***** Please keep in mind that although the State of Connecticut has begun a phased reopening, most events have been postponed or cancelled due to the Coronoavirus.*****
Events:
Ready to Spring Clean?!?
Rocky Hill Project Graduation is ready to accept your used clothing Saturday 10am to 1pm at Sunny Farm, 259 New Britain Avenue. All used clothing regardless of condition will be accepted in boxes or bags and please wear a mask. Pants, tops, dresses, skirts, outerwear, shoes, boots, belts, and purses. They will take it all. Clothing in good condition will benefit homeless and domestic violence shelters. Other clothing will be recycled. Every pound of used clothing benefits RHHS Seniors and their graduation celebration.
It's also DEA National Drug Takeback Day Saturday 10am to 2pm. Any old, expired or unused medications can be brought to a site near you and will be disposed of properly. Don’t let them be lost, misused or stolen. To find a collection site near you visit www.DEATakeBack.com
April is Stress Awareness Month. Join the Just Be Stress Free Self-Care Retreat Sunday 11am at Just Be, 36 Main St, East Hartford. Attendees will arrive in 30 minute time increments and can experience a foot soak challenge, a demonstration of restorative yoga with BalanceFit, Reiki and sound healing demos, shopping, intuitive readings from Toni Fed Intuitive Medium, Zen Zones with Vitamin D Lamps, Live Music with the Moon Spinners Trio, raffles and more! Tickets are $5 and include an $8 bounce back coupon and raffle ticket in which one lucky winner will receive a $250 Spa Day Package! Proceeds benefit My Sister's Place in Hartford. Register at www.justbethejourney.com
Enjoy the Azzurro Pagani event at Limerock Park, Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Motorcar enthusiasts will love this gathering of some of the most exotic hypercars on the planet and they will all be blue. Among those on display, are some rare seven-figure Pagani assembled at the Northwest Connecticut motorsports facility. Due to covid, this will be staged as a static, non-track event, with community regulations regarding volume so you must register at www.AzzurroPagani.givesmart.com There is a suggested donation of $20 per person to benefit the Hometown Foundation.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center and The Mark Twain House & Museum are reopened to the public for guided tours beginning Saturday. Situated in the historic Nook Farm neighborhood in the West End of Hartford, these adjacent tourism attractions welcome tens of thousands of visitors and field trips annually. Both museums will resume tours with safe visitation protocols including reduced tour capacities and frequency and mandatory mask use for guests and staff. Due to the smaller tour sizes, advance online ticket reservations are highly recommended for both sites to avoid disappointment. The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center new tour hours are Thursdays, 12:30pm-8pm (last tour at 7pm); Fridays, 11:30am-6:00pm (last tour at 5pm); and Saturdays, 8:30am-5:30pm (last tour at 4:30pm). Tours will run every hour on the hour Thursdays and Fridays. On Saturdays tours will expand with start times every 30 minutes. The museum highly recommends purchasing tickets online ahead of time; for more information, visit stowecenter.org/visit/tour. The Mark Twain House & Museum tours will go out every hour on the half hour, with the first tour departing at 10:30am EST and the last tour departing at 3:30pm EST. Tours will be limited to six guests to allow for social distance between visitors in every room of the house. To ensure the best possible visitor experience, the museum highly recommends purchasing tickets online ahead of time. For the most up-to-date information on hours and to purchase tickets, please visit marktwainhouse.org/visit.
The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks hosts the Flights of Fun Family Programs offering social distanced activities for families on Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 4pm including Flight Science Demonstrations, the Investigation Station, and take-home versions of our popular Build and Fly Challenges. Additional activities include QR Code Tours, Scavenger Hunts, and opportunities for visitors to peek inside select aircraft cockpits. All programs are included with general admission. Limited Capacity and Covid-19 safety measures are in place. Please visit www.NEAM.org before you go!
The New England Carousel Museum and Museum of Fire History, 95 Riverside Avenue, Bristol are open to the public and offer free FREE general admission to visitors that live in the cities of Bristol and Burlington through December 31, 2021. Residents should be prepared to show and ID or proof or residence. This was made possible by the museums receiving grants from local foundations. General admission includes guided tours at noon and 2:00 PM during public hours and one carousel ride per person. Additional carousel rides are $1 each or $3 for an unlimited ride bracelet. Presently masks are required for all visitors over the age of 2. Other towns may make a reservation online or visit the Museum for ticket prices and special events. www.thecarouselmuseum.org
Hike from Giuffrida Park to Chauncey Peak in Meriden along the Mattabesett Trail to enjoy marvelous views atop the state’s famous traprock ridges.
Or there’s Campbell Falls State Park in Norfolk, where you can hike to see a 50-foot waterfall. The waterfall at this park features a rugged form that is not often found in New England.
And Bluff Point State Park in Groton, is great place to hike along the Long Island Sound. Hikers can enjoy both wooded trails mixed with spectacular views of the water and maybe even spot some wildlife along the way.
And don’t forget Talcott Mountain State Park in Simsbury, where you can hike to the famous 165-foot Heublein Tower and look out to see amazing views of New Hampshire, the Berkshires and parts of Long Island Sound.
Mohegan Sun is open! Comix Roadhouse has also reopened. Safety measures have been instituted including reduced attendance, sanitation procedures, social distancing, physical barriers and more. www.mohegansun.com
Foxwoods Casino is open. Safety measures have been instituted including reduced attendance, sanitation procedures, social distancing, physical barriers and more. To learn more, visit www.foxwoods.com.
MGM Springfield Casino is now open! www.mgmspringfield.mgmresorts.com/
Nomad's Adventure Quest, 100 Bidwell Rd, South Windsor is re-opened with limited capacity and some activities restricted. Hours are Friday 4pm-10pm, Saturday 12pm-10pm and Sunday 12pm-8pm. www.nomadsadventurequest.com or 860-290-1177
Revolutions Bowling and Lounge, 60 Bidwell Rd, South Windsor, CT 06074 is open daily. Please make a reservation and follow mask and social distancing guidelines! Call (860) 282-2695
Farmington Miniature Golf & Ice Cream Parlor is open daily 11am to 7pm, weather permitting! Great family fun on route 4 in Farmington!
Mystic Seaport is open with many family friendly outdoor activities.
Mystic Aquarium's outdoor spaces including the Penguin Pavilion, Marsh Trek, Pacific Northwest habitats and the Arctic Coast habitat featuring New England’s only beluga whales are open! Hours of operation will be 10am to 6pm daily for timed-ticket visitation. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.mysticaquarium.org/visit/tickets/
Theater/Streaming:
Theaterworks Hartford invites you to view The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp, co-directed by Rob Ruggier and Pedro Bermudez, streaming on demand now through April 30, 2021. This quiet, unpredictable play explores the limits of what one person can ask of another. In an intensely intimate and haunting story, a creative writing professor encounters a brilliant and mysterious student. As their relationship intensifies and their lives become entwined, one will ask the other for the unforgivable. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at twhartford.org.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra Spotlight Series continues with Spotlight: Spring Strings was filmed at the Connecticut Historical Society and will be available on-demand now through May 9. Tickets are on sale now. Tickets and information are available at hartfordsymphony.org. Spotlight: Spring Strings will feature Edward German’s Three Dances from “Henry VIII”, Philip Glass’ String Quartet No. 2, “Company”, Florence Price’s Adante, George Gershwin’s Lullaby, John Williams’ Hedwig’s Theme (arr. Peter Zay), and Ludwig Van Beethoven’s String Trio in C Minor, Mvt. I & II. The concert is performed by the HSO String Quartet (Lisa Rautenberg, violin; Martha Kayser, violin; Nicholas Borghoff, viola; and Jeffrey Krieger, cello), the HSO Piacere Quartet (Jaroslaw Lis, violin; Deborah Tyler, violin; Michael Wheeler, viola; and Jia Cao, cello) and the HSO Mosaic Trio (Lu Sun Friedman, violin; Pat Daly Vance, viola; and Peter Zay, cello).
Tune in for an exciting virtual Sunday Serenades presentation from two vibrant Hartford institutions: The Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art every Sunday till June 10, 2021. Chamber music curated by HSO Concertmaster, Leonid Sigal will include HSO musicians perform music by Samuel Barber, Astor Piazzolla, Richard Strauss, and Ludwig van Beethoven surrounded by the shimmering sculpture of Paul Manship. Tickets are $15, and $10 for HSO subscribers and Wadsworth Atheneum members, and are available at hartfordsymphony.org To visit the exhibition Ancient Made Modern, check thewadsworth.org for current museum hours and covid precautions.
Unique Dining Options:
Visit J Restaurant Bar, 297 Washington Street in Hartford for the Gazeebos and Box Car Dining Experience. A large area of their secure parking lot has been transformed - their parking lot is now a Paved Paradise complete with tables, lighting, heaters, fire pits and safety! 860-527-7764.
Mykonos Mediterranean Restaurant, 2414 Berlin Turnpike in Newington has expanded their dining room into Outdoor Dining, inside. 3 walls are all glass with screens and sliding windows allowing a constant flow of fresh air. UV lights and Heaters in the ceiling have also been added for your safety and comfort. The expanded outdoor patio is also open for the season. Complete Family Meal To Go Offerings are still available for $35 & $45. 860-594-0900
Millwrights Restaurant and Tavern in Simsbury has Igloos! Dine in your own outdoor bubble! www.millwrightsrestaurant.com or 860-651-5500.
