The Weekend According to Mike July 18th - 20th!

Music:                                          

The Talcott Mountain Music Festival continues tonight at 7:30pm with the Music of Tina Turner with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra under the stars at Simsbury Meadows! Table Seating or Lawn Passes are available.  Bring your own food/beverage or there will be options for purchase on site!  Gates open at 6pm.  www.HartfordSymphony.org

Enjoy 3 days of free jazz -The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz is the largest Free Jazz Festival in the US in Bushnell Park Friday through Sunday.
Artists include Pieces of a Dream, Sounds of A & R, Althena Rene, Nicholas Cole, Donald Harrison and more! Bring chairs and blankets.  Food and Vendors on site too.  www.hartfordjazz.org

Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms and Spin Doctors play the Toyota Oakdale Theater Friday.  Doors open at 4:30pm.  Music begins at 6pm.  Tickets are $41-$222.  www.livenation.com

Revisiting Creedence, a CCR Tribute plays Mohegan Sun Arena tonight at 8pm.  Tickets are $50-96.  www.mohegansun.com

Events:                                         

The Riverfront Food Truck Festival is here at the Mortensen Riverfront Plaza Friday and Saturday with lots of food trucks and entertainment!  A full list of the food vendors and other festival activities is at www.riverfront.org

ConnectiCon XXII celebrates all things geeky and fun from anime and video games, comics and traditional tabletop board games, live music, dance performances and competitions, stand-up comedy, live magic shows, live trivia, game shows, a free play arcade, after-hours block parties, educational and entertaining panels and workshops, celebrity guest appearances, dedicated youth programming, screenings, cosplay, fan meet-ups and so much more!  The Connecticut Convention Center is the hub with vendors, celebrity guest encounters, a trading card game tournament space (seating up to 256 players), a free play arcade with over 60 arcade machines, and console gaming area with over 100 consoles set up for casual and competitive play, the venue’s food court, and the Cosplay Championship Wrestling arena! There are more activities at the Hartford Marriott Downtown including tabletop board games, roleplaying games, miniatures games; our Kids’ Zone activity area; two (2) panel rooms; a screening room; our cosplay recovery, rest, and repair center; and an indoor cosplay group photoshoot location. Friday 11am–11pm, Saturday 9am–11pm and Sunday 9am–3pm.  www.connecticon.org

Kloter Farms

The Connecticut Pizza and Brew Fest is Sunday at the Hartford Healthcare Amphithearer in Bridgeport. Sample craft Beer from state breweries with live music from the Yacht Lobsters, cooking and pizza demos and of course access to some of the best slices in the US! General Admission is $10. VIP eat free for a special hour for $50. All Cheese pizza slices are prix fixed at $3.

Spooky Popcorn is a free outdoor horror movie festival held annually in downtown Hartford.  Horror movie fans enjoy outdoor showings on Constitution Plaza on Saturday evenings from July through August and are encouraged to bring snacks, blankets, and chairs.  These events are free! This Saturday it’s I Saw the TV Glow at 8pm. 

Singing in the Rain is on stage at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford July 18 - August 17.  A joyful, entertaining, classic story of humor, singing and dancing.  Tickets are $45-$57.50.  www.playhouseonpark.org

Goodspeed Musicals’ All Shook Up continues through August 24^th.  Featuring the hit songs of Elvis Presley, which fuel the romantic tale of a small town turned upside down by a stranger on a motorcycle.  Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3 and 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are available through the Box Office (860.873.8668), open weekdays at 10:00 a.m. and weekends at 11:00 a.m., or online at www.goodspeed.org

The Southington Drive-In is open for the Summer Season with The Wild Robot Saturday!  Gates open at 6pm.  Movie starts at dusk.  $20 per car.  Walk-ins are $5.  Lawn Chairs are welcome!  Cash only.

Bring the family to Lake Compounce and Connecticut’s Largest Water Park, Crocodile Cove, are open!  Pirates and a Stunt Spectacular have taken center floating stage in the all-new Splashbucklers Pirate Show, where the whole family is invited to cheer on the daring Captain Cunning as he protects the Queen’s booty from plundering scalawags and ne’er-do-wells daily through August 17. Single Admission at $29.99.  Season passes as low as $54.99.   www.lakecompounce.com

Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury is also packed for fun!  Tickets range from $27.99-$42.99 with Season Passes for $105.99!  www.quassy.com

Adventure Park at Storrs is open for the season with ziplines, aerial ropes and adventure!  https://myadventurepark.com/location/storrs-ct/

It's Flea Market and Drive-In Movie Season at Mansfield Drive-In!  The Flea Market is ever Sunday 8am-2pm through November 24th.  You can also watch movies on any of the Big Screens every Friday, Saturday and Sunday with first features starting at 8pm!  www.mansfielddrivein.com

The Bushnell Park Carousel is waiting to greet your family!  Bring your kids, or don't. You definitely don't need an excuse to ride the historic 1914 Stein & Goldstein Carousel because it is beautiful! The best seat in the house is on a horse named Freedom.  Open weather permitting noon to 5pm.

Farmington Miniature Golf and Ice Cream Parlor on Route 4 in Farmington are Open for the season (weather permitting.) Golf open daily 10am to 9:30pm.  Ice Cream Parlor open daily 10:30am to 10pm.  www.farmingtonminiaturegolf.com