Peak Event Season — New inquiry replies are running 24–48 hours. Need an answer now? Call or text 860-318-5557
Giving Back. Every Build, Every Job.
The show ends, the trucks pull out — and the material keeps working. Ramar routes reclaimed scenic substrate into schools and theater programs, turns shipping waste into seed boxes, and plants trees in Kenya for the productions we complete. Service beyond the show floor is how a veteran-owned shop is supposed to operate.
Nothing Good Gets Thrown Away
Event production generates an enormous amount of material. Hard walls, portals, custom bars, printed graphics, draping, and props are built for a single weekend and then struck in a matter of hours. Most of the industry treats that as disposable. We do not. Ramar was built by a family and led by a veteran, and both of those things come with the same instinct: use what you have, take care of the people around you, and leave the place better than you found it.
That instinct turned into a set of standing programs — material reuse routed to schools and theater departments, repurposed packaging shipped abroad as seed carriers, tree planting tied to the jobs on our calendar, and mentorship for veterans and students who want into the trades. These are not bolted-on gestures. They are part of how we close out a production.
Our Giving Programs
Six commitments that run alongside every production we take on.
Substrate & Material Reuse
When a set comes down, the material does not go in a dumpster. Plywood, luan, coroplast, gator board, foam, fabric remnants, and hardware come back to The Lab, get sorted and cut down, and go back out to programs that can use them. A scenic wall from a corporate gala becomes flats for a high school spring musical.
Schools, Theaters & Art Rooms
We donate reclaimed build material to high school theater and drama departments, elementary and kindergarten art programs, community theaters, and youth arts nonprofits. Board and fabric that would have been waste turn into set builds, backdrops, props, and craft supplies for students who rarely get a budget for them.
Trees for Every Job — Kenya & East Africa
Every completed production funds tree planting in Kenya. It is tied to the work itself, not to a once-a-year donation: the jobs on our calendar become trees in the ground. It extends the carbon-offset forestry commitment already built into how we power and travel for events.
Seed Boxes From Shipping Waste
Cardboard and packaging from our inbound gear shipments is repurposed into seed-carrier boxes sent overseas rather than sent to recycling and forgotten. Packaging becomes planting material — the same closed-loop thinking we apply to substrate on the shop floor.
Veteran & Trades Mentorship
As a veteran-owned, family-operated shop, we open the doors to veterans and students entering the trades — hands-on exposure to rigging, lighting, carpentry, welding, and AV. Event production is a real career path, and the fastest way to learn it is standing next to a crew that does it every weekend.
Community & In-Kind Production
We contribute donated or reduced-rate production to school galas, nonprofit fundraisers, veteran organizations, and community celebrations across our home region. Same gear, same crew, same standard we bring to a luxury wedding.
How the Reuse Program Works
From load-out to a classroom or a scene shop, in four steps.
Strike & Sort
After every load-out, crew separates reusable substrate, soft goods, and hardware from true waste before anything leaves the venue.
Back to The Lab
Material returns to our 25,000 sq ft facility in Torrington, Connecticut, where it is cleaned, cut to usable sizes, and staged for donation.
Routed to a Program
Sorted material goes to the next school, theater department, or nonprofit on our request list — picked up or delivered, at no cost to them.
The Job Plants Trees
The completed production feeds our Kenya planting commitment, and repurposed packaging ships out as seed boxes.
Teachers, Drama Directors & Nonprofits
If you run a theater program, an art room, a scene shop, or a community nonprofit and you need material, tell us what you are building. We will let you know what is coming off our next strike — plywood, luan, fabric, hardware, foam, paint, and set pieces are all fair game. There is no cost and no catch.
Off-Grid Production
Solar-charged, battery-powered, carbon-offset event production.
Veterans Initiative
Hiring, mentorship, and careers for transitioning service members.
About Ramar
Who we are, how we build, and why everything stays in-house.