March 12, 2010

Celebrate with St. Patrick’s Day Parades and Maple Syrup Festivities

You will have no trouble filling up your calendar this weekend. Cead Mile Failte ( A hundred thousand welcomes) is being expressed all over the state at the St. Patrick’s Day Parades. On Saturday head down to Hartford for the 39th Annual Greater Hartford St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Be sure to arrive early to get your seat! The parade begins at 11 a.m., starting at Capitol Avenue by the State Capitol traveling down Main Street, Asylum Street, Ford Street and ends at the Memorial Arch. New Haven’s 54th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place on Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m. The parade starts at Chapel Street traveling down Chapel and Church Streets ending at Orange Street. It is the largest single-day spectator event in the State and the 6th oldest parade in the nation. In addition to enjoying the parades, mark your calendars for some family fun at the 20th Annual Hebron Maple Festival held on both Saturday and Sunday. This town wide celebration will feature self-guided tours of an operating sugarhouse, exhibits, demonstrations, pancake breakfast, ice cream eating contest, scavenger hunt and more. The warm days and cold nights are ideal conditions for the state’s maple producers. Take advantage of this unique time to visit one of the many sugarhouses around the state that are open to the public whether it is the Lamothe’s Sugar House in Burlington, the Leonard’s Sugarhouse in North Canton or the Moore’s Sugar Shack in Westbrook just to name a few.

Enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hartford with all the festivities by making it a weekend event and overnight at the Hartford Marriott Downtown. This Connecticut Green Lodging Certified property combines the scale and beauty of a traditional grand hotel with today’s contemporary amenities. An AAA, 4-diamond hotel offering 409 guests rooms, eight suites, concierge floors and lounge and a Glo Spa plus more. Or overnight at the Premier Hotel & Suites in New Haven. Another Connecticut Green Lodging Certified property nicely located downtown on Long Wharf Drive with 112 suites all with kitchens and some with fireplaces. Free full buffet breakfast served daily. Ample free parking is available.

More events to enjoy this weekend:

History & Mystery of Tea , Mystic 860.536.1216
Friday afternoon at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic is having a tea tasting which will feature learning about the geography and history of the tea plant, in addition to chemistry and taste. Prepare and sample an assortment of notable black, green and white teas during this educational tea party with Connecticut College Professor Emeritus Sally Taylor, who taught classes on the ecology and botany of plants, both useful and ornamental. *cost includes teas and accompaniments. Tea tasting is 2 – 3:30 p.m.

A Pen Warmed up in Hell Lecture , Hartford 860.280.3130
"A pen warmed up in hell" is a phrase Twain used to describe his more acerbic writing on social and political matters. The Mark Twain House & Museum welcomes two of the most topical and critical writers working today - "Rolling Stones" columnist Matt Taibbi and author Charles P. Pierce ("Idiot America"). This evening is certain to be a scorching, hilarious and unforgettable. Part of 2010 Mark Twain Centennial Celebration. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.

These highlights represent just a sampling of the many exciting events taking place across Connecticut this weekend. For more information about these and other entertaining activities, click on Events.

This Weekend in Connecticut
March 12, 2010

WATERBURY
March 12-14 - Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” - Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury, CT 06702. Time: Friday 8 p.m., Saturday 2 & 8 p.m., Sunday 1 & 6:30 p.m. TALE AS OLD AS TIME, TRUE AS IT CAN BE Disney’s smash hit Broadway musical is being performed this weekend. This classic musical love story is filled with unforgettable characters and dazzling production numbers including “Be Our Guest.” Admission $41 - $66. (203) 346-2000

NEW LONDON
March 13 - “Spring is on the Way” - Garde Arts Center, 325 State Street, New London, CT 06320. Time: 8 p.m.. Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra accompanied by Ole Akahoshi, Cello presents music of Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite, Schumann’s Cello Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Admission: $28 - $52. (860) 444-7373

HARTFORD
March 13-14 - Connecticut Spring Antiques Show- Connecticut Expo Center, 265 Reverend Moody Overpass, Hartford, CT 06106. Time: Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. This show is celebrating its 37th year in Connecticut. Portrayed as “an American treasure trove” the show features pre-1840 American furniture and appropriate accessories with more than 65 of the country’s finest and most respected antique dealers. Admission: $10. (860) 345-2400

WESTPORT
March 14 - Mozart & Friends - Steinway Piano Gallery, 501 Post Road, East Westport, CT 06880. Time: 4 p.m. Stamford Symphony’s principal flutist Elizabeth Mann and her accompanist Margaret Kampmeier bring some hot woodwind music to a cool afternoon. Admission: $28. (203) 325-1407.