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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T190000
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UID:10004129-1793732400-1793739600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Trivia Night at The Jealous Monk
DESCRIPTION:Trivia Night at The Jealous Monk hosts its own version of trivia every Tuesday called Opinionation. Opinionation is a survey-style game where knowledge is only about 1/10 as important as knowing what everyone else is thinking. This free game is played from 7 to 9 p.m. when teams come together to play fun survey questions and guess what every other player thinks. \nOpinionation is a trivia game like no other. Forget historical dates and useless trivia you’ll never remember. With Opinionation\, your team will have to determine the five most popular answers given by players to each question. Each round consists of two segments with several questions. There are also bonus and final rounds that can really change the game. This format allows for lots of giggles\, upsets\, and arguing among teammates. \nGroups of friends\, coworkers\, date night- you name it. Our trivia at The Jealous Monk is great for all ages and skill levels. So whether you’re an expert at trivia or you just enjoy the company\, try your skills at predicting the most popular answer while we keep you guessing. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/trivia-night-at-the-jealous-monk/2026-11-03/
LOCATION:Jealous Monk\, 27 Coogan Blvd\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Jealous Monk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Trivia-Night-at-the-Jealous-Monk-Tuesdays-7-pm-to-9-pm.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T170000
DTSTAMP:20260705T020852Z
CREATED:20260510T162306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T020852Z
UID:10000531-1793703600-1793725200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks
DESCRIPTION:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks drops visitors into centuries of maritime mystery and disaster at Mystic Seaport Museum.. The internationally touring exhibition combines massive LEGO® ship recreations with real maritime history\, creating an experience that feels part museum exhibit\, part interactive adventure. As the first American stop for the exhibition\, Mystic Seaport becomes the latest host for a showcase that has previously appeared at major maritime museums in Europe and Australia. \nThe exhibit features eleven detailed LEGO® models recreating famous shipwrecks and maritime disasters spanning thousands of years\, including the Titanic\, the Vasa\, Franklin’s Arctic expedition ships Terror and Erebus\, and the ancient Uluburun trading vessel. Created in partnership with LEGO® Certified Professional Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught\, the displays combine historical storytelling with surprisingly intricate engineering and visual detail. Some models even include cross-section cutaways revealing what happened beneath the waterline. \nInteractive experiences throughout the exhibit invite visitors to test survival scenarios\, operate a remote underwater vehicle\, experiment with ship stability\, and build LEGO® creations of their own. Alongside the models are replica artifacts\, archaeological tools\, and multimedia displays exploring how modern researchers investigate shipwrecks and what those discoveries reveal about trade\, exploration\, disaster\, and human history. The result is an exhibit that works equally well for families\, history buffs\, LEGO® fans\, and anyone who still secretly wants to touch every museum display. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brickwrecks-sunken-ships-in-lego-bricks-3/2026-11-03/
LOCATION:Mystic Seaport\, 75 Greenmanville Ave\, Mystic\, CT\, \,06355-1946\,\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic Seaport
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Brickwrecks-Sunked-Ships-in-Lego-Bricks.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T180000
DTSTAMP:20260901T212201Z
CREATED:20260901T212201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T212201Z
UID:10007366-1793696400-1793728800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill 2026: Complete Guide
DESCRIPTION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is now open for the 2026 season\, beginning another fall of fresh-pressed sweet cider\, cider donuts\, traditional hard cider\, apple wine and one of the most unusual pieces of working history in Connecticut. \nThe family-owned Old Mystic landmark opened for the season September 1 and is currently scheduled to operate seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 129 North Stonington Road. \nBut calling Clyde’s a cider shop doesn’t quite explain why generations of families make a trip here every fall. \nThe mill has been family-owned since 1881. Fourth\, fifth and sixth generations of the family still work in the business. Apples are still crushed and pressed using historic machinery powered by steam. Visitors can watch the machinery operate\, descend into the cellar for traditional hard cider tastings\, sample apple wines in a converted grist mill and leave with a bag of cider donuts. \nClyde’s calls itself the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the United States. \nMore precisely\, it is the last operating steam-powered cider mill in the country\, according to the mill\, and its historic cider-making machinery has been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. \nIt isn’t a reproduction of an old cider mill. \nIt’s the real thing. \nA Mystic Fall Tradition Since 1881\nThe story begins with Benjamin F. Clyde. \nIn 1881\, Clyde began producing cider from apples he had pressed at other local mills. He eventually rented a press before purchasing his own mill in 1897. \nThe equipment that followed would become the heart of the operation visitors still come to see. \nClyde purchased a screw press manufactured by Boomer & Boschert of Syracuse\, New York. The company also supplied the apple grater\, elevator and cider pump\, along with plans for the mill building. \nThe machinery was installed in 1898. \nAt the time\, cider mills were hardly unusual in rural America. \nThey served much the same role for apple growers that grist mills did for farmers growing grain. Orchards could bring surplus apples to a centrally located mill\, where the fruit could be processed and pressed into juice. Some of that juice could then be fermented into hard cider. \nMost of those community mills disappeared. \nClyde’s didn’t. \nThe Steam-Powered Mill Is Still Working\nThat’s what makes a visit different from touring a preserved historic building. \nThe machinery still has a job. \nApples enter the cider-making system and are elevated to a grinder\, where they’re reduced to pulp. That pulp is prepared for pressing\, and the historic screw press applies the tremendous pressure needed to extract the juice. \nThe technology was impressive for its era. \nAccording to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers\, the all-steel screw press could apply pressure at three speeds and represented one of the last generations of screw presses before hydraulic presses became widespread during the 20th century. \nASME designated B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994\, recognizing the machinery as a rare survivor of an industry that was once common throughout America’s apple-growing regions. \nMore than a century after the equipment was installed\, Clyde’s still uses the mill to make cider. \nWhen Can You Watch Clyde’s Press Cider?\nVisitors don’t have to settle for looking at the machinery. \nClyde’s runs it during the season. \nThe mill’s typical pressing schedule is: \nTuesday and Thursday: 10 a.m.–noon\nSaturday and Sunday: 10 a.m.–noon \nThe schedule can vary because Clyde’s presses according to production needs\, so the machinery isn’t guaranteed to be running continuously throughout those periods. \nEven when the press isn’t operating\, visitors are welcome to look inside the historic press building. \nFor anyone specifically interested in seeing the steam-powered machinery at work\, a pressing morning is the best time to plan a visit. \nHow Clyde’s Makes Sweet Cider\nFresh sweet cider is the product that started everything. \nClyde’s purchases its apples from small orchards rather than operating a pick-your-own orchard of its own. The apples are processed at the mill and pressed into cider using the historic equipment. \nThe finished sweet cider is flash pasteurized on the property. \nVisitors can buy cider to take home or drink it while visiting\, and seasonal cider drinks have become part of the experience alongside the mill’s baked goods. \nThat combination has helped turn what was originally a working agricultural business into a fall destination. \nYou can come to learn how a 19th-century cider press works. \nYou can also come because you want cider and a donut. \nNeither is the wrong reason. \nAbout Those Clyde’s Cider Donuts\nFor plenty of visitors\, the steam engine has competition. \nClyde’s cider donuts have become almost as closely associated with the mill as the cider itself. \nThe store sells its well-known cider donuts along with other baked goods and seasonal treats. The selection can vary\, but the broader shop also carries jarred products\, honey from local beekeepers\, candied apples made by the family and other locally produced goods. \nIt’s part bakery\, part country store and part historic attraction. \nAnd on a busy fall weekend\, the line is evidence that plenty of people know exactly what they came for. \nThen There Is the Cider Downstairs\nThe word “cider” gets considerably more complicated at Clyde’s. \nSweet cider is only part of the story. \nClyde’s also makes traditional hard cider using a process very different from the sweeter\, carbonated canned ciders that have become common in supermarkets and bars. \nThe hard cider begins with apple juice and ferments before aging in oak whiskey barrels. \nThe process from juice to finished hard cider typically takes about a year. \nAfter fermentation and aging\, the hard cider receives relatively little filtration before being sold. That preserves more of the raw\, oaky character produced by the barrel. \nThe result is considerably stronger than many commercial hard ciders. \nClyde’s hard ciders and apple wines generally contain 12 to 14 percent alcohol. \nHard Cider vs. Apple Wine: What’s the Difference?\nThis is one of the more interesting parts of Clyde’s operation because the two products begin in essentially the same place. \nBoth the hard cider and apple wine start as fermented apple juice aged in oak whiskey barrels. \nWhat happens afterward separates them. \nClyde’s hard cider is only lightly filtered to remove sediment. That leaves it with a bolder flavor\, more pronounced oak character and more bite. \nThe apple wine receives considerably more filtration. \nThat additional processing produces a smoother\, somewhat sweeter product that is also shelf stable before opening. \nSo someone expecting Clyde’s hard cider to taste like a modern canned hard cider may be surprised. \nThis is closer to an older cider-making tradition. \nWhat’s in the Hard Cider Cellar?\nThe hard cider cellar sits underneath the press building. \nThat’s where visitors can taste Clyde’s traditional hard ciders and where the product has been made for generations. \nAvailability changes throughout the season\, but Clyde’s 2026 lineup includes several recurring varieties. \nThe Original is the starting point. It’s dry\, without added fruit flavors competing with the oak character of the barrel. \nLucky Lion is also dry and crisp\, with a character Clyde’s says some drinkers compare to Scotch. \nBlackout goes even further in that direction. It’s Clyde’s most popular hard cider and wine flavor\, with strong oak notes that the mill describes as almost reminiscent of whiskey. \nThen things get fruitier. \nBoomerang combines apple and cranberry for a tart\, sweeter cider. \nGoodfella adds blackberry and lands on the sweeter end of the lineup. \nYellow Jacket combines apple and orange\, producing some sweetness with a citrus bite. \nCherry Bomb adds another fruit-driven option. \nBecause Clyde’s rotates its hard ciders\, individual varieties can change during the season. \nThe Apple Wine List Goes Much Further\nThe wine side of the operation offers even more variety. \nClyde’s currently lists 14 apple wines\, ranging from dry expressions of apple to much sweeter fruit combinations. \nApple Wine is the driest of the wine lineup. \nSpiced Apple uses mulling spices for a distinctly fall-oriented version. \nSpider Cider combines sweetness with pumpkin spices and can be warmed or used in a hot toddy. \nStrawberry Bliss is the sweetest wine in the lineup\, combining apple and strawberry. \nBlueberry Spinner combines apple and blueberry. \nApple Raspberry leans sweet but tart. \nCider House Blend combines apple\, orange and cranberry. \nSeveral of the hard cider varieties\, including Original\, Lucky Lion\, Blackout\, Boomerang\, Goodfella and Yellow Jacket\, are also produced as wines. \nThe distinction comes back to filtration. \nSame roots. \nDifferent finish. \nYes\, You Can Taste Them for Free\nClyde’s offers separate hard cider and wine tastings throughout its season. \nAnd the tastings are free. \nNo purchase is required and no reservation is necessary. \nVisitors can sample up to four hard ciders and up to four wines at their respective tasting locations. \nHard cider tastings take place in the cellar beneath the press building. \nWine tastings are held in the tasting room\, which has its own connection to the property’s history: the building is a converted grist mill once used to produce johnnycake meal. \nTastings are first-come\, first-served. \nCurrent tasting hours are: \nMonday–Saturday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\nSunday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. \nEveryone participating in a tasting must show a valid ID\, regardless of age or appearance. Clyde’s does not accept expired IDs or photographs of identification. \nConnecticut alcohol rules also mean Clyde’s cannot sell its hard cider or wine before 10 a.m. on Sundays. \nA Few Clyde’s Flavors to Know Before You Taste\nIf you don’t know where to start\, the tasting bottles are generally arranged from driest to sweetest\, and the staff can help narrow the choices. \nFor something dry: Original or Apple Wine. \nFor strong oak character: Blackout. \nFor dry and crisp: Lucky Lion. \nFor tart cranberry: Boomerang. \nFor something sweeter: Goodfella. \nFor fall spice: Spiced Apple or Spider Cider. \nFor very sweet fruit: Strawberry Bliss or Blueberry Spinner. \nOne warning for anyone accustomed to mass-market hard cider: remember the alcohol content. \nAt 12 to 14 percent ABV\, Clyde’s hard cider is much closer to wine strength than a typical bottle or can of commercial cider. \nCan You Bring Back a Clyde’s Growler?\nYes. \nClyde’s sells 64-ounce growlers of hard cider and offers growler refills. \nThere are a couple of important rules. \nClyde’s refills growlers rather than exchanging them\, so customers should clean their growler before bringing it back. The mill can only refill glass growlers that have a stamped or imprinted 64-ounce measurement. \nWine cannot be used for growler fills. \nThe refill program is for hard cider. \nHard cider should also be kept cool after purchase. Clyde’s recommends refrigeration. \nThere’s More Than Cider\nThe tasting room also contains Clyde’s gift shop\, with merchandise and locally made products that can include handmade earrings\, postcards and art prints. \nElsewhere at the mill\, visitors can browse honey produced by local beekeepers\, jarred foods\, family-made candied apples\, baked goods and other seasonal products. \nThat makes it possible to spend considerably more time at Clyde’s than simply buying a gallon of cider and heading home. \nWatch the press. \nGet cider and donuts. \nExplore the store. \nGo downstairs for a hard cider tasting. \nVisit the wine tasting room. \nBrowse the gift shop. \nIt’s effectively several different experiences spread across the historic property. \nIs B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill Good for Kids?\nYes. \nClyde’s welcomes children of all ages. \nThe working mill is also an opportunity to show kids a piece of machinery doing the job it was actually designed to do more than a century ago. \nThere is no alcohol involved in the regular sweet cider\, and the bakery\, cider and mill demonstration make Clyde’s an easy family fall stop. \nJust don’t confuse the two kinds of cider. \nThe traditional hard cider and apple wines are 12 to 14 percent alcohol and are strictly for adults 21 and older. \nCan You Pick Apples at Clyde’s?\nNo. \nThis is one of the most useful things to know before making the trip. \nB.F. Clyde’s is a cider mill\, not a pick-your-own orchard. \nThe mill purchases apples from small orchards and uses them to produce its cider. \nIf apple picking is part of your fall plans\, you’ll need to visit an orchard separately. \nCan You Bring a Dog?\nYes\, with restrictions. \nLeashed pets are permitted on the grounds. \nThey aren’t allowed inside the buildings or on the porch\, and visitors need to bring whatever they need to clean up after their pets. \nParking Can Be the Hardest Part of a Fall Visit\nClyde’s popularity comes with one predictable problem. \nIt gets busy. \nThe main parking lot can fill during peak periods\, particularly on fall weekends. \nClyde’s asks visitors to try the main lot first and to respect posted no-parking areas and neighboring properties if parking along nearby roads. \nAn auxiliary lot is available at 49 North Stonington Road. It’s approximately four-tenths of a mile from the mill\, so visitors using it should expect a walk. \nIf your schedule is flexible\, a weekday visit can make the entire experience easier. \nIf you’re coming specifically to see the press operate\, Tuesday or Thursday morning offers the combination of a weekday visit and a scheduled pressing window. \nClyde’s Isn’t a Museum\, and That’s the Point\nThere are plenty of places where historic machinery survives behind ropes. \nClyde’s is different. \nBenjamin Clyde started making cider in 1881. \nHe acquired his own mill in the 1890s. \nThe equipment installed in 1898 survived the arrival of hydraulic presses\, mass food production\, supermarkets\, interstate highways and more than a century of changes in how Americans buy their food. \nThe family survived with it. \nToday\, fourth\, fifth and sixth generations are involved in the operation. \nEvery September\, the doors open again. \nApples arrive. \nThe steam-powered machinery starts moving. \nFresh cider begins flowing. \nAnd people line up for cider donuts. \nThat’s why B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is more than another place to add to a Connecticut fall checklist. It’s a piece of New England’s agricultural and industrial history that never stopped doing its job. \n2026 Visitor Guide\nAttraction: B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\n2026 Season Opening: September 1\, 2026\nCurrent Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\, seven days a week\nLocation: 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: Free\nChildren: Welcome\nPets: Leashed pets allowed on the grounds; not inside buildings or on the porch\nApple Picking: No\nSweet Cider: Available\nCider Donuts and Baked Goods: Available\nHard Cider: Available for adults 21+\nApple Wine: Available for adults 21+\nAlcohol Content: Hard cider and wine are generally 12–14% ABV\nTastings: Free; no reservation required\nHard Cider Tastings: Cellar beneath the press building\nWine Tastings: Tasting room\nTasting Hours: Monday–Saturday\, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday\, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.\nTypical Pressing Schedule: Tuesday\, Thursday\, Saturday and Sunday\, 10 a.m.–noon\nParking: Main lot plus auxiliary parking at 49 North Stonington Road\nThanksgiving: Closed\nShipping: Not available\nPreorders/Call-Ahead Orders: Not available \nHard Cider Menu\nAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers History \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/b-f-clydes-cider-mill-2026-complete-guide/2026-11-03/
LOCATION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\, 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/BF-Clydes-Cider-Mill-2026-Complete-Guide.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T220000
DTSTAMP:20260603T224938Z
CREATED:20260602T005710Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260603T224938Z
UID:10004389-1793638800-1793656800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Martini Monday at Milestone
DESCRIPTION:Raise your glass. Monday is once again here\, but thanks to Martini Monday at Milestone restaurant in downtown Mystic\, there’s something to celebrate. Every Monday evening from 5 p.m. to closing\, Milestone is offering house-made martinis for $10. Come in and explore our ever-changing selection of specialty martinis in a casual neighborhood setting. \nCurrently\, we are featuring Espresso Martinis\, Lemon Drop Martinis\, Dirty Martinis\, Cosmopolitans\, and other classic and seasonal favorites. Whether it’s your after-work gathering with friends\, a casual date night\, or you just want a night off from cooking at home\, stop by Milestone on Monday and skip the wait until the weekend to enjoy an artisanal cocktail. And don’t forget about industry night! As part of Milestone’s weekly industry night promotion\, restaurant and hospitality professionals receive a discount on their entire bill. Come enjoy discounted drinks\, delicious food and friendly company on Monday nights at Milestone. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/martini-monday-at-milestone/2026-11-02/
LOCATION:Milestone\, 12 Water Street\, Mystic\, CT\, 06355\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Martini-Mondays-at-Milestone-5pm-to-10-pm.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T210000
DTSTAMP:20260705T023526Z
CREATED:20260609T022239Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T023526Z
UID:10005383-1793635200-1793653200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Dock 9 Family Mondays
DESCRIPTION:Dock 9 Family Mondays offers an affordable way for families to enjoy a night out together in Stonington with food specials\, games\, and drink discounts throughout the evening. Held every Monday from 4 p.m. until close\, the weekly promotion is designed to give parents and kids a reason to gather around the table and spend time together after the start of a busy week. \nThe centerpiece of the promotion is a kids-eat-free offer\, allowing one free kids meal with each adult entrée purchased\, with a maximum of three complimentary meals per family. Children can choose from a menu that includes favorites such as cheeseburgers\, grilled cheese\, pasta\, chicken tenders\, quesadillas\, and mozzarella sticks. Open darts are available all night\, adding a fun activity for guests of all ages. \nFamily Mondays is ideal for parents looking for a casual weeknight dinner option that won’t break the budget. Adults can also take advantage of happy hour specials featuring discounted house wine and draft beers while kids enjoy a meal and some friendly competition around the dartboards. \nAdditional Details\n\nLocation: Dock 9\nAddress: u Stonington\, CT\nSchedule: Every Monday\nTime: 4 p.m. to close\n\nKids Eat Free \n\nOne free kids meal with each adult entrée purchased\nMaximum of three free kids meals per family\n\nKids Menu \n\nCheeseburger\nGrilled Cheese\nPasta\nChicken Tenders\nQuesadilla\nMozzarella Sticks\n\nActivities \n\nOpen darts all night\n\nHappy Hour Specials \n\n$5 House Wine\n$2 Off All Drafts\nFamily-friendly weekly dining promotion\nFood and drink specials subject to change by the venue
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/dock-9-family-mondays/2026-11-02/
LOCATION:Dock 9\, 22 Bayview Avenue\, Suite 49\, Stonington\, CT\, 06378\, United States
CATEGORIES:Dock 9
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Dock-9-Family-Mondays-from-4pm-to-close-in-the-Velvet-Mill-Stonington.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T170000
DTSTAMP:20260705T020852Z
CREATED:20260510T162306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T020852Z
UID:10000530-1793617200-1793638800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks
DESCRIPTION:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks drops visitors into centuries of maritime mystery and disaster at Mystic Seaport Museum.. The internationally touring exhibition combines massive LEGO® ship recreations with real maritime history\, creating an experience that feels part museum exhibit\, part interactive adventure. As the first American stop for the exhibition\, Mystic Seaport becomes the latest host for a showcase that has previously appeared at major maritime museums in Europe and Australia. \nThe exhibit features eleven detailed LEGO® models recreating famous shipwrecks and maritime disasters spanning thousands of years\, including the Titanic\, the Vasa\, Franklin’s Arctic expedition ships Terror and Erebus\, and the ancient Uluburun trading vessel. Created in partnership with LEGO® Certified Professional Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught\, the displays combine historical storytelling with surprisingly intricate engineering and visual detail. Some models even include cross-section cutaways revealing what happened beneath the waterline. \nInteractive experiences throughout the exhibit invite visitors to test survival scenarios\, operate a remote underwater vehicle\, experiment with ship stability\, and build LEGO® creations of their own. Alongside the models are replica artifacts\, archaeological tools\, and multimedia displays exploring how modern researchers investigate shipwrecks and what those discoveries reveal about trade\, exploration\, disaster\, and human history. The result is an exhibit that works equally well for families\, history buffs\, LEGO® fans\, and anyone who still secretly wants to touch every museum display. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brickwrecks-sunken-ships-in-lego-bricks-3/2026-11-02/
LOCATION:Mystic Seaport\, 75 Greenmanville Ave\, Mystic\, CT\, \,06355-1946\,\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic Seaport
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Brickwrecks-Sunked-Ships-in-Lego-Bricks.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261102T180000
DTSTAMP:20260901T212201Z
CREATED:20260901T212201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T212201Z
UID:10007365-1793610000-1793642400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill 2026: Complete Guide
DESCRIPTION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is now open for the 2026 season\, beginning another fall of fresh-pressed sweet cider\, cider donuts\, traditional hard cider\, apple wine and one of the most unusual pieces of working history in Connecticut. \nThe family-owned Old Mystic landmark opened for the season September 1 and is currently scheduled to operate seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 129 North Stonington Road. \nBut calling Clyde’s a cider shop doesn’t quite explain why generations of families make a trip here every fall. \nThe mill has been family-owned since 1881. Fourth\, fifth and sixth generations of the family still work in the business. Apples are still crushed and pressed using historic machinery powered by steam. Visitors can watch the machinery operate\, descend into the cellar for traditional hard cider tastings\, sample apple wines in a converted grist mill and leave with a bag of cider donuts. \nClyde’s calls itself the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the United States. \nMore precisely\, it is the last operating steam-powered cider mill in the country\, according to the mill\, and its historic cider-making machinery has been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. \nIt isn’t a reproduction of an old cider mill. \nIt’s the real thing. \nA Mystic Fall Tradition Since 1881\nThe story begins with Benjamin F. Clyde. \nIn 1881\, Clyde began producing cider from apples he had pressed at other local mills. He eventually rented a press before purchasing his own mill in 1897. \nThe equipment that followed would become the heart of the operation visitors still come to see. \nClyde purchased a screw press manufactured by Boomer & Boschert of Syracuse\, New York. The company also supplied the apple grater\, elevator and cider pump\, along with plans for the mill building. \nThe machinery was installed in 1898. \nAt the time\, cider mills were hardly unusual in rural America. \nThey served much the same role for apple growers that grist mills did for farmers growing grain. Orchards could bring surplus apples to a centrally located mill\, where the fruit could be processed and pressed into juice. Some of that juice could then be fermented into hard cider. \nMost of those community mills disappeared. \nClyde’s didn’t. \nThe Steam-Powered Mill Is Still Working\nThat’s what makes a visit different from touring a preserved historic building. \nThe machinery still has a job. \nApples enter the cider-making system and are elevated to a grinder\, where they’re reduced to pulp. That pulp is prepared for pressing\, and the historic screw press applies the tremendous pressure needed to extract the juice. \nThe technology was impressive for its era. \nAccording to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers\, the all-steel screw press could apply pressure at three speeds and represented one of the last generations of screw presses before hydraulic presses became widespread during the 20th century. \nASME designated B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994\, recognizing the machinery as a rare survivor of an industry that was once common throughout America’s apple-growing regions. \nMore than a century after the equipment was installed\, Clyde’s still uses the mill to make cider. \nWhen Can You Watch Clyde’s Press Cider?\nVisitors don’t have to settle for looking at the machinery. \nClyde’s runs it during the season. \nThe mill’s typical pressing schedule is: \nTuesday and Thursday: 10 a.m.–noon\nSaturday and Sunday: 10 a.m.–noon \nThe schedule can vary because Clyde’s presses according to production needs\, so the machinery isn’t guaranteed to be running continuously throughout those periods. \nEven when the press isn’t operating\, visitors are welcome to look inside the historic press building. \nFor anyone specifically interested in seeing the steam-powered machinery at work\, a pressing morning is the best time to plan a visit. \nHow Clyde’s Makes Sweet Cider\nFresh sweet cider is the product that started everything. \nClyde’s purchases its apples from small orchards rather than operating a pick-your-own orchard of its own. The apples are processed at the mill and pressed into cider using the historic equipment. \nThe finished sweet cider is flash pasteurized on the property. \nVisitors can buy cider to take home or drink it while visiting\, and seasonal cider drinks have become part of the experience alongside the mill’s baked goods. \nThat combination has helped turn what was originally a working agricultural business into a fall destination. \nYou can come to learn how a 19th-century cider press works. \nYou can also come because you want cider and a donut. \nNeither is the wrong reason. \nAbout Those Clyde’s Cider Donuts\nFor plenty of visitors\, the steam engine has competition. \nClyde’s cider donuts have become almost as closely associated with the mill as the cider itself. \nThe store sells its well-known cider donuts along with other baked goods and seasonal treats. The selection can vary\, but the broader shop also carries jarred products\, honey from local beekeepers\, candied apples made by the family and other locally produced goods. \nIt’s part bakery\, part country store and part historic attraction. \nAnd on a busy fall weekend\, the line is evidence that plenty of people know exactly what they came for. \nThen There Is the Cider Downstairs\nThe word “cider” gets considerably more complicated at Clyde’s. \nSweet cider is only part of the story. \nClyde’s also makes traditional hard cider using a process very different from the sweeter\, carbonated canned ciders that have become common in supermarkets and bars. \nThe hard cider begins with apple juice and ferments before aging in oak whiskey barrels. \nThe process from juice to finished hard cider typically takes about a year. \nAfter fermentation and aging\, the hard cider receives relatively little filtration before being sold. That preserves more of the raw\, oaky character produced by the barrel. \nThe result is considerably stronger than many commercial hard ciders. \nClyde’s hard ciders and apple wines generally contain 12 to 14 percent alcohol. \nHard Cider vs. Apple Wine: What’s the Difference?\nThis is one of the more interesting parts of Clyde’s operation because the two products begin in essentially the same place. \nBoth the hard cider and apple wine start as fermented apple juice aged in oak whiskey barrels. \nWhat happens afterward separates them. \nClyde’s hard cider is only lightly filtered to remove sediment. That leaves it with a bolder flavor\, more pronounced oak character and more bite. \nThe apple wine receives considerably more filtration. \nThat additional processing produces a smoother\, somewhat sweeter product that is also shelf stable before opening. \nSo someone expecting Clyde’s hard cider to taste like a modern canned hard cider may be surprised. \nThis is closer to an older cider-making tradition. \nWhat’s in the Hard Cider Cellar?\nThe hard cider cellar sits underneath the press building. \nThat’s where visitors can taste Clyde’s traditional hard ciders and where the product has been made for generations. \nAvailability changes throughout the season\, but Clyde’s 2026 lineup includes several recurring varieties. \nThe Original is the starting point. It’s dry\, without added fruit flavors competing with the oak character of the barrel. \nLucky Lion is also dry and crisp\, with a character Clyde’s says some drinkers compare to Scotch. \nBlackout goes even further in that direction. It’s Clyde’s most popular hard cider and wine flavor\, with strong oak notes that the mill describes as almost reminiscent of whiskey. \nThen things get fruitier. \nBoomerang combines apple and cranberry for a tart\, sweeter cider. \nGoodfella adds blackberry and lands on the sweeter end of the lineup. \nYellow Jacket combines apple and orange\, producing some sweetness with a citrus bite. \nCherry Bomb adds another fruit-driven option. \nBecause Clyde’s rotates its hard ciders\, individual varieties can change during the season. \nThe Apple Wine List Goes Much Further\nThe wine side of the operation offers even more variety. \nClyde’s currently lists 14 apple wines\, ranging from dry expressions of apple to much sweeter fruit combinations. \nApple Wine is the driest of the wine lineup. \nSpiced Apple uses mulling spices for a distinctly fall-oriented version. \nSpider Cider combines sweetness with pumpkin spices and can be warmed or used in a hot toddy. \nStrawberry Bliss is the sweetest wine in the lineup\, combining apple and strawberry. \nBlueberry Spinner combines apple and blueberry. \nApple Raspberry leans sweet but tart. \nCider House Blend combines apple\, orange and cranberry. \nSeveral of the hard cider varieties\, including Original\, Lucky Lion\, Blackout\, Boomerang\, Goodfella and Yellow Jacket\, are also produced as wines. \nThe distinction comes back to filtration. \nSame roots. \nDifferent finish. \nYes\, You Can Taste Them for Free\nClyde’s offers separate hard cider and wine tastings throughout its season. \nAnd the tastings are free. \nNo purchase is required and no reservation is necessary. \nVisitors can sample up to four hard ciders and up to four wines at their respective tasting locations. \nHard cider tastings take place in the cellar beneath the press building. \nWine tastings are held in the tasting room\, which has its own connection to the property’s history: the building is a converted grist mill once used to produce johnnycake meal. \nTastings are first-come\, first-served. \nCurrent tasting hours are: \nMonday–Saturday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\nSunday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. \nEveryone participating in a tasting must show a valid ID\, regardless of age or appearance. Clyde’s does not accept expired IDs or photographs of identification. \nConnecticut alcohol rules also mean Clyde’s cannot sell its hard cider or wine before 10 a.m. on Sundays. \nA Few Clyde’s Flavors to Know Before You Taste\nIf you don’t know where to start\, the tasting bottles are generally arranged from driest to sweetest\, and the staff can help narrow the choices. \nFor something dry: Original or Apple Wine. \nFor strong oak character: Blackout. \nFor dry and crisp: Lucky Lion. \nFor tart cranberry: Boomerang. \nFor something sweeter: Goodfella. \nFor fall spice: Spiced Apple or Spider Cider. \nFor very sweet fruit: Strawberry Bliss or Blueberry Spinner. \nOne warning for anyone accustomed to mass-market hard cider: remember the alcohol content. \nAt 12 to 14 percent ABV\, Clyde’s hard cider is much closer to wine strength than a typical bottle or can of commercial cider. \nCan You Bring Back a Clyde’s Growler?\nYes. \nClyde’s sells 64-ounce growlers of hard cider and offers growler refills. \nThere are a couple of important rules. \nClyde’s refills growlers rather than exchanging them\, so customers should clean their growler before bringing it back. The mill can only refill glass growlers that have a stamped or imprinted 64-ounce measurement. \nWine cannot be used for growler fills. \nThe refill program is for hard cider. \nHard cider should also be kept cool after purchase. Clyde’s recommends refrigeration. \nThere’s More Than Cider\nThe tasting room also contains Clyde’s gift shop\, with merchandise and locally made products that can include handmade earrings\, postcards and art prints. \nElsewhere at the mill\, visitors can browse honey produced by local beekeepers\, jarred foods\, family-made candied apples\, baked goods and other seasonal products. \nThat makes it possible to spend considerably more time at Clyde’s than simply buying a gallon of cider and heading home. \nWatch the press. \nGet cider and donuts. \nExplore the store. \nGo downstairs for a hard cider tasting. \nVisit the wine tasting room. \nBrowse the gift shop. \nIt’s effectively several different experiences spread across the historic property. \nIs B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill Good for Kids?\nYes. \nClyde’s welcomes children of all ages. \nThe working mill is also an opportunity to show kids a piece of machinery doing the job it was actually designed to do more than a century ago. \nThere is no alcohol involved in the regular sweet cider\, and the bakery\, cider and mill demonstration make Clyde’s an easy family fall stop. \nJust don’t confuse the two kinds of cider. \nThe traditional hard cider and apple wines are 12 to 14 percent alcohol and are strictly for adults 21 and older. \nCan You Pick Apples at Clyde’s?\nNo. \nThis is one of the most useful things to know before making the trip. \nB.F. Clyde’s is a cider mill\, not a pick-your-own orchard. \nThe mill purchases apples from small orchards and uses them to produce its cider. \nIf apple picking is part of your fall plans\, you’ll need to visit an orchard separately. \nCan You Bring a Dog?\nYes\, with restrictions. \nLeashed pets are permitted on the grounds. \nThey aren’t allowed inside the buildings or on the porch\, and visitors need to bring whatever they need to clean up after their pets. \nParking Can Be the Hardest Part of a Fall Visit\nClyde’s popularity comes with one predictable problem. \nIt gets busy. \nThe main parking lot can fill during peak periods\, particularly on fall weekends. \nClyde’s asks visitors to try the main lot first and to respect posted no-parking areas and neighboring properties if parking along nearby roads. \nAn auxiliary lot is available at 49 North Stonington Road. It’s approximately four-tenths of a mile from the mill\, so visitors using it should expect a walk. \nIf your schedule is flexible\, a weekday visit can make the entire experience easier. \nIf you’re coming specifically to see the press operate\, Tuesday or Thursday morning offers the combination of a weekday visit and a scheduled pressing window. \nClyde’s Isn’t a Museum\, and That’s the Point\nThere are plenty of places where historic machinery survives behind ropes. \nClyde’s is different. \nBenjamin Clyde started making cider in 1881. \nHe acquired his own mill in the 1890s. \nThe equipment installed in 1898 survived the arrival of hydraulic presses\, mass food production\, supermarkets\, interstate highways and more than a century of changes in how Americans buy their food. \nThe family survived with it. \nToday\, fourth\, fifth and sixth generations are involved in the operation. \nEvery September\, the doors open again. \nApples arrive. \nThe steam-powered machinery starts moving. \nFresh cider begins flowing. \nAnd people line up for cider donuts. \nThat’s why B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is more than another place to add to a Connecticut fall checklist. It’s a piece of New England’s agricultural and industrial history that never stopped doing its job. \n2026 Visitor Guide\nAttraction: B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\n2026 Season Opening: September 1\, 2026\nCurrent Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\, seven days a week\nLocation: 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: Free\nChildren: Welcome\nPets: Leashed pets allowed on the grounds; not inside buildings or on the porch\nApple Picking: No\nSweet Cider: Available\nCider Donuts and Baked Goods: Available\nHard Cider: Available for adults 21+\nApple Wine: Available for adults 21+\nAlcohol Content: Hard cider and wine are generally 12–14% ABV\nTastings: Free; no reservation required\nHard Cider Tastings: Cellar beneath the press building\nWine Tastings: Tasting room\nTasting Hours: Monday–Saturday\, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday\, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.\nTypical Pressing Schedule: Tuesday\, Thursday\, Saturday and Sunday\, 10 a.m.–noon\nParking: Main lot plus auxiliary parking at 49 North Stonington Road\nThanksgiving: Closed\nShipping: Not available\nPreorders/Call-Ahead Orders: Not available \nHard Cider Menu\nAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers History \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/b-f-clydes-cider-mill-2026-complete-guide/2026-11-02/
LOCATION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\, 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T203000
DTSTAMP:20261005T193645Z
CREATED:20260916T010757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T193645Z
UID:10007905-1793559600-1793565000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours Takes Visitors Into One of Mystic’s Oldest Burial Grounds After Dark
DESCRIPTION:Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours turns a colonial burial ground into a lantern-lit journey through nearly four centuries of Mystic history on multiple nights this fall\, combining documented stories of war\, disease\, abolition\, slavery and early New England burial customs with the legends and reported paranormal activity that have accumulated around the cemetery. \nThe 1-hour-and-45-minute walking tours take place at Whitehall Burial Ground\, tucked just off Hendel Drive in Mystic. Rather than moving through downtown and stopping outside supposedly haunted buildings\, this Seaside Shadows tour spends the evening inside the historic cemetery itself. \nAnd this is not a one-night event. \nThe tours continue on Wednesday\, Friday and Sunday evenings through November\, with additional Saturday tours during October. September and October tours begin at 7 p.m.\, making this one CT Beacon event listing that can carry readers through much of the fall rather than disappearing after a single weekend. \nWhitehall Goes Back to the 1660s\nPart of what gives this particular ghost tour its atmosphere is that Whitehall Burial Ground really is old. \nThe burial ground dates to the 1660s\, when southeastern Connecticut was still a collection of small colonial settlements surrounded by a landscape that would have been almost unrecognizable to someone driving through Mystic today. \nFor generations\, Whitehall served as one of the area’s common burial places. \nThat changed during the 19th century as Americans began embracing the rural cemetery movement\, which replaced older\, compact burial grounds with larger landscaped cemeteries designed partly as places for reflection and remembrance. \nMystic’s Elm Grove Cemetery was established in 1853 during that transition. \nBy 1854\, Whitehall’s role as one of the community’s principal burial places was coming to an end. \nThe graves left behind\, however\, preserve a remarkably long stretch of local history. \nThis Is a Ghost Tour Built Around Real People\nSeaside Shadows describes the experience as a blend of history and mystery\, and that distinction matters. \nThis isn’t a haunted attraction filled with actors waiting behind tombstones. \nThe stories begin with actual people buried at Whitehall and events that shaped southeastern Connecticut. \nGuests hear about men connected to King Philip’s War\, the brutal 17th-century conflict between English colonists and Native peoples that devastated communities throughout New England. \nThe tour moves forward into the American Revolution and stories of Patriot defenders who met violent ends. \nIt also explores the lives of abolitionists\, enslaved and formerly enslaved people\, women and families whose stories provide a different perspective on Mystic’s early history than the familiar tales of ship captains and maritime commerce. \nThen things get stranger. \nYes\, There Are Vampires\nOne of the more unusual subjects woven into the tour is New England’s very real history of vampire scares. \nThese weren’t vampires in the Dracula sense. \nDuring outbreaks of tuberculosis\, then commonly called consumption\, some New England communities came to believe that a deceased family member might somehow be draining the life from surviving relatives. \nIn several documented cases during the 18th and 19th centuries\, bodies were exhumed and examined for signs that the dead were continuing to prey upon the living. \nSometimes organs were removed or burned. \nThe practices reflected communities trying to explain a devastating disease before modern medicine understood how tuberculosis spread. \nAgainst the backdrop of a centuries-old cemetery after dark\, it also provides the kind of history that doesn’t require much embellishment to become unsettling. \nGravestones Tell Their Own Stories\nVisitors aren’t simply hearing stories while walking past anonymous stones. \nEarly New England gravestones developed their own visual language. \nSkulls\, winged death’s heads\, cherubs and other carvings could communicate ideas about death\, mortality and the afterlife. The style and symbolism changed as religious beliefs and attitudes toward death evolved. \nThe tour uses the cemetery itself to introduce some of those burial traditions and grave markings. \nThat gives the walk another layer. \nYou’re not touring a recreation of colonial New England. \nThe objects you’re examining are the surviving pieces of it. \nThen History Gives Way to the Paranormal\nThis is still a ghost tour. \nSeaside Shadows incorporates accounts of paranormal experiences associated with Whitehall\, including reports of unexplained footsteps\, voices and apparitions. \nThe company’s guides also discuss experiences reported during previous tours. \nThose stories are presented alongside local folklore\, including the traditional figure of a Lady in White\, a recurring type of apparition found in legends throughout New England and far beyond it. \nWhether visitors interpret those accounts as paranormal activity\, folklore or the power of suggestion in a dark cemetery is entirely up to them. \nThe setting certainly does its share of the work. \nThere aren’t many environments naturally better suited to a ghost story than a colonial burial ground after sunset. \nCaptain John Gallup Connects Whitehall to a Violent Period of Colonial History\nAmong the historic figures associated with the tour is Captain John Gallup\, whose family was deeply connected to the early colonial history of the region. \nGallup served during King Philip’s War and was killed in 1675 during the Great Swamp Fight in Rhode Island\, one of the conflict’s bloodiest engagements. \nHis story opens the door to a much larger and more complicated period in New England history involving colonial expansion\, Native resistance\, warfare and the destruction of communities. \nOther stops explore the Woodbridge family\, Revolutionary War history and people whose lives intersected with abolition and emancipation. \nThe tour also includes the stories of Quash and Hannah Williams\, using their lives to explore Black history\, enslavement\, freedom and Native American history in the region. \nThat’s where the experience becomes considerably more interesting than simply compiling local ghost stories. \nThe cemetery becomes a timeline. \nMystic’s Ghost Tours Started With a Local Historian\nThe company behind the tour\, Seaside Shadows Haunted History Tours\, was founded in 2013 by Connecticut author and historian Courtney McInvale Reardon. \nMcInvale wrote Haunted Mystic\, published the following year\, and built Seaside Shadows around the idea of combining historical research with local legends and paranormal accounts. \nThe company now operates several experiences\, including its Downtown Mystic Ghost Tour and haunted pub crawls\, but the graveyard tour is fundamentally different from walking through the village. \nDowntown Mystic still has traffic\, restaurants\, shops\, bars and people moving around. \nWhitehall after dark is another environment entirely. \nOctober Adds More Chances to Go\nThe schedule becomes more aggressive as Halloween approaches. \nDuring September and October\, the regular graveyard tours begin at 7 p.m. \nIn October\, Seaside Shadows adds Saturday performances at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.\, giving visitors another opportunity to experience the cemetery during the height of spooky season. \nThe price also changes. \nRegular-season admission is $30 per person. October admission increases to $35. \nBecause this is a recurring event\, readers should select their preferred date and confirm the available time when purchasing tickets rather than assuming every night follows exactly the same schedule. \nThis Is a Walking Tour in a Real Cemetery\nThat last point is important. \nWhitehall is not a paved theme-park attraction. \nParticipants will be walking through an old burial ground after dark\, where the terrain can include uneven ground and other natural obstacles. \nSeaside Shadows recommends the experience for guests 11 and older and asks visitors to dress appropriately for the weather. \nIts participation waiver specifically identifies potential hazards including uneven or slippery surfaces\, cemetery terrain\, low lighting and inclement weather. \nGood walking shoes make considerably more sense here than dressing for Halloween. \nTours operate outdoors\, and Seaside Shadows generally runs its experiences rain or shine. Tickets are final except when the company cancels a tour. \nNearly Two Hours Between the Headstones\nThe current Seaside Shadows description puts the Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tour at approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. \nThat’s enough time to move beyond a handful of ghost stories. \nThe tour can reach into colonial warfare\, the Revolution\, disease\, abolition\, slavery\, emancipation\, local folklore\, cemetery symbolism and burial practices while still leaving room for the paranormal accounts that put “ghost” in the name. \nThere is even a final spooky surprise that Seaside Shadows deliberately doesn’t explain in advance. \nProbably best to leave that one buried. \nDetails\nEvent: Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours\nSeason: Through November 29\, 2026\nSeptember Schedule: Wednesdays\, Fridays and Sundays\nSeptember Start Time: 7 p.m.\nOctober Schedule: Regular Wednesday\, Friday and Sunday tours\, plus additional Saturday tours\nOctober Saturday Times: 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.\nLocation: Whitehall Burial Ground\nMeeting Point: Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground\nStreet: Hendel Drive\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nTour Length: Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes\nAdmission: $30 during the regular season; $35 in October\nRecommended Age: 11+\nFormat: Guided outdoor walking tour through a historic colonial burial ground\nTerrain: Cemetery terrain with uneven surfaces and low-light conditions\nWeather: Dress appropriately for outdoor conditions; tours generally operate rain or shine\nWhat to Wear: Comfortable walking shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather\nTickets: Advance ticket purchase is recommended; select the specific tour date and time when booking\nOrganizer: Seaside Shadows Haunted History Tours\nPhone: 860-754-8923\nEmail: info@seasideshadows.com \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/moonlit-mystic-graveyard-ghost-tours-takes-visitors-into-one-of-mystics-oldest-burial-grounds-after-dark/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground\, Hendel Drive\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T210000
DTSTAMP:20260929T024550Z
CREATED:20260929T024550Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T024550Z
UID:10009201-1793552400-1793566800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Pumpkin Passage Turns The Dinosaur Place Into a Glowing Halloween Playground
DESCRIPTION:Pumpkin Passage Turns The Dinosaur Place Into a Glowing Halloween Playground beginning Oct. 3\, when the dinosaurs stay up after dark\, and The Dinosaur Place in Montville transforms its prehistoric trails into a month-long Halloween world filled with glowing dinosaurs\, illuminated pumpkins\, mythical creatures\, live entertainers\, inflatables\, games\, and marshmallows around the fire. \nAnd despite all the ingredients that could make this terrifying — darkness\, enormous dinosaurs and Halloween — Pumpkin Passage is deliberately aimed at families with young children. \nThis is the eighth year for the annual event at Nature’s Art Village\, and rather than building a haunted attraction around jump scares and monsters\, the park uses its existing dinosaurs as the backdrop for a nighttime Halloween adventure kids can explore with their parents. \nThe result lands somewhere between a Halloween light walk\, an outdoor carnival\, and a visit to The Dinosaur Place after everybody forgot to tell the dinosaurs it was bedtime. \nWait Until the Sun Goes Down\nThe centerpiece is the illuminated trail. \nFamilies walk among glowing dinosaurs\, pumpkins and mythical creatures as Halloween lighting transforms the wooded attraction after dark. The Dinosaur Place is already home to more than 100 life-sized dinosaurs\, including animatronic creatures\, spread across its trails and attractions. Once daylight disappears\, those familiar prehistoric residents become part of the Halloween scenery. \nBut walking the trail is only part of the night. \nPumpkin Passage spreads activities throughout the grounds\, including the Jurassic Jungle bounce house\, a towering 20-foot Funhouse Super Slide\, an inflatable corn maze and other inflatables. \nThere are also lawn games and activities\, including inflatable axe throwing\, cornhole\, Connect 4 and Who’s Your Pumpkin. \nThen there are the pumpkins. \nAmong the more unusual attractions is an original performance by a family of singing animatronic pumpkins — which seems exactly like the sort of wonderfully odd Halloween creation children will either talk about for the rest of the month or insist on seeing again immediately. \nEvery Night Adds Live Entertainment\nPumpkin Passage isn’t exactly the same experience every night. \nThe Dinosaur Place is scheduling live entertainers throughout the run\, with the entertainment changing depending on the date. The lineup includes face painting and glitter tattoos\, balloon twisting\, a petting zoo\, DJs\, light performers\, stilt walkers and other specialty entertainment. \nThat means families planning around a particular performer should check the night’s entertainment schedule before choosing a date rather than assuming every attraction appears at every performance. \nThe regular attractions\, however\, give families plenty to do beyond the scheduled shows. \nOne of the simplest may also be one of the nicest on a cool October night: free marshmallow roasting around the fire pit\, including marshmallows and roasting sticks. S’mores kits\, hot apple cider and cocoa are available as extras. \nFood trucks rotate through Pumpkin Passage as well\, with different vendors scheduled during the month. The published lineup includes pizza\, barbecue\, burgers\, tacos\, Mexican street food\, ice cream\, shaved ice and other festival food. \nAnd because this is Halloween\, costumes are encouraged. \nHalloween for Kids Who Aren’t Looking to Be Terrified\nThe most important word in Pumpkin Passage may be friendly. \nThe event is specifically promoted as toddler- and kid-friendly. This isn’t the place to take a child who wants chainsaws\, blood\, actors leaping from behind trees and a terrifying haunted maze. \nIt’s almost the opposite. \nThe attraction uses the visual language of Halloween — darkness\, glowing pumpkins\, unusual creatures and dramatic lighting — without turning the night into a scare attraction. \nThat makes Pumpkin Passage an option for families whose children are excited about Halloween but aren’t ready for a traditional haunted house. \nIt also gives parents something considerably more substantial than walking around a parking lot collecting candy. Families can make an evening of it\, moving between the illuminated trail\, inflatables\, entertainment\, games\, food trucks and fire pit. \nAnd for a dinosaur-obsessed child\, there’s an obvious bonus: Halloween doesn’t replace the dinosaurs. \nIt joins them. \nThere Are 18 Chances to Go\nOpening night is Saturday\, Oct. 3\, but Pumpkin Passage continues throughout October and even spills into November. \nThe regular schedule includes Fridays\, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Oct. 3\, plus Columbus Day on Monday\, Oct. 12\, and three specially priced Thursday nights on Oct. 15\, 22 and 29. The final night is Sunday\, Nov. 1. \nPumpkin Passage begins at 5 p.m. each night. Friday and Saturday dates generally continue until 9 p.m.\, while Sundays\, the holiday Monday and specially scheduled Thursdays run until 8 p.m. \nOne caution when planning: some outside event calendars show slightly different times. The Dinosaur Place’s own current schedule says Pumpkin Passage begins at 5 p.m.\, so that’s the schedule we would use when planning a visit. \nThe Thursday nights are also less expensive than the regular weekend dates\, giving families some incentive to visit before Halloween weekend. \nOnline ticketing is required\, and reservations are strongly recommended because individual dates can sell out. \nFor families who already love The Dinosaur Place\, Pumpkin Passage offers something genuinely different from a daytime visit. And for children who want Halloween to feel magical rather than frightening\, glowing dinosaurs\, singing pumpkins\, bounce houses and marshmallows may be a pretty good place to start. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: 8th Annual Pumpkin Passage\nOpening Night: Saturday\, Oct. 3\, 2026\nFinal Night: Sunday\, Nov. 1\, 2026\nLocation: The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art Village\nAddress: 1650 Hartford-New London Turnpike\, Montville\, CT 06370\nRegular Dates: Fridays\, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Oct. 3\nAdditional Dates: Monday\, Oct. 12; Thursdays\, Oct. 15\, 22 and 29; Sunday\, Nov. 1\nStart Time: 5 p.m.\nFriday & Saturday Hours: Generally 5–9 p.m.\nSunday & Select Weeknight Hours: Generally 5–8 p.m.\nRegular Admission: Children ages 2–12\, $29; ages 13+\, $27; children under 2 free\nSpecial Thursday Pricing: Reduced admission applies Oct. 15\, 22 and 29; check current ticketing for final price before purchasing\nTickets: Online ticketing only; advance reservations strongly recommended\nIncluded: Illuminated Halloween trail\, glowing dinosaurs and pumpkins\, inflatables\, lawn games\, singing animatronic pumpkins\, marshmallow roasting\, photo opportunities and scheduled entertainment\nFood: Rotating food trucks; additional treats and drinks available for purchase\nCostumes: Encouraged\nAudience: Designed as a kid- and toddler-friendly Halloween event\nParking: Free\nWeather: Outdoor event; management may close attractions because of adverse weather. If Pumpkin Passage is forced to close because of rain or lightning at the scheduled visit time\, ticket holders may be offered a rain check to rebook.\nPhone: 860-443-4367 \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/pumpkin-passage-turns-the-dinosaur-place-into-a-glowing-halloween-playground/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art Village\, 1650 Hartford-New London Tpke\, Montville\, 06370\, United States
CATEGORIES:The Dinosaur Place
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Pumpkin-Passage-Turns-The-Dinosaur-Place-Into-a-Glowing-Halloween-Playground.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T130000
DTSTAMP:20260917T165240Z
CREATED:20260917T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T165240Z
UID:10007940-1793534400-1793538000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Climb 116 Steps Inside New London Harbor Lighthouse on Weekend Tours
DESCRIPTION:Climb 116 Steps Inside New London Harbor Lighthouse on Weekend Tours for a rare look inside the historic 1801 tower\, with Saturday and Sunday tours taking visitors all the way to the lantern room overlooking Long Island Sound. \nThe New London Maritime Society is opening New London Harbor “Pequot” Light for 45-minute tours every weekend at noon through Feb. 28\, 2027. Groups are deliberately tiny\, limited to just five people\, turning the visit into something closer to a guided exploration than a typical historic-site tour. \nAnd there’s quite a bit waiting above those 116 steps. \nA Lighthouse That’s Been Watching the Harbor for Centuries\nNew London Harbor Light’s story stretches back to the colonial era. A lighthouse was established here in 1761 under King George III\, while the octagonal stone tower standing today was completed in 1801. \nAt 89 feet tall\, it’s the tallest lighthouse on Long Island Sound as well as its oldest. The U.S. Coast Guard still operates the light as an active aid to navigation. \nInside is another survivor: an 1850 fourth-order Fresnel lens that remains in use. \nVisitors climb the tower while learning about the lighthouse and the generations of keepers who tended it. At the top\, the lantern room opens up a view across New London Harbor\, the Thames River and Long Island Sound. \nThere are lighthouses everywhere you look. From Harbor Light\, it’s possible to spot at least seven others\, including New London Ledge Light\, Race Rock\, Little Gull Island\, Plum Island\, Little Dumpling\, Montauk and Avery Point. \nAnd then there’s the traffic below. \nNew London remains a working maritime port\, so the view can include ferries\, commercial vessels and Coast Guard traffic moving through the harbor. The Maritime Society makes one thing clear: they can’t promise you’ll see a submarine. \nBut in New London\, you never know. \nPart of New London’s Chain of Lights\nHarbor Light is one of three historic lighthouses owned and preserved by the New London Maritime Society. \nNew London Ledge Light\, completed in 1909\, stands offshore near the mouth of the Thames. Farther out\, Race Rock Light Station has guarded the notoriously difficult waters between Fishers Island and Long Island Sound since 1878. \nTogether with Harbor Light\, the three create a chain of beacons leading vessels from the Atlantic into the historic port of New London. \nThe Maritime Society took ownership of Harbor Light in 2010 through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Money raised through lighthouse tours supports the preservation and restoration of the area’s historic lights. \nBefore You Climb\nThis isn’t a lighthouse where visitors can simply walk onto the property. \nTours are limited to five people\, and reservations should be made at least 48 hours in advance. Children must be at least 8 years old. \nVisitors meet their guide on Pequot Avenue in front of the lighthouse and must wait there for the New London Maritime Society representative. Guests should not enter the lighthouse property or neighboring driveways on their own. \nThe climb also requires proper footwear. Sneakers or deck shoes are required; sandals and flip-flops aren’t permitted. \nTours are weather dependent\, so visitors should check their email before leaving home for any cancellation notice. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nNew London 24 hour Harbor Cam\nDetails\nDates: Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 28\, 2027\nTime: Noon–12:45 p.m.\nLocation: New London Harbor “Pequot” Lighthouse\, New London\nMeeting Point: Pequot Avenue in front of the lighthouse\nTour Length: Approximately 45 minutes\nCapacity: Maximum of five people per tour\nAdmission: $35 adults; $30 New London Maritime Society members; $25 children ages 8–18\nAge Requirement: Children must be at least 8 years old\nReservations: Reservations should be made at least 48 hours in advance\nClimb: 116 steps to the lantern room\nFootwear: Deck shoes or sneakers required; no sandals or flip-flops\nFood & Drink: Water is permitted; other food and beverages are not. Alcohol is prohibited.\nParking: Street parking is available on the west side of Pequot Avenue\, across from the lighthouse\nWeather: Tours are weather dependent. Check your email before departing for cancellation notices.\nCancellations: Must be made at least three days in advance. Payments are non-refundable except when a tour is canceled because of weather.\nLast-Minute Tickets: Call 203-444-2884 to ask whether space is available.\nImportant: Do not enter the lighthouse property or neighboring driveways without a New London Maritime Society representative. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/climb-116-steps-inside-new-london-harbor-lighthouse-on-weekend-tours/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Pequot Lighthouse\, Pequot Avenue\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Pequot Lighthouse
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T170000
DTSTAMP:20260705T020852Z
CREATED:20260510T162306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T020852Z
UID:10000529-1793530800-1793552400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks
DESCRIPTION:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks drops visitors into centuries of maritime mystery and disaster at Mystic Seaport Museum.. The internationally touring exhibition combines massive LEGO® ship recreations with real maritime history\, creating an experience that feels part museum exhibit\, part interactive adventure. As the first American stop for the exhibition\, Mystic Seaport becomes the latest host for a showcase that has previously appeared at major maritime museums in Europe and Australia. \nThe exhibit features eleven detailed LEGO® models recreating famous shipwrecks and maritime disasters spanning thousands of years\, including the Titanic\, the Vasa\, Franklin’s Arctic expedition ships Terror and Erebus\, and the ancient Uluburun trading vessel. Created in partnership with LEGO® Certified Professional Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught\, the displays combine historical storytelling with surprisingly intricate engineering and visual detail. Some models even include cross-section cutaways revealing what happened beneath the waterline. \nInteractive experiences throughout the exhibit invite visitors to test survival scenarios\, operate a remote underwater vehicle\, experiment with ship stability\, and build LEGO® creations of their own. Alongside the models are replica artifacts\, archaeological tools\, and multimedia displays exploring how modern researchers investigate shipwrecks and what those discoveries reveal about trade\, exploration\, disaster\, and human history. The result is an exhibit that works equally well for families\, history buffs\, LEGO® fans\, and anyone who still secretly wants to touch every museum display. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brickwrecks-sunken-ships-in-lego-bricks-3/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Mystic Seaport\, 75 Greenmanville Ave\, Mystic\, CT\, \,06355-1946\,\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic Seaport
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Brickwrecks-Sunked-Ships-in-Lego-Bricks.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T140000
DTSTAMP:20260703T004945Z
CREATED:20260622T015729Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260703T004945Z
UID:10006151-1793530800-1793541600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Harp & Dragon First Sunday Brunch Buffet
DESCRIPTION:Harp & Dragon First Sunday Brunch Buffet brings an expansive all-you-can-enjoy brunch experience to downtown Norwich on the first Sunday of every month. Combining breakfast favorites\, seafood\, comfort food\, carving stations\, and desserts\, the buffet is designed for families\, groups\, and anyone looking to settle in for a leisurely Sunday meal. \nThe menu features everything from made-to-order waffle creations and classic breakfast staples to shrimp cocktail\, clam chowder\, fish\, salads\, and a prime rib carving station. With options ranging from sweet to savory\, the buffet offers something for every appetite while creating a relaxed atmosphere perfect for gathering with family and friends. \nWhether you’re celebrating a special occasion or simply looking for a hearty Sunday brunch\, the First Sunday Brunch Buffet has become a popular monthly tradition in Norwich. Reservations are strongly recommended due to limited seating and high demand. \nEvent Details \nWhen: First Sunday of Every Month \nTime: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. \nLocation:\nHarp & Dragon Pub\n130 Main Street\nNorwich\, CT \nAdmission \n\nAdults: $49.95\nChildren Under 10: $25\nChildren Under 3: Free\n\n2026 Dates \n\nJuly 5\nAugust 2\nSeptember 6\nOctober 4\nNovember 1\nDecember 6\n\nMenu Highlights \n\nFresh fruits and vegetables\nCharcuterie selection\nShrimp cocktail\nClam chowder\nCheddar broccoli soup\nAssorted breads and muffins\nScrambled eggs\nBacon and sausage\nPancakes\nFrench toast\nWaffle station\nCorned beef hash\nHome fries\nPretzels and cottage chips\nMashed potatoes\nMac and cheese\nChicken tenders\nSalads\nVegetable medley\nFish\nDesserts\nPrime rib carving station\n\nAdditional Information \n\nMonthly brunch buffet\nFamily-friendly\nReservations strongly recommended\nWide variety of breakfast and lunch offerings\n\n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/harp-dragon-first-sunday-brunch-buffet/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Harp & Dragon\, 130 Main Street\, Norwich\, 06360\, United States
CATEGORIES:Harp & Dragon
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Harp-and-Dragon-First-Sunday-Brunch-Buffet-First-Sundays-11am-2pm.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T130000
DTSTAMP:20260928T005929Z
CREATED:20260928T004318Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260928T005929Z
UID:10008659-1793529000-1793538000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brunch with Bottomless Mimosas at the Jealous Monk
DESCRIPTION:Brunch with Bottomless Mimosas at the Jealous Monk every Sunday morning in Mystic\, when the European-style social hall better known for its 32 beer taps trades Saturday night for eggs\, home fries\, and a steady stream of sparkling orange cocktails. \nBrunch runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday\, making this one of those rare CT Beacon events without a real ending date. It isn’t a holiday brunch\, monthly special or seasonal promotion. Jealous Monk and the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce continue to list it as a standing Sunday event. \nAnd the bottomless mimosas aren’t merely an occasional special attached to the meal. Olde Mistick Village itself calls Sunday brunch with bottomless mimosas a local favorite. \nThat’s reason enough to give this recurring Mystic tradition a proper place on the calendar. \nA Beer Hall Does Brunch Differently\nJealous Monk occupies Building 20 at Olde Mistick Village\, but step inside and the inspiration is considerably farther from Connecticut. \nThe restaurant was designed as a contemporary take on the European beer hall and social garden. There’s a huge barrel-vaulted ceiling overhead\, old-world paintings on the walls and long communal tables intended to make the room feel more social than a conventional restaurant dining room. \nIts regular identity revolves around beer. Jealous Monk maintains 32 rotating draft lines\, supplemented by bottles\, cans\, wine and cocktails\, while the kitchen leans into comfort food with Belgian frites\, house-made sausages\, burgers and dishes influenced by the beer-hall setting. \nSunday morning changes the equation. \nThe doors open at 10:30 a.m. — an hour earlier than on most weekdays — specifically as brunch begins. \nInstead of trying to turn itself into a delicate brunch cafe for a few hours\, Jealous Monk largely keeps its personality intact. It’s still a social hall\, only now the table might be covered with eggs and breakfast potatoes while the drinks are coming from a mimosa rather than a beer tap. \nMore Than a Mimosa Stop\nThe brunch menu is its own thing rather than the regular lunch menu with a couple of eggs added. \nJealous Monk’s current website confirms a dedicated Sunday brunch menu\, although the restaurant presents that menu as an image and individual dishes can change. Current online ordering also lists a breakfast sandwich made with bacon\, egg and American cheese on a toasted bun with home fries. \nPast published brunch menus show how Jealous Monk has traditionally approached the meal: familiar breakfast food mixed with the restaurant’s German and beer-hall influences. Dishes have included Belgian waffles\, steak and eggs\, breakfast burritos\, Benedicts\, short-rib hash\, biscuits and gravy and house-made sausage alongside items such as weisswurst\, schnitzel and bratwurst. \nBecause menus and prices change\, those older dishes shouldn’t be treated as a guarantee of what will be served on any particular Sunday. What hasn’t changed is the idea behind the brunch: hearty food rather than a stripped-down continental breakfast. \nThen there are the mimosas. \nThe restaurant and Olde Mistick Village both currently advertise bottomless mimosas as part of Sunday brunch. Neither current official page publishes the mimosa price online\, so that’s one detail worth checking with the restaurant before arriving rather than relying on an old menu or social-media post. \nA Social Hall Built for Lingering\nThe setting may be as important to this particular brunch as the menu. \nJealous Monk’s large communal tables were deliberately designed for conversation\, and the restaurant adds board games\, pinball and old-school video games to the indoor space. \nOutside is an expansive beer garden with picnic-table seating\, games and a distinctive fire-pit rock. \nThat gives Sunday brunch a different personality depending on the season. A cold-weather visit can mean settling beneath the barrel-vaulted ceiling with a group around one of the large tables. During warmer weather\, the garden makes considerably more sense for anyone inclined to turn brunch into a longer Sunday outing. \nIt’s also a brunch that doesn’t require everyone at the table to participate in the mimosa part. Jealous Monk is a full restaurant\, and its location in Olde Mistick Village makes the event workable for mixed groups spending the day together. \nBrunch in a Village That Wasn’t Supposed to Exist\nThere’s a bit of local history outside the restaurant doors. \nThe property beneath Olde Mistick Village was once farmland. Martin Olson purchased it in 1963 with plans to construct a conventional shopping mall\, only to be advised that the local population wasn’t large enough to support one. \nHis children\, twins Jerry and Joyce Olson\, eventually pursued something much stranger and more distinctive. \nConstruction began in 1972 on a shopping village modeled after a 1720s New England community\, complete with a meeting house\, town green\, duck pond\, gazebo and individually designed buildings. The walking paths and landscaping were deliberately planned\, and no two buildings were supposed to look exactly alike. \nOlde Mistick Village officially opened Sept. 11\, 1973\, with more than 400 people attending the dedication. \nMore than half a century later\, the experiment has grown into a walkable collection of more than 40 shops and eateries and one of Mystic’s busiest visitor destinations. \nThat makes the location particularly useful on a Sunday. \nBrunch doesn’t have to be the day’s entire plan. \nThe 1 p.m. Problem Solves Itself\nJealous Monk stops serving brunch at 1 p.m.\, but you’re already inside Olde Mistick Village. \nWalk the paths. Browse the independent shops. Circle the duck pond. Grab something sweet. Or cross the road and continue the day at Mystic Aquarium. \nThat’s arguably what makes this recurring event more useful than the original calendar description suggested. \nBottomless mimosas are the hook\, but the location turns brunch into the beginning of a Mystic Sunday rather than its destination and endpoint. \nFor locals\, it can become the kind of ritual that doesn’t require checking an events calendar at all. \nFor visitors\, it’s an easy answer to a more complicated question: what do we do Sunday morning before spending the rest of the day in Mystic? \nStart with brunch. \nThe mimosas can keep coming until 1. \nMore information and the current brunch menu are available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Sunday Brunch with Bottomless Mimosas\nSchedule: Every Sunday\nTime: 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.\nVenue: Jealous Monk\, Building 20 at Olde Mistick Village\nAddress: 27 Coogan Blvd.\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nBrunch: Dedicated Sunday brunch menu with bottomless mimosas available\nBottomless Mimosa Price: Not currently published on Jealous Monk’s official website; check with the restaurant for current pricing and terms\nSetting: European-style social hall and beer garden with communal tables\, games and outdoor seating\nParking: Free parking is available throughout Olde Mistick Village\nRestaurant Sunday Hours: 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m.\nPhone: 860-536-6665\nChamber Event Contact: Park Hersant\, 646-647-9452\nEmail: operations@jmmystic.com \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brunch-with-bottomless-mimosas-at-the-jealous-monk-2/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Jealous Monk\, 27 Coogan Blvd\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Jealous Monk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Brunch-with-Bottomless-Mimosas-at-the-Jealous-Monk.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T150000
DTSTAMP:20260915T211951Z
CREATED:20260915T211951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T211951Z
UID:10007615-1793527200-1793545200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brunch Sundays Brings Southern Comfort Food With a Haitian Island Twist to New London
DESCRIPTION:Brunch Sundays – Southern Dishes With an Island Twist turns Sunday into a five-hour affair at Favorites Bistro Bar in downtown New London\, pairing brunch standards like chicken and waffles\, French toast\, and grits with the Haitian and Caribbean flavors that have become the restaurant’s calling card. \nThe weekly brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday at Favorites\, located at 90 Bank Street. \nAnd while plenty of restaurants serve brunch\, Favorites has a fairly compelling reason for adding the words “island twist.” \nOwner Majan Pierre grew up with Haitian cooking\, and the restaurant she and her husband Ederjson “EJ” Pierre created uses those flavors as a jumping-off point rather than treating them as rigid boundaries. \nThe result can put oxtail beside grits\, Haitian seasonings into familiar American comfort foods\, and a caramelized crème brûlée treatment onto French toast. \nIt’s brunch\, but not necessarily the brunch you already know. \nChicken and Waffles Gets the Favorites Treatment\nThe restaurant’s current Brunch Sundays promotion puts three dishes front and center: chicken and waffles\, oxtail and grits\, and crème brûlée French toast. \nChicken and waffles already lives comfortably at the intersection of sweet and savory. \nFavorites pushes further into that territory. \nThe restaurant’s broader approach incorporates the seasonings\, sauces and ingredients of Haitian and Caribbean cooking into recognizable American dishes rather than separating the menu into “traditional” and “island” sections. \nThat philosophy has helped chicken and waffles become one of the dishes frequently associated with Favorites since the restaurant began developing its brunch service. \nBut the oxtail and grits may be an even better example of what the restaurant is trying to do. \nOxtail and Grits Connects Two Comfort-Food Traditions\nOxtail has a long history in Caribbean cooking\, including Haitian cuisine\, where slow cooking turns a notoriously tough cut into something rich and deeply flavored. \nGrits come from a different culinary tradition but perform much the same job on the plate: warm\, uncomplicated comfort food capable of carrying an intensely flavored braise. \nPut them together and the combination makes immediate sense. \nFavorites has used oxtail elsewhere on its menu in inventive ways\, including oxtail rangoons. \nThat willingness to move ingredients between culinary traditions is central to the restaurant’s identity. \nPierre has described Favorites as Haitian street food\, but she’s also made clear that she doesn’t want the menu confined by that description. \nThe restaurant has served familiar dishes such as Caesar salad and pasta alongside Haitian staples and Caribbean-influenced creations. \nWhat connects them is often what happens in the kitchen. \nHaitian Flavor Is Built Into the Food\nOne of the building blocks is épis. \nThe Haitian seasoning base varies from kitchen to kitchen but generally combines fresh herbs\, peppers\, aromatics and spices into a concentrated mixture used to season meats\, seafood and other dishes. \nAt Favorites\, épis has been incorporated into dishes such as braised short ribs. \nThen there’s pikliz\, the sharp Haitian pickled vegetable condiment that can bring acidity\, crunch and heat to rich food. \nFavorites uses versions of it throughout its cooking. \nPierre told Connecticut food writer James Gribbon that the goal isn’t necessarily to make everything overwhelmingly hot. \nThe seasoning goes into the food from the beginning. \nThat’s a meaningful distinction. \nAdding a hot sauce to an otherwise conventional brunch dish creates heat. \nBuilding a dish around a different seasoning tradition changes its underlying flavor. \nFavorites is aiming for the second approach. \nThen There’s the Crème Brûlée French Toast\nIf oxtail and grits represents the savory side of the menu\, crème brûlée French toast heads in the opposite direction. \nThe basic idea borrows from the contrast that makes crème brûlée work: a rich\, soft interior against a caramelized exterior. \nApplied to French toast\, it turns one of brunch’s most familiar dishes into something closer to dessert. \nFavorites has served French toast in several forms\, and the dish has become one of the restaurant’s recognizable brunch offerings. \nIt’s also a good example of why “Southern dishes with an island twist” doesn’t tell the entire story. \nThere are Caribbean influences here\, certainly. \nBut there are also French influences\, Southern American comfort food and contemporary brunch culture colliding on the same menu. \nIn Haitian cooking\, that kind of overlap isn’t particularly strange. \nHaitian Cuisine Was Already a Fusion Cuisine\nHaiti’s food traditions developed from an unusually complicated history. \nWest African culinary traditions mixed with Indigenous Caribbean ingredients and techniques and European\, particularly French\, influences. \nThat history can still be seen in the language and food. \nFrench-derived culinary terms coexist with ingredients and cooking methods rooted elsewhere. \nSo a New London restaurant moving comfortably among Haitian food\, Southern comfort dishes and French-inspired brunch isn’t necessarily abandoning one tradition for another. \nIt’s continuing the mixing that created the cuisine in the first place. \nPierre has described Haitian food as difficult to reduce to a single definition because of those influences and because recipes can vary considerably between communities and households. \nHer own reference point is especially personal. \nBefore opening Favorites\, Pierre had never worked in a restaurant. \nShe learned food at home. \nMajan Pierre Went From Home Cooking to Restaurant Owner\nFavorites Bistro Bar opened in 2023\, making Pierre’s route into the restaurant business an unusual one. \nShe wasn’t a chef leaving someone else’s kitchen. \nShe wasn’t a longtime restaurant manager finally opening her own place. \nPierre told Gribbon that Favorites was her first restaurant job of any kind. \nHer culinary background came largely from watching her mother cook and from her own interest in food. \nShe and EJ Pierre nevertheless turned that home-cooking foundation into a downtown restaurant. \nBy April 2026\, Favorites was celebrating its third anniversary and a grand reopening\, along with an expansion of its lunch service. \nThe restaurant also brought Chef Bel into its culinary leadership. \nBrunch has become an increasingly important part of that evolution. \nSundays Have Become Their Own Thing\nFavorites now dedicates 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday to brunch. \nThat’s not merely an hour or two added onto lunch service. \nIt’s the Sunday service. \nThe restaurant’s Brunch Sundays promotion makes that clear\, presenting the meal as a recurring weekly event rather than a one-off special. \nThat gives diners considerably more flexibility than a traditional late-morning brunch. \nCome at 10 and it’s breakfast. \nArrive at noon and you’re firmly in brunch territory. \nShow up at 2 and it can function as a late lunch. \nThe restaurant’s drinks follow the same leisurely approach to Sunday\, with brunch cocktails among the offerings. \nFavorites Has One of Downtown’s More Interesting Locations\nThe restaurant occupies space in the historic granite Roberts Building along Bank Street. \nIts location puts it in the middle of downtown New London’s restaurant\, arts and waterfront district. \nHygienic Art is nearby\, and the Thames River waterfront is only a short walk away. \nInside\, Favorites is bright during the day\, with large windows bringing natural light into a dining room and bar designed to feel more contemporary than rustic. \nThere’s also outdoor seating with views toward the harbor. \nThat gives Sunday brunch an easy extension into the rest of downtown. \nEat first\, then walk Bank Street\, head toward the waterfront or see what’s happening in the surrounding arts district. \nParking Is Easier on Sunday Than You Might Expect\nFor people who avoid downtown New London because they’re worried about parking\, Sunday has an advantage. \nFavorites lists Bank Street and State Street among the nearby free parking options. \nThe O’Neill-Tilley Municipal Lot and Water Street Garage provide additional paid parking nearby. \nAs always downtown\, availability depends on what else is happening that day. \nBut Favorites sits in a walkable part of New London\, so there’s little reason to circle the restaurant looking for the closest possible space if other downtown parking is available. \nA Sunday Brunch That Actually Tells You Something About the Restaurant\nChicken and waffles is everywhere now. \nFrench toast certainly isn’t difficult to find. \nNeither are eggs\, mimosas or grits. \nSo the interesting question isn’t whether Favorites serves brunch food. \nIt’s what happens when those dishes pass through this particular kitchen. \nA Haitian-American owner who learned from her mother’s cooking opened her first restaurant on Bank Street. \nShe began combining the food she knew with dishes that belonged to other traditions. \nThree years later\, that experiment has developed into a Sunday brunch where oxtail can land on grits and French toast can arrive dressed like crème brûlée. \nThat’s a much better reason to go to brunch than simply because it’s Sunday. \nDetails\nEvent: Brunch Sundays – Southern Dishes With an Island Twist\nDate: Sunday\, September 20\, 2026\nRecurring: Every Sunday\nTime: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.\nLocation: Favorites Bistro Bar\nAddress: 90 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nFeatured Brunch Dishes: Chicken and waffles\, oxtail and grits\, crème brûlée French toast\nCuisine: Southern comfort food with Haitian and Caribbean influences\nOwners: Majan and Ederjson “EJ” Pierre\nPhone: 860-446-6188\nParking: Free parking is available on Bank Street and State Street; paid options include the O’Neill-Tilley Municipal Lot and Water Street Garage\nReservations: Favorites accepts reservations; advance reservations may be useful for Sunday brunch\nAccessibility: Contact the restaurant directly for specific accessibility needs or seating accommodations. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brunch-sundays-brings-southern-comfort-food-with-a-haitian-island-twist-to-new-london/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Favorites Bistro Bar\, 90 B Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Favorites Bistro Bar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Brunch-Sundays-Brings-Southern-Comfort-Food-With-a-Haitian-Island-Twist-to-New-London.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T113000
DTSTAMP:20260924T022136Z
CREATED:20260924T022136Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T022136Z
UID:10008536-1793527200-1793532600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Kids Create Their Own Superheroes in Five-Week Comic Art Class at Mystic Museum of Art
DESCRIPTION:Kids Create Their Own Superheroes in Five-Week Comic Art Class at Mystic Museum of Art beginning Sunday\, Sept. 27\, taking young artists from the first pencil marks on a page through the process of creating a short comic book of their own. \nThe Sunday morning series is designed for ages 7 to 14 and taught by Mystic comic-book creator Brett Swanson\, who isn’t simply teaching children how to draw a superhero. \nOver five classes\, students work through many of the same steps used to turn an idea into a finished comic: drawing characters and objects\, developing a story\, designing pages\, adding ink\, creating shadows and texture and assembling those pieces into a visual narrative. \nBy the end\, the goal is for each student to have put an original superhero and comic-book story onto the page. \nAnd Swanson knows what it’s like to begin with nothing but a blank sheet of paper. \nFrom Mystic Mail Carrier to Comic-Book Creator\nSwanson has spent decades working in Mystic as a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier\, but he’s also spent much of his life drawing. \nHe told the Postal Service in a 2024 profile that he had wanted to become a comic-book artist since childhood and studied cartoon graphics in the late 1980s. \nRather than waiting for a major comics publisher to hand him a character\, he eventually created his own. \nSwanson publishes his own comics and has exhibited his work at shows\, fairs and comic conventions. He has also taken what he learned into schools\, libraries and museums\, teaching children how comic books are made. \nHis own series\, Power Kid\, follows fourth-grader Johnny Brooks\, who gains superpowers from a glowing rock and finds himself battling a decidedly kid-friendly assortment of threats including robots\, aliens\, dinosaurs and even demented vegetables. \nSwanson writes and illustrates his comics himself\, by hand. \nThat makes him particularly well suited to teaching the entire process rather than one isolated part of it. \nA Comic Book Is More Than a Drawing\nChildren who love superheroes often begin by drawing a character. \nCreating a comic requires the next step: figuring out what that character actually does. \nStudents in the Mystic Museum of Art course learn basic drawing techniques involving shapes\, objects and figures\, but the curriculum moves beyond illustration into layout\, design and storytelling. \nThat’s where comic art becomes its own visual language. \nA comic-book artist has to decide how large a panel should be\, what the reader sees first\, where a character stands\, how one image leads into another and how much of the story can be communicated without words. \nStudents will also explore inking\, along with techniques for creating shadows\, depth and texture. \nThose choices can transform a simple pencil sketch into something that begins to resemble the comics sitting on a bookstore shelf. \nOne Person Doing the Work of a Comic-Book Team\nSwanson’s independent approach also gives students a useful look at how many different jobs can hide inside a single comic. \nMainstream comics are frequently produced collaboratively\, with different people handling writing\, penciling\, inking\, coloring and lettering. \nSwanson does the process himself. \nHe has said a single comic can take him three or four months to complete\, beginning with a blank page and continuing through the writing and artwork required to finish the book. \nFor young artists accustomed to seeing the polished final product\, understanding that process can be just as valuable as learning how to draw it. \nA finished comic isn’t created with one perfect drawing. \nIt’s built through ideas\, rough sketches\, revisions\, page layouts\, mistakes\, corrections\, ink and a lot of decisions about how the story should unfold. \nFive Sundays to Build a Comic\nThe course begins Sept. 27 and continues on Sundays through Nov. 1\, with no class Oct. 4. \nEach session runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. \nThat gives students time between classes to think about their characters and stories rather than attempting to cram the entire process into a single workshop. \nMystic Museum of Art has previously offered Swanson’s comic-art instruction in both multiweek classes and longer one-day workshops\, making comic creation a recurring part of its children’s studio programming. \nThe museum’s approach fits naturally with Swanson’s own philosophy about teaching comics. \nHe has described comic creation as a way for children not only to develop artistic skills\, but also to tell stories\, express ideas and develop the discipline needed to complete a project. \nAnd there’s a useful trick hidden inside all those superheroes\, villains and adventures. \nKids are writing. \nThey’re planning. \nThey’re sequencing ideas. \nThey’re solving visual problems. \nAnd they’re reading comics while learning how those comics work. \nThey just happen to be doing it while deciding whether their hero should battle a robot\, an alien or perhaps one of Swanson’s demented vegetables. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo register\, click the Event Registration link below. \nDetails\nClass: Comic Art: A Comic Book Making Class\nInstructor: Brett Swanson\nAges: 7–14\nDates: Sundays\, Sept. 27–Nov. 1\, 2026\nNo Class: Oct. 4\nNumber of Classes: Five\nTime: 10–11:30 a.m.\nLocation: Mystic Museum of Art\nAddress: 9 Water St.\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nMembers: $115\nNonmembers: $135\nSupplies: All supplies included with registration\nStudents Learn: Drawing fundamentals\, figures and objects\, comic-book layout and design\, visual storytelling\, inking\, shadows\, depth and texture\nFinal Project: Students develop and draw their own superhero and comic story\nContact: Mystic Museum of Art\, 860-536-7601 \n\n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/kids-create-their-own-superheroes-in-five-week-comic-art-class-at-mystic-museum-of-art/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Mystic Museum of Art\, 9 Water Street\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic Museum of Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Kids-Create-Their-Own-Superheroes-in-Five-Week-Comic-Art-Class-at-Mystic-Museum-of-Art.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T180000
DTSTAMP:20260901T212201Z
CREATED:20260901T212201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T212201Z
UID:10007364-1793523600-1793556000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill 2026: Complete Guide
DESCRIPTION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is now open for the 2026 season\, beginning another fall of fresh-pressed sweet cider\, cider donuts\, traditional hard cider\, apple wine and one of the most unusual pieces of working history in Connecticut. \nThe family-owned Old Mystic landmark opened for the season September 1 and is currently scheduled to operate seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 129 North Stonington Road. \nBut calling Clyde’s a cider shop doesn’t quite explain why generations of families make a trip here every fall. \nThe mill has been family-owned since 1881. Fourth\, fifth and sixth generations of the family still work in the business. Apples are still crushed and pressed using historic machinery powered by steam. Visitors can watch the machinery operate\, descend into the cellar for traditional hard cider tastings\, sample apple wines in a converted grist mill and leave with a bag of cider donuts. \nClyde’s calls itself the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the United States. \nMore precisely\, it is the last operating steam-powered cider mill in the country\, according to the mill\, and its historic cider-making machinery has been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. \nIt isn’t a reproduction of an old cider mill. \nIt’s the real thing. \nA Mystic Fall Tradition Since 1881\nThe story begins with Benjamin F. Clyde. \nIn 1881\, Clyde began producing cider from apples he had pressed at other local mills. He eventually rented a press before purchasing his own mill in 1897. \nThe equipment that followed would become the heart of the operation visitors still come to see. \nClyde purchased a screw press manufactured by Boomer & Boschert of Syracuse\, New York. The company also supplied the apple grater\, elevator and cider pump\, along with plans for the mill building. \nThe machinery was installed in 1898. \nAt the time\, cider mills were hardly unusual in rural America. \nThey served much the same role for apple growers that grist mills did for farmers growing grain. Orchards could bring surplus apples to a centrally located mill\, where the fruit could be processed and pressed into juice. Some of that juice could then be fermented into hard cider. \nMost of those community mills disappeared. \nClyde’s didn’t. \nThe Steam-Powered Mill Is Still Working\nThat’s what makes a visit different from touring a preserved historic building. \nThe machinery still has a job. \nApples enter the cider-making system and are elevated to a grinder\, where they’re reduced to pulp. That pulp is prepared for pressing\, and the historic screw press applies the tremendous pressure needed to extract the juice. \nThe technology was impressive for its era. \nAccording to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers\, the all-steel screw press could apply pressure at three speeds and represented one of the last generations of screw presses before hydraulic presses became widespread during the 20th century. \nASME designated B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994\, recognizing the machinery as a rare survivor of an industry that was once common throughout America’s apple-growing regions. \nMore than a century after the equipment was installed\, Clyde’s still uses the mill to make cider. \nWhen Can You Watch Clyde’s Press Cider?\nVisitors don’t have to settle for looking at the machinery. \nClyde’s runs it during the season. \nThe mill’s typical pressing schedule is: \nTuesday and Thursday: 10 a.m.–noon\nSaturday and Sunday: 10 a.m.–noon \nThe schedule can vary because Clyde’s presses according to production needs\, so the machinery isn’t guaranteed to be running continuously throughout those periods. \nEven when the press isn’t operating\, visitors are welcome to look inside the historic press building. \nFor anyone specifically interested in seeing the steam-powered machinery at work\, a pressing morning is the best time to plan a visit. \nHow Clyde’s Makes Sweet Cider\nFresh sweet cider is the product that started everything. \nClyde’s purchases its apples from small orchards rather than operating a pick-your-own orchard of its own. The apples are processed at the mill and pressed into cider using the historic equipment. \nThe finished sweet cider is flash pasteurized on the property. \nVisitors can buy cider to take home or drink it while visiting\, and seasonal cider drinks have become part of the experience alongside the mill’s baked goods. \nThat combination has helped turn what was originally a working agricultural business into a fall destination. \nYou can come to learn how a 19th-century cider press works. \nYou can also come because you want cider and a donut. \nNeither is the wrong reason. \nAbout Those Clyde’s Cider Donuts\nFor plenty of visitors\, the steam engine has competition. \nClyde’s cider donuts have become almost as closely associated with the mill as the cider itself. \nThe store sells its well-known cider donuts along with other baked goods and seasonal treats. The selection can vary\, but the broader shop also carries jarred products\, honey from local beekeepers\, candied apples made by the family and other locally produced goods. \nIt’s part bakery\, part country store and part historic attraction. \nAnd on a busy fall weekend\, the line is evidence that plenty of people know exactly what they came for. \nThen There Is the Cider Downstairs\nThe word “cider” gets considerably more complicated at Clyde’s. \nSweet cider is only part of the story. \nClyde’s also makes traditional hard cider using a process very different from the sweeter\, carbonated canned ciders that have become common in supermarkets and bars. \nThe hard cider begins with apple juice and ferments before aging in oak whiskey barrels. \nThe process from juice to finished hard cider typically takes about a year. \nAfter fermentation and aging\, the hard cider receives relatively little filtration before being sold. That preserves more of the raw\, oaky character produced by the barrel. \nThe result is considerably stronger than many commercial hard ciders. \nClyde’s hard ciders and apple wines generally contain 12 to 14 percent alcohol. \nHard Cider vs. Apple Wine: What’s the Difference?\nThis is one of the more interesting parts of Clyde’s operation because the two products begin in essentially the same place. \nBoth the hard cider and apple wine start as fermented apple juice aged in oak whiskey barrels. \nWhat happens afterward separates them. \nClyde’s hard cider is only lightly filtered to remove sediment. That leaves it with a bolder flavor\, more pronounced oak character and more bite. \nThe apple wine receives considerably more filtration. \nThat additional processing produces a smoother\, somewhat sweeter product that is also shelf stable before opening. \nSo someone expecting Clyde’s hard cider to taste like a modern canned hard cider may be surprised. \nThis is closer to an older cider-making tradition. \nWhat’s in the Hard Cider Cellar?\nThe hard cider cellar sits underneath the press building. \nThat’s where visitors can taste Clyde’s traditional hard ciders and where the product has been made for generations. \nAvailability changes throughout the season\, but Clyde’s 2026 lineup includes several recurring varieties. \nThe Original is the starting point. It’s dry\, without added fruit flavors competing with the oak character of the barrel. \nLucky Lion is also dry and crisp\, with a character Clyde’s says some drinkers compare to Scotch. \nBlackout goes even further in that direction. It’s Clyde’s most popular hard cider and wine flavor\, with strong oak notes that the mill describes as almost reminiscent of whiskey. \nThen things get fruitier. \nBoomerang combines apple and cranberry for a tart\, sweeter cider. \nGoodfella adds blackberry and lands on the sweeter end of the lineup. \nYellow Jacket combines apple and orange\, producing some sweetness with a citrus bite. \nCherry Bomb adds another fruit-driven option. \nBecause Clyde’s rotates its hard ciders\, individual varieties can change during the season. \nThe Apple Wine List Goes Much Further\nThe wine side of the operation offers even more variety. \nClyde’s currently lists 14 apple wines\, ranging from dry expressions of apple to much sweeter fruit combinations. \nApple Wine is the driest of the wine lineup. \nSpiced Apple uses mulling spices for a distinctly fall-oriented version. \nSpider Cider combines sweetness with pumpkin spices and can be warmed or used in a hot toddy. \nStrawberry Bliss is the sweetest wine in the lineup\, combining apple and strawberry. \nBlueberry Spinner combines apple and blueberry. \nApple Raspberry leans sweet but tart. \nCider House Blend combines apple\, orange and cranberry. \nSeveral of the hard cider varieties\, including Original\, Lucky Lion\, Blackout\, Boomerang\, Goodfella and Yellow Jacket\, are also produced as wines. \nThe distinction comes back to filtration. \nSame roots. \nDifferent finish. \nYes\, You Can Taste Them for Free\nClyde’s offers separate hard cider and wine tastings throughout its season. \nAnd the tastings are free. \nNo purchase is required and no reservation is necessary. \nVisitors can sample up to four hard ciders and up to four wines at their respective tasting locations. \nHard cider tastings take place in the cellar beneath the press building. \nWine tastings are held in the tasting room\, which has its own connection to the property’s history: the building is a converted grist mill once used to produce johnnycake meal. \nTastings are first-come\, first-served. \nCurrent tasting hours are: \nMonday–Saturday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\nSunday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. \nEveryone participating in a tasting must show a valid ID\, regardless of age or appearance. Clyde’s does not accept expired IDs or photographs of identification. \nConnecticut alcohol rules also mean Clyde’s cannot sell its hard cider or wine before 10 a.m. on Sundays. \nA Few Clyde’s Flavors to Know Before You Taste\nIf you don’t know where to start\, the tasting bottles are generally arranged from driest to sweetest\, and the staff can help narrow the choices. \nFor something dry: Original or Apple Wine. \nFor strong oak character: Blackout. \nFor dry and crisp: Lucky Lion. \nFor tart cranberry: Boomerang. \nFor something sweeter: Goodfella. \nFor fall spice: Spiced Apple or Spider Cider. \nFor very sweet fruit: Strawberry Bliss or Blueberry Spinner. \nOne warning for anyone accustomed to mass-market hard cider: remember the alcohol content. \nAt 12 to 14 percent ABV\, Clyde’s hard cider is much closer to wine strength than a typical bottle or can of commercial cider. \nCan You Bring Back a Clyde’s Growler?\nYes. \nClyde’s sells 64-ounce growlers of hard cider and offers growler refills. \nThere are a couple of important rules. \nClyde’s refills growlers rather than exchanging them\, so customers should clean their growler before bringing it back. The mill can only refill glass growlers that have a stamped or imprinted 64-ounce measurement. \nWine cannot be used for growler fills. \nThe refill program is for hard cider. \nHard cider should also be kept cool after purchase. Clyde’s recommends refrigeration. \nThere’s More Than Cider\nThe tasting room also contains Clyde’s gift shop\, with merchandise and locally made products that can include handmade earrings\, postcards and art prints. \nElsewhere at the mill\, visitors can browse honey produced by local beekeepers\, jarred foods\, family-made candied apples\, baked goods and other seasonal products. \nThat makes it possible to spend considerably more time at Clyde’s than simply buying a gallon of cider and heading home. \nWatch the press. \nGet cider and donuts. \nExplore the store. \nGo downstairs for a hard cider tasting. \nVisit the wine tasting room. \nBrowse the gift shop. \nIt’s effectively several different experiences spread across the historic property. \nIs B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill Good for Kids?\nYes. \nClyde’s welcomes children of all ages. \nThe working mill is also an opportunity to show kids a piece of machinery doing the job it was actually designed to do more than a century ago. \nThere is no alcohol involved in the regular sweet cider\, and the bakery\, cider and mill demonstration make Clyde’s an easy family fall stop. \nJust don’t confuse the two kinds of cider. \nThe traditional hard cider and apple wines are 12 to 14 percent alcohol and are strictly for adults 21 and older. \nCan You Pick Apples at Clyde’s?\nNo. \nThis is one of the most useful things to know before making the trip. \nB.F. Clyde’s is a cider mill\, not a pick-your-own orchard. \nThe mill purchases apples from small orchards and uses them to produce its cider. \nIf apple picking is part of your fall plans\, you’ll need to visit an orchard separately. \nCan You Bring a Dog?\nYes\, with restrictions. \nLeashed pets are permitted on the grounds. \nThey aren’t allowed inside the buildings or on the porch\, and visitors need to bring whatever they need to clean up after their pets. \nParking Can Be the Hardest Part of a Fall Visit\nClyde’s popularity comes with one predictable problem. \nIt gets busy. \nThe main parking lot can fill during peak periods\, particularly on fall weekends. \nClyde’s asks visitors to try the main lot first and to respect posted no-parking areas and neighboring properties if parking along nearby roads. \nAn auxiliary lot is available at 49 North Stonington Road. It’s approximately four-tenths of a mile from the mill\, so visitors using it should expect a walk. \nIf your schedule is flexible\, a weekday visit can make the entire experience easier. \nIf you’re coming specifically to see the press operate\, Tuesday or Thursday morning offers the combination of a weekday visit and a scheduled pressing window. \nClyde’s Isn’t a Museum\, and That’s the Point\nThere are plenty of places where historic machinery survives behind ropes. \nClyde’s is different. \nBenjamin Clyde started making cider in 1881. \nHe acquired his own mill in the 1890s. \nThe equipment installed in 1898 survived the arrival of hydraulic presses\, mass food production\, supermarkets\, interstate highways and more than a century of changes in how Americans buy their food. \nThe family survived with it. \nToday\, fourth\, fifth and sixth generations are involved in the operation. \nEvery September\, the doors open again. \nApples arrive. \nThe steam-powered machinery starts moving. \nFresh cider begins flowing. \nAnd people line up for cider donuts. \nThat’s why B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is more than another place to add to a Connecticut fall checklist. It’s a piece of New England’s agricultural and industrial history that never stopped doing its job. \n2026 Visitor Guide\nAttraction: B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\n2026 Season Opening: September 1\, 2026\nCurrent Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\, seven days a week\nLocation: 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: Free\nChildren: Welcome\nPets: Leashed pets allowed on the grounds; not inside buildings or on the porch\nApple Picking: No\nSweet Cider: Available\nCider Donuts and Baked Goods: Available\nHard Cider: Available for adults 21+\nApple Wine: Available for adults 21+\nAlcohol Content: Hard cider and wine are generally 12–14% ABV\nTastings: Free; no reservation required\nHard Cider Tastings: Cellar beneath the press building\nWine Tastings: Tasting room\nTasting Hours: Monday–Saturday\, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday\, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.\nTypical Pressing Schedule: Tuesday\, Thursday\, Saturday and Sunday\, 10 a.m.–noon\nParking: Main lot plus auxiliary parking at 49 North Stonington Road\nThanksgiving: Closed\nShipping: Not available\nPreorders/Call-Ahead Orders: Not available \nHard Cider Menu\nAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers History \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/b-f-clydes-cider-mill-2026-complete-guide/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\, 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/BF-Clydes-Cider-Mill-2026-Complete-Guide.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261101T170000
DTSTAMP:20260918T214807Z
CREATED:20260918T214807Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260918T214807Z
UID:10008474-1793523600-1793552400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Clark Farms Fall Festival Celebrates 250 Years of Rhode Island Farming
DESCRIPTION:Clark Farms Fall Festival Celebrates 250 Years of Rhode Island Farming with a corn maze devoted to the state’s agricultural history\, plus hayrides\, zip lines\, farm animals\, live music\, food\, and a full farm park in Matunuck\, 25 miles from Mystic. \nThe festival is underway for the fall season at Clark Farms\, where the 2026 theme connects one of New England’s quintessential autumn traditions to Rhode Island’s 250th anniversary. \nThis year’s corn maze is “250 Years of Farming in Rhode Island\,” and the farm uses the attraction to explore how agriculture has changed throughout the state’s history. The maze and farm park are open during the week\, but weekends expand into the full Fall Festival experience with additional attractions\, food\, and entertainment. \nMore Than a Corn Maze\nMaking it through the maze is only part of the day. \nAdmission also opens up a collection of farm attractions including pedal-powered go-karts\, a petting zoo\, corn pit\, straw maze\, giant Mountain Slide\, farm basketball and a Western Town shooting gallery. \nThen there’s the corn cannon\, which gives visitors a chance to launch ears of corn across the farm. \nWeekend festival days add zip lines\, food\, performances and live music\, along with one of the more traditional fall experiences: a hayride through the surrounding Matunuck countryside. Clark Farms says its newer hayride is wheelchair accessible. \nThe farm’s butterfly house is also expected to remain open through late September\, while pumpkins and fall decorations are appearing throughout the property. Gem mining is available for an additional charge. \nCelebrating Rhode Island’s Farming Story\nThe 2026 theme is especially appropriate for a farm whose own history began with vegetables. \nClark Farms was established in South Kingstown in 1989 as a vegetable farm. Over the decades it expanded into plants\, nursery operations and landscape design\, eventually adding its larger Matunuck location in 2008. \nToday\, the business operates both as a working garden center and landscaping operation and as a seasonal destination\, bringing visitors onto the property for events including its summer sunflower displays and annual Fall Festival. \nFor this year’s maze\, Clark Farms is looking farther back than its own history. The attraction showcases the evolution of Rhode Island agriculture across 250 years\, turning a trip through the corn into a little state history along the way. \nFood\, Music and This Weekend’s Schedule\nClark Farms runs its own farm canteen during the festival\, with food that includes fresh-cut fries made with Matunuck-grown red potatoes\, hot dogs\, doughboys and corn dogs. Fresh hot donuts are also available on busy weekends. \nFor the weekend of Sept. 19–20\, the farm has announced additional food and entertainment. \nSaturday\, Sept. 19\nDel’s Frozen Lemonade — 11 a.m.–4 p.m. \nSunday\, Sept. 20\nDrink Coffee — 9 a.m.–2 p.m.\nPot Cellar — Live music\, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.\nCalifornia Taco food truck — 11 a.m.–3 p.m.\nDel’s Frozen Lemonade — 11 a.m.–4 p.m. \nSaturday also marks the deadline for Clark Farms’ new Scarecrow Competition. The contest has been accepting entries throughout September\, with a $500 Clark Farms gift card going to the winner. \nWeekends Bring the Full Festival\nVisitors can tackle the corn maze and explore the farm park throughout the week\, but there’s an important distinction between a weekday visit and the weekend Fall Festival. \nWeekend admission is when Clark Farms adds attractions such as the hayride\, zip lines\, expanded food offerings\, performances and live music. \nWeekend Fall Festival admission is $20 per person\, with children age 2 and younger admitted free. Weekday admission to the corn maze and farm park is $15 per person. \nTickets can be purchased at the farm\, although Clark Farms recommends buying them online in advance to avoid the in-person ticket line. \nSturdy shoes aren’t a bad idea either. This is a real cornfield rather than a paved attraction\, and paths can get muddy after rain. \nDogs are permitted in some of Clark Farms’ shopping areas but are not allowed inside the farm park or Fall Festival area because of the animals. Service animals are permitted. \nFrom a corn maze tracing 250 years of Rhode Island agriculture to a hayride through present-day Matunuck farmland\, this year’s Fall Festival puts a little history behind the pumpkins\, cider donuts and traditional fall fun. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Clark Farms Fall Festival\nSeason: Sept. 19–Nov. 1\, 2026\nLocation: Clark Farms\nAddress: 2984 Commodore Perry Highway\, Matunuck\, RI 02879\n2026 Theme: 250 Years of Farming in Rhode Island\nWeekend Admission: $20 per person; children 2 and younger free\nWeekday Admission: $15 per person\nTickets: Available online or at the farm; advance online purchase is recommended\nIncluded Attractions: Corn maze\, petting zoo\, corn pit\, straw maze\, Mountain Slide\, pedal go-karts\, basketball\, Western Town shooting gallery\, corn cannon and other farm activities. (Most attractions are during Fall Fest on Sat & Sun\, not during the week)\nWeekend Extras: Hayrides\, zip lines\, food\, performances and live music\nPets: Dogs are not permitted in the farm park/Fall Festival area; service animals are permitted\nWhat to Wear: Sturdy footwear is recommended\, particularly after rain \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/clark-farms-fall-festival-celebrates-250-years-of-rhode-island-farming/2026-11-01/
LOCATION:Clark Farms\, 2984 Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Memorial Hwy\, Matunuck\, RI\, 02879\, United States
CATEGORIES:Clark Farms
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Clark-Farms-Fall-Festival-Celebrates-250-Years-of-Rhode-Island-Farming.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T210000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T223000
DTSTAMP:20261005T193645Z
CREATED:20260916T010757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T193645Z
UID:10007904-1793480400-1793485800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours Takes Visitors Into One of Mystic’s Oldest Burial Grounds After Dark
DESCRIPTION:Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours turns a colonial burial ground into a lantern-lit journey through nearly four centuries of Mystic history on multiple nights this fall\, combining documented stories of war\, disease\, abolition\, slavery and early New England burial customs with the legends and reported paranormal activity that have accumulated around the cemetery. \nThe 1-hour-and-45-minute walking tours take place at Whitehall Burial Ground\, tucked just off Hendel Drive in Mystic. Rather than moving through downtown and stopping outside supposedly haunted buildings\, this Seaside Shadows tour spends the evening inside the historic cemetery itself. \nAnd this is not a one-night event. \nThe tours continue on Wednesday\, Friday and Sunday evenings through November\, with additional Saturday tours during October. September and October tours begin at 7 p.m.\, making this one CT Beacon event listing that can carry readers through much of the fall rather than disappearing after a single weekend. \nWhitehall Goes Back to the 1660s\nPart of what gives this particular ghost tour its atmosphere is that Whitehall Burial Ground really is old. \nThe burial ground dates to the 1660s\, when southeastern Connecticut was still a collection of small colonial settlements surrounded by a landscape that would have been almost unrecognizable to someone driving through Mystic today. \nFor generations\, Whitehall served as one of the area’s common burial places. \nThat changed during the 19th century as Americans began embracing the rural cemetery movement\, which replaced older\, compact burial grounds with larger landscaped cemeteries designed partly as places for reflection and remembrance. \nMystic’s Elm Grove Cemetery was established in 1853 during that transition. \nBy 1854\, Whitehall’s role as one of the community’s principal burial places was coming to an end. \nThe graves left behind\, however\, preserve a remarkably long stretch of local history. \nThis Is a Ghost Tour Built Around Real People\nSeaside Shadows describes the experience as a blend of history and mystery\, and that distinction matters. \nThis isn’t a haunted attraction filled with actors waiting behind tombstones. \nThe stories begin with actual people buried at Whitehall and events that shaped southeastern Connecticut. \nGuests hear about men connected to King Philip’s War\, the brutal 17th-century conflict between English colonists and Native peoples that devastated communities throughout New England. \nThe tour moves forward into the American Revolution and stories of Patriot defenders who met violent ends. \nIt also explores the lives of abolitionists\, enslaved and formerly enslaved people\, women and families whose stories provide a different perspective on Mystic’s early history than the familiar tales of ship captains and maritime commerce. \nThen things get stranger. \nYes\, There Are Vampires\nOne of the more unusual subjects woven into the tour is New England’s very real history of vampire scares. \nThese weren’t vampires in the Dracula sense. \nDuring outbreaks of tuberculosis\, then commonly called consumption\, some New England communities came to believe that a deceased family member might somehow be draining the life from surviving relatives. \nIn several documented cases during the 18th and 19th centuries\, bodies were exhumed and examined for signs that the dead were continuing to prey upon the living. \nSometimes organs were removed or burned. \nThe practices reflected communities trying to explain a devastating disease before modern medicine understood how tuberculosis spread. \nAgainst the backdrop of a centuries-old cemetery after dark\, it also provides the kind of history that doesn’t require much embellishment to become unsettling. \nGravestones Tell Their Own Stories\nVisitors aren’t simply hearing stories while walking past anonymous stones. \nEarly New England gravestones developed their own visual language. \nSkulls\, winged death’s heads\, cherubs and other carvings could communicate ideas about death\, mortality and the afterlife. The style and symbolism changed as religious beliefs and attitudes toward death evolved. \nThe tour uses the cemetery itself to introduce some of those burial traditions and grave markings. \nThat gives the walk another layer. \nYou’re not touring a recreation of colonial New England. \nThe objects you’re examining are the surviving pieces of it. \nThen History Gives Way to the Paranormal\nThis is still a ghost tour. \nSeaside Shadows incorporates accounts of paranormal experiences associated with Whitehall\, including reports of unexplained footsteps\, voices and apparitions. \nThe company’s guides also discuss experiences reported during previous tours. \nThose stories are presented alongside local folklore\, including the traditional figure of a Lady in White\, a recurring type of apparition found in legends throughout New England and far beyond it. \nWhether visitors interpret those accounts as paranormal activity\, folklore or the power of suggestion in a dark cemetery is entirely up to them. \nThe setting certainly does its share of the work. \nThere aren’t many environments naturally better suited to a ghost story than a colonial burial ground after sunset. \nCaptain John Gallup Connects Whitehall to a Violent Period of Colonial History\nAmong the historic figures associated with the tour is Captain John Gallup\, whose family was deeply connected to the early colonial history of the region. \nGallup served during King Philip’s War and was killed in 1675 during the Great Swamp Fight in Rhode Island\, one of the conflict’s bloodiest engagements. \nHis story opens the door to a much larger and more complicated period in New England history involving colonial expansion\, Native resistance\, warfare and the destruction of communities. \nOther stops explore the Woodbridge family\, Revolutionary War history and people whose lives intersected with abolition and emancipation. \nThe tour also includes the stories of Quash and Hannah Williams\, using their lives to explore Black history\, enslavement\, freedom and Native American history in the region. \nThat’s where the experience becomes considerably more interesting than simply compiling local ghost stories. \nThe cemetery becomes a timeline. \nMystic’s Ghost Tours Started With a Local Historian\nThe company behind the tour\, Seaside Shadows Haunted History Tours\, was founded in 2013 by Connecticut author and historian Courtney McInvale Reardon. \nMcInvale wrote Haunted Mystic\, published the following year\, and built Seaside Shadows around the idea of combining historical research with local legends and paranormal accounts. \nThe company now operates several experiences\, including its Downtown Mystic Ghost Tour and haunted pub crawls\, but the graveyard tour is fundamentally different from walking through the village. \nDowntown Mystic still has traffic\, restaurants\, shops\, bars and people moving around. \nWhitehall after dark is another environment entirely. \nOctober Adds More Chances to Go\nThe schedule becomes more aggressive as Halloween approaches. \nDuring September and October\, the regular graveyard tours begin at 7 p.m. \nIn October\, Seaside Shadows adds Saturday performances at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.\, giving visitors another opportunity to experience the cemetery during the height of spooky season. \nThe price also changes. \nRegular-season admission is $30 per person. October admission increases to $35. \nBecause this is a recurring event\, readers should select their preferred date and confirm the available time when purchasing tickets rather than assuming every night follows exactly the same schedule. \nThis Is a Walking Tour in a Real Cemetery\nThat last point is important. \nWhitehall is not a paved theme-park attraction. \nParticipants will be walking through an old burial ground after dark\, where the terrain can include uneven ground and other natural obstacles. \nSeaside Shadows recommends the experience for guests 11 and older and asks visitors to dress appropriately for the weather. \nIts participation waiver specifically identifies potential hazards including uneven or slippery surfaces\, cemetery terrain\, low lighting and inclement weather. \nGood walking shoes make considerably more sense here than dressing for Halloween. \nTours operate outdoors\, and Seaside Shadows generally runs its experiences rain or shine. Tickets are final except when the company cancels a tour. \nNearly Two Hours Between the Headstones\nThe current Seaside Shadows description puts the Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tour at approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. \nThat’s enough time to move beyond a handful of ghost stories. \nThe tour can reach into colonial warfare\, the Revolution\, disease\, abolition\, slavery\, emancipation\, local folklore\, cemetery symbolism and burial practices while still leaving room for the paranormal accounts that put “ghost” in the name. \nThere is even a final spooky surprise that Seaside Shadows deliberately doesn’t explain in advance. \nProbably best to leave that one buried. \nDetails\nEvent: Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours\nSeason: Through November 29\, 2026\nSeptember Schedule: Wednesdays\, Fridays and Sundays\nSeptember Start Time: 7 p.m.\nOctober Schedule: Regular Wednesday\, Friday and Sunday tours\, plus additional Saturday tours\nOctober Saturday Times: 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.\nLocation: Whitehall Burial Ground\nMeeting Point: Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground\nStreet: Hendel Drive\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nTour Length: Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes\nAdmission: $30 during the regular season; $35 in October\nRecommended Age: 11+\nFormat: Guided outdoor walking tour through a historic colonial burial ground\nTerrain: Cemetery terrain with uneven surfaces and low-light conditions\nWeather: Dress appropriately for outdoor conditions; tours generally operate rain or shine\nWhat to Wear: Comfortable walking shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather\nTickets: Advance ticket purchase is recommended; select the specific tour date and time when booking\nOrganizer: Seaside Shadows Haunted History Tours\nPhone: 860-754-8923\nEmail: info@seasideshadows.com \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/moonlit-mystic-graveyard-ghost-tours-takes-visitors-into-one-of-mystics-oldest-burial-grounds-after-dark/2026-10-31/2/
LOCATION:Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground\, Hendel Drive\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Moonlit-Mystic-Graveyard-Ghost-Tours-Takes-Visitors-Into-One-of-Mystics-Oldest-Burial-Grounds-After-Dark.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T230000
DTSTAMP:20260528T144458Z
CREATED:20260528T144458Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260528T144458Z
UID:10002637-1793475000-1793487600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Dance Saturday at THE MISFIT CLUB
DESCRIPTION:Dance Saturday at THE MISFIT CLUB brings late-night dance energy to downtown Mystic every Saturday with DJs\, theme nights\, and a growing nightlife crowd looking for something a little louder after dinner hours wind down around town. Doors open early in the evening before the dance floor fully shifts into party mode at 7:30 p.m.\, with modern dance music and big-city club energy taking over the space for the rest of the night. \nWhile Mystic is often associated with quieter waterfront evenings and laid-back coastal bars\, spots like THE MISFIT CLUB are helping carve out a younger nightlife scene built around DJs\, dancing\, themed parties\, and late-night social crowds. The venue leans into a more playful and high-energy atmosphere than many traditional shoreline spots\, with rotating themes like “Pink Underground” adding an extra layer of unpredictability from week to week. \nFor anyone looking to trade vineyard sunsets and seafood dinners for flashing lights\, dance music\, and a packed floor later in the evening\, Dance Saturday offers one of the more nightlife-focused experiences happening around southeastern Connecticut right now. Organizers encourage guests to follow the club’s Instagram page for updates on upcoming themes\, music\, and special event nights. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/dance-saturday-at-the-misfit-club/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:The Misfit Club\, 12 Water St APT 12\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:The Misfit Club
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Dance-Saturday-at-the-Misfit-Club-Saturdays-730-pm.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T220000
DTSTAMP:20260927T214052Z
CREATED:20260927T210320Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260927T214052Z
UID:10008630-1793473200-1793484000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:The Ghost of Black Sam Turns a Real Pirate Shipwreck Into a Haunted Trail
DESCRIPTION:The Ghost of Black Sam Turns a Real Pirate Shipwreck Into a Haunted Trail begins Oct. 1 at Mystic KOA\, where one of New England’s most remarkable pirate stories becomes the inspiration for a monthlong nighttime Halloween attraction. \nThe outdoor trail runs from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays throughout October at the Mystic KOA Holiday campground in North Stonington. The premise is straightforward: visitors enter the darkness and walk a trail where\, according to the attraction’s story\, the ghost of pirate Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy still roams. \nBut unlike the invented killers and monsters behind many haunted attractions\, Black Sam was real. \nSo was his ship. \nAnd what happened to it during a violent New England storm in 1717 has become one of the great archaeological stories of the Golden Age of Piracy. \nThe Pirate Behind the Ghost\nSamuel Bellamy’s career as a pirate was remarkably short. \nBorn in England in 1689\, Bellamy emerged as a pirate captain during the early 18th century and spent roughly a year capturing ships in the Caribbean and along the Atlantic. \nHe was only 28 when he died. \nYet during that brief career\, Bellamy and his crew captured more than 50 vessels. His greatest prize came in early 1717 when his pirates seized the Whydah Gally near the Bahamas. \nThe Whydah had a darker history before Bellamy ever stepped aboard. \nBuilt in London\, the ship had been designed for the transatlantic slave trade. On its maiden voyage\, it sailed to the West African coast\, transported hundreds of enslaved people to the Caribbean and was returning toward England with the proceeds of that voyage when Bellamy captured it. \nIts size\, speed and firepower made it an ideal pirate flagship. \nBellamy took command. \nHe would have it for only about two months. \nA Nor’easter Off Cape Cod\nOn April 26\, 1717\, Bellamy and the Whydah were sailing north along the New England coast when they encountered a powerful nor’easter. \nThe ship was driven onto the shoals off what is now Wellfleet\, Massachusetts. \nThe Whydah broke apart. \nNearly everyone aboard died. \nThe wreck disappeared beneath Cape Cod’s shifting sands along with weapons\, coins\, silver and the accumulated possessions of Bellamy’s crew. \nFor generations\, the Whydah became part history and part legend. \nThen\, in 1984\, underwater explorer Barry Clifford and his team found the wreck off Wellfleet. The discovery was authenticated after divers recovered the ship’s bell bearing the name THE WHYDAH GALLY and the date 1716. \nThe Whydah became the first authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck ever recovered. \nArtifacts from the wreck continue to preserve a remarkably tangible connection to Bellamy and his crew more than 300 years after the storm. \nThat history gives The Ghost of Black Sam something most Halloween trails don’t have. \nIts monster once lived. \nFrom Shipwreck to Ghost Story\nThe haunting\, of course\, belongs to folklore rather than documented history. \nStories surrounding Bellamy have accumulated for centuries\, particularly around Cape Cod\, where the pirate’s death became entangled with tales of lost treasure\, restless spirits and a supposed doomed romance. \nModern retellings often connect Bellamy with a Cape Cod woman named Maria Hallett and describe him returning north to reunite with her when the Whydah was destroyed. \nIt’s a wonderfully gothic story. \nIt’s also one that historians have increasingly cautioned against treating as established fact. The romanticized Maria Hallett narrative developed long after Bellamy’s death\, and some details commonly repeated as pirate history are better understood as folklore. \nFor a haunted attraction\, however\, that collision of history and legend is precisely the point. \nThe Ghost of Black Sam takes the documented core — a young pirate captain\, a captured ship\, treasure\, a catastrophic nor’easter and a wreck beneath the waters of Cape Cod — and asks visitors to imagine that Bellamy never really left. \nHalloween Begins Oct. 1\nThe attraction opens Thursday\, Oct. 1\, effectively starting Halloween month on its first night. \nThe trail operates from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday throughout October\, culminating on Halloween night\, Saturday\, Oct. 31. \nMystic KOA Holiday sits at 118 Pendleton Hill Road in North Stonington\, providing the attraction with something difficult to manufacture inside a warehouse: actual woods and nighttime darkness. \nThe promotional material promises a spooky trail experience based on the legend of Black Sam Bellamy\, with lanterns\, pirates and the suggestion that something may still be wandering the trail. \nAdmission listed by the event is $20 for adults\, $10 for ages 11–16 and free for children under 10. The attraction is also free with a KOA campsite during a valid night of stay. \nIt’s a Halloween story with an unusually strong historical anchor. \nBlack Sam Bellamy doesn’t need an elaborate fictional origin story. \nMore than three centuries ago\, his pirate ship really did disappear into a nor’easter off New England. \nThe wreck really was found. \nAnd the treasure really was still there. \nWhat happens after dark in North Stonington is where history gives way to Halloween. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: The Ghost of Black Sam\nOpening Night: Thursday\, Oct. 1\, 2026\nRun: Thursdays through Sundays throughout October\, through Oct. 31\nTime: 7–10 p.m.\nVenue: Mystic KOA Holiday\nAddress: 118 Pendleton Hill Road\, North Stonington\, CT 06359\nAdmission: Adults $20; ages 11–16 $10; children under 10 free\nKOA Guests: Free with a KOA campsite during a valid night of stay\nExperience: Outdoor spooky trail inspired by the legend of pirate Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy\nEvent Contact: Mystic KOA Campground\, 860-599-5101 \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/the-ghost-of-black-sam-turns-a-real-pirate-shipwreck-into-a-haunted-trail/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:Mystic KOA\, 118 Pendleton Hill Rd\, North Stonington\, 06359\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic KOA
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-Ghost-of-Black-Sam-Turns-a-Real-Pirate-Shipwreck-Into-a-Haunted-Trail.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T203000
DTSTAMP:20261005T193645Z
CREATED:20260916T010757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T193645Z
UID:10007903-1793473200-1793478600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours Takes Visitors Into One of Mystic’s Oldest Burial Grounds After Dark
DESCRIPTION:Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours turns a colonial burial ground into a lantern-lit journey through nearly four centuries of Mystic history on multiple nights this fall\, combining documented stories of war\, disease\, abolition\, slavery and early New England burial customs with the legends and reported paranormal activity that have accumulated around the cemetery. \nThe 1-hour-and-45-minute walking tours take place at Whitehall Burial Ground\, tucked just off Hendel Drive in Mystic. Rather than moving through downtown and stopping outside supposedly haunted buildings\, this Seaside Shadows tour spends the evening inside the historic cemetery itself. \nAnd this is not a one-night event. \nThe tours continue on Wednesday\, Friday and Sunday evenings through November\, with additional Saturday tours during October. September and October tours begin at 7 p.m.\, making this one CT Beacon event listing that can carry readers through much of the fall rather than disappearing after a single weekend. \nWhitehall Goes Back to the 1660s\nPart of what gives this particular ghost tour its atmosphere is that Whitehall Burial Ground really is old. \nThe burial ground dates to the 1660s\, when southeastern Connecticut was still a collection of small colonial settlements surrounded by a landscape that would have been almost unrecognizable to someone driving through Mystic today. \nFor generations\, Whitehall served as one of the area’s common burial places. \nThat changed during the 19th century as Americans began embracing the rural cemetery movement\, which replaced older\, compact burial grounds with larger landscaped cemeteries designed partly as places for reflection and remembrance. \nMystic’s Elm Grove Cemetery was established in 1853 during that transition. \nBy 1854\, Whitehall’s role as one of the community’s principal burial places was coming to an end. \nThe graves left behind\, however\, preserve a remarkably long stretch of local history. \nThis Is a Ghost Tour Built Around Real People\nSeaside Shadows describes the experience as a blend of history and mystery\, and that distinction matters. \nThis isn’t a haunted attraction filled with actors waiting behind tombstones. \nThe stories begin with actual people buried at Whitehall and events that shaped southeastern Connecticut. \nGuests hear about men connected to King Philip’s War\, the brutal 17th-century conflict between English colonists and Native peoples that devastated communities throughout New England. \nThe tour moves forward into the American Revolution and stories of Patriot defenders who met violent ends. \nIt also explores the lives of abolitionists\, enslaved and formerly enslaved people\, women and families whose stories provide a different perspective on Mystic’s early history than the familiar tales of ship captains and maritime commerce. \nThen things get stranger. \nYes\, There Are Vampires\nOne of the more unusual subjects woven into the tour is New England’s very real history of vampire scares. \nThese weren’t vampires in the Dracula sense. \nDuring outbreaks of tuberculosis\, then commonly called consumption\, some New England communities came to believe that a deceased family member might somehow be draining the life from surviving relatives. \nIn several documented cases during the 18th and 19th centuries\, bodies were exhumed and examined for signs that the dead were continuing to prey upon the living. \nSometimes organs were removed or burned. \nThe practices reflected communities trying to explain a devastating disease before modern medicine understood how tuberculosis spread. \nAgainst the backdrop of a centuries-old cemetery after dark\, it also provides the kind of history that doesn’t require much embellishment to become unsettling. \nGravestones Tell Their Own Stories\nVisitors aren’t simply hearing stories while walking past anonymous stones. \nEarly New England gravestones developed their own visual language. \nSkulls\, winged death’s heads\, cherubs and other carvings could communicate ideas about death\, mortality and the afterlife. The style and symbolism changed as religious beliefs and attitudes toward death evolved. \nThe tour uses the cemetery itself to introduce some of those burial traditions and grave markings. \nThat gives the walk another layer. \nYou’re not touring a recreation of colonial New England. \nThe objects you’re examining are the surviving pieces of it. \nThen History Gives Way to the Paranormal\nThis is still a ghost tour. \nSeaside Shadows incorporates accounts of paranormal experiences associated with Whitehall\, including reports of unexplained footsteps\, voices and apparitions. \nThe company’s guides also discuss experiences reported during previous tours. \nThose stories are presented alongside local folklore\, including the traditional figure of a Lady in White\, a recurring type of apparition found in legends throughout New England and far beyond it. \nWhether visitors interpret those accounts as paranormal activity\, folklore or the power of suggestion in a dark cemetery is entirely up to them. \nThe setting certainly does its share of the work. \nThere aren’t many environments naturally better suited to a ghost story than a colonial burial ground after sunset. \nCaptain John Gallup Connects Whitehall to a Violent Period of Colonial History\nAmong the historic figures associated with the tour is Captain John Gallup\, whose family was deeply connected to the early colonial history of the region. \nGallup served during King Philip’s War and was killed in 1675 during the Great Swamp Fight in Rhode Island\, one of the conflict’s bloodiest engagements. \nHis story opens the door to a much larger and more complicated period in New England history involving colonial expansion\, Native resistance\, warfare and the destruction of communities. \nOther stops explore the Woodbridge family\, Revolutionary War history and people whose lives intersected with abolition and emancipation. \nThe tour also includes the stories of Quash and Hannah Williams\, using their lives to explore Black history\, enslavement\, freedom and Native American history in the region. \nThat’s where the experience becomes considerably more interesting than simply compiling local ghost stories. \nThe cemetery becomes a timeline. \nMystic’s Ghost Tours Started With a Local Historian\nThe company behind the tour\, Seaside Shadows Haunted History Tours\, was founded in 2013 by Connecticut author and historian Courtney McInvale Reardon. \nMcInvale wrote Haunted Mystic\, published the following year\, and built Seaside Shadows around the idea of combining historical research with local legends and paranormal accounts. \nThe company now operates several experiences\, including its Downtown Mystic Ghost Tour and haunted pub crawls\, but the graveyard tour is fundamentally different from walking through the village. \nDowntown Mystic still has traffic\, restaurants\, shops\, bars and people moving around. \nWhitehall after dark is another environment entirely. \nOctober Adds More Chances to Go\nThe schedule becomes more aggressive as Halloween approaches. \nDuring September and October\, the regular graveyard tours begin at 7 p.m. \nIn October\, Seaside Shadows adds Saturday performances at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.\, giving visitors another opportunity to experience the cemetery during the height of spooky season. \nThe price also changes. \nRegular-season admission is $30 per person. October admission increases to $35. \nBecause this is a recurring event\, readers should select their preferred date and confirm the available time when purchasing tickets rather than assuming every night follows exactly the same schedule. \nThis Is a Walking Tour in a Real Cemetery\nThat last point is important. \nWhitehall is not a paved theme-park attraction. \nParticipants will be walking through an old burial ground after dark\, where the terrain can include uneven ground and other natural obstacles. \nSeaside Shadows recommends the experience for guests 11 and older and asks visitors to dress appropriately for the weather. \nIts participation waiver specifically identifies potential hazards including uneven or slippery surfaces\, cemetery terrain\, low lighting and inclement weather. \nGood walking shoes make considerably more sense here than dressing for Halloween. \nTours operate outdoors\, and Seaside Shadows generally runs its experiences rain or shine. Tickets are final except when the company cancels a tour. \nNearly Two Hours Between the Headstones\nThe current Seaside Shadows description puts the Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tour at approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. \nThat’s enough time to move beyond a handful of ghost stories. \nThe tour can reach into colonial warfare\, the Revolution\, disease\, abolition\, slavery\, emancipation\, local folklore\, cemetery symbolism and burial practices while still leaving room for the paranormal accounts that put “ghost” in the name. \nThere is even a final spooky surprise that Seaside Shadows deliberately doesn’t explain in advance. \nProbably best to leave that one buried. \nDetails\nEvent: Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours\nSeason: Through November 29\, 2026\nSeptember Schedule: Wednesdays\, Fridays and Sundays\nSeptember Start Time: 7 p.m.\nOctober Schedule: Regular Wednesday\, Friday and Sunday tours\, plus additional Saturday tours\nOctober Saturday Times: 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.\nLocation: Whitehall Burial Ground\nMeeting Point: Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground\nStreet: Hendel Drive\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nTour Length: Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes\nAdmission: $30 during the regular season; $35 in October\nRecommended Age: 11+\nFormat: Guided outdoor walking tour through a historic colonial burial ground\nTerrain: Cemetery terrain with uneven surfaces and low-light conditions\nWeather: Dress appropriately for outdoor conditions; tours generally operate rain or shine\nWhat to Wear: Comfortable walking shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather\nTickets: Advance ticket purchase is recommended; select the specific tour date and time when booking\nOrganizer: Seaside Shadows Haunted History Tours\nPhone: 860-754-8923\nEmail: info@seasideshadows.com \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/moonlit-mystic-graveyard-ghost-tours-takes-visitors-into-one-of-mystics-oldest-burial-grounds-after-dark/2026-10-31/1/
LOCATION:Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground\, Hendel Drive\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Gates of Whitehall Burial Ground
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Moonlit-Mystic-Graveyard-Ghost-Tours-Takes-Visitors-Into-One-of-Mystics-Oldest-Burial-Grounds-After-Dark.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T210000
DTSTAMP:20260929T024550Z
CREATED:20260929T024550Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T024550Z
UID:10009200-1793466000-1793480400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Pumpkin Passage Turns The Dinosaur Place Into a Glowing Halloween Playground
DESCRIPTION:Pumpkin Passage Turns The Dinosaur Place Into a Glowing Halloween Playground beginning Oct. 3\, when the dinosaurs stay up after dark\, and The Dinosaur Place in Montville transforms its prehistoric trails into a month-long Halloween world filled with glowing dinosaurs\, illuminated pumpkins\, mythical creatures\, live entertainers\, inflatables\, games\, and marshmallows around the fire. \nAnd despite all the ingredients that could make this terrifying — darkness\, enormous dinosaurs and Halloween — Pumpkin Passage is deliberately aimed at families with young children. \nThis is the eighth year for the annual event at Nature’s Art Village\, and rather than building a haunted attraction around jump scares and monsters\, the park uses its existing dinosaurs as the backdrop for a nighttime Halloween adventure kids can explore with their parents. \nThe result lands somewhere between a Halloween light walk\, an outdoor carnival\, and a visit to The Dinosaur Place after everybody forgot to tell the dinosaurs it was bedtime. \nWait Until the Sun Goes Down\nThe centerpiece is the illuminated trail. \nFamilies walk among glowing dinosaurs\, pumpkins and mythical creatures as Halloween lighting transforms the wooded attraction after dark. The Dinosaur Place is already home to more than 100 life-sized dinosaurs\, including animatronic creatures\, spread across its trails and attractions. Once daylight disappears\, those familiar prehistoric residents become part of the Halloween scenery. \nBut walking the trail is only part of the night. \nPumpkin Passage spreads activities throughout the grounds\, including the Jurassic Jungle bounce house\, a towering 20-foot Funhouse Super Slide\, an inflatable corn maze and other inflatables. \nThere are also lawn games and activities\, including inflatable axe throwing\, cornhole\, Connect 4 and Who’s Your Pumpkin. \nThen there are the pumpkins. \nAmong the more unusual attractions is an original performance by a family of singing animatronic pumpkins — which seems exactly like the sort of wonderfully odd Halloween creation children will either talk about for the rest of the month or insist on seeing again immediately. \nEvery Night Adds Live Entertainment\nPumpkin Passage isn’t exactly the same experience every night. \nThe Dinosaur Place is scheduling live entertainers throughout the run\, with the entertainment changing depending on the date. The lineup includes face painting and glitter tattoos\, balloon twisting\, a petting zoo\, DJs\, light performers\, stilt walkers and other specialty entertainment. \nThat means families planning around a particular performer should check the night’s entertainment schedule before choosing a date rather than assuming every attraction appears at every performance. \nThe regular attractions\, however\, give families plenty to do beyond the scheduled shows. \nOne of the simplest may also be one of the nicest on a cool October night: free marshmallow roasting around the fire pit\, including marshmallows and roasting sticks. S’mores kits\, hot apple cider and cocoa are available as extras. \nFood trucks rotate through Pumpkin Passage as well\, with different vendors scheduled during the month. The published lineup includes pizza\, barbecue\, burgers\, tacos\, Mexican street food\, ice cream\, shaved ice and other festival food. \nAnd because this is Halloween\, costumes are encouraged. \nHalloween for Kids Who Aren’t Looking to Be Terrified\nThe most important word in Pumpkin Passage may be friendly. \nThe event is specifically promoted as toddler- and kid-friendly. This isn’t the place to take a child who wants chainsaws\, blood\, actors leaping from behind trees and a terrifying haunted maze. \nIt’s almost the opposite. \nThe attraction uses the visual language of Halloween — darkness\, glowing pumpkins\, unusual creatures and dramatic lighting — without turning the night into a scare attraction. \nThat makes Pumpkin Passage an option for families whose children are excited about Halloween but aren’t ready for a traditional haunted house. \nIt also gives parents something considerably more substantial than walking around a parking lot collecting candy. Families can make an evening of it\, moving between the illuminated trail\, inflatables\, entertainment\, games\, food trucks and fire pit. \nAnd for a dinosaur-obsessed child\, there’s an obvious bonus: Halloween doesn’t replace the dinosaurs. \nIt joins them. \nThere Are 18 Chances to Go\nOpening night is Saturday\, Oct. 3\, but Pumpkin Passage continues throughout October and even spills into November. \nThe regular schedule includes Fridays\, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Oct. 3\, plus Columbus Day on Monday\, Oct. 12\, and three specially priced Thursday nights on Oct. 15\, 22 and 29. The final night is Sunday\, Nov. 1. \nPumpkin Passage begins at 5 p.m. each night. Friday and Saturday dates generally continue until 9 p.m.\, while Sundays\, the holiday Monday and specially scheduled Thursdays run until 8 p.m. \nOne caution when planning: some outside event calendars show slightly different times. The Dinosaur Place’s own current schedule says Pumpkin Passage begins at 5 p.m.\, so that’s the schedule we would use when planning a visit. \nThe Thursday nights are also less expensive than the regular weekend dates\, giving families some incentive to visit before Halloween weekend. \nOnline ticketing is required\, and reservations are strongly recommended because individual dates can sell out. \nFor families who already love The Dinosaur Place\, Pumpkin Passage offers something genuinely different from a daytime visit. And for children who want Halloween to feel magical rather than frightening\, glowing dinosaurs\, singing pumpkins\, bounce houses and marshmallows may be a pretty good place to start. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: 8th Annual Pumpkin Passage\nOpening Night: Saturday\, Oct. 3\, 2026\nFinal Night: Sunday\, Nov. 1\, 2026\nLocation: The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art Village\nAddress: 1650 Hartford-New London Turnpike\, Montville\, CT 06370\nRegular Dates: Fridays\, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Oct. 3\nAdditional Dates: Monday\, Oct. 12; Thursdays\, Oct. 15\, 22 and 29; Sunday\, Nov. 1\nStart Time: 5 p.m.\nFriday & Saturday Hours: Generally 5–9 p.m.\nSunday & Select Weeknight Hours: Generally 5–8 p.m.\nRegular Admission: Children ages 2–12\, $29; ages 13+\, $27; children under 2 free\nSpecial Thursday Pricing: Reduced admission applies Oct. 15\, 22 and 29; check current ticketing for final price before purchasing\nTickets: Online ticketing only; advance reservations strongly recommended\nIncluded: Illuminated Halloween trail\, glowing dinosaurs and pumpkins\, inflatables\, lawn games\, singing animatronic pumpkins\, marshmallow roasting\, photo opportunities and scheduled entertainment\nFood: Rotating food trucks; additional treats and drinks available for purchase\nCostumes: Encouraged\nAudience: Designed as a kid- and toddler-friendly Halloween event\nParking: Free\nWeather: Outdoor event; management may close attractions because of adverse weather. If Pumpkin Passage is forced to close because of rain or lightning at the scheduled visit time\, ticket holders may be offered a rain check to rebook.\nPhone: 860-443-4367 \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/pumpkin-passage-turns-the-dinosaur-place-into-a-glowing-halloween-playground/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art Village\, 1650 Hartford-New London Tpke\, Montville\, 06370\, United States
CATEGORIES:The Dinosaur Place
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Pumpkin-Passage-Turns-The-Dinosaur-Place-Into-a-Glowing-Halloween-Playground.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T130000
DTSTAMP:20260917T165240Z
CREATED:20260917T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T165240Z
UID:10007939-1793448000-1793451600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Climb 116 Steps Inside New London Harbor Lighthouse on Weekend Tours
DESCRIPTION:Climb 116 Steps Inside New London Harbor Lighthouse on Weekend Tours for a rare look inside the historic 1801 tower\, with Saturday and Sunday tours taking visitors all the way to the lantern room overlooking Long Island Sound. \nThe New London Maritime Society is opening New London Harbor “Pequot” Light for 45-minute tours every weekend at noon through Feb. 28\, 2027. Groups are deliberately tiny\, limited to just five people\, turning the visit into something closer to a guided exploration than a typical historic-site tour. \nAnd there’s quite a bit waiting above those 116 steps. \nA Lighthouse That’s Been Watching the Harbor for Centuries\nNew London Harbor Light’s story stretches back to the colonial era. A lighthouse was established here in 1761 under King George III\, while the octagonal stone tower standing today was completed in 1801. \nAt 89 feet tall\, it’s the tallest lighthouse on Long Island Sound as well as its oldest. The U.S. Coast Guard still operates the light as an active aid to navigation. \nInside is another survivor: an 1850 fourth-order Fresnel lens that remains in use. \nVisitors climb the tower while learning about the lighthouse and the generations of keepers who tended it. At the top\, the lantern room opens up a view across New London Harbor\, the Thames River and Long Island Sound. \nThere are lighthouses everywhere you look. From Harbor Light\, it’s possible to spot at least seven others\, including New London Ledge Light\, Race Rock\, Little Gull Island\, Plum Island\, Little Dumpling\, Montauk and Avery Point. \nAnd then there’s the traffic below. \nNew London remains a working maritime port\, so the view can include ferries\, commercial vessels and Coast Guard traffic moving through the harbor. The Maritime Society makes one thing clear: they can’t promise you’ll see a submarine. \nBut in New London\, you never know. \nPart of New London’s Chain of Lights\nHarbor Light is one of three historic lighthouses owned and preserved by the New London Maritime Society. \nNew London Ledge Light\, completed in 1909\, stands offshore near the mouth of the Thames. Farther out\, Race Rock Light Station has guarded the notoriously difficult waters between Fishers Island and Long Island Sound since 1878. \nTogether with Harbor Light\, the three create a chain of beacons leading vessels from the Atlantic into the historic port of New London. \nThe Maritime Society took ownership of Harbor Light in 2010 through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Money raised through lighthouse tours supports the preservation and restoration of the area’s historic lights. \nBefore You Climb\nThis isn’t a lighthouse where visitors can simply walk onto the property. \nTours are limited to five people\, and reservations should be made at least 48 hours in advance. Children must be at least 8 years old. \nVisitors meet their guide on Pequot Avenue in front of the lighthouse and must wait there for the New London Maritime Society representative. Guests should not enter the lighthouse property or neighboring driveways on their own. \nThe climb also requires proper footwear. Sneakers or deck shoes are required; sandals and flip-flops aren’t permitted. \nTours are weather dependent\, so visitors should check their email before leaving home for any cancellation notice. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nNew London 24 hour Harbor Cam\nDetails\nDates: Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 28\, 2027\nTime: Noon–12:45 p.m.\nLocation: New London Harbor “Pequot” Lighthouse\, New London\nMeeting Point: Pequot Avenue in front of the lighthouse\nTour Length: Approximately 45 minutes\nCapacity: Maximum of five people per tour\nAdmission: $35 adults; $30 New London Maritime Society members; $25 children ages 8–18\nAge Requirement: Children must be at least 8 years old\nReservations: Reservations should be made at least 48 hours in advance\nClimb: 116 steps to the lantern room\nFootwear: Deck shoes or sneakers required; no sandals or flip-flops\nFood & Drink: Water is permitted; other food and beverages are not. Alcohol is prohibited.\nParking: Street parking is available on the west side of Pequot Avenue\, across from the lighthouse\nWeather: Tours are weather dependent. Check your email before departing for cancellation notices.\nCancellations: Must be made at least three days in advance. Payments are non-refundable except when a tour is canceled because of weather.\nLast-Minute Tickets: Call 203-444-2884 to ask whether space is available.\nImportant: Do not enter the lighthouse property or neighboring driveways without a New London Maritime Society representative. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/climb-116-steps-inside-new-london-harbor-lighthouse-on-weekend-tours/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:Pequot Lighthouse\, Pequot Avenue\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Pequot Lighthouse
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Pequot-Lighthouse-New-London.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T170000
DTSTAMP:20260705T020852Z
CREATED:20260510T162306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T020852Z
UID:10000528-1793444400-1793466000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks
DESCRIPTION:Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks drops visitors into centuries of maritime mystery and disaster at Mystic Seaport Museum.. The internationally touring exhibition combines massive LEGO® ship recreations with real maritime history\, creating an experience that feels part museum exhibit\, part interactive adventure. As the first American stop for the exhibition\, Mystic Seaport becomes the latest host for a showcase that has previously appeared at major maritime museums in Europe and Australia. \nThe exhibit features eleven detailed LEGO® models recreating famous shipwrecks and maritime disasters spanning thousands of years\, including the Titanic\, the Vasa\, Franklin’s Arctic expedition ships Terror and Erebus\, and the ancient Uluburun trading vessel. Created in partnership with LEGO® Certified Professional Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught\, the displays combine historical storytelling with surprisingly intricate engineering and visual detail. Some models even include cross-section cutaways revealing what happened beneath the waterline. \nInteractive experiences throughout the exhibit invite visitors to test survival scenarios\, operate a remote underwater vehicle\, experiment with ship stability\, and build LEGO® creations of their own. Alongside the models are replica artifacts\, archaeological tools\, and multimedia displays exploring how modern researchers investigate shipwrecks and what those discoveries reveal about trade\, exploration\, disaster\, and human history. The result is an exhibit that works equally well for families\, history buffs\, LEGO® fans\, and anyone who still secretly wants to touch every museum display. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brickwrecks-sunken-ships-in-lego-bricks-3/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:Mystic Seaport\, 75 Greenmanville Ave\, Mystic\, CT\, \,06355-1946\,\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic Seaport
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Brickwrecks-Sunked-Ships-in-Lego-Bricks.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T180000
DTSTAMP:20261005T024211Z
CREATED:20261005T024211Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T024211Z
UID:10009264-1793440800-1793469600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Scarecrows Take Over Olde Mistick Village for the Month of October
DESCRIPTION:Scarecrows Take Over Olde Mistick Village for the Month of October as merchants throughout the Mystic shopping village create their own characters\, compete for visitor votes\, and turn the walk between shops into a month-long outdoor fall display. \nScarecrows in the Village runs Oct. 1–31\, giving visitors the entire month to wander the brick pathways and find the scarecrows stationed outside participating businesses. Rather than bringing in a collection of professionally made decorations\, Olde Mistick Village puts its own merchants behind the creations. \nThat makes this less a single scheduled event than a temporary transformation of the Village. \nThe Merchants Build the Scarecrows\nThe fun is seeing what individual businesses come up with. \nParticipating Olde Mistick Village merchants create their own scarecrow displays\, which can make the decorations an extension of the personality of the shops themselves. The Village’s photos from previous displays show just how loosely the word “scarecrow” can be interpreted\, with the traditional straw-stuffed figure serving more as a starting point than a rule. \nSome are elaborate. Some are funny. Some lean into Halloween. \nAnd visitors aren’t merely looking at them. \nThey’re judging them. \nFind Your Favorites and Vote\nThroughout October\, QR codes placed around Olde Mistick Village allow visitors to vote for their favorite scarecrows. \nThe 2026 competition includes three categories: \nBest in Crow is the overall crowd-pleaser. \nMost Representative rewards the scarecrow that best captures the identity or personality of its participating Village business. \nMost Seaworthy gives the contest an appropriately Mystic category\, inviting merchants to work the area’s maritime character into their displays. \nThe voting turns what could have been simple seasonal decorations into a scavenger-hunt-like walk. Seeing one or two scarecrows isn’t really the point. The fun comes from exploring the Village\, comparing them and deciding which deserves a vote. \nA Different Way to See Olde Mistick Village\nOlde Mistick Village was designed to feel less like a conventional shopping center and more like a small New England village. \nInstead of a single enclosed mall\, shops and restaurants occupy individual buildings connected by pedestrian paths\, with landscaping\, ponds and gathering areas breaking up the property. \nThat’s particularly well suited to an event like this. \nThere isn’t a tent to enter or a designated exhibition area. The scarecrows become part of the landscape\, appearing as visitors move among shops and restaurants. \nIt also means there is no particular starting time or required route. Someone can spend 20 minutes hunting for scarecrows or make them part of a longer afternoon shopping\, eating and exploring the Village. \nOne Piece of a Much Bigger October in Mystic\nScarecrows in the Village also serves as something of a monthlong backdrop for Olde Mistick Village’s other fall activities. \nThe displays remain in place through Halloween on Oct. 31\, while the Village hosts additional October programming\, including its Apple Festival Oct. 17–18 and Trick or Treat in the Village Oct. 31. \nThat means the experience will change depending on when you visit. Early in October\, the scarecrows are essentially the opening act for fall. By Halloween weekend\, they’re part of a Village fully committed to the season. \nThere is also something appealingly low-key about this one. \nThere are no tickets to buy\, no performance time to hit and no need to devote an entire afternoon to it. Families can turn voting into a game with the kids. Adults can look for their favorite while shopping. Visitors coming for another Village event can simply add the scarecrows to the day. \nAnd because the displays remain up for an entire month\, this is one fall tradition where missing a particular Saturday doesn’t mean missing the event. \nThe only deadline that matters is Halloween. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Scarecrows in the Village\nDates: Thursday\, Oct. 1–Saturday\, Oct. 31\, 2026\nLocation: Olde Mistick Village\nAddress: 27 Coogan Boulevard\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: Free\nFormat: Monthlong outdoor scarecrow display created by participating Village merchants\nVoting: QR-code voting available throughout October\n2026 Categories: Best in Crow\, Most Representative and Most Seaworthy\nWho It’s For: All ages; particularly easy to combine with a family visit\, shopping or dining\nSchedule: Displays can be viewed during Village operating hours; individual businesses and restaurants may keep different hours\nRelated October Events: Apple Festival\, Oct. 17–18; Trick or Treat in the Village\, Oct. 31\nFinal Day: Halloween\, Oct. 31\nWeather: The scarecrows are displayed outdoors\, so dress for conditions \n\n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/scarecrows-take-over-olde-mistick-village-for-the-month-of-october/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:Olde Mistick Village\, 27 Coogan Blvd\, Mystic\, CT\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Olde Mistick Village
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Scarecrows-Take-Over-Olde-Mistick-Village-for-the-Month-of-October.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T210000
DTSTAMP:20261007T021547Z
CREATED:20261007T021547Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261007T021547Z
UID:10009300-1793437200-1793480400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Mystic Monsters Turns Downtown Businesses Into a Month-Long Halloween Scavenger Hunt
DESCRIPTION:Mystic Monsters Turns Downtown Businesses Into a Month-Long Halloween Scavenger Hunt beginning Friday\, Oct. 9\, sending participants from shop to shop in search of creatures hiding inside local businesses. \nThe premise is wonderfully simple: Adventure Mystic is “unleashing” monsters around town\, and it’s up to participants to find them. \nFrom Oct. 9 through Halloween\, participating businesses will display their favorite Halloween monster. Players pick up an official Mystic Monsters Scavenger Hunt Map at Adventure Mystic\, then use it to track down the creatures scattered around town. \nFind the monster. Get the participating business owner’s signature. Then head off in search of the next one. \nThe Businesses Become the Game Board\nMystic is particularly well suited to a scavenger hunt like this because participants aren’t being sent around an enclosed attraction. The town itself becomes part of the experience. \nRather than completing the hunt in a single building or at a single event\, participants move among local businesses looking for the monsters identified on their maps. \nThat also makes Mystic Monsters unusually flexible for a Halloween event. There’s no single starting time or one night when everyone has to participate. The monsters remain on display from Oct. 9 through Oct. 31\, allowing families and other participants to work through the hunt on their own schedule. \nAnd Adventure Mystic has given the players an appropriately sinister name. \nThey’re the victims. \nFinish the Hunt and There Are Prizes Waiting\nCompleted maps are returned to Adventure Mystic\, where successful victims receive a limited-edition Mystic Rocks sticker. \nThey’ll also receive a chance ticket for a drawing with several prizes. \nSix winners will receive autographed copies of Seven Orange Pumpkins\, the Halloween picture book by author and illustrator Stephen Savage. Another prize is a $25 gift card from one of the participating local businesses. \nPublished in 2013\, Seven Orange Pumpkins is a Halloween counting book that turns seven jack-o’-lanterns into a playful countdown toward Halloween night. Savage is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator whose work includes dozens of books for young readers. \nThat makes the autographed books a particularly fitting prize for a hunt built around searching Mystic for Halloween creatures. \nCostumes and Social Media Can Add to the Hunt\nAdventure Mystic is encouraging participants to dress for the occasion\, so there’s no reason the monsters have to be the only creatures roaming around town. \nThe organizers are also offering bonus points for tagged social-media photos and posts\, adding another layer for people who want to document their hunt as they move between participating businesses. \nThe result is less a traditional scheduled event than a Halloween side quest running through Mystic for most of October. \nYou can tackle it in one outing\, work on it during several visits or simply add a few monster stops while you’re already downtown. \nJust remember to get those signatures. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Mystic Monsters Scavenger Hunt\nDates: Friday\, Oct. 9 through Saturday\, Oct. 31\, 2026\nLocation: Adventure Mystic and participating businesses around Mystic\nHow to Start: Pick up an official Mystic Monsters Scavenger Hunt Map from Adventure Mystic\nHow It Works: Visit participating businesses shown on the map\, locate their Halloween monsters and collect signatures from the business owners\nCompletion: Return the completed map to Adventure Mystic\nCompletion Prize: Limited-edition Mystic Rocks sticker plus a chance ticket for the prize drawing\nDrawing Prizes: Six autographed copies of Seven Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage and a $25 gift card from a participating local business\nCostumes: Encouraged\nBonus: Organizers say tagged social-media photos and posts can earn bonus points\nAdmission/Registration Fee: No fee is stated in the event announcement\nParticipating Businesses: The announcement does not provide a complete list; the official hunt map identifies participating locations. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/mystic-monsters-turns-downtown-businesses-into-a-month-long-halloween-scavenger-hunt/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:Downtown Mystic\, West Main Street\, Mystic\, CT\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Downtown Mystic
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Mystic-Monsters-Turns-Downtown-Businesses-Into-a-Month-Long-Halloween-Scavenger-Hunt.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T180000
DTSTAMP:20260901T212201Z
CREATED:20260901T212201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T212201Z
UID:10007363-1793437200-1793469600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill 2026: Complete Guide
DESCRIPTION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is now open for the 2026 season\, beginning another fall of fresh-pressed sweet cider\, cider donuts\, traditional hard cider\, apple wine and one of the most unusual pieces of working history in Connecticut. \nThe family-owned Old Mystic landmark opened for the season September 1 and is currently scheduled to operate seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 129 North Stonington Road. \nBut calling Clyde’s a cider shop doesn’t quite explain why generations of families make a trip here every fall. \nThe mill has been family-owned since 1881. Fourth\, fifth and sixth generations of the family still work in the business. Apples are still crushed and pressed using historic machinery powered by steam. Visitors can watch the machinery operate\, descend into the cellar for traditional hard cider tastings\, sample apple wines in a converted grist mill and leave with a bag of cider donuts. \nClyde’s calls itself the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the United States. \nMore precisely\, it is the last operating steam-powered cider mill in the country\, according to the mill\, and its historic cider-making machinery has been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. \nIt isn’t a reproduction of an old cider mill. \nIt’s the real thing. \nA Mystic Fall Tradition Since 1881\nThe story begins with Benjamin F. Clyde. \nIn 1881\, Clyde began producing cider from apples he had pressed at other local mills. He eventually rented a press before purchasing his own mill in 1897. \nThe equipment that followed would become the heart of the operation visitors still come to see. \nClyde purchased a screw press manufactured by Boomer & Boschert of Syracuse\, New York. The company also supplied the apple grater\, elevator and cider pump\, along with plans for the mill building. \nThe machinery was installed in 1898. \nAt the time\, cider mills were hardly unusual in rural America. \nThey served much the same role for apple growers that grist mills did for farmers growing grain. Orchards could bring surplus apples to a centrally located mill\, where the fruit could be processed and pressed into juice. Some of that juice could then be fermented into hard cider. \nMost of those community mills disappeared. \nClyde’s didn’t. \nThe Steam-Powered Mill Is Still Working\nThat’s what makes a visit different from touring a preserved historic building. \nThe machinery still has a job. \nApples enter the cider-making system and are elevated to a grinder\, where they’re reduced to pulp. That pulp is prepared for pressing\, and the historic screw press applies the tremendous pressure needed to extract the juice. \nThe technology was impressive for its era. \nAccording to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers\, the all-steel screw press could apply pressure at three speeds and represented one of the last generations of screw presses before hydraulic presses became widespread during the 20th century. \nASME designated B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994\, recognizing the machinery as a rare survivor of an industry that was once common throughout America’s apple-growing regions. \nMore than a century after the equipment was installed\, Clyde’s still uses the mill to make cider. \nWhen Can You Watch Clyde’s Press Cider?\nVisitors don’t have to settle for looking at the machinery. \nClyde’s runs it during the season. \nThe mill’s typical pressing schedule is: \nTuesday and Thursday: 10 a.m.–noon\nSaturday and Sunday: 10 a.m.–noon \nThe schedule can vary because Clyde’s presses according to production needs\, so the machinery isn’t guaranteed to be running continuously throughout those periods. \nEven when the press isn’t operating\, visitors are welcome to look inside the historic press building. \nFor anyone specifically interested in seeing the steam-powered machinery at work\, a pressing morning is the best time to plan a visit. \nHow Clyde’s Makes Sweet Cider\nFresh sweet cider is the product that started everything. \nClyde’s purchases its apples from small orchards rather than operating a pick-your-own orchard of its own. The apples are processed at the mill and pressed into cider using the historic equipment. \nThe finished sweet cider is flash pasteurized on the property. \nVisitors can buy cider to take home or drink it while visiting\, and seasonal cider drinks have become part of the experience alongside the mill’s baked goods. \nThat combination has helped turn what was originally a working agricultural business into a fall destination. \nYou can come to learn how a 19th-century cider press works. \nYou can also come because you want cider and a donut. \nNeither is the wrong reason. \nAbout Those Clyde’s Cider Donuts\nFor plenty of visitors\, the steam engine has competition. \nClyde’s cider donuts have become almost as closely associated with the mill as the cider itself. \nThe store sells its well-known cider donuts along with other baked goods and seasonal treats. The selection can vary\, but the broader shop also carries jarred products\, honey from local beekeepers\, candied apples made by the family and other locally produced goods. \nIt’s part bakery\, part country store and part historic attraction. \nAnd on a busy fall weekend\, the line is evidence that plenty of people know exactly what they came for. \nThen There Is the Cider Downstairs\nThe word “cider” gets considerably more complicated at Clyde’s. \nSweet cider is only part of the story. \nClyde’s also makes traditional hard cider using a process very different from the sweeter\, carbonated canned ciders that have become common in supermarkets and bars. \nThe hard cider begins with apple juice and ferments before aging in oak whiskey barrels. \nThe process from juice to finished hard cider typically takes about a year. \nAfter fermentation and aging\, the hard cider receives relatively little filtration before being sold. That preserves more of the raw\, oaky character produced by the barrel. \nThe result is considerably stronger than many commercial hard ciders. \nClyde’s hard ciders and apple wines generally contain 12 to 14 percent alcohol. \nHard Cider vs. Apple Wine: What’s the Difference?\nThis is one of the more interesting parts of Clyde’s operation because the two products begin in essentially the same place. \nBoth the hard cider and apple wine start as fermented apple juice aged in oak whiskey barrels. \nWhat happens afterward separates them. \nClyde’s hard cider is only lightly filtered to remove sediment. That leaves it with a bolder flavor\, more pronounced oak character and more bite. \nThe apple wine receives considerably more filtration. \nThat additional processing produces a smoother\, somewhat sweeter product that is also shelf stable before opening. \nSo someone expecting Clyde’s hard cider to taste like a modern canned hard cider may be surprised. \nThis is closer to an older cider-making tradition. \nWhat’s in the Hard Cider Cellar?\nThe hard cider cellar sits underneath the press building. \nThat’s where visitors can taste Clyde’s traditional hard ciders and where the product has been made for generations. \nAvailability changes throughout the season\, but Clyde’s 2026 lineup includes several recurring varieties. \nThe Original is the starting point. It’s dry\, without added fruit flavors competing with the oak character of the barrel. \nLucky Lion is also dry and crisp\, with a character Clyde’s says some drinkers compare to Scotch. \nBlackout goes even further in that direction. It’s Clyde’s most popular hard cider and wine flavor\, with strong oak notes that the mill describes as almost reminiscent of whiskey. \nThen things get fruitier. \nBoomerang combines apple and cranberry for a tart\, sweeter cider. \nGoodfella adds blackberry and lands on the sweeter end of the lineup. \nYellow Jacket combines apple and orange\, producing some sweetness with a citrus bite. \nCherry Bomb adds another fruit-driven option. \nBecause Clyde’s rotates its hard ciders\, individual varieties can change during the season. \nThe Apple Wine List Goes Much Further\nThe wine side of the operation offers even more variety. \nClyde’s currently lists 14 apple wines\, ranging from dry expressions of apple to much sweeter fruit combinations. \nApple Wine is the driest of the wine lineup. \nSpiced Apple uses mulling spices for a distinctly fall-oriented version. \nSpider Cider combines sweetness with pumpkin spices and can be warmed or used in a hot toddy. \nStrawberry Bliss is the sweetest wine in the lineup\, combining apple and strawberry. \nBlueberry Spinner combines apple and blueberry. \nApple Raspberry leans sweet but tart. \nCider House Blend combines apple\, orange and cranberry. \nSeveral of the hard cider varieties\, including Original\, Lucky Lion\, Blackout\, Boomerang\, Goodfella and Yellow Jacket\, are also produced as wines. \nThe distinction comes back to filtration. \nSame roots. \nDifferent finish. \nYes\, You Can Taste Them for Free\nClyde’s offers separate hard cider and wine tastings throughout its season. \nAnd the tastings are free. \nNo purchase is required and no reservation is necessary. \nVisitors can sample up to four hard ciders and up to four wines at their respective tasting locations. \nHard cider tastings take place in the cellar beneath the press building. \nWine tastings are held in the tasting room\, which has its own connection to the property’s history: the building is a converted grist mill once used to produce johnnycake meal. \nTastings are first-come\, first-served. \nCurrent tasting hours are: \nMonday–Saturday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\nSunday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. \nEveryone participating in a tasting must show a valid ID\, regardless of age or appearance. Clyde’s does not accept expired IDs or photographs of identification. \nConnecticut alcohol rules also mean Clyde’s cannot sell its hard cider or wine before 10 a.m. on Sundays. \nA Few Clyde’s Flavors to Know Before You Taste\nIf you don’t know where to start\, the tasting bottles are generally arranged from driest to sweetest\, and the staff can help narrow the choices. \nFor something dry: Original or Apple Wine. \nFor strong oak character: Blackout. \nFor dry and crisp: Lucky Lion. \nFor tart cranberry: Boomerang. \nFor something sweeter: Goodfella. \nFor fall spice: Spiced Apple or Spider Cider. \nFor very sweet fruit: Strawberry Bliss or Blueberry Spinner. \nOne warning for anyone accustomed to mass-market hard cider: remember the alcohol content. \nAt 12 to 14 percent ABV\, Clyde’s hard cider is much closer to wine strength than a typical bottle or can of commercial cider. \nCan You Bring Back a Clyde’s Growler?\nYes. \nClyde’s sells 64-ounce growlers of hard cider and offers growler refills. \nThere are a couple of important rules. \nClyde’s refills growlers rather than exchanging them\, so customers should clean their growler before bringing it back. The mill can only refill glass growlers that have a stamped or imprinted 64-ounce measurement. \nWine cannot be used for growler fills. \nThe refill program is for hard cider. \nHard cider should also be kept cool after purchase. Clyde’s recommends refrigeration. \nThere’s More Than Cider\nThe tasting room also contains Clyde’s gift shop\, with merchandise and locally made products that can include handmade earrings\, postcards and art prints. \nElsewhere at the mill\, visitors can browse honey produced by local beekeepers\, jarred foods\, family-made candied apples\, baked goods and other seasonal products. \nThat makes it possible to spend considerably more time at Clyde’s than simply buying a gallon of cider and heading home. \nWatch the press. \nGet cider and donuts. \nExplore the store. \nGo downstairs for a hard cider tasting. \nVisit the wine tasting room. \nBrowse the gift shop. \nIt’s effectively several different experiences spread across the historic property. \nIs B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill Good for Kids?\nYes. \nClyde’s welcomes children of all ages. \nThe working mill is also an opportunity to show kids a piece of machinery doing the job it was actually designed to do more than a century ago. \nThere is no alcohol involved in the regular sweet cider\, and the bakery\, cider and mill demonstration make Clyde’s an easy family fall stop. \nJust don’t confuse the two kinds of cider. \nThe traditional hard cider and apple wines are 12 to 14 percent alcohol and are strictly for adults 21 and older. \nCan You Pick Apples at Clyde’s?\nNo. \nThis is one of the most useful things to know before making the trip. \nB.F. Clyde’s is a cider mill\, not a pick-your-own orchard. \nThe mill purchases apples from small orchards and uses them to produce its cider. \nIf apple picking is part of your fall plans\, you’ll need to visit an orchard separately. \nCan You Bring a Dog?\nYes\, with restrictions. \nLeashed pets are permitted on the grounds. \nThey aren’t allowed inside the buildings or on the porch\, and visitors need to bring whatever they need to clean up after their pets. \nParking Can Be the Hardest Part of a Fall Visit\nClyde’s popularity comes with one predictable problem. \nIt gets busy. \nThe main parking lot can fill during peak periods\, particularly on fall weekends. \nClyde’s asks visitors to try the main lot first and to respect posted no-parking areas and neighboring properties if parking along nearby roads. \nAn auxiliary lot is available at 49 North Stonington Road. It’s approximately four-tenths of a mile from the mill\, so visitors using it should expect a walk. \nIf your schedule is flexible\, a weekday visit can make the entire experience easier. \nIf you’re coming specifically to see the press operate\, Tuesday or Thursday morning offers the combination of a weekday visit and a scheduled pressing window. \nClyde’s Isn’t a Museum\, and That’s the Point\nThere are plenty of places where historic machinery survives behind ropes. \nClyde’s is different. \nBenjamin Clyde started making cider in 1881. \nHe acquired his own mill in the 1890s. \nThe equipment installed in 1898 survived the arrival of hydraulic presses\, mass food production\, supermarkets\, interstate highways and more than a century of changes in how Americans buy their food. \nThe family survived with it. \nToday\, fourth\, fifth and sixth generations are involved in the operation. \nEvery September\, the doors open again. \nApples arrive. \nThe steam-powered machinery starts moving. \nFresh cider begins flowing. \nAnd people line up for cider donuts. \nThat’s why B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is more than another place to add to a Connecticut fall checklist. It’s a piece of New England’s agricultural and industrial history that never stopped doing its job. \n2026 Visitor Guide\nAttraction: B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\n2026 Season Opening: September 1\, 2026\nCurrent Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.\, seven days a week\nLocation: 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: Free\nChildren: Welcome\nPets: Leashed pets allowed on the grounds; not inside buildings or on the porch\nApple Picking: No\nSweet Cider: Available\nCider Donuts and Baked Goods: Available\nHard Cider: Available for adults 21+\nApple Wine: Available for adults 21+\nAlcohol Content: Hard cider and wine are generally 12–14% ABV\nTastings: Free; no reservation required\nHard Cider Tastings: Cellar beneath the press building\nWine Tastings: Tasting room\nTasting Hours: Monday–Saturday\, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday\, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.\nTypical Pressing Schedule: Tuesday\, Thursday\, Saturday and Sunday\, 10 a.m.–noon\nParking: Main lot plus auxiliary parking at 49 North Stonington Road\nThanksgiving: Closed\nShipping: Not available\nPreorders/Call-Ahead Orders: Not available \nHard Cider Menu\nAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers History \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/b-f-clydes-cider-mill-2026-complete-guide/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill\, 129 North Stonington Road\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/BF-Clydes-Cider-Mill-2026-Complete-Guide.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T170000
DTSTAMP:20260918T214807Z
CREATED:20260918T214807Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260918T214807Z
UID:10008473-1793437200-1793466000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Clark Farms Fall Festival Celebrates 250 Years of Rhode Island Farming
DESCRIPTION:Clark Farms Fall Festival Celebrates 250 Years of Rhode Island Farming with a corn maze devoted to the state’s agricultural history\, plus hayrides\, zip lines\, farm animals\, live music\, food\, and a full farm park in Matunuck\, 25 miles from Mystic. \nThe festival is underway for the fall season at Clark Farms\, where the 2026 theme connects one of New England’s quintessential autumn traditions to Rhode Island’s 250th anniversary. \nThis year’s corn maze is “250 Years of Farming in Rhode Island\,” and the farm uses the attraction to explore how agriculture has changed throughout the state’s history. The maze and farm park are open during the week\, but weekends expand into the full Fall Festival experience with additional attractions\, food\, and entertainment. \nMore Than a Corn Maze\nMaking it through the maze is only part of the day. \nAdmission also opens up a collection of farm attractions including pedal-powered go-karts\, a petting zoo\, corn pit\, straw maze\, giant Mountain Slide\, farm basketball and a Western Town shooting gallery. \nThen there’s the corn cannon\, which gives visitors a chance to launch ears of corn across the farm. \nWeekend festival days add zip lines\, food\, performances and live music\, along with one of the more traditional fall experiences: a hayride through the surrounding Matunuck countryside. Clark Farms says its newer hayride is wheelchair accessible. \nThe farm’s butterfly house is also expected to remain open through late September\, while pumpkins and fall decorations are appearing throughout the property. Gem mining is available for an additional charge. \nCelebrating Rhode Island’s Farming Story\nThe 2026 theme is especially appropriate for a farm whose own history began with vegetables. \nClark Farms was established in South Kingstown in 1989 as a vegetable farm. Over the decades it expanded into plants\, nursery operations and landscape design\, eventually adding its larger Matunuck location in 2008. \nToday\, the business operates both as a working garden center and landscaping operation and as a seasonal destination\, bringing visitors onto the property for events including its summer sunflower displays and annual Fall Festival. \nFor this year’s maze\, Clark Farms is looking farther back than its own history. The attraction showcases the evolution of Rhode Island agriculture across 250 years\, turning a trip through the corn into a little state history along the way. \nFood\, Music and This Weekend’s Schedule\nClark Farms runs its own farm canteen during the festival\, with food that includes fresh-cut fries made with Matunuck-grown red potatoes\, hot dogs\, doughboys and corn dogs. Fresh hot donuts are also available on busy weekends. \nFor the weekend of Sept. 19–20\, the farm has announced additional food and entertainment. \nSaturday\, Sept. 19\nDel’s Frozen Lemonade — 11 a.m.–4 p.m. \nSunday\, Sept. 20\nDrink Coffee — 9 a.m.–2 p.m.\nPot Cellar — Live music\, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.\nCalifornia Taco food truck — 11 a.m.–3 p.m.\nDel’s Frozen Lemonade — 11 a.m.–4 p.m. \nSaturday also marks the deadline for Clark Farms’ new Scarecrow Competition. The contest has been accepting entries throughout September\, with a $500 Clark Farms gift card going to the winner. \nWeekends Bring the Full Festival\nVisitors can tackle the corn maze and explore the farm park throughout the week\, but there’s an important distinction between a weekday visit and the weekend Fall Festival. \nWeekend admission is when Clark Farms adds attractions such as the hayride\, zip lines\, expanded food offerings\, performances and live music. \nWeekend Fall Festival admission is $20 per person\, with children age 2 and younger admitted free. Weekday admission to the corn maze and farm park is $15 per person. \nTickets can be purchased at the farm\, although Clark Farms recommends buying them online in advance to avoid the in-person ticket line. \nSturdy shoes aren’t a bad idea either. This is a real cornfield rather than a paved attraction\, and paths can get muddy after rain. \nDogs are permitted in some of Clark Farms’ shopping areas but are not allowed inside the farm park or Fall Festival area because of the animals. Service animals are permitted. \nFrom a corn maze tracing 250 years of Rhode Island agriculture to a hayride through present-day Matunuck farmland\, this year’s Fall Festival puts a little history behind the pumpkins\, cider donuts and traditional fall fun. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Clark Farms Fall Festival\nSeason: Sept. 19–Nov. 1\, 2026\nLocation: Clark Farms\nAddress: 2984 Commodore Perry Highway\, Matunuck\, RI 02879\n2026 Theme: 250 Years of Farming in Rhode Island\nWeekend Admission: $20 per person; children 2 and younger free\nWeekday Admission: $15 per person\nTickets: Available online or at the farm; advance online purchase is recommended\nIncluded Attractions: Corn maze\, petting zoo\, corn pit\, straw maze\, Mountain Slide\, pedal go-karts\, basketball\, Western Town shooting gallery\, corn cannon and other farm activities. (Most attractions are during Fall Fest on Sat & Sun\, not during the week)\nWeekend Extras: Hayrides\, zip lines\, food\, performances and live music\nPets: Dogs are not permitted in the farm park/Fall Festival area; service animals are permitted\nWhat to Wear: Sturdy footwear is recommended\, particularly after rain \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/clark-farms-fall-festival-celebrates-250-years-of-rhode-island-farming/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:Clark Farms\, 2984 Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Memorial Hwy\, Matunuck\, RI\, 02879\, United States
CATEGORIES:Clark Farms
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Clark-Farms-Fall-Festival-Celebrates-250-Years-of-Rhode-Island-Farming.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T120000
DTSTAMP:20260511T024639Z
CREATED:20260508T022649Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260511T024639Z
UID:10000904-1793437200-1793448000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Stonington Village Farmers Market
DESCRIPTION:Stonington Village Farmers Market has become one of the defining Saturday morning traditions along the Connecticut shoreline\, bringing together local farms\, food vendors\, artisans\, musicians\, and neighbors inside and outside the historic Velvet Mill. Running year-round since becoming a permanent seasonal fixture in 2008\, the market transforms with the seasons\, moving outdoors during the warmer months and indoors during late fall and winter while continuing to serve as a gathering place for the community. \nThe market offers far more than produce stands. Visitors can browse locally grown vegetables and fruits\, cheeses\, baked goods\, meats\, seafood\, maple syrup\, flowers\, mushrooms\, prepared foods\, and handmade crafts while live music plays in the background. The atmosphere feels distinctly coastal New England\, blending small-town community energy with the creativity and food culture that defines Stonington Village. Families\, dog owners\, and longtime locals mingle throughout the morning while vendors showcase everything from handmade soaps and pottery to organic kombucha and Mediterranean cuisine. \nWhat makes the Stonington Village Farmers Market stand out is how deeply connected it feels to the rhythm of the region itself. Some visitors arrive early for greenhouse spinach or fresh seafood before it sells out\, while others come simply to wander with coffee in hand and reconnect with neighbors. Between the local farmers\, prepared food vendors\, musicians\, and rotating artisan booths\, the market has evolved into more than a shopping destination. It has become a weekly community ritual that reflects the character\, creativity\, and agricultural roots of southeastern Connecticut. \nParticipating Vendors & Farms \n\nAPIS VERDI\nBroad Brook Acres\nDavis Farm\nISSA Catering\nJon Fish\nSeacoast Mushrooms\nSugar Maple Farms\nSweet Acre Farm\nWakin’ Up Waggin’\n18th Century Purity Farm\nStonyledge Farm and Studio Farm Products\nSummer Hill Catering\nCato Corner Farm\nTreatzles\nFiber + Mud\nYALLA\n\nSponsors & Organizers \n\nStonington Village Improvement Association (SVIA)\nVelvet Mill\n\n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/stonington-village-farmers-market-3/2026-10-31/
LOCATION:Velvet Mill\, 22 Bayview Ave\, Stonington\, CT\, 06378\, United States
CATEGORIES:Velvet Mill
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Stonington-Village-Farmers-Market-at-the-Velvet-Mill.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T203000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T223000
DTSTAMP:20260626T233945Z
CREATED:20260513T011926Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260626T233945Z
UID:10001504-1793392200-1793399400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center's Stargazing Nights
DESCRIPTION:Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center’s Stargazing Nights turn a quiet Friday evening in Ninigret Park into one of the most atmospheric experiences in southern New England. Hosted by Frosty Drew Observatory & Science Center\, the weekly gathering invites visitors to explore the night sky through powerful telescopes while astronomers guide guests across planets\, star clusters\, distant galaxies\, and the glowing band of the Milky Way overhead. Under some of the darkest skies in Rhode Island\, the experience feels less like a formal science program and more like stumbling into a community of people quietly obsessed with the universe. \nAs darkness settles over Ninigret Park\, visitors can expect views that change depending on the season and sky conditions\, often including Saturn’s rings\, Jupiter’s moons\, the cratered surface of the Moon\, and deep space objects rarely visible in brighter suburban areas. The observatory’s Sky Theatre and telescope stations create an immersive environment where curious first-timers mingle with amateur astronomers and longtime stargazers. There’s something strangely calming about standing in near silence while strangers take turns peering into the cosmos\, especially on clear summer nights when the Milky Way stretches visibly across the sky. \nThe observatory typically opens around 8:30 p.m. on Friday nights and remains active through at least 10:30 p.m.\, sometimes later depending on weather and viewing conditions. Because the event is weather dependent\, updates are posted on the day of the event before 3 p.m. Organizers also note that Ninigret Park’s dark sky rules prohibit white light use after dusk in order to protect night vision and sensitive astronomical equipment\, giving the entire area an almost surreal glow of dim red lights and shadowy pathways. Tickets for Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center’s Stargazing Nights can be purchased by clicking the event link below. \nWhen ticket sales open\, a link to purchase / acquire tickets will be added to the “Cost” field on the event page. Once event capacity is reached\, these fields will be listed as “Sold Out“\, and we will be unable to allow entry to any more guests. \nRules and Suggestions:\n• Guests should avoid using white flashlights\, phone flashlights\, or bright screens after dusk\n• Red light flashlights are encouraged to preserve night vision\n• Bug spray is highly recommended during warmer months due to mosquitoes and insects near the wildlife refuge\n• Weather conditions may affect visibility or event operations\n• Children ages 5 and older require tickets\n• Arriving early is recommended for the best viewing opportunities and parking access \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/frosty-drew-observatory-and-science-centers-stargazing-nights/2026-10-30/
LOCATION:Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center\, 61-62 Park Lane\, Charlestown\, RI\, 02813\, United States
CATEGORIES:Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Frosty-Drew-Observatory-and-Science-Centers-Stargazing-Nights.jpeg
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