The summertime scene in Connecticut is a piece of artwork in and of itself. Add yourself to the picture and the experience truly comes to life.
Theatre Under the Stars
The sky is not the only place where you will find stars in Connecticut. Throughout the state, there are dozens of outdoor theaters featuring fine actors and entertainers. Here are just a few of the incomparable Elizabethan entertainments offered around the state from June through August.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the fanciful tale of romantic complications among four amorous young Athenians, is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays and performed widely around the world, and this summer in Connecticut, July 8-11, 15-18 and 22 – 25 at the Carol Autorino Center for the Arts and Humanities at St. Joseph College in West Hartford. Shows are on Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Taming of the Shrew, one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, is performed in the open air by the Summer Theatre of New Canaan at Wavery Park June 19-July 11. And the kids will love Shakespeare for Kids, an overview, which takes place on Saturdays at 2 p.m., on June 27, July 4 and July 11 (203) 966-4634. Bring a picnic to As You Like It at Middlesex Community College’s Cedar Grove in Middletown July 8-11 and 15-18. ARTFARM presents the outdoor professional production of Shakespeare’s comedy, preceded each evening by musical performers.
The Players at Putney Gardens perform Romeo and Juliet at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. July 12-Aug. 2. Free admission. Another free opportunity to experience Shakespeare under the stars is at Edgerton Park in New Haven, Shakespeare in the Park will present The Winter’s Tale August 19-September 5.
Shakespeare on the Shoreline presents Twelfth Night. See it for free on the Guilford Green August 4-8 or at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport July 16-18, 21-25 and 28-30. The zoo opens at 6:30 for picnicking; performances are at 8. Othelo will be done by Shakespeare on the Sound at Rowayton’s Pinkney Park, June 15-26 and Greenwich’s Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, July 2-11.
If you’ve had your fill of Shakespeare, here are some other delightful theatricals to see under the stars: Musicals at Richter will heat up the stage in Danbury with such sizzling Broadway classics as Frank Loesser's comically endearing Guys and Dolls June 17-July 3, the song-and-dance tap spectacular 42nd Street July 8-24, and Rodgers and Hammerstein's hauntingly beautiful Carousel July 29-August 14. Grounds open for picnicking at 7:15, shows are at 8:30.
The Hills are Alive
This spring and summer, our hills are – not to mention our valleys, shorelines and more – alive with the sound of music, notably outdoor concerts. So keep an eye out to find your kind of music.
The 33rd Annual Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival opens in Preston June 3-6. Expect a lively amphitheatre event with Carol Young and The Greencards, Ron Thomason and the Dry Branch and plenty of dancing under tent-covered areas. Bring your own lawn chair for outdoor seating.
Heating up our capital city streets midsummer is New England’s largest free jazz festival. The 2010 Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz opens its 19th year July 16 through 19. Meanwhile, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s Talcott Mountain Music Festival at Simsbury Meadows in Simsbury mounts five programs: June 25, 2010 – Vivaldi The Four Seasons plus Pachelbel Canon opening weekend featuring Vivaldi ‘The Four Seasons’, Pachelbel ‘Canon’ and Handel ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks’; July 2 – Celebrate America – The Annual Red, White & Blue Tradition, Maestro Edward Cumming’s Fourth of July Finale Concert with fireworks; July 9 - Spectrum – A Tribute to Motown and R&B, all the Motown Hits – including a tribute to Michael Jackson; July 14 – Time to Rock! Doo Wop to Hip Hop! Classic rock under the stars; July 16 – Classical Mystery Tour – A Tribute to the Beatles, all your Beatles memories return to Talcott Mountain with members of the original cast of Broadway’s Beatlemania – this year featuring many new Fab Four favorites.
Groove into August (July 31-Aug. 2) with the Great Connecticut Traditional Jazz Festival at its new home at Meriden’s Four Points Sheraton Hotel. Great jazz continues the next weekend (Aug. 6-8) at the 15th annual Litchfield Jazz Festival at its new home on the grounds of the Kent School.
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After all that jazz, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival opens its 69th year at the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate July 9 and runs through August 21. In nearby Falls Village, Music Mountain celebrates its 81sth year June 13 to September 5 with weekend chamber, jazz and choral concerts, while listeners on the lawn take in the view of the Berkshire Hills.
Finally, several series span the summer. The City Center Danbury Summer Series Concerts on the Green opens June 12 with the Danbury Symphony's Romance Under the Stars and offers concerts Friday and Saturday evenings July 9 to August 28, while Danbury’s Ives Concert Park at WestConn hosts its Spring-to-Fall series (named acts, pop, rock, R&B, blues, jazz, classical, Broadway) with 5,500 seats and a Jumbotron video screen in its outdoor amphitheater. In Westport, the Levitt Pavilion hosts its 37th annual summer series (classical, cabaret, jazz, pop, rock, big band) overlooking the Saugatuck River beginning June 19.
Art en Plein Air
One of the greatest traditional pleasures of spring and summer in Connecticut is strolling along a town green while viewing the offerings of an arts, crafts or antiques festival. Find the perfect maritime painting to hang over the mantel, an artisan-made bowl that looks just right on the side of the kitchen table, or the antique garden ornament you have been seeking for the back of your daylily bed. Even if you do not find something to take home with you, it is always fun to see the array of talent on display among the booths and to partake in the food and entertainment that are invariably a part of these festivities.
Several festivals are especially notable for their size and quality: Ridgefield Outdoor Antiques Market May 8, Ridgefield Community Center. This year’s 48th annual event offers a spectacular array of Americana, architectural items, country furniture and more.
Guilford Art Center Craft Expo kicks off July 15, running through July 17 on the Guilford Green. Now more than half a century old, this is one of Connecticut’s oldest and finest outdoor juried shows, with the work of 180 artists and artisans on display. As a special bonus, the Guilford Green is one of the most picturesque in the state, with great shops and restaurants nearby.
August 14-15 visit the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival in downtown Mystic and watch the historic streets of Mystic come alive with more than 300 artists displaying and selling their work. Food and music are part of the scene, as well and there is no admission charge.
Gardens of Eden
History and art are blooming throughout Connecticut! From Colonial herb gardens to formal Victorian beds, historic gardens throughout the state showcase a variety of garden styles and time periods.
Stop and smell the roses at Elizabeth Park Rose Garden in Hartford, the oldest municipally operated rose garden in the country. The 2.5-acre garden contains 15,000 plants displaying 800 varieties of roses. While the main garden displays modern roses, the Heritage Herb Garden is home to historical rose varieties. Herb, rock, annual and perennial gardens are also on the premises. Elizabeth Park is one of several gardens featured during River Valley’s Rose and Garden Weekend June 18-20. During this annual event, participating sites offer garden tours, as well as live music, children’s activities, poetry readings and other events in the garden.
As part of the Rose and Garden Weekend, activities are featured at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington. This National Historic Landmark sits on 152 acres and features world-class art and a 1920’s sunken garden at the center of the estate. The one-acre garden is home to 90 varieties of perennials, including peonies, irises, anemones and veronicas. The Hill-Stead Museum’s nationally acclaimed Sunken Garden Poetry Festival is six weeks long this year, with events taking place every other Wednesday in June through August, and consists of poetry and live music amidst the fragrant blooms.
Spend a day at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, which is situated on more than 300 acres and offers panoramic views of Long Island Sound. Tour the 1904 Italianate mansion, then walk through the gardens showcasing Chinese statuary, a manmade waterfall and manicured Japanese maple grove.
At the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, visitors experience 11 acres of art, history and nature. View an array of Impressionist art in the museum, then venture outdoors to see the trees, lush gardens and river that inspired renowned painters like Childe Hassam and William Chadwick. This garden is one of 11 that opens its gates to flower aficionados during the annual Connecticut Historic Garden Day, which takes place on Sunday, June 27.
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