Out and about Oct. 4
We are heading into October, with only a few weekends to go before Halloween. With that in mind, make sure to make the most of the weekend by partaking in some pumpkin or apple picking, enjoying some holiday hijinks, getting started on your costume or finding some outdoor festivals to enjoy the wonderful weather.
Or, perhaps, you have much more planned for the weekend. Whatever the case, start now, plan early and get to as many events as you can.
Perhaps the greatest concentration of merriment is past Connecticut’s border in the Hudson Valley. You can check out all that blazes, terrorizes and entertains by stopping for a visit here. In Connecticut, there are plenty of events, too. For instance, you can head out to the Connecticut Trolley Museum for Rails to the Darkside, the Trail of Terror in Wallingford, Haunted Attractions in Bethany or the Nightmare on Wolcott Street in Waterbury. Or, you can peruse this list of places to find all manner of seasonal goodies.
You can also make your way to Berlin for the Berlin Fair; visit Danbury’s Greater Danbury Irish Cultural Center Irish Festival; or make a stop in Fairfield for the Hill Farm Festival. The Harvest Festival will run Saturday at the United Methodist Church of Monroe. The New Canaan Nature Center will host a Harvest Festival, too. A “Made in Connecticut” fair will make for Oxford. The First Sunday Science program at the Seaside Center in Greenwich gets people closer to the water and foliage. In Shelton, the Wells Hollow Farm will be the site of another Fall Festival. In Danbury, the United Methodist Churchwill hold a pumpkin festival. Enjoy hay rides at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. And support the arts at the Artisans and Vendors Festival in Bethel. Enjoy food and wine and celebrity chefs in Greenwich.
If you are the kind that like to stay indoors watching movies, you’ll want to find a seat at the Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport or the Palace in Danbury.
Inside is where you will find most of the musical acts this weekend. You have a Rolling Stones tribute in Bridgeport and Art Garfunkel in Danbury. There is the music of Cole Porter in Easton, and the MarchFourth Marching Band in Fairfield (along with a bunch of others at the Fairfield Theatre Co.) The Doo Wop Project is at the Edgerton Center, also in Fairfield, where you also will find the jazz trio ACS, performing at the Quick Center and the Enso String Quartet at Pequot Library. Rufus Wainwright is in Tarrytown, N.Y., along with Darlene Love a day later. Herbie Hancock glides into the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y.
Travis Tritt will be in Ridgefield, along with Vance Gilbert. In Stamford, you will find Ada Pasternak and some world music. In Greenwich, the Chamber Players of the Greenwich Symphony begin their season, as does the Stamford Symphony, with a Beethoven program. The Fairfield County Chorale will collaborate with the New Haven Symphony; the Chamber Chorus of Music on the Hill will be in Westport; and classical guitarist Eliot Fink will be in Westport, too. “Jazz Brass Day” will be celebrated at the Ives Concert Hall in Danbury.
You can travel to Katonah, N.Y., for some jazz, or bop over to Wilton for a spotlight on Connecticut’s Composers.
Purely for the kids, and those who still get a kick out of large construction and other vehicles, there are a number of “touch-a-truck” events out there, including those in Norwalk, Westport and Danbury. For the pirates at heart, of all ages, there are several performances of “How I Became a Pirate,” in venues in Bridgeport and Greenwich. For those who want a return to school, visit the Newtown Historical Society and travel back through the Little Red School House. Do you like scarecrows? You can make your own in Stamford. Or join the force and tap into the power of reading at Star Wars Day in Fairfield or Westport.
Comics will be among us, including Colin Quinn for a performance in Ridgefield; a group of stand-up performers for an anniversary show for Treehouse Comedy in Newtown and Comedy Improv Night in Brookfield.
If you like dance, you can do it yourself in Danbury, Greenwich, New Haven or Norwalk. Or, you can see it at Fairfield’s Quick Center when Lar Lubovitch Dance arrives or in Hartford when Connecticut Ballet kicks off its season with “Cinderella.” (It comes to Stamford next week.)
Several art shows open this weekend, including one focused on color in Stamford, the same place you find one opening at the PMW Gallery. In Westport, you can find Ken Scaglia’s art during an opening of his latest exhibition. Friday is the opening of Bridgeport’s City Lights Gallery’s new exhibition “Art of the Street.”
Dogs, and other pets, will be getting their day, first at the 2013 North American Sieger Show at Beardsley Park, which draws top German shepherds from around the country. Meanwhile, St. George’s Episcopal Church in Middlebury will present its celebration of animals and a blessing of the pets. On Sunday, there will be blessing of the animals in Monroe at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Monroe.
There are a couple of house tours, too, including one in Fairfield, which includes a turn around a church. In New Canaan, the focus will be on modern architecture.
Until next time …
