service and boat tours linking our historic sites in the Thames River Memorial Day weekend through mid-September 2019 – 2021. The operator would utilize our two US Navy Willard utility boats.
Next season the Park plans to offer complimentary walking tours of both Fort Trumbull and Fort Griswold for passengers disembarking our water taxis. Groton resident, American history buff and member of Friends of Fort Griswold Dave Rose led some tours in September that were so well received that we will have him back to lead more next summer. 
We are also looking to train volunteer docents to lead tours of both Fort Griswold and Fort Trumbull. If you are interested in learning the Fort histories and sharing this knowledge with others 
Two years ago the Thames River Heritage Park launched its water taxi service providing southeastern Connecticut residents and visitors a unique way to visit cultural and historic sites and a fun way to get across the river. Decades of early advocacy from dozens of local and state leaders and legislators helped to get us to where we are today. And, we have so many exciting things planned:
