Connecticut Open House

If there are museums around Connecticut that you have always wanted to visit, here is your chance to do it for free or at a discounted price. 

The Connecticut Office of Tourism is sponsoring the 13^th annual Connecticut Open House Day on Saturday, June 10^th.  The one-day statewide event is designed to showcase Connecticut’s diverse world of history, art, and tourism.  It is a terrific way for residents to discover or rediscover all that is wonderful in our state.  

Once Connecticut residents learn about the treasures in their own backyard, they will share their newly gained love and excitement with visiting family and friends.  

To find out all the amazing places you can visit for free or a  discounted price please check out this website. 

Here is a small sample. 

 Barkhamsted

• Squires Tavern
  Free admission from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., offering refreshments and special history program.

Bethel

• Bethel Historical Society 
  Free admission noon until 5 p.m., with a presentation by Bethel’s town historian.

Bethlehem

• Bethlehem Christmas Town Festival
  The Bethlehem Christmas Town Festival Committee along with the Connecticut Society of Santas, present the “Christmas Town Festival Preview” providing the opportunity to take photos with “Santa on Vacation,” plus free face painting and crafts for children; from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Bloomfield

• Old Farm School 
  Free tours from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., visitors can tour the 1796 schoolhouse which was used until 1922. 

Branford

• Stony Creek Museum
  Visitors can enjoy musical entertainment from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Bridgeport

• Barnum Museum
  Free admission from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., along with free Barnum bookmarks, Barnum-blend coffee tasting, guided tours and post cards.
• Bijou Theatre 
  Free dance performance by the New England Ballet Company from noon until 2 p.m.
• Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
  Open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., offering half price off admission for the first 100 guests.
• New England Ballet Company
  Free tours of the studio at 130 Elm Street, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. At 1 p.m., enjoy an open performance at the historic Bijou Theater, located at 275 Fairfield Avenue (across the street).

Free Coast Guard Band Concert

Coast Guard Free Memorial Day Concert

The Coast Guard Band will do a Memorial Day tribute: "America Remembers" at Fort Trumbull State Park in New London on Sunday, May 28 2017 at 1:00 p.m. 

Everyone is welcome to attend and it is suggested that those who attend bring chairs and/or a blanket. Rain date is May 30. 

International Festival of Arts and Ideas 2017

For 22 years, the Festival has delighted audiences with an outstanding mix of entertaining and inspiring programs. Internationally acclaimed dance, an eclectic array of world-class musicians, breathtaking circus, ground-breaking theatre and engaging speakers define the Festival as our region’s premier arts and culture destination. The June Festival boasts over 170 events and at least 85% are totally free.  

This year's Festival will take place in New Haven from June 3-24. Among the events being offered is: 

Black Girl: Linguistic Play June 17-18

JUNE17 - 18

(Be)longing

Festival Co-Commission

JUNE19 - 22

Manual Cinema: The End of TV

World Premiere & Festival Commission

JUNE21

We Are Citizens

Theatre of the Oppressed NYC

For more information, check out their website. 

Biscotti and Beyond June Farmer's Market schedule

Simonne has been busy this winter perfecting her new recipes for spring and summer and all I can say is that citrus is a part of some of the delicious new offerings. 

June 2017 

Fri         2       Cromwell                     4-7 
Fri         9       Cromwell                     4-7 
Sat      10       Killingworth                 10-1 
Sun     11       Chester                       10-1
Fri      16        Cromwell                      4-7 
Sun    18       Chester                      10-1
Thurs  22       Clinton                         4-7
Fri      23       Cromwell                      4-7 
Sat     24       Old Saybrook               9-12:30
Sun    25       Chester                         10-1
Thurs  29       Clinton                          4-7
                                  

2017 Portland Riverfront Park Music and Arts Festival

Save the Date:

Saturday, June 10th rain date June 11

12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

Featuring entertainment by 
Deep Ellum
Seat of Our Pants
We Got Rhythm
The Might Soul Drivers
Plywood Cowboy

Arts and crafts booths, as well as food vendors, will be featured. Admission is $10

The park is located on Brownstone Avenue near the historic brownstone quarries. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs. 

Throughly Modern Millie Wows at Goodspeed

If you are in the mood for an uplifting evening of great music and lively dancing, head to Goodspeed Opera House and indulge in their latest production, Thoroughly Modern Millie. 

Welcome to New York City in 1922 and follow the adventures of Millie Dillmount as she tackles the Big Apple with all her youthful enthusiasm. She is naive but she is determined to be a modern woman and make a really good marriage based on anything but love. 

Taylor Quick is a very talented singer and certainly brings a lot of heart to the role. James Seol and Christopher Shin are very entertaining as Ching Ho and Bun Fo and Rebecca Ables Sayre is convincingly conniving as Mrs.Meers. 

Ramona Keller however, stole the shoe as Muzzy Van Hossmere. 

Tickets are still available for some shows so if you don't already have tickets, you may still be able to get some. This is a show worth seeing. A very thoroughly modern and entertain show

. 

Spring Bark for the Park Colchester

When: Sunday, May 21, 2017, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Colchester Green 
What: Lucky Duck Egg Hunt for dogs, May Baskets, a blessing of the dogs and other canine activities. 

Sponsored by the Colchester Parks and Recreation Department.

Learn more about the Pequot raid of Wethersfield

Here we Stand: from Pyquag to Wethersfield and Beyond

Wethersfield Historical Society presents, in commemoration of the 380th anniversary of the Pequot raid on Wethersfield, a four-part lecture series featuring the expertise of Dr. Kevin McBride, Director of Research at the Pequot Museum, native performer, and lecturer Annawon Weeden, as well as native chef Sherry Pocknett. Here We Stand spans over five hundred years of contact and focuses on traditional issues as well as those faced today by indigenous groups living with the legacy of colonialism. Times and locations vary. This program series is funded by a generous grant from CT Humanities.

May 9   Dr. Kevin McBride – “The Significance of the Wethersfield Raid in the Pequot War.” After more than 370 years the Pequot War (1636-1637) remains one of the most controversial and significant events in the Colonial and Native history of North America. The most significant event in the war was the surprise attack on the Pequot fortified village at Mystic on the morning of May 26, 1637. By the end of the one-hour battle, over 400 Pequot men, women, and children were dead, half of them burned to death. The attack on the Mistick Fort was in retaliation for the Pequot raid on Wethersfield On April 23 in which nine settlers were killed including women and children. The lecture will explore Pequot motivations for the raid within the broader context of the Pequot War.

7 PM • Keeney Memorial Cultural Center • 200 Main Street, Wethersfield  Admission: $5 non-members, free to members. Buy tickets here.

May 17            Annawon Weeden – “Seven Generations Presentation.” Join us as Annawon carries you by hand through a complete sequence of events of local colonization, from pre-Columbus to present day, filling gaps normally overlooked in conventional history. Find out whether you are friend or foe, what languages you will speak, how may Squanto help you & try not to shed a tear as Metacom makes his final stand. Perhaps you’ve heard the hijacked version of Moby Dick, however never through the oral history of the Wampanoag whalers who originated such legendary tales along America’s journey of such discovery. Please join us for one of the most riveting accounts of the foundation of our country and play a principle role only you can fill by participating in this live performance; discussion to follow.

7 PM • Keeney Memorial Cultural Center • 200 Main Street, Wethersfield.  Admission: $20 non-members, $15 members Buy tickets here.

May 21            Sherry Pocknett – Foraging Walking Tour. Explore Wethersfield’s Great Meadows with native chef and foodways expert Sherry Pocknett as she provides background on native foodways, seasonality, and the cultural importance of various flora and fauna. See the Great Meadows as you have never seen it before.

2 PM • Wethersfield Great Meadows, meeting place TBD • Admission: $20 non-members, $15 members. Advance Tickets recommended; buy them here.

May 23            Sherry Pocknett – Strawberry Moon Thanksgiving Celebration. Join us in celebrating the Strawberry Moon and giving thanks for a bountiful harvest of strawberries. Native chef and foodways expert Sherry Pocknett will deliver a native foodways lecture and cooking demonstration while discussing seasonality, the significance of the Strawberry Moon, how her family kept native traditions and culture alive while growing up in the 1960s during the Red Power Movement, as well as modern issues faced by native peoples today.

7 PM • Keeney Memorial Cultural Center • 200 Main Street, Wethersfield  Admission: $25 non-members, $20 members. Advance Tickets recommended, buy them here.

Wethersfield Historical Society Walking Tours

SPRING WALKING TOURS

Walking Tours All Season! All tours are $5; free to members and children under 16. Reservations recommended.  In the event of rain, tours are canceled.

Walk Around Old Wethersfield with Dorene Ciarcia: Learn about the architecture of people who lived here long ago. Meet in front of Keeney Center, 200 Main Street.

Thursdays: May 11, July 6, Sept 14 – 6:00-7:30 pm; Saturdays: May 13, July 8, Sept 16 – 10:00-11:30 am

Burying Ground Tours with Martha Smart: Learn about gravestone carvers, customs, and stories. Meet at the red barn in the First Church parking lot.

Thursdays: May 18, June 22, Sept. 7, Oct 12 – 1:00-2:30 pm; Saturdays: May 20, June 24, Sept 9, Oct 14 – 10:00-11:30 am

Biscotti and Beyond at Relay For Life Craft Fair May 6, 2917

If you need to load up on your favorite biscotti, Simonne will be on the South Green in Middletown for the Relay For Life Craft Fair on May 6, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Portland Town wide Tag Sale

Save the Date:

Saturday,  May 13, 2017

Be sure to get one of the maps to show you where all the great tag sales are located.