This Friday marks five years of Real Hartford‘s existence, so leading up to that, there will be some extra attention on the site itself.

In addition to whatever else happens over the next few days, there will be fun and games from March 12-16, 2012, beginning with a special edition of Place this Place. There will be other such challenges on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. What happens on Friday is a surprise.

Also on Friday, but not a secret: Real Hartford Happy Hour at La Paloma Sabanera from 3-6pm. This is where and when winners of this week’s contests can pick up their prizes. If you want to stop by and chat, grab yourself the drink special (Irish Cream Mocha) and pull up a chair.

Real Hartford is this many years old
Real Hartford is this many years old

Real Hartford began on March 16, 2007 when it seemed that anti-urban sentiment had come back into vogue. Hartford was receiving almost entirely negative coverage by the news media and people who refused to experience the city firsthand were eating it up. This online news site developed as a way to shine light on other aspects of life in Hartford, to show that not all residents are creators nor victims of violence, though some certainly are and have been. The goal has been to show that Hartford residents have a range of experiences, just like their suburban counterparts.

In no particular order, here are some of the more popular items published in recent memory:

Facilities

Guide to Bathrooms in Downtown Hartford

Parking

Where to Park It

Parking Bikes and Butts

Education

Student Transiency and Concentration of Poverty Tied to Student Success

Deciphering the Education Reform Debate 1 and 2

Transfer of Classical Magnet Principals

Meeting at Burns Off-Limits to Media

Hartford Schools Banning Media from Public Meetings

Hartford Schools Admits Error in Banning Media

HPS Not in Compliance with Special Education Requirements

Back to School Guide: Reclaiming Your Child’s Education 1 & 2

Bicycles

Discover Hartford Bicycling and Walking Tour

An Urban Move: No Gas Required

Parades

Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade 1 & 2 and 3

A Glance at the West Indian Day Parade

Frog Hollow

Welcome to Frog Hollow

Frog, Walked

Thugs and Gangbangers of Pope Park

Perception Issues

Push for More Security on Trinity Campus

Spike in Crime?

Reactions to Crime (1)

Reactions to Crime (2)

HPD Releases Description of Suspects in Assault

Student Leaders Prepare to Speak Out Against Gating Trinity College

Trinity Students Rally

Trinity Students Oppose Gating Campus

172 Pounds of Guns Found in West End

Urban Renewal

Walking Tour of Bushnell Park

iQuilt: Dotting i’s

Activism

Occupy Hartford

Mourning Job Loss

Ramping Up Demonstrations

Climate Summer

SlutWalk Hartford

Trinity Students Protest Hate on Campus

Thanks for reading. Thanks for leaving comments which as a whole are smarter, more civil, and more dignified than comments left on many other news sites. Thanks for the countless messages, phone calls, and emails. Keep ’em coming!