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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T100000
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SUMMARY:Napatree Point Conservation Area Cleanup Brings Volunteers Together to Protect One of Rhode Island’s Best Beaches
DESCRIPTION:Napatree Point Conservation Area Cleanup brings volunteers to Watch Hill on Sunday\, September 20\, for two hours of hands-on work removing trash and marine debris from one of the most environmentally important stretches of shoreline in southwestern Rhode Island. \nThe cleanup runs from 10 a.m. to noon and is organized by the Ocean Recovery Community Alliance (ORCA) in partnership with the Watch Hill Conservancy. \nParticipants don’t need to arrive with cleanup equipment. Organizers say all cleanup supplies will be provided. \nWhat volunteers do need is a willingness to walk the sand\, look carefully at what has washed ashore or been left behind\, and carry it back out. \nAt Napatree\, that seemingly simple job matters. \nNapatree Is Much More Than a Beach\nWalk west from Watch Hill Village and the commercial shoreline quickly disappears. \nNapatree Point stretches into the water between Block Island Sound and Little Narragansett Bay\, creating a long barrier spit of beach\, dunes\, maritime vegetation\, tidal areas and wildlife habitat. \nThere are no beachfront restaurants. \nNo boardwalk. \nNo vehicles. \nNo lifeguard towers. \nThere aren’t even restrooms. \nThe area is managed as an ecological preserve and wildlife refuge by the Watch Hill Fire District and the Watch Hill Conservancy. \nThat makes Napatree unusual along a heavily developed stretch of the New England coast. \nIt also makes keeping trash out of the landscape particularly important. \nTrash on a Beach Doesn’t Necessarily Stay on the Beach\nA plastic bottle or piece of fishing line lying in the wrack may look like litter waiting for someone to pick it up. \nEcologically\, the problem is more complicated. \nWind and tides can move debris repeatedly between land and water. Plastics can break into progressively smaller pieces. Fishing line and other materials can entangle wildlife. \nA Rhode Island Natural History Survey ecological assessment of Napatree specifically identified trash as a management concern. \nResearchers noted debris accumulating in the wrack line and around dune vegetation and warned that shorebirds can ingest pieces of plastic and other material or inadvertently feed it to their young. \nThe report specifically recommended regular beach cleanups as a way to reduce accumulated debris\, protect wildlife and preserve Napatree’s scenic character. \nSunday’s volunteers are effectively carrying out that recommendation one piece at a time. \nORCA Has Removed More Than 63\,000 Pounds of Trash\nThe organization leading Sunday’s effort has been doing this on a much larger scale. \nThe Ocean Recovery Community Alliance was launched in 2020 as a service project of the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery. \nIts mission is straightforward: organize people to remove debris from coastlines while building a larger community around environmental stewardship. \nORCA reports that it has now completed 240 cleanups\, engaged more than 3\,000 volunteers and removed 63\,093 pounds of trash. \nThat’s more than 31 tons. \nIts work extends across Rhode Island and Connecticut\, with volunteers cleaning beaches and other coastal areas from community shorelines rather than waiting for somebody else to solve the problem. \nNapatree is the organization’s September 20 stop. \nThe Watch Hill Conservancy Knows This Beach Foot by Foot\nORCA is working alongside an organization with a particularly intimate relationship with the location. \nThe Watch Hill Conservancy has spent years protecting Napatree and educating visitors about its natural systems. \nIts work includes ecological monitoring\, wildlife protection\, naturalist programs\, research and public education. \nThroughout the warmer months\, Conservancy naturalists lead programs devoted to birds\, marine life\, plants\, tidal pools\, horseshoe crabs\, insects and the larger coastal ecosystem. \nThat makes a cleanup another form of conservation education. \nSpend two hours deliberately looking for things that don’t belong on a beach and you begin noticing the beach itself differently. \nThis Is Important Habitat for Shorebirds\nNapatree’s undeveloped shoreline makes it valuable to wildlife\, particularly birds. \nProtected nesting areas can appear along the beach during the breeding season\, and visitors are prohibited from entering areas roped off for nesting birds. \nSpecies associated with Napatree include piping plovers\, least terns\, American oystercatchers and osprey. \nSome live or breed here. \nOthers use the coastline during migration. \nAnd September is very much migration season. \nFor birds traveling along the Atlantic coast\, relatively undeveloped places where they can stop\, feed and rest become important pieces of a much larger geographic puzzle. \nThe plastic bag that blows across a parking lot somewhere else doesn’t understand any of that. \nIf it eventually reaches the ocean\, it goes wherever currents and wind take it. \nSometimes that’s Napatree. \nThe Beach Itself Is Always Moving\nNapatree may look permanent when you’re standing on it. \nIt isn’t. \nBarrier beaches are dynamic landscapes shaped continuously by waves\, tides\, wind and storms. \nSand migrates. \nDunes build and erode. \nInlets change. \nVegetation advances and retreats. \nNapatree’s history contains an especially dramatic demonstration of what the ocean can do. \nBefore the Great New England Hurricane of 1938\, Napatree wasn’t the undeveloped landscape visitors know today. Summer cottages stood along the point. \nThe hurricane devastated the area. \nHomes were destroyed\, lives were lost and the developed summer community on the point disappeared. \nNapatree was never rebuilt in the same way. \nThe result\, generations later\, is the rare stretch of relatively wild shoreline volunteers will be cleaning Sunday morning. \nThere’s Even a Fort Hiding at the End\nPeople willing to walk far enough eventually reach another layer of Napatree history. \nRemnants of Fort Mansfield survive near the western end of the point. \nThe coastal-defense installation was established around the turn of the 20th century as part of the network built to protect important American harbors. \nIts active military life proved relatively short. \nToday its surviving concrete structures sit within a landscape that has largely reclaimed them. \nIt makes for a peculiar progression during a long walk. \nWatch Hill Village falls behind. \nThe crowds thin. \nThe beach continues. \nThen pieces of an abandoned military installation begin appearing among the vegetation. \nSunday’s cleanup isn’t specifically a historical tour\, but Napatree has a way of making natural and human history difficult to separate. \nVolunteers Should Expect to Walk\nThis is worth knowing before arriving. \nNapatree doesn’t have a parking lot sitting beside the beach. \nAccess is on foot from Watch Hill Village\, and cleanup participants should be prepared for walking on sand while carrying collected material. \nThe Conservation Area itself has no restroom facilities. \nThere are also no vehicles or bicycles permitted on Napatree. \nParking is available in Watch Hill Village\, but the Conservancy cautions that Napatree has no dedicated visitor parking. Spaces in the village can be limited\, so arriving with enough time to park and walk to the meeting area is a sensible plan. \nThe event flyer identifies the location as Fort Road\, Westerly. \nThe Conservancy lists Napatree Point Conservation Area at the same location. \nDon’t Wander Across the Dunes Looking for Trash\nA beach cleanup doesn’t override the rules protecting the beach. \nVisitors should use the established access routes marked by yellow poles and should not cross dunes outside approved paths. \nAny wildlife-protection areas that are roped or posted remain off limits. \nVehicles\, bicycles and drones are prohibited. \nThe principle is simple. \nThe goal is to remove human impacts\, not create new ones while searching for old ones. \nSeptember Changes the Rules for Dogs\nBecause the cleanup occurs after Labor Day\, registered dogs are permitted on Napatree throughout the day. \nThey still must remain leashed at all times\, and owners must remove their waste from the beach. \nDogs\, like people\, cannot enter areas closed for wildlife protection. \nAnyone thinking of bringing a dog should also consider whether a two-hour cleanup involving trash collection\, other volunteers and potentially sharp or unpleasant debris is actually a good environment for that particular animal. \nYou Don’t Have to Solve Marine Pollution Sunday Morning\nA cleanup can feel almost absurdly small compared with the scale of ocean pollution. \nTwo hours. \nOne beach. \nA few bags of debris. \nThen look at ORCA’s numbers. \nMore than 63\,000 pounds removed. \nThat didn’t happen in one heroic environmental intervention. \nIt happened because people kept showing up. \nOne cleanup followed another. \nOne volunteer picked up one bottle\, one piece of rope\, one food wrapper or one fragment of plastic. \nThen somebody did it again. \nThat’s the practical idea behind Sunday’s event. \nNobody has to save the Atlantic Ocean between 10 a.m. and noon. \nJust leave Napatree cleaner than it was at 9:59. \nDetails\nEvent: Napatree Point Conservation Area Cleanup\nDate: Sunday\, September 20\, 2026\nTime: 10 a.m.–noon\nLocation: Napatree Point Conservation Area\nAddress: Fort Road\, Westerly\, RI 02891\nOrganizer: Ocean Recovery Community Alliance (ORCA)\nCommunity Partner: The Watch Hill Conservancy\nCost: No participation fee is listed\nRegistration: Advance registration is available through ORCA\nSupplies: All cleanup supplies will be provided\nParking: Napatree has no dedicated parking area; participants should use available parking in Watch Hill Village and walk to the Conservation Area\nRestrooms: There are no restroom facilities within Napatree Point Conservation Area\nTerrain: Beach and sand; participants should be prepared to walk\nDogs: Registered dogs are permitted after Labor Day but must remain leashed and outside any posted wildlife-protection areas\nConservation Rules: Stay on designated paths through the dunes and outside all roped or posted habitat areas \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo register\, click the Event Registration 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/napatree-point-conservation-area-cleanup-brings-volunteers-together-to-protect-one-of-rhode-islands-best-beaches/
LOCATION:Napatree Point\, Fort Road\, Westerly\, RI\, 02891\, United States
CATEGORIES:Napatree Point
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SUMMARY:Blizzard of Ozz Brings the Randy Rhoads Era of Ozzy Osbourne to the Charlestown Rathskeller
DESCRIPTION:Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne Tribute) at the Charlestown Rathskeller brings the music of Ozzy Osbourne to Charlestown on Saturday\, September 19\, with a tribute band that goes considerably deeper than a greatest-hits impersonation. \nThe concert runs from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Charlestown Rathskeller\, with tickets priced at $15 in advance plus Eventbrite fees or $20 at the door. \nBlizzard of Ozz builds its show around the early years of Osbourne’s solo career and\, in particular\, the extraordinary music he created with guitarist Randy Rhoads. \nThat means Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley\, certainly. But the band’s repertoire extends through both of the Osbourne/Rhoads albums\, later Ozzy favorites and selected Black Sabbath material. \nFor anyone who thinks an Ozzy tribute begins and ends with shouting “All aboard!” before the opening riff of Crazy Train\, this band has considerably more planned. \nBlizzard of Ozz Starts With Randy Rhoads\nThe band’s name tells you exactly where its priorities lie. \nOzzy Osbourne released his debut solo album\, Blizzard of Ozz\, in 1980 after his departure from Black Sabbath. \nThe album introduced a new musical partnership between Osbourne and Randy Rhoads\, a young California guitarist whose combination of heavy-metal aggression and classically influenced technique helped establish a dramatically different sound for Ozzy’s solo career. \nThe record produced some of Osbourne’s defining songs\, including Crazy Train\, Mr. Crowley\, I Don’t Know and Suicide Solution. \nIt was followed by Diary of a Madman in 1981\, with songs including Flying High Again\, Over the Mountain and the title track. \nThen everything stopped. \nRhoads was killed in a plane crash in Florida on March 19\, 1982. He was 25. \nMore than four decades later\, those two albums remain the musical foundation of Blizzard of Ozz. \nThe tribute band’s stated mission is not simply recreating Ozzy’s appearance and famous songs. It places particular emphasis on preserving the music Osbourne and Rhoads created together. \nThis Band Can Play Both Rhoads Albums in Their Entirety\nThat’s an important distinction. \nBlizzard of Ozz has developed a repertoire that includes every song from Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. \nFor a general audience\, the familiar songs provide the immediate payoff. \nCrazy Train has one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in heavy metal. Mr. Crowley remains one of the great showcases of Rhoads’ playing. Flying High Again became another cornerstone of Osbourne’s early solo catalog. \nBut fans who know the albums rather than simply the radio hits get the deeper cuts too. \nThe band’s full repertoire allows it to explore the period when Osbourne was reinventing himself after Black Sabbath and Rhoads was helping create a new vocabulary for heavy-metal guitar. \nThat’s why the guitar chair matters so much in this particular tribute. \nDamiano Christian Has the Randy Rhoads Assignment\nGuitarist Damiano Christian handles the role. \nBlizzard of Ozz describes Christian’s playing as deliberately faithful to Rhoads’ style\, and his job goes beyond reproducing the famous opening riff to Crazy Train. \nRhoads’ playing combined rapid alternate picking\, legato passages\, harmonics\, tapping\, intricate chord voicings and techniques drawn from classical guitar. His solos could be melodic and carefully constructed while still sounding explosive. \nGetting the notes approximately right isn’t enough if you’re building a band specifically around this era. \nThe phrasing and tone are part of the music. \nChristian’s role is therefore closer to reconstruction than imitation: recreating guitar parts that generations of metal players have spent decades studying. \nMark Lavoie Takes on Ozzy\nAt the microphone is Mark Lavoie\, who performs the Osbourne role. \nThat’s another difficult assignment because Ozzy’s voice has always been unusually recognizable. \nHe wasn’t a conventional technically polished hard-rock singer. His slightly nasal tone\, phrasing and ability to carry melodies over enormous guitar riffs made his voice immediately identifiable\, first with Black Sabbath and then on his solo records. \nA successful tribute has to capture enough of that character to make the songs feel right without turning the entire performance into parody. \nBlizzard of Ozz’s current lineup pairs Lavoie with Christian on guitar\, Paul Sylvia on bass and Kenny Evans on drums. \nTogether\, the four-piece recreates the basic architecture of the classic Ozzy solo band: voice\, guitar\, bass and drums\, with the guitar occupying a particularly prominent place in the arrangements. \nThe Set Doesn’t Stop in 1982\nRhoads is the band’s musical center of gravity\, but Blizzard of Ozz doesn’t end the story with his death. \nOzzy Osbourne continued recording and touring for decades with a remarkable succession of guitarists. \nBlizzard of Ozz reaches into those later periods as well. \nThe band’s advertised repertoire includes Bark at the Moon\, No More Tears and Mama\, I’m Coming Home\, taking the show into the Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde chapters of Osbourne’s career. \nAnd then there’s Black Sabbath. \nBlizzard of Ozz also works selected Sabbath material into its performances for fans who want to hear the music that established Osbourne before his solo career began. \nThe band specifically lists Paranoid among the songs it performs. \nThe result is effectively a tour through Ozzy’s career\, but one viewed through the lens of the Randy Rhoads years rather than a generic collection of heavy-metal hits. \nSaturday’s Concert Is Actually the Second Attempt\nThere’s another wrinkle to the Charlestown show. \nBlizzard of Ozz was originally scheduled to play the Rathskeller on July 18. \nThat performance was canceled because of weather. \nThe band now lists the September 19 Charlestown date as the rescheduled July 18 show. \nThat’s particularly relevant at the Rathskeller because its larger seasonal concerts take place outdoors. \nSeptember 19 gives the band and the venue another shot at bringing the Ozzy show into the woods of Charlestown before the outdoor concert season winds down. \nDown Back Is Built for Nights Like This\nThe Charlestown Rathskeller at 489A Old Coach Road is both a restaurant and a seasonal live-music destination. \nThe property traces its tavern history back to the early 20th century and sits away from the main commercial strips\, surrounded by woods. \nIts outdoor Down Back area transforms the property into something closer to a small festival ground during concert nights. \nThere’s a stage\, outdoor space\, lawn games and the Rathskeller’s enormous fire pit. \nIt’s a different environment from seeing a metal tribute inside a conventional nightclub. \nAnd the setting should work particularly well once darkness settles in. \nA band playing Mr. Crowley\, Bark at the Moon and Paranoid on an outdoor stage in the woods doesn’t exactly need much additional atmosphere. \nCome Early and Make Dinner Part of the Night\nThe Rathskeller is encouraging concertgoers to arrive early for dinner and drinks. \nThat’s practical advice. \nThe restaurant is open until 1 a.m. on Saturdays\, while the kitchen is scheduled to serve until 10 p.m. \nIts menu runs through burgers and pub food into steaks and seafood\, with items such as New England clam chowder\, calamari\, mussels\, fish and chips\, steak frites and the Rathskeller’s well-known fries. \nArriving before the 8 p.m. show gives you time to eat without trying to coordinate dinner with a three-hour concert. \nIt also gives you a better chance to settle into the outdoor concert area before the band starts. \nOzzy’s Music Has Outlived Almost Everything Around It\nThere’s a reason tribute bands can build entire shows around this particular catalog. \nThe music survived its era. \nCrazy Train was released more than 45 years ago. Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman came from a period when heavy metal was still defining what it would become during the 1980s. \nRhoads didn’t live long enough to see how influential his playing would become. \nOsbourne did. \nHe continued performing for decades\, became a cultural figure far beyond heavy metal and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice: first as a member of Black Sabbath and later as a solo artist. \nOzzy Osbourne died in July 2025 at age 76\, just weeks after performing at the massive Back to the Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham\, England. \nThat inevitably changed the character of Ozzy tribute shows. \nThe music is no longer celebrating the career of an artist who might conceivably appear on another stage someday. \nIt’s preserving it. \nFor Blizzard of Ozz\, though\, that mission was already familiar. \nThe band had spent years preserving the work of Randy Rhoads. \nNow the same songs carry the legacy of both men. \nThree Hours of Ozzy in the Woods\nThere isn’t much ambiguity about what Saturday night is supposed to be. \nThis isn’t a broad classic-rock tribute with a couple of Ozzy songs tucked into the set. \nBlizzard of Ozz has built the entire night around him. \nThe early solo albums. \nThe Randy Rhoads guitar parts. \nThe later hits. \nAnd enough Black Sabbath to reach back to where the story started. \nFor three hours Saturday night\, the Charlestown woods are going to sound considerably heavier than usual. \nDetails\nEvent: Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne Tribute) at the Charlestown Rathskeller\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 8–11 p.m.\nLocation: The Charlestown Rathskeller\nAddress: 489A Old Coach Road\, Charlestown\, RI 02813\nBand: Blizzard of Ozz\nTribute: Ozzy Osbourne\, with a particular focus on the Randy Rhoads era\nBand Members: Mark Lavoie\, vocals; Damiano Christian\, guitar; Paul Sylvia\, bass; Kenny Evans\, drums\nAdvance Tickets: $15 plus Eventbrite fees\nDoor Price: $20\nOriginal Date: July 18\, 2026; canceled because of weather and rescheduled to September 19\nVenue Hours Saturday: Noon–1 a.m.\nKitchen Hours: Noon–10 p.m.\nVenue Phone: 401-792-1000\nVenue Email: info@rathskellertavern.com\nMusic Contact: music@rathskellertavern.com\nWeather: This is an outdoor concert. Check the venue’s current event information if weather is questionable. \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.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/blizzard-of-ozz-brings-the-randy-rhoads-era-of-ozzy-osbourne-to-the-charlestown-rathskeller/
LOCATION:Rathskeller\, 489A Old Coach Rd\, Charlestown\, RI\, 02813\, United States
CATEGORIES:Rathskeller
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SUMMARY:Mark Wills at Wolf Den Brings a Run of ’90s and Early-2000s Country Hits to Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Mark Wills at Wolf Den brings one of the familiar voices of late-1990s and early-2000s country radio to Mohegan Sun on Saturday\, September 19\, for a free 8 p.m. concert. \nFor anyone who had country radio on during that period\, Wills’ catalog can trigger memories remarkably quickly. \nWish You Were Here. \nI Do (Cherish You). \nDon’t Laugh at Me. \nJacob’s Ladder. \nAnd especially 19 Somethin’\, his rapid-fire trip through Pac-Man\, Rubik’s Cubes\, Farrah Fawcett\, MTV\, and everything else that made growing up in the 1970s and ’80s feel like growing up in the 1970s and ’80s. \nThose songs produced 19 Billboard-charting singles\, Gold and Platinum records\, and eventually a place in the Grand Ole Opry. \nSaturday puts Wills and those songs into one of Mohegan Sun’s smallest rooms. \n19 Somethin’ Turned Nostalgia Into a No. 1 Country Hit\nIt takes only a few lines for 19 Somethin’ to establish what it’s doing. \nThe song runs through a childhood and adolescence measured in pop-culture landmarks\, moving from Star Wars and Stretch Armstrong through Pac-Man\, MTV and parachute pants before reaching adulthood. \nReleased in 2002\, it became the biggest chart hit of Wills’ career. \n19 Somethin’ spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and was later certified Gold by the RIAA. \nThe song arrived at an interesting moment. \nCountry music was moving into a new century\, but one of its biggest songs was looking backward at the previous one. \nMore than two decades later\, the nostalgia has effectively doubled. \nWills is now singing a nostalgic song that has itself become nostalgic. \nBefore That Came Wish You Were Here\nWills already had a substantial career before 19 Somethin’. \nHis first single\, Jacob’s Ladder\, arrived in 1996 and became the first of his eight Top 10 country hits. \nThen came a particularly strong run between 1997 and 1999. \nPlaces I’ve Never Been reached the Top 5. \nSo did I Do (Cherish You). \nThen came Don’t Laugh at Me and Wish You Were Here. \nThe latter became Wills’ first No. 1 country single. \nIts title initially suggests a conventional romantic song. Instead\, the story takes a dramatic turn\, becoming the final message from a man who dies in a plane crash. \nThat kind of narrative song became one of Wills’ specialties. \nHe had the voice for country radio\, but many of the records that endured were built around stories. \nDon’t Laugh at Me Became Something Larger Than a Hit Single\nFew songs illustrate that better than Don’t Laugh at Me. \nReleased in 1998\, the song addresses bullying and exclusion through characters who are mocked because they’re different. \nIt became a major country hit and earned significant industry recognition\, including a Country Music Association nomination for Single of the Year. \nBut its life continued beyond country radio. \nSongwriters Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin helped turn the song’s message into an educational movement. The Don’t Laugh at Me program was subsequently used in schools and youth organizations as part of anti-bullying and social-emotional learning efforts. \nWills returned to the song in 2022\, recording a new version with vocal group Home Free. \nHis daughter Macey Wills also appeared on the recording. \nThe accompanying video featured Nate Smith of 21 Pineapples and JennaLee Wasserman and earned three Gold Telly Awards. \nFor Wills\, it is no longer simply an old hit that has to appear in the set. \nIt became part of his identity. \nI Do (Cherish You) Had a Second Life Outside Country Music\nThen there’s I Do (Cherish You). \nWills released the song in 1998\, taking it into the country Top 10. \nA year later\, pop group 98 Degrees recorded its own version. \nThat recording became a major pop hit and appeared on the soundtrack to the Julia Stiles and Freddie Prinze Jr. movie 10 Things I Hate About You. \nThe crossover gave the song an unusual life. \nSome listeners know it as a Mark Wills country ballad. \nOthers encountered it as a 98 Degrees love song. \nWills got there first. \nHis Career Started in an Atlanta Honky-Tonk\nLong before the Opry\, Wills was singing in clubs. \nBorn in Blue Ridge\, Georgia\, he grew up listening to artists including Conway Twitty\, George Jones\, Merle Haggard\, Alabama and Ronnie Milsap. \nHe developed his voice in school choir before working his way into the Atlanta-area music scene. \nEventually\, he became a regular performer at The Buckboard\, a large country nightclub in Atlanta. \nThat proved to be his training ground. \nNight after night\, Wills learned how to work a room filled with people who hadn’t necessarily come specifically to hear him. He sang covers\, developed his stage presence and began recording demos. \nMercury Nashville signed him in the mid-1990s. \nHis self-titled debut album followed in 1996. \nWithin a few years\, the nightclub singer had become a national country artist. \nCountry Music Recognized Him Early\nWills’ success wasn’t limited to the charts. \nThe Academy of Country Music named him Top New Male Vocalist following his early run of hits. \nHis albums went Gold and Platinum. \nHe became a regular on country radio and built a touring career around songs that balanced polished Nashville production with his rich baritone voice. \nThen\, as country music changed through the 2000s\, Wills continued touring rather than disappearing with the radio format that had made him famous. \nThat longevity ultimately led him somewhere particularly important. \nThe Grand Ole Opry. \nVince Gill Surprised Him With the Invitation\nWills made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1997. \nMore than two decades later\, on December 21\, 2018\, he was performing at the Opry with Vince Gill when Gill interrupted the evening with a question Wills wasn’t expecting. \nWould he like to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry? \nWills dropped to his knees. \nThe invitation carried particular weight for an artist whose career had been built around traditional country institutions even as Nashville changed around him. \nOn January 11\, 2019\, Mark Wills was formally inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. \nHe’s still there. \nIn fact\, Saturday’s Connecticut performance lands directly between Opry appearances. Wills is scheduled to return to the Grand Ole Opry House on September 25 and 26. \nHe’s Also Spent Years Performing for American Troops\nAnother part of Wills’ career happened far from Nashville stages. \nHe has made more than a dozen trips overseas to perform for U.S. military personnel\, traveling to locations including Iraq\, Kuwait\, Afghanistan\, Korea and Italy. \nThose trips weren’t merely a publicity stop attached to one album cycle. \nThey became a recurring part of his work. \nThat experience also fits naturally with the storytelling side of his catalog\, particularly songs centered on ordinary lives rather than celebrity. \nThere’s New Music Coming Too\nSaturday’s concert doesn’t arrive solely as a nostalgia show. \nWills is preparing another project. \nA new 12-song album\, Grand Ole Revival\, is currently scheduled for release November 6\, 2026. \nAmong the music already associated with the project is his recording of the gospel standard I’ll Fly Away featuring Ricky Skaggs and Rhonda Vincent. \nThat puts the forthcoming record firmly within a traditional country\, bluegrass and gospel lineage. \nFor an artist who first hit country radio 30 years ago\, it’s a logical place to be. \nWills isn’t attempting to pretend that 1998 never ended. \nHe’s carrying those songs with him while making music at a different point in his life. \nThe Wolf Den Puts a National Country Artist in a 350-Capacity Room\nThe setting is one of the things that makes Saturday particularly appealing. \nThe Wolf Den holds roughly 350 people. \nThere are no tickets. \nThere is no admission charge. \nAnd the stage sits in the middle of Mohegan Sun’s Casino of the Earth. \nFor an artist whose career includes No. 1 records and Grand Ole Opry membership\, that’s an unusually intimate setup. \nIt also means there is a catch. \nGetting into the casino doesn’t guarantee getting into the show. \nWolf Den seating is limited and first come\, first served. \nGuests may begin lining up no earlier than three hours before showtime\, meaning the line for Saturday’s 8 p.m. concert can begin at 5 p.m. \nOne person may hold up to four places in line\, but everyone has to be physically present when seating takes place. \nThe venue is also restricted to guests 21 and older. \nThree Decades of Country Radio in One Small Room\nWills released Jacob’s Ladder in 1996. \nThirty years later\, he’s still traveling with the songs that followed it. \nSome have aged as straightforward country hits. \nOthers have accumulated second lives. \nI Do (Cherish You) crossed into pop music. \nDon’t Laugh at Me became associated with anti-bullying education. \n19 Somethin’ turned nostalgia into a No. 1 hit and then survived long enough to become nostalgic itself. \nAnd Wish You Were Here remains one of those country story songs where knowing the ending doesn’t necessarily make the ending hit any less. \nSaturday night puts all of that history within a few rows of the audience. \nJust don’t wait until 7:55 to get there. \nDetails\nEvent: Mark Wills at Wolf Den\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun\nLocation: Casino of the Earth\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nArtist: Mark Wills\nMusic: Country\nAdmission: Free\nAge: 21+\nSeating: Limited and first come\, first served\nLine: Guests may line up no earlier than 5 p.m.\, three hours before showtime\nHolding Places: One person may hold up to four places; everyone must be present when seating occurs\nSmoking: The Wolf Den is a non-smoking entertainment venue\nPhone: 1-888-226-7711\nSchedule: Times and performers are subject to change \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/mark-wills-at-wolf-den-brings-a-run-of-90s-and-early-2000s-country-hits-to-mohegan-sun/
LOCATION:Wolf Den\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvs\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T213000
DTSTAMP:20260917T203050Z
CREATED:20260428T124451Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T203050Z
UID:10000095-1789848000-1789853400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Boyz II Men
DESCRIPTION:There’s a reason Boyz II Men still feel like an event when they hit the stage. Their sound isn’t built on gimmicks… It’s built on harmony\, control\, and emotion that lands right where it’s supposed to. On their current run of tour dates through 2026\, they’re bringing that signature blend of R&B\, soul\, and pop balladry to venues across the country\, mixing standalone shows with larger events and festival appearances. \nAt the center of it all are those songs that don’t really age… “End of the Road\,” “I’ll Make Love to You\,” “On Bended Knee.” They’re not just hits\, they’re moments people carry with them. The group—Nathan Morris\, Wanya Morris\, and Shawn Stockman—still lean into what made them iconic in the first place: tight\, layered vocals and a stage presence that doesn’t need flash to hold attention. And when those harmonies lock in live\, it’s one of those rare things that sounds just as full as you remember. \nDepending on the stop\, the experience shifts a bit. Some dates are more intimate\, others are part of larger tours or special events\, but the core feeling stays the same… nostalgic without feeling stuck in the past. It turns into a shared experience pretty quickly\, especially once the crowd realizes they know *every word*. If you’re looking for a night that leans into timeless R&B and pure vocal chemistry\, this tour delivers in a way that feels both familiar and still worth showing up for.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/boyz-ii-men/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Boyz-II-Men.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T230000
DTSTAMP:20260528T144458Z
CREATED:20260528T144458Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260528T144458Z
UID:10002631-1789846200-1789858800@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/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:The Misfit Club\, 12 Water St APT 12\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:The Misfit Club
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T210000
DTSTAMP:20260908T005412Z
CREATED:20260908T005412Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T005412Z
UID:10007513-1789846200-1789851600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Almost\, Maine at the Granite Theatre
DESCRIPTION:Almost\, Maine at the Granite Theatre opens Friday\, September 11\, for a two-week run of John Cariani’s romantic comedy about love found\, lost and occasionally turned upside down beneath the northern lights. \nThe Granite Theatre production runs September 11–20 in downtown Westerly\, with 7:30 p.m. performances on Thursdays\, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Tickets are $30–$35. \nRather than following one couple through a conventional love story\, Almost\, Maine tells nine interconnected stories about the residents of a tiny fictional community in northern Maine. During the course of one cold Friday night\, relationships begin\, end\, stumble and take some wonderfully strange turns. \nWelcome to Almost\nAlmost isn’t technically a town. \nIn Cariani’s fictional geography\, it’s an unorganized community so far north in Maine that it’s almost in Canada. On a clear winter night\, with the aurora borealis overhead\, its residents experience a series of encounters that revolve around falling in love\, falling out of it or discovering that what they thought they understood about another person wasn’t quite right. \nThe structure is closer to a collection of short stories performed on stage than a traditional beginning-to-end narrative. \nMost of the scenes involve just two characters\, with different residents moving in and out of focus as the evening progresses. The stories stand on their own\, but the shared place\, time and themes gradually turn them into a portrait of one small community. \nCariani also gives the play a touch of magical realism. \nEmotions sometimes become physical things. Characters carry the consequences of love in ways that couldn’t happen in the real world\, yet the feelings behind those moments remain recognizable. That lets Almost\, Maine move quickly between comedy\, absurdity\, heartbreak and tenderness without becoming a conventional romantic comedy. \nA Play That Almost Disappeared\nThe story behind Almost\, Maine is nearly as unlikely as some of the stories inside it. \nJohn Cariani developed the play at the Cape Cod Theatre Project in 2002. It received its world premiere at Portland Stage Company in Maine in 2004\, where it broke box-office records. \nBy then\, Cariani was already familiar to Broadway audiences as an actor. He earned a Tony Award nomination for playing Motel the tailor in the 2004 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof and had appeared on television in Law & Order. \nAlmost\, Maine reached New York next\, opening Off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre in January 2006. \nThat production lasted only about a month. \nOrdinarily\, that might have been the end of the story. Instead\, after the play was published and became available to other theaters\, something unexpected happened. \nSmall professional theaters began producing it. Then community theaters picked it up. Colleges and high schools followed. \nAnd they kept doing it. \nFrom Short Off-Broadway Run to Thousands of Productions\nToday\, Almost\, Maine has become one of the most frequently produced contemporary American plays. \nThe play’s official site reports that more than 6\,000 theater companies in the United States have staged it\, along with more than 100 international companies. It has also repeatedly ranked among the most-produced plays in North American high schools. \nPart of the appeal is built into Cariani’s unusual structure. \nWith largely self-contained two-person scenes\, directors can distribute substantial material among an ensemble rather than building an entire production around one or two leading roles. Each vignette gives its actors a complete little story to develop. \nAudiences get something different from that structure\, too. One scene may land as broad comedy while the next turns unexpectedly bittersweet. Not every relationship works out\, and the title itself becomes something of a running idea. \nThings in Almost are frequently close. \nAlmost a town. Almost Canada. Almost together. Almost over someone. Almost happy. \nBut not quite. \nJohn Cariani Wrote About the Maine He Knew\nThe fictional setting wasn’t chosen at random. \nCariani grew up in Presque Isle in Aroostook County\, the enormous and sparsely populated region at the northern end of Maine. He has said those years shaped his affection for the landscape\, language and people that eventually found their way into Almost\, Maine. \nThe setting is intentionally remote. The cold matters. The darkness matters. So does the northern sky. \nAgainst that isolation\, the small interactions between people become bigger. A conversation on a bench\, an unexpected visitor at the door or an encounter between two neighbors can become the most important thing happening for miles. \nCariani eventually returned to the world he created in another form. In 2022\, he adapted Almost\, Maine into a novel\, expanding the interconnected stories and characters beyond what audiences see on stage. \nBut the theatrical version remains the work that made Almost into a place thousands of actors and audiences have visited. \nInside Westerly’s Historic Granite Theatre\nThe setting for this production has its own story. \nGranite Theatre occupies a restored Greek Revival building at 1 Granite Street in downtown Westerly. Long before actors performed there\, the building was a church. \nThe congregation that became the Broad Street Christian Church was organized in 1843\, and the building was completed in 1849. Its prominent classical façade and columns remain part of one of downtown Westerly’s distinctive historic structures. \nThe building eventually found a second life as a performance space\, reopening as the Granite Theatre in 2000. \nToday\, Renaissance City Theatre operates the Granite as a nonprofit theater\, presenting plays\, musicals\, family productions\, educational programs and special events throughout the year. \nIt’s also an intimate room. With roughly 140 seats\, the audience is close to the performers rather than watching from the distance of a large regional theater. That should suit a play built around small conversations and two-person encounters particularly well. \nOpening Night Begins a Seven-Performance Run\nAlmost\, Maine opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday\, September 11. \nA second evening performance follows Saturday\, September 12\, before the first Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. September 13. \nThe production returns the following Thursday and continues through Sunday\, September 20\, for seven performances in all: \n\nFriday\, September 11 at 7:30 p.m.\nSaturday\, September 12 at 7:30 p.m.\nSunday\, September 13 at 2 p.m.\nThursday\, September 17 at 7:30 p.m.\nFriday\, September 18 at 7:30 p.m.\nSaturday\, September 19 at 7:30 p.m.\nSunday\, September 20 at 2 p.m.\n\nTickets range from $30 to $35. \nAccessibility at the Granite\nBecause the Granite occupies a historic 19th-century building\, accessibility comes with some limitations. \nThe theater performance space itself is wheelchair accessible\, but the Granite notes that its lobby and restrooms are not fully accessible. \nA small number of accessible parking spaces are available behind the building and need to be reserved. The theater recommends that anyone who needs accessible parking or has mobility concerns call ahead rather than relying on availability when arriving for a performance. \nDetails\nEvent: Almost\, Maine\nPlaywright: John Cariani\nOpening Night: Friday\, September 11\, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.\nRun: September 11–20\, 2026\nEvening Performances: 7:30 p.m.\nSunday Matinees: 2 p.m.\nNumber of Performances: Seven\nGenre: Romantic comedy\nVenue: Granite Theatre\nAddress: 1 Granite Street\, Westerly\, RI 02891\nTickets: $30–$35\nBox Office: 401-596-2341\nAccessibility: Theater space is wheelchair accessible; lobby and restrooms are not fully accessible\nAccessible Parking: Limited spaces are available and should be reserved in advance \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \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/almost-maine-at-the-granite-theatre/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:The Granite Theater\, 1 Granite Street\, Westerly\, RI\, 02891\, United States
CATEGORIES:The Granite Street Theater
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T230000
DTSTAMP:20260913T232936Z
CREATED:20260913T232936Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T232936Z
UID:10007595-1789844400-1789858800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:WAAG Exhibition Brings Westerly’s Alternative Art Community Together at Studio 39A
DESCRIPTION:WAAG Exhibition brings more than 20 members of the Westerly Alternative Artists Guild together Saturday\, September 19\, for an evening gallery exhibition and art market at Studio 39A in Westerly. \nThe show runs from 7 to 11 p.m. at the grassroots arts and music space at 39A Beach Street. The format combines an exhibition with a market\, giving visitors a chance not only to see work by members of the newly organized guild but also to buy directly from participating artists. \nAdmission is particularly straightforward: \nBring a donation for the Westerly Animal Shelter. \nWAAG Is Creating a Place for Artists Who Don’t Always Fit the Traditional Gallery Mold\nThe Westerly Alternative Artists Guild\, or WAAG\, is a relatively new addition to Westerly’s growing arts community. \nAnd “alternative” is important to understanding what the group is trying to build. \nRather than defining art narrowly around traditional painting\, sculpture or the kind of work usually selected for a conventional fine-art gallery\, WAAG is assembling a community around artists working outside those boundaries. \nThe guild’s identity embraces the independent\, experimental\, DIY and sometimes unconventional side of making art. \nThat makes Friday’s exhibition as much an introduction to the organization as an art show. \nMore than 20 WAAG members are expected to participate. \nWith that many artists sharing one room\, visitors should expect variety rather than a single curatorial theme or medium. \nThis Is Both an Exhibition and a Market\nThe poster makes an important distinction: \n“A gallery & market art show.” \nThat means the evening isn’t designed solely around finished pieces hanging on a wall. \nArtists will have work available to browse and purchase\, turning Studio 39A into something closer to a temporary alternative-art marketplace. \nFor emerging artists\, that direct connection can matter. \nTraditional galleries generally select artists\, curate exhibitions and take a commission when work sells. Markets and artist-run shows can remove some of those barriers\, allowing creators to meet the people looking at their work and sell directly to them. \nFor visitors\, it also means this isn’t necessarily an event where you’re expected to quietly circle the room with your hands behind your back. \nTalk to the artists. \nAsk what they make. \nAnd if something grabs you\, find out whether you can take it home. \nStudio 39A Is a Natural Home for It\nStudio 39A is an all-ages\, grassroots art and music space at 39A Beach Street in Westerly. \nThe venue has become part of the area’s independent creative scene by providing a room for the kinds of artists and musicians who don’t necessarily have an obvious home elsewhere. \nThat includes intimate concerts and alternative music\, but Studio 39A isn’t simply a small music venue. \nIt operates as a community-driven cultural space. \nThat’s an important distinction for an event like this. \nWesterly already has established arts institutions\, galleries and performance spaces. Studio 39A occupies a different part of that ecosystem: smaller\, independent\, informal and intentionally accessible. \nWAAG fits naturally into that environment. \nWesterly’s Art Scene Is Bigger Than It Looks\nOne of the interesting things about this show is the larger arts community developing around it. \nWesterly has a surprising concentration of creative spaces within a relatively small area. \nThe long-established Artists’ Cooperative Gallery of Westerly operates as an artist-owned nonprofit gallery. The Hoxie Gallery presents exhibitions inside Westerly Library. Independent studios and shops have spread through downtown\, while the Westerly Arts Crawl has helped connect artists with businesses and the public. \nStudio 39A and WAAG represent another layer. \nThey’re not replacing those traditional institutions. \nThey’re creating an entry point for artists who may be younger\, emerging\, self-taught\, experimental or simply uninterested in fitting their work into conventional categories. \nA healthy local arts scene has room for both. \nThe DIY Poster Tells You Something About the Show\nYou don’t need much explanation of WAAG’s aesthetic after looking at the poster. \nHand lettering. \nUneven blocks of black ink. \nA roughly drawn eye. \nAlmost everything appears deliberately handmade rather than digitally polished. \nIt’s closer to a punk-show flyer or photocopied zine than a conventional gallery invitation. \nThat visual language has a long history in independent art and music scenes. \nBefore anyone could build a slick social graphic on a phone\, underground bands\, artists and promoters made flyers with markers\, typewriters\, scissors\, photocopiers and whatever else was available. \nThe imperfections became part of the identity. \nWAAG’s poster carries that same DIY spirit. \nIt doesn’t look like an invitation to an institutional gallery opening because this isn’t trying to be one. \nMore Than 20 Artists Means You Probably Won’t Know What You’re Walking Into\nThat’s arguably the best reason to go. \nA tightly curated solo exhibition gives you a deep look at one artist. \nThis is the opposite. \nWith 20-plus WAAG members participating\, the point is discovery. \nThe currently available public announcement does not provide a complete roster of every exhibiting artist or a piece-by-piece catalog\, and that’s information worth leaving open rather than guessing from social-media accounts associated with the organization. \nWhat is confirmed is the scale: more than 20 members of the guild\, a combination of gallery exhibition and art market\, and four hours to explore it. \nThe organizers are also encouraging visitors to follow @waag39a for updates as the show approaches\, so additional artist introductions may appear before Friday. \nAn Art Show for People Who Don’t Think They’re Art-Show People\nAlternative community shows can do something larger institutions sometimes struggle with. \nThey can lower the psychological barrier to walking through the door. \nYou don’t need to understand art history. \nYou don’t need to know whether something qualifies as expressionism\, assemblage\, lowbrow art or anything else. \nYou don’t even have to like everything. \nIn fact\, with more than 20 independent artists showing work\, you almost certainly won’t. \nThat’s part of the fun. \nFind the strange thing. \nFind the funny thing. \nFind the thing you don’t understand. \nFind the artist whose work makes you stop for another 30 seconds when everything else gets five. \nAnd if you’re someone making art at home who has never thought of yourself as the sort of person who belongs in a guild or gallery\, pay attention to the people exhibiting. \nThat may be the larger point of WAAG. \nA Four-Hour Snapshot of Westerly’s Alternative Art Scene\nWesterly has no shortage of polished cultural institutions. \nThis is something else. \nOne night. \nOne grassroots studio. \nMore than 20 artists. \nArtwork for sale. \nA handmade flyer that looks like it was designed specifically to make a graphic designer nervous. \nAnd admission that helps the WARM Center. \nFor WAAG\, the exhibition is a chance to put a relatively new artistic community in one room and show Westerly what its members have been making. \nFor everyone else\, it’s an opportunity to see what happens when the artists who don’t necessarily fit neatly into the established boxes decide to build their own box. \nThen cover it with art. \nDetails\nEvent: WAAG Exhibition: A Group Show\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 7–11 p.m.\nVenue: Studio 39A\nAddress: 39A Beach Street\, Unit 1\, Westerly\, RI 02891\nOrganizer: Westerly Alternative Artists Guild (WAAG)\nArtists: More than 20 WAAG members\nFormat: Group gallery exhibition and art market\nArtwork for Sale: Yes; the event is promoted as both a gallery and market show\nAdmission: Donation for the WARM Center\nAll Ages: Studio 39A operates as an all-ages community arts space\nUpdates: Follow @waag39a on Instagram for additional exhibition information and artist announcements \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/waag-exhibition-brings-westerlys-alternative-art-community-together-at-studio-39a/
LOCATION:Studio 39A\, 39A Beach St Unit 1\, Westerly\, RI\, 02891\, United States
CATEGORIES:Studio 30A
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WAAG-Exhibition-Brings-Westerlys-Alternative-Art-Community-Together-at-Studio-39A.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T220000
DTSTAMP:20260913T194410Z
CREATED:20260913T194410Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T194410Z
UID:10007593-1789837200-1789855200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:1/2 Step Affair Sends Off Summer With a Sunset Dance Party in Oyster Club’s Treehouse
DESCRIPTION:1/2 Step Affair brings four DJ sets\, sunset views\, cocktails\, mezcal\, and a full Oyster Club dinner to Mystic on Saturday\, September 19\, as Pressing Plant and 2Primo Studio close out summer with a five-hour dance party in the restaurant’s Treehouse. \nThe party runs from 5 to 10 p.m. at Oyster Club\, 13 Water Street\, with D.Bird\, Novebloc\, Iosnua and Mareas.fm taking turns behind the decks. \nThe soundtrack is described as a digital-and-vinyl blend of disco\, boogie\, deep house and Balearic house\, beginning during the last golden hour of the day and continuing after sunset. \nAnd this isn’t a nightclub being temporarily decorated to look outdoorsy. \nThe dance floor really is in the trees. \nOne Last Golden Hour in the Treehouse\nOyster Club’s Treehouse has become one of downtown Mystic’s more unusual dining spaces. \nBuilt behind and above the restaurant on the hillside overlooking the Mystic River\, the seasonal indoor-outdoor space feels removed from Water Street despite sitting only steps from downtown. \nFor 1/2 Step Affair\, tables give way to an open-air dance floor with river views. \nThat setting explains the timing. \nThe party begins at 5 p.m.\, allowing the DJs to soundtrack the final hours of daylight before the Treehouse moves into evening. \nPressing Plant describes it as a “sunset send-off for summer\, out among the trees.” \nTechnically\, autumn doesn’t arrive until a few days later. \nThis is the going-away party. \nFour DJs Take It From Daylight Into Night\nThe evening features four DJ sets: \nD.Bird\nNovebloc\nIosnua\nMareas.fm \nRather than announcing a conventional band lineup\, Pressing Plant and 2Primo Studio are building the evening around continuous DJ programming. \nThe musical description is unusually specific. \nExpect disco and boogie\, the dance-floor music that connects the funk and soul of the 1970s with the electronic club music that followed. \nThen there’s deep house\, generally warmer and more soulful than harder-edged forms of house music. \nAnd Balearic house\, a term rooted in the DJ culture of Ibiza and associated less with rigid genre rules than with an eclectic\, atmospheric approach to dance music. \nThe organizers promise both digital and vinyl selections. \nIn other words\, this isn’t being pitched as a Top 40 dance party. \nIt’s a curated DJ night. \nPressing Plant and 2Primo Studio Are Behind the Party\nThe event is a collaboration between Pressing Plant and 2Primo Studio\, two creative operations joining forces for the end-of-season gathering. \nThe visual identity makes that collaboration pretty clear. \nThe event poster looks like something pulled from a late-’70s or early-’80s record sleeve\, with its saturated orange-and-yellow palette\, oversized hand-drawn lettering and four DJs positioned like a miniature festival bill. \nEven the name 1/2 Step Affair fits the record-store sensibility. \nThe event’s emphasis on vinyl alongside digital DJing takes the aesthetic beyond the poster and onto the dance floor. \nThis One Comes With Dinner\nHere’s the part that makes 1/2 Step Affair considerably different from the usual DJ night. \nDinner is included with the ticket. \nOyster Club will keep food moving throughout the evening\, with organizers promising lobster rolls\, steak sandwiches\, oysters and more straight from the Oyster Club kitchen. \nVegetarian options will also be available. \nThe event description says dinner will be passed throughout the night\, rather than served as a single formal seated meal. \nThat’s a smart fit for the format. \nNobody has to choose between sitting down for dinner at 7 and catching a DJ set. \nEat. \nDance. \nEat again. \nOyster Club Is a Particularly Good Place to Build the Menu\nOyster Club has spent more than a decade making local sourcing part of its identity. \nThe restaurant is part of the 85th Day Food Community\, the Mystic hospitality group that also includes Engine Room and Port of Call. \nIts kitchen is built around relationships with farmers\, fishermen and other regional producers\, with a menu that changes according to season and availability. \nThe raw bar is central to the restaurant\, so oysters at a Treehouse party aren’t an afterthought. \nNeither is seafood generally. \nOyster Club’s regular menu shifts frequently\, but locally sourced fish and shellfish\, handmade pasta\, vegetables and other New England ingredients have long defined chef Reneé Touponce’s cooking. \nTouponce serves as executive chef for both Oyster Club and Port of Call and has earned national attention for her work\, including recognition from the James Beard Foundation. \nFor this party\, however\, the food is deliberately more casual. \nLobster rolls and steak sandwiches make considerably more sense on a dance floor than a multi-course tasting menu. \nMadre Mezcal Is Part of the Ticket\, Too\nThe evening also includes signature cocktails and mezcal tastings courtesy of Madre Mezcal. \nMadre produces artisanal mezcal in Oaxaca\, Mexico\, using traditional production methods and agave varieties including espadín and cuishe. \nUnlike tequila\, which must be made from blue Weber agave\, mezcal can be produced from numerous agave varieties. \nThe spirit is often associated with smoke\, but good mezcal can range considerably beyond that stereotype\, with earthy\, herbal\, mineral\, fruity and vegetal characteristics depending on the agave\, production process and growing region. \nThe tasting component gives people an opportunity to try mezcal without committing immediately to a full cocktail. \nThose who do want the cocktail can head to Oyster Club’s bar. \nThe Cocktail Program Isn’t an Afterthought\nOyster Club is as serious about drinks as it is about oysters. \nIts bar program changes seasonally and is designed to complement the kitchen rather than operate as a separate attraction. \nFor 1/2 Step Affair\, the organizers are specifically promising signature cocktails\, with Madre integrated into the evening. \nThat combination makes sense with the music. \nA five-hour sunset DJ party doesn’t really call for a conventional beer-festival setup. \nThis is closer to a long dinner party that slowly becomes a dance party. \nExcept the dinner party is in a treehouse. \nOyster Club Has Been Part of Mystic Since 2012\nOyster Club opened in 2012\, helping establish a new generation of food-focused restaurants in downtown Mystic. \nThe restaurant occupies a converted historic building on Water Street\, but the Treehouse gave it something entirely different from the dining room downstairs. \nThe elevated space became a seasonal destination of its own. \nIt’s used for regular lunch and dinner service when weather permits\, along with private gatherings and special events. \nThe Treehouse can be tented and heated as temperatures cool\, but 1/2 Step Affair is specifically leaning into its open-air character. \nThe river views and trees aren’t background decoration. \nThey’re part of the event. \nSeptember 19 Is Almost the Perfect Date for It\nThe timing works unusually well for something being billed as a farewell to summer. \nSeptember 19 falls just days before the autumnal equinox. \nMystic is still in its warm-weather rhythm\, but the peak July and August crush has begun to ease. \nThe days are getting noticeably shorter. \nAnd by the time the party begins at 5\, the sun is already moving toward the western horizon. \nThat’s precisely what Pressing Plant is trying to capture with the phrase “the last golden hour of the season.” \nIt’s not literally the final sunset of summer. \nIt doesn’t need to be. \nThe point is the feeling. \nSummer is almost over. \nEveryone knows it. \nSo put a record on. \nTickets Are Limited\nUnlike a normal evening at Oyster Club\, this is a ticketed 21+ event with limited capacity. \nThat matters because the Treehouse is intentionally intimate. \nThis isn’t a thousand-person outdoor festival with a stage at one end and food trucks at the other. \nThe DJs\, bar\, kitchen service and dance floor all share the same elevated space. \nTickets include the evening’s dinner and the Madre mezcal component\, with additional beverages available through Oyster Club. \nBecause capacity is limited\, this is one to book rather than treating as a casual drop-in. \nFive Hours\, Four DJs and One Last Night in the Trees\nThere are plenty of ways to mark the end of summer around Mystic. \nMost involve a beach\, a boat or one final lobster roll. \n1/2 Step Affair manages to work the lobster roll in while doing something completely different. \nFour DJs. \nVinyl and digital sets. \nDisco\, boogie and house music. \nMezcal. \nOysters. \nA dance floor above the Mystic River. \nAnd five hours beginning in daylight and ending well after dark. \nSummer doesn’t officially leave until a few days later. \nBut it gets a pretty good send-off September 19. \nDetails\nEvent: 1/2 Step Affair: A Sunset Dance Party\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 5–10 p.m.\nVenue: The Treehouse at Oyster Club\nAddress: 13 Water Street\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nPresented By: Pressing Plant and 2Primo Studio\nAge: 21+\nDJs: D.Bird\, Novebloc\, Iosnua and Mareas.fm\nMusic: Disco\, boogie\, deep house and Balearic house on digital and vinyl\nSetting: Open-air Treehouse dance floor overlooking the Mystic River\nFood: Complimentary dinner passed throughout the evening\nPublished Menu Highlights: Lobster rolls\, steak sandwiches\, oysters and additional selections from Oyster Club\nVegetarian Options: Available\nCocktails & Mezcal: Signature cocktails and mezcal tastings courtesy of Madre Mezcal\nAll guests must be off the deck by 10pm. Last call will be at 9:30pm.\nTickets are $75 plus tax and 20% server gratuity. All sales are final and tickets are non-refundable.\nTickets: Limited capacity; advance tickets available through the organizers’ ticket 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/1-2-step-affair-sends-off-summer-with-a-sunset-dance-party-in-oyster-clubs-treehouse/
LOCATION:Oyster Club\, 13 Water Street\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Oyster Club
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T200000
DTSTAMP:20260915T015426Z
CREATED:20260915T015320Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T015426Z
UID:10007607-1789837200-1789848000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:End of Summer Bonfire at the Beach Brings The Hoolios\, Food Trucks and Giant Flames to Eastern Point
DESCRIPTION:End-of-summer bonfire at the Beach gives Groton one more night on the shoreline before summer disappears\, with live music from The Hoolios\, food trucks\, games\, and a bonfire at Eastern Point Beach on Saturday\, September 19. \nThe free event runs from 5 to 8 p.m.\, with music and food beginning at 5 and the bonfire scheduled to be lit at 6:30 p.m. \nThis isn’t a return of an old Groton tradition. The city is billing Saturday night’s gathering as its inaugural End of Summer Bonfire\, turning Eastern Point Beach into an evening gathering place after the regular summer beach season has ended. \nEastern Point sits where the Thames River opens into Long Island Sound\, giving the evening a backdrop of open water\, passing vessels\, and the Groton and New London waterfronts. \nAdd a September sunset\, live roots music and a bonfire on the beach\, and Groton has found a pretty straightforward way to say goodbye to summer. \nThe Hoolios Are a Particularly Good Band for This Setting\nGroton could have booked a conventional cover band for a beach party. \nInstead\, The Hoolios bring a sound that’s considerably harder to put into one box. \nThe southeastern Connecticut band mixes Americana\, rock\, Latin rhythms\, reggae\, Texas folk and zydeco\, drawing heavily from the musical traditions surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. \nThat can mean guitars and drums\, but also accordion\, mandolin and washboard. The band’s arrangements can move from roots-oriented songwriting into New Orleans-influenced dance rhythms\, rock and reggae. \nIt’s music designed to move around. \nThat’s useful when the venue isn’t a theater with everyone sitting quietly in rows. \nJim Carpenter Built the Band Around Original Music\nAt the center of The Hoolios is Jim Carpenter\, the band’s founder\, guitarist\, singer and primary songwriter. \nCarpenter has been part of southeastern Connecticut’s music community for years\, developing a body of original material influenced in part by his Southern upbringing. \nLocal music writer Rick Koster has compared elements of Carpenter’s songwriting to artists including Townes Van Zandt\, Robert Earl Keen\, Steve Forbert and Marc Cohn\, particularly in the way Carpenter builds narratives into his songs. \nThe Hoolios grew around that songwriting rather than beginning as a band devoted primarily to reproducing familiar hits. \nOver the years\, the group has recorded albums including Rosalie\, Silver Triangle\, The Dream\, God Invents Rock n Roll\, The Rose of His Tattoo\, Poor Girl’s Dream and In the Shadows of Dixie. \nThe lineup has evolved over time\, but the basic Hoolios formula has remained recognizable: Carpenter’s songs surrounded by a band capable of pulling from several different American roots traditions without sounding locked into any one of them. \nThe Band Can Change Shape Depending on the Room\nOne reason The Hoolios have been able to play such a variety of venues is that the band isn’t tied to a single configuration. \nThey’ve performed as an acoustic group and as a larger rock and dance band. \nThe broader Hoolios sound has featured multiple vocalists along with guitar\, bass\, drums\, accordion\, organ\, mandolin\, slide guitar and washboard. \nThat flexibility has taken the group from intimate rooms to festivals and larger stages. \nThe band’s history includes appearances at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den\, Mystic Seaport Museum\, the Knickerbocker Music Center\, Hygienic Art Park\, Sailfest and venues well beyond southeastern Connecticut. \nFor Saturday’s event\, the City of Groton has simply announced The Hoolios as the featured live act rather than publishing a specific musician-by-musician lineup. \nSo don’t assume every instrument associated with the larger band will necessarily be on the Eastern Point stage. \nWhat should be safe to expect is the musical territory that has made the group a regional fixture: roots music with enough rhythmic variety to work as a beach-party soundtrack. \nMusic and Food Start at 5\nThe event begins at 5 p.m.\, when The Hoolios start playing and the food trucks open. \nThe city hasn’t published a confirmed list of participating food trucks in its current event information\, so this is one of those nights when it’s better to arrive and see what’s parked beside the beach than plan dinner around a particular vendor. \nGames are also part of the evening. \nThe city is keeping the format intentionally simple. \nThere isn’t a packed schedule of performances every 20 minutes\, a vendor village or a dozen simultaneous attractions. \nIt’s music\, food\, games\, the beach and\, eventually\, a very large fire. \nThat simplicity may be part of the appeal. \nThe Bonfire Is Lit at 6:30\nThe centerpiece arrives at 6:30 p.m.\, when the bonfire is scheduled to be lit. \nBy then\, sunset will be approaching and the atmosphere at Eastern Point should begin changing fairly quickly. \nSeptember evenings on the Connecticut shoreline don’t behave like July evenings. \nThe sun goes down earlier. Temperatures can fall noticeably once daylight disappears\, particularly beside the water. \nThat makes the bonfire more than a decorative centerpiece. \nIt becomes the natural gathering point for the second half of the evening. \nThe event continues until 8 p.m. \nEastern Point Is One of Groton’s Best Places to Watch the Water\nEastern Point Beach is the City of Groton’s municipal beach at 1 Beach Pond Road\, positioned at the mouth of the Thames River. \nIt’s a relatively compact beach\, but its geography makes it distinctive. \nLook out across the water and you’re watching the point where a working river becomes Long Island Sound. \nCommercial vessels\, recreational boats and military traffic all use the surrounding waterways. Depending on what’s moving that evening\, the view can include everything from sailboats to vessels associated with the Naval Submarine Base and Electric Boat. \nThe beach itself includes a sandy swimming area\, lawns and recreational facilities\, along with the stone Zbierski House overlooking the water. \nDuring the regular beach season\, Eastern Point operates with lifeguards\, admission and parking fees and seasonal facilities. \nBut the 2026 beach season ended after Labor Day\, making Saturday’s bonfire a very different kind of Eastern Point visit. \nInstead of heading there for a day in the water\, people will be arriving as the day begins to fade. \nIt’s Free\, Including Entry\nOne important distinction from a normal summer visit is the price. \nAdmission to the End of Summer Bonfire is free. \nThe city’s event announcement explicitly advertises free entry\, so families don’t need to calculate the usual seasonal beach admission into the cost of the evening. \nNo tickets or advance registration are currently listed by the City of Groton. \nJust show up. \nThat also makes this an easy event to sample rather than a night requiring a major commitment. \nCome at 5 for The Hoolios and dinner from a food truck. Arrive closer to 6:30 for the fire. Stay through 8 if the evening is comfortable. \nThis One Depends on the Weather\nThere is one major caveat. \nThe City of Groton specifically notes that the event is weather dependent. \nThat’s especially important when the central attraction is an outdoor bonfire beside Long Island Sound. \nRain is an obvious problem\, but wind can matter too. \nAnyone planning to attend should check the city’s event page or current announcements before leaving home if Saturday’s forecast is questionable. \nAnd even if the weather is perfectly dry\, bring another layer. \nA comfortable September afternoon at Eastern Point can become a cool shoreline evening surprisingly fast after sunset. \nOne More Night at the Beach\nThere are plenty of elaborate ways to mark the end of a season. \nGroton isn’t trying one of them. \nInstead\, the city is taking a familiar local place and changing what people do there for one night. \nThe swimming season is finished. \nThe summer beach crowds are gone. \nBut Eastern Point doesn’t stop being one of Groton’s great waterfront gathering places just because Labor Day has passed. \nSo The Hoolios plug in at 5. \nThe food trucks start serving. \nAt 6:30\, someone lights the fire. \nAnd for another hour and a half\, summer gets an encore. \nDetails\nEvent: End of Summer Bonfire at the Beach\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 5–8 p.m.\nLocation: Eastern Point Beach\nAddress: 1 Beach Pond Road\, Groton\, CT 06340\nAdmission: Free\nMusic: The Hoolios\nMusic Begins: 5 p.m.\nFood Trucks Open: 5 p.m.\nBonfire Lighting: 6:30 p.m.\nActivities: Live music\, food trucks\, games and bonfire\nOrganizer: City of Groton\nEvent Contact: City of Groton\, 860-446-4103\nWeather: Weather dependent; check the city’s current event information before attending if conditions are questionable\nWhat to Bring: A layer for the cooler evening temperatures is a good idea. Bring money or a payment method for food purchases.\nRegistration: None listed by the City of Groton\nParking: Eastern Point Beach has on-site parking; follow event signage and any instructions from city staff upon arrival. \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/end-of-summer-bonfire-at-the-beach-brings-the-hoolios-food-trucks-and-giant-flames-to-eastern-point/
LOCATION:Zbierski House\, Eastern Point Beach\, 1 Beach Pond Road\, Groton\, 06340\, United States
CATEGORIES:Zbierski House
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T190000
DTSTAMP:20260917T180029Z
CREATED:20260917T175857Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T180029Z
UID:10008451-1789837200-1789844400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Don Winslow Brings Crime\, Corruption and The Final Score to Mystic & Noank Library Author Talk
DESCRIPTION:Don Winslow Brings Crime\, Corruption and The Final Score to Mystic & Noank Library Author Talk on Saturday\, Sept. 19\, when the bestselling crime novelist sits down with writer and longtime local arts journalist Rick Koster inside Snediker Yacht Restoration in Old Mystic. \nThe Mystic & Noank Library’s fifth annual Author Talk runs from 5 to 7 p.m.\, beginning with an hour-long reception featuring wine and hors d’oeuvres before Winslow and Koster take over the conversation at 6 p.m. Bank Square Books will also be there with copies of Winslow’s books available for purchase. \nThis isn’t simply a stop on a book tour. The $125-per-person evening is one of the library’s major annual fundraisers\, with proceeds helping support its programs and services. It also brings together an interesting combination: a crime writer who grew up in coastal Rhode Island\, a Connecticut journalist and novelist who has spent decades writing about this corner of New England\, and a working Old Mystic boat shop devoted to preserving vessels from another era. \nDon Winslow Took a Long Road to Crime Fiction\nBefore Don Winslow became a bestselling novelist\, he accumulated the kind of résumé that sounds suspiciously like research for one. \nThe son of a sailor and a librarian\, Winslow grew up in a small coastal community in Rhode Island. He left at 17 to study journalism at the University of Nebraska\, where he also earned a degree in African Studies. \nThen things got less conventional. \nWinslow traveled through southern Africa\, worked as a movie theater manager in New York and became a private investigator in Times Square. He earned a master’s degree in military history\, worked for a photographic safari company in Kenya\, led hiking expeditions in China and directed Shakespeare productions during summers in Oxford\, England. \nThrough all of it\, he was writing. \nHis first novel\, A Cool Breeze on the Underground\, introduced private investigator Neal Carey and earned an Edgar Award nomination. Investigative work later took Winslow and his family to California\, where they lived in hotels for nearly three years while he worked cases and served as a trial consultant. \nEventually\, a publishing and film deal for The Death and Life of Bobby Z allowed him to leave investigative work behind and write full time. \nThe detective work\, travel and years spent watching people in unusual circumstances left fingerprints all over the fiction that followed. \nFrom The Power of the Dog to City on Fire\nWinslow has written more than 20 novels\, but two sprawling crime sagas account for a large part of his reputation. \nThe Power of the Dog\, published in 2005\, opened an ambitious fictional chronicle of the drug trade and the decades-long conflict surrounding it. Winslow continued the story with The Cartel and The Border\, creating a trilogy stretching across roughly four decades of the war on drugs. \nThen he came back toward home. \nCity on Fire\, published in 2022\, begins another trilogy\, this time centered on Irish and Italian organized-crime families in Rhode Island. City of Dreams followed in 2023 and City in Ruins completed the trilogy in 2024. \nThe Rhode Island setting brings Winslow’s crime fiction back to the landscape where he grew up. It’s also likely to give Saturday’s Old Mystic audience something familiar beneath the gunfire and betrayals: coastal New England\, family loyalties\, neighborhood identities and communities where everybody seems separated by only a few degrees. \nWinslow’s books have also repeatedly attracted Hollywood. Savages became a 2012 Oliver Stone film\, while The Death and Life of Bobby Z was adapted for the screen earlier. His work has drawn interest over the years from filmmakers and actors including Michael Mann\, Martin Scorsese\, Ridley Scott\, Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. \nSix Crimes\, Six Stories in The Final Score\nSaturday’s conversation arrives with a newer book on the table. \nThe Final Score trades the enormous canvas of Winslow’s trilogies for six shorter crime novellas. The stories stand independently\, but Winslow returns to familiar territory: criminals making calculations\, ordinary people being pushed into extraordinary choices\, corruption\, loyalty and the moment when somebody decides the risk is worth taking. \nThe title story begins with an irresistible premise for crime fiction: an impossible multimillion-dollar casino robbery. \nA legendary thief facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars sees precisely what everyone else sees. The score can’t be pulled off. \nThat’s what makes him want to do it. \nElsewhere\, a college-bound teenager delivering illegal alcohol finds his future threatened by a crooked police officer\, a customer and a phony guru. Two mobsters swap stories over breakfast in another tale\, while The North Wing puts an otherwise honest patrol officer between loyalty to his profession and loyalty to a troublesome cousin. \nThe shorter form changes the machinery. Winslow doesn’t have hundreds of pages to slowly tighten the screws. Characters have to arrive quickly\, choices have to matter almost immediately and the trapdoor beneath them can’t take forever to open. \nThose six stories\, along with the much larger novels that preceded them\, give Koster plenty to work with Saturday night. \nRick Koster Takes the Other Chair\nThe person asking the questions is a writer himself. \nRick Koster spent decades as an arts journalist and columnist at The Day in New London\, covering music\, books\, food and the cultural life of southeastern Connecticut. Before journalism\, he spent years playing rock music\, and he’s also the author of several books. \nHis fiction includes White Ghost Blues\, a supernatural story steeped in New Orleans music\, along with other novels and nonfiction. \nKoster has become a familiar interviewer for the Mystic & Noank Library’s annual event. He also sat across from bestselling Connecticut novelist Wally Lamb during the library’s 2025 fundraiser at Snediker. \nThat local connection should make Saturday’s conversation different from a generic promotional interview. Winslow grew up in coastal Rhode Island and later returned to the state as the setting for the City on Fire trilogy. Koster has spent much of his professional life documenting southeastern Connecticut and its arts community. \nThere’s plenty of common New England ground between them. \nA Book Talk Inside a Wooden Boat Shop\nThe setting might be the most unusual part of the evening. \nSnediker Yacht Restoration isn’t an event hall dressed to resemble a boat shop. It’s the real thing. \nThe Old Mystic company has spent more than 30 years building\, repairing and restoring classic wooden boats using traditional construction techniques. Its small crew collectively represents about 150 years of boatbuilding experience. \nThe projects vary dramatically. Some boats return to the water to race or cruise. Others are museum pieces that may never sail again. \nAmong Snediker’s recent restorations is The Kid\, the last surviving American Yacht Club One-Design Class Raceabout. Designed by B.B. Crowninshield and built by Rice Brothers in 1902\, the boat was originally constructed for yachtsman Oliver Harriman Jr. and later raced on Long Island Sound under owner Clifford D. Mallory as Cliphora. Following an extensive restoration at Snediker\, the century-old boat sailed again. \nFor an author fundraiser in Mystic\, it’s hard to imagine a setting more rooted in the character of the region: wooden hulls\, old boats and the smell and machinery of a working restoration shop rather than rows of seats in a hotel ballroom. \nThe library has made the location part of the tradition\, too. Its 2024 annual report notes that author and historian Hampton Sides appeared for a fundraiser at Snediker while promoting The Wide Wide Sea. Wally Lamb followed in 2025 with The River Is Waiting. \nNow Winslow becomes the fifth annual Author Talk’s featured writer. \nAn Evening That Supports the Library\nBefore the books take center stage\, the evening begins socially. \nDoors open for a reception from 5 to 6 p.m.\, with drinks and hors d’oeuvres included in admission. Bank Square Books will offer Winslow’s books for sale\, and the conversation with Koster follows from 6 to 7 p.m. \nThe library will also recognize its 2026 Volunteers of the Year\, Friends of the Library Co-Presidents Kathy Busse and Patricia Menno-Coveney\, for their service to the organization and community. \nMost importantly\, the night raises money. \nThe Mystic & Noank Library is a nonprofit organization\, and the Author Talk is part of its 2026 annual fundraising effort. Proceeds help sustain and expand the library’s programs and services. Tickets are limited\, and the library says it expects the event to sell out. \nSo\, yes\, there’s a bestselling crime writer in the middle of a wooden-boat restoration shop on Saturday night. \nBut there’s also a library behind him. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: 5th Annual Author Talk with Don Winslow at Snediker Yacht Restoration\nDate: Saturday\, Sept. 19\, 2026\nTime: 5–7 p.m.\nReception: 5–6 p.m. with drinks and hors d’oeuvres\nAuthor Conversation: 6–7 p.m.\nFeatured Author: Don Winslow\nInterviewer: Rick Koster\nFeatured Book: The Final Score\nLocation: Snediker Yacht Restoration\nAddress: 35 Campground Road\, Old Mystic\, CT 06372\nAdmission: $125 per person\nAge Group: Adults\nBooks: Bank Square Books will have Winslow’s books available for purchase\nFundraiser: Proceeds support Mystic & Noank Library programs and services\nHonorees: 2026 Volunteers of the Year Kathy Busse and Patricia Menno-Coveney\, co-presidents of the Friends of the Mystic & Noank Library\nAvailability: Space is limited\, and the library expects the event to sell out\nContact: Chris Bradley\, 860-536-7721 \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/don-winslow-brings-crime-corruption-and-the-final-score-to-mystic-noank-library-author-talk/
LOCATION:Snediker Yacht Restoration\, 35 Campground Rd\, Old Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Snediker Yacht Restoration
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T180000
DTSTAMP:20260916T233920Z
CREATED:20260916T232902Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T233920Z
UID:10007923-1789837200-1789840800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Music Matters: Rêverie ~ Flute & Harp Duo Brings Two New York Musicians to Stonington
DESCRIPTION:Music Matters: Rêverie ~ Flute & Harp Duo brings flutist Anna Urrey and harpist Kristi Shade to La Grua Center on Saturday\, September 19\, for an intimate chamber concert built around one of classical music’s most naturally complementary instrumental pairings. \nThe hourlong 5 p.m. program travels through music by Claude Debussy\, Gabriel Fauré\, Astor Piazzolla and others\, putting two instruments capable of remarkable delicacy into a room particularly suited to hearing the details. \nBut calling Urrey and Shade simply classical musicians undersells what these two do. \nBetween them are Broadway pits\, Carnegie Hall performances\, major orchestras\, Grammy-winning recordings\, movie soundtracks and collaborations with artists ranging from Audra McDonald and Patti LaBelle to John Legend\, Florence + The Machine and Andrea Bocelli. \nOn Saturday\, all of that experience gets distilled down to two musicians. \nOne flute. \nOne harp. \nAnd an audience sitting only a few feet away. \nRêverie Means Dream\nThe title gives a good indication of where the program is headed. \nThe French word rêverie describes a dreamlike state or pleasant daydream\, and it is also the title of one of Claude Debussy’s best-known compositions. \nDebussy is particularly appropriate for flute and harp. \nThe French composer became a master of musical color\, often treating instruments less as vehicles for big melodies than as different shades of light. Flute and harp appear prominently throughout his work\, including his landmark Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and late Sonata for Flute\, Viola and Harp. \nIn a flute-and-harp arrangement\, the instruments can almost seem to trade properties. \nA harp note rings and disappears. \nA flute phrase appears above it and hangs in the air. \nThere is no large ensemble to hide behind. \nThat’s precisely the point. \nDebussy and Fauré Put the Program in France\nLa Grua has announced works by Debussy and Gabriel Fauré\, placing part of Saturday’s program squarely within the French tradition that produced some of the finest repertoire for these instruments. \nFauré’s music combines lyrical melodies with subtle harmonic movement\, qualities particularly effective on flute. \nDebussy takes color even further. \nThe duo’s repertoire elsewhere offers an intriguing indication of how deep that connection goes. For a forthcoming Newport Classical appearance\, Urrey and Shade have programmed Debussy’s Rêverie\, Arabesque No. 1 and Clair de lune alongside Fauré’s Fantaisie\, Op. 79. \nLa Grua has not published a complete piece-by-piece program for Saturday\, so those individual works shouldn’t be assumed. \nWhat has been confirmed is the broader musical territory: Debussy\, Fauré\, Piazzolla and more. \nAnd Piazzolla changes the temperature considerably. \nThen Astor Piazzolla Takes the Music to Buenos Aires\nAstor Piazzolla reinvented Argentine tango during the 20th century. \nHis nuevo tango absorbed elements of classical composition and jazz without abandoning tango’s rhythmic and emotional foundation. \nThat makes Piazzolla a fascinating contrast to Debussy. \nThe instruments don’t change. \nTheir personalities do. \nUrrey and Shade have Histoire du Tango in their shared repertoire\, a work originally written for flute and guitar that traces tango’s evolution from its rougher beginnings through the concert hall. \nAgain\, La Grua has announced Piazzolla but hasn’t specified the individual composition\, so Saturday’s exact selection remains to be heard. \nBut the inclusion of his music tells us this won’t be an hour of uniformly hushed\, impressionistic chamber music. \nThere’s rhythm in this pairing too. \nAnna Urrey Has Played From Carnegie Hall to Movie Soundtracks\nFlutist Anna Urrey works across orchestral\, chamber\, contemporary\, film and educational music. \nHer performance résumé includes Carnegie Hall\, David Geffen Hall\, Le Poisson Rouge and National Sawdust\, along with appearances with the International Contemporary Ensemble\, The Knights\, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra\, American Symphony Orchestra\, New Haven Symphony Orchestra\, Mark Morris Dance Company and NOVUS NY. \nShe also spent three summers as principal flute at the Castleton Festival under conductor Lorin Maazel. \nThen there’s the recording studio. \nUrrey can be heard on the soundtracks for Radium Girls\, Little Women and Goodnight Mommy. \nShe also served as principal flute on the Experiential Orchestra’s recording of Ethel Smyth’s The Prison. \nThat album won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. \nShe’s Also Shared Stages With Some Very Familiar Names\nUrrey’s career doesn’t stop at the traditional classical boundary. \nShe has performed alongside artists including Audra McDonald\, Patti LaBelle\, Rufus Wainwright\, Jennifer Holliday\, Brian McKnight\, The Irish Tenors\, Jane Birkin and Ólafur Arnalds. \nHer professional work has also included the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. \nBeyond performing\, Urrey is deeply involved in music education. \nShe is a New York Philharmonic Teaching Artist\, a Wm. S. Haynes Collaborative Ambassador and a faculty member at the Marymount School in New York. \nShe earned her master’s degree and Performance Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music after completing her bachelor’s degree at Rutgers University. \nChamber music remains central to her work. \nUrrey is Co-Artistic Director of the Exponential Ensemble\, where performance and educational programming intersect. \nSaturday strips all of that experience down to its most exposed form. \nOne player carrying an entire melodic line. \nKristi Shade Started Playing Harp at Two\nHarpist Kristi Shade got an unusually early start. \nShe began playing the instrument at 2 years old through the Suzuki harp program. \nThat eventually led to a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music. \nToday she is Principal Harpist of the Chamber Orchestra of New York\, with which she has recorded multiple albums for the Naxos label. \nShe is also a chamber musician with Hat Trick\, a flute-viola-harp trio\, and Duo Scorpio\, the harp duo she formed with Kathryn Andrews. \nDuo Scorpio has been particularly important to Shade’s work in contemporary music\, commissioning and performing new repertoire for two harps rather than relying exclusively on the instrument’s traditional literature. \nIf You’ve Seen a Broadway Musical\, You May Have Already Heard Her\nShade’s Broadway résumé is enormous. \nHer credits include performances in productions of Wicked\, Ragtime\, Gypsy\, The Notebook\, Sweeney Todd\, Camelot\, Paradise Square\, Carousel\, Hello\, Dolly!\, Doctor Zhivago\, Cinderella\, A Little Night Music and The Apple Tree. \nThose productions put her in orchestras beneath performers including Audra McDonald\, Bette Midler\, Bernadette Peters\, Patti LuPone\, Catherine Zeta-Jones\, Angela Lansbury\, Elaine Stritch and Kristin Chenoweth. \nShe can also be heard on official cast recordings for Anastasia and Goosebumps the Musical. \nAnd her 2026 calendar illustrates how fluidly she moves between musical worlds. \nThis summer alone\, Shade’s schedule included performances of Wicked and Ragtime in New York\, the PAAX Festival in Mexico\, the National Flute Association Convention in Oregon and appearances with the Chamber Orchestra of New York. \nThen comes Stonington. \nFrom John Legend to The Killers\nShade’s work outside Broadway expands the picture further. \nShe has performed with Andrea Bocelli\, John Legend\, Florence + The Machine\, The Killers\, Santana\, Patti LaBelle\, Barry Manilow\, Rufus Wainwright\, Lauren Daigle\, Pink Martini and Itzhak Perlman\, among others. \nHer television appearances include The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\, Today\, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. \nThat’s a remarkable range for an instrument people sometimes associate almost exclusively with orchestras\, weddings and angels on greeting cards. \nThe modern concert harp can be rhythmic\, percussive\, atmospheric and surprisingly powerful. \nHearing one from a few rows away tends to make that clear very quickly. \nThe Two Musicians Will Meet Again in Newport\nSaturday isn’t a one-off pairing. \nUrrey and Shade are also scheduled to appear together during Newport Classical’s 2026-27 Chamber Series in February. \nThat program gives an unusually useful glimpse at the repertoire the musicians have developed together. \nTheir announced Newport program stretches from Nino Rota and Lili Boulanger to Jules Mouquet\, Fauré\, Debussy and Piazzolla. \nIt moves across different eras and national traditions while exploiting the colors available from flute and harp. \nLa Grua’s Rêverie appears to draw from the same musical partnership\, compressed into a one-hour Stonington performance. \nMusic Matters Was Built for Concerts Like This\nThe concert is part of La Grua Center’s long-running Music Matters series. \nMusic Matters emphasizes chamber\, classical\, early and world music in a setting far removed from a traditional concert hall. \nLa Grua occupies a renovated former industrial building at 32 Water Street in Stonington Borough. \nThe Great Room retains heavy timber\, stone and the proportions of the old structure while functioning as an intimate performance space. \nThere is no distant balcony hundreds of feet from the stage. \nThere is no giant orchestra separating the audience from the individual performers. \nFor a flute-and-harp recital\, that intimacy matters. \nYou’ll hear the breath entering the flute. \nYou’ll see Shade’s hands moving across the strings. \nAnd you’ll hear the physical attack of the harp before the note begins to resonate. \nThat’s chamber music at the scale it was meant to occupy. \nAn Hour Is Enough to Travel Quite a Distance\nThe concert begins at 5 p.m. \nDoors open at 4:30 p.m. \nSeating is unreserved\, so arrival time determines where you sit. \nTickets are $25 and sold primarily online. La Grua says a limited number may be available at the door on the day of the performance\, but availability isn’t guaranteed. \nThen the room gets quiet. \nDebussy and Fauré provide one kind of atmosphere. \nPiazzolla provides another. \nAnd two musicians accustomed to Broadway theaters\, symphony orchestras and major concert halls get an hour to see what they can do with a room in Stonington Borough. \nDetails\nEvent: Music Matters: Rêverie ~ Flute & Harp Duo\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 5–6 p.m.\nDoors: 4:30 p.m.\nVenue: La Grua Center\nAddress: 32 Water Street\, Stonington\, CT 06378\nPerformers: Anna Urrey\, flute; Kristi Shade\, harp\nProgram: Works by Debussy\, Fauré\, Piazzolla and others\nTickets: $25\nTicketing: Advance tickets are available online; a limited number may be available at the door\nSeating: Unreserved\nParking: Free parking is available in the Stonington Commons North Lot\nPhone: 860-535-2300 \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.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/music-matters-reverie-flute-harp-duo-brings-two-new-york-musicians-to-stonington/
LOCATION:La Grua Center\, 32 Water Street\, Stonington\, CT\, 06378\, United States
CATEGORIES:La Grua Center
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SUMMARY:First Wilcox Lobster Boil Brings a New England Feast to Historic Charlestown Tavern
DESCRIPTION:First Wilcox Lobster Boil brings Maine lobster and steamers\, locally harvested oysters and clams\, live music and all the traditional fixings to Caf Bar at the Wilcox on Saturday\, September 19\, as the historic Charlestown tavern starts what organizers hope will become a new end-of-summer tradition. \nThe boil runs from 3 to 7 p.m. on the Wilcox patio\, weather permitting. Tickets are $85 and include the seafood feast plus a complimentary glass of wine or Narragansett beer. \nAnd this is a serious seafood spread. \nCaf Bar’s menu calls for Maine lobster and steamers\, oysters from nearby Quonochontaug and Ninigret ponds\, clams\, corn on the cob\, red potatoes\, sausage and the other fixings associated with a traditional New England lobster boil. \nThere will also be live music and a sweet treat to finish the afternoon. \nLobster From Maine\, Oysters From Right Down the Road\nThe menu gives the meal a nice combination of northern New England and very local South County seafood. \nThe lobsters and steamers are coming from Maine\, while the oysters are being sourced from Quonnie and Ninigret ponds. \nThose two salt ponds are part of what makes the southern Rhode Island coast particularly well suited to shellfish aquaculture. \n“Quonnie” is the local shorthand for Quonochontaug Pond\, the coastal lagoon stretching behind the barrier beach between Charlestown and Westerly. Ninigret Pond lies immediately to its east. \nBoth are protected from the open Atlantic by barrier beaches while remaining connected to Block Island Sound through breachways. That exchange of salt water creates the kind of environment in which oysters can thrive. \nAnd Caf Bar has an especially close connection to the local product. \nQuonnie Oyster Is Part of the Wilcox\nThe Wilcox isn’t occupied by Caf Bar alone. \nThe historic property now brings several businesses together under one roof\, including Caf Bar\, Bend Yoga Studio\, The Venue at the Wilcox and Quonnie Oyster. \nThat makes the local oysters more than a generic Rhode Island flourish added to the menu. \nShellfish is part of what the property does. \nIt’s difficult to get much more South County than eating oysters grown in the nearby salt ponds while sitting outside a tavern that has been welcoming people along the Old Post Road for more than two centuries. \nWhat Comes With the $85 Ticket\nThe ticket covers a complete lobster-boil meal rather than simply admission to the event. \nThe published menu includes: \n\nMaine lobster and steamers\nNinigret and Quonnie oysters and clams\nCorn on the cob\nRed potatoes\nSausage and traditional boil fixings\nA sweet treat\nOne complimentary glass of wine or Narragansett beer\nLive music\n\nThe event itself lasts four hours\, from 3 to 7 p.m.\, giving it more of a leisurely afternoon gathering than a timed dinner-seating feel. \nTickets are limited\, and Caf Bar’s current ticket page lists September 14 at 6 p.m. as the end of advance ticket sales. \nThe New England Lobster Boil Is More Than Lobster\nThe genius of a traditional lobster boil is that most of dinner can be cooked together. \nLobsters and shellfish provide the centerpiece\, but corn\, potatoes and sausage turn it into a complete meal. Depending on the particular New England tradition\, onions and other vegetables can join the pot as well. \nThe ingredients don’t all require the same cooking time\, so they’re typically added in stages. \nWhat eventually emerges is less a carefully plated restaurant entrée than a pile of summer. \nLobster. \nClams. \nCorn. \nPotatoes. \nButter. \nNapkins. \nLots of napkins. \nThe meal is inherently communal\, messy and informal\, which is probably why the lobster boil has survived as a New England summer ritual. \nThe Tradition Goes Back Much Further Than the Modern Lobster Dinner\nLong before lobster became an expensive delicacy\, Indigenous people along the New England coast were harvesting and cooking shellfish. \nThe Narragansett and other Indigenous peoples of the region cooked seafood using heated stones and seaweed\, traditions that helped shape later New England clambakes. \nLobster itself had a very different reputation in colonial New England. \nIt was extraordinarily abundant. \nSo abundant\, in fact\, that it wasn’t initially regarded as luxury food. Lobster could be eaten by working people\, used as fertilizer and fed to animals. \nIts status changed dramatically as transportation and preservation improved during the 19th century. Lobster could reach diners farther inland\, demand increased\, and what had once been commonplace became desirable. \nToday\, a whole lobster is practically shorthand for a New England summer celebration. \nThe Wilcox Has Been Feeding Travelers for a Very Long Time\nThe setting has considerably more history than the event. \nThe building at 5153 Old Post Road is historically known as both the Joseph Stanton House and Wilcox Tavern. \nThe house dates to the early 18th century. Charlestown’s historic-property records place its establishment around 1730\, while National Register documentation identifies it as an important surviving example of 18th-century vernacular architecture. \nIt was associated first with the prominent Stanton family. \nJoseph Stanton Jr.\, who was born there\, went on to become a Revolutionary War officer\, delegate to the Confederation Congress and one of Rhode Island’s first United States senators. \nThen came the Wilcoxes. \nEdward Wilcox Saw Opportunity on the Old Post Road\nIn 1811\, Edward Wilcox purchased the Stanton property. \nIts location mattered. \nThe Old Post Road was an important overland route through southern Rhode Island\, carrying travelers between population centers including New York and Boston. \nWilcox recognized the value of serving those travelers and began operating a tavern at the property. \nThat hospitality function became part of the building’s identity for generations. \nThe National Register of Historic Places specifically recognizes the Wilcox Tavern not only for its architecture and connection to the Stanton and Wilcox families\, but also for its long role as a place of public gathering and a landmark to travelers along the Post Road. \nMore than 200 years after Edward Wilcox began welcoming travelers\, people are still gathering there for food and drink. \nOn September 19\, they’re just adding a lot of lobster. \nThe Building Even Played a Role During World War II\nThe Wilcox property’s history didn’t stop with stagecoach-era travelers. \nDuring World War II\, the building was used to house U.S. Navy officers connected with the nearby Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Air Station. \nThe former air station occupied what is now largely Ninigret Park and the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge. \nThat means the Wilcox has moved through several versions of Charlestown history: colonial home\, roadside tavern\, wartime lodging\, restaurant and now a multi-use community and hospitality property. \nCaf Bar is the newest chapter. \nCaf Bar Has Given the Old Tavern Another Life\nCaf Bar operates two Rhode Island locations\, with its original cafe in Wakefield and the second location at the Wilcox. \nThe Charlestown operation is intentionally different. \nBy day\, it functions as a cafe serving coffee and food. \nBy evening\, the historic building shifts toward a full bar\, cocktails\, small plates\, live music and special events. \nThe property has multiple rooms and fireplaces inside\, while warmer weather brings events onto the patio. \nFriday nights throughout the season already feature live music. \nThe lobster boil expands that programming into a ticketed Saturday event and\, if the “first” in First Wilcox Lobster Boil works as intended\, the beginning of something recurring. \nA Narragansett Beer Makes Sense Here\nGuests can choose a complimentary glass of wine or Narragansett beer with the meal. \nNarragansett Brewing’s Rhode Island history stretches back to 1890\, when the original brewery began in Cranston. \nThe brand eventually became one of New England’s dominant regional beers before declining under later ownership. It was revived as a Rhode Island company in the 2000s and eventually returned brewing operations to its home state. \nPairing Narragansett with lobster\, steamers and Rhode Island oysters isn’t particularly complicated culinary theory. \nIt just makes geographic sense. \nSummer Isn’t Quite Finished Yet\nThe event is being billed as an End of Summer Wilcox Lobster Boil\, and September 19 lands almost perfectly for it. \nThe autumnal equinox is only days away. \nSouth County’s enormous July and August beach crowds have diminished. \nBut the ocean is still relatively warm\, the coastal restaurants and businesses haven’t disappeared for winter\, and a good September afternoon can feel every bit like summer without peak-season traffic. \nThat’s the sweet spot the Wilcox is aiming for. \nOne more outdoor gathering. \nOne more lobster. \nOne more afternoon of live music and cold drinks. \nThen fall can have its turn. \nDetails\nEvent: First Wilcox Lobster Boil\nOfficial Listing: End of Summer Wilcox Lobster Boil\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 3–7 p.m.\nVenue: Caf Bar at the Wilcox\nAddress: 5153 Old Post Road\, Charlestown\, RI 02813\nLocation: Wilcox patio\, weather permitting\nTickets: $85\nTicket Sales End: Monday\, September 14 at 6 p.m.\, according to the current ticket page\nMenu: Maine lobster and steamers; Quonnie and Ninigret oysters and clams; corn on the cob; red potatoes; sausage; traditional boil fixings; and a sweet treat\nIncluded Beverage: Complimentary glass of wine or Narragansett beer\nEntertainment: Live music\nSetting: Historic Wilcox Tavern/Joseph Stanton House\nTickets: Limited; advance purchase is required through Caf Bar’s event page \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.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/first-wilcox-lobster-boil-brings-a-new-england-feast-to-historic-charlestown-tavern/
LOCATION:Caf Bar\, 5153 Old Post Road\, Charlestown\, RI\, 02813\, United States
CATEGORIES:Caf Bar + Venue
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SUMMARY:WDA Heather Cox Richardson Watch Party Brings a National Democracy Event to Bank Square Books
DESCRIPTION:WDA Heather Cox Richardson Watch Party brings a nationwide Writers for Democratic Action event to Bank Square Books in Mystic on Saturday\, September 19\, as historian and bestselling author Heather Cox Richardson receives the inaugural Gitlin-Auster Defender of Democracy Award. \nThe local gathering begins at 2:30 p.m. with refreshments\, conversation and an opportunity to submit questions before the national livestream starts at 3 p.m. \nRichardson will receive the new award before sitting down for a conversation with novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt\, a founding member of Writers for Democratic Action and author of the 2026 memoir Ghost Stories. \nBank Square Books is one of a network of locations around the country holding what WDA calls Solidarity Watch Parties. The Mystic event adds a decidedly local component: a representative from the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut will be available to register voters and answer questions about voting in Connecticut’s upcoming elections. \nAdmission is free\, but Bank Square Books is requesting advance registration. \nA Watch Party Connected to a National Event\nThis isn’t a prerecorded author talk being shown at the bookstore. \nWriters for Democratic Action is bringing together hundreds of its members online while people gather simultaneously at bookstores\, libraries\, homes\, retirement communities and other locations around the country. \nAt 3 p.m. Eastern\, those separate gatherings will join the same livestream honoring Richardson. \nThe national organization says the watch parties have a second purpose beyond recognizing her work. They also mark the launch of WDA’s Book the Vote campaign ahead of the November election. \nWriters for Democratic Action describes itself as a national community of more than 4\,000 writers committed to defending democracy\, freedom of expression\, truth and justice. \nIts membership includes novelists\, poets\, journalists\, essayists and other writers who have chosen to become actively involved in civic issues rather than keeping their political concerns separate from their literary work. \nSaturday’s event puts one of the country’s most widely read historians at the center of that effort. \nHeather Cox Richardson Has Turned the Daily News Into a History Lesson\nRichardson is a professor of history at Boston College\, but the audience for her work now extends far beyond a university classroom. \nShe’s a specialist in 19th-century American political and economic history whose academic work has examined the Civil War\, Reconstruction\, the Gilded Age\, the American West and the development of the Republican Party. \nHer books include The Death of Reconstruction\, West from Appomattox\, Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre\, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party\, How the South Won the Civil War and Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. \nBut millions of readers know her primarily through Letters from an American. \nRichardson began what became the newsletter in 2019 as she tried to explain rapidly developing political events by putting them into a larger historical context. \nRather than treating each day’s political news as an isolated story\, she connects contemporary developments to earlier periods in American history. \nA dispute over the power of the presidency might lead backward to Reconstruction. \nA modern argument over voting rights can become a discussion of the post-Civil War amendments. \nPolitical rhetoric can be traced across generations to show where ideas came from and how their meanings changed. \nThe approach turned an academic historian into a major national voice. \nBy 2026\, Letters from an American had grown into an audience measured in the millions across Substack and social media. \nRichardson’s Subject Is Increasingly Democracy Itself\nRichardson’s academic specialty might be 19th-century America\, but a common thread running through much of her recent public work is a much larger question: \nHow does a democracy survive? \nHer 2023 bestseller Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America examines the historical forces Richardson argues brought the United States to its current political moment. \nThe book moves between the country’s founding\, abolition\, Reconstruction\, the rise of modern political movements\, the Nixon era and the events surrounding January 6\, 2021. \nRichardson’s central method is historical rather than predictive. \nToday’s conflicts become easier to understand\, she argues\, when they’re placed beside earlier struggles over political power\, economic opportunity\, citizenship and who gets to participate in American government. \nThat combination of scholarship and public engagement has brought Richardson recognition beyond the academy. \nShe was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022 and has received the Authors Guild Award for literary activism. \nOn September 19\, another award will be added to that list. \nThe First Gitlin-Auster Defender of Democracy Award\nWriters for Democratic Action will present Richardson with its inaugural Gitlin-Auster Defender of Democracy Award during Saturday’s livestream. \nThe names behind the award are significant. \nTodd Gitlin was a writer\, sociologist\, political activist and longtime commentator on American politics and culture. As a young man\, he served as president of Students for a Democratic Society and later became a prominent scholar and critic. \nPaul Auster was the acclaimed novelist\, essayist\, poet\, screenwriter and filmmaker whose books included The New York Trilogy\, Moon Palace\, The Book of Illusions and 4 3 2 1. \nBoth were among the writers involved in creating Writers for Democratic Action. \nGitlin died in 2022. \nAuster died in 2024. \nNaming WDA’s new democracy award for them ties the organization’s present work to two writers who believed that literary and intellectual life could not always remain separate from public life. \nRichardson becomes its first recipient Saturday. \nSiri Hustvedt Joins Richardson for the Conversation\nFollowing the award presentation\, Richardson will be joined by Siri Hustvedt. \nHustvedt is a novelist\, essayist and scholar whose work has frequently crossed boundaries among fiction\, philosophy\, psychology\, neuroscience and art. \nHer books include What I Loved\, The Summer Without Men\, The Blazing World and numerous collections of essays. \nShe’s also a founding member of Writers for Democratic Action. \nThe connection to Saturday’s award is particularly personal. \nHustvedt and Paul Auster were married for 43 years\, until Auster’s death from lung cancer in April 2024. \nHer latest book\, Ghost Stories\, published in May 2026\, is a memoir of their life together and her experience of grief following his death. \nThe book incorporates previously unseen material from Auster\, including letters and unfinished writing\, while exploring memory\, love\, loss and what remains of a shared life after one person is gone. \nThat makes the pairing Saturday more than a conventional author interviewing another author. \nHustvedt is helping present an award that carries her late husband’s name\, then joining its first recipient for a public discussion about the ideas that led WDA to create it. \nMystic’s Watch Party Has Its Own Civic Component\nThe livestream is national. \nWhat happens around it at Bank Square Books is local. \nGuests can arrive at 2:30 p.m.\, giving them about half an hour to mingle\, have refreshments and submit questions before the livestream begins. \nA representative of the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut will also be at the bookstore. \nThe League representative can help eligible residents register to vote and answer practical questions about voting and Connecticut elections. \nThat gives people an immediate way to move from a national discussion of democracy to one of its most basic local functions. \nConnecticut’s next general election is Tuesday\, November 3\, 2026. \nFor someone uncertain about registration\, election procedures or where to find reliable nonpartisan voting information\, Saturday provides an opportunity to ask a person rather than sort through conflicting information online. \nBank Square Books Has Become a Gathering Place as Well as a Bookstore\nThe setting also fits the event. \nBank Square Books has served Mystic-area readers since 1988. \nIts current location at 80 Stonington Road\, Suite 8\, gives the independent bookstore enough room to regularly hold author talks\, signings\, book clubs and other community programs. \nThat role matters in an era when books can be purchased without ever entering a bookstore. \nAn independent bookstore can sell the same book that arrives in a cardboard box on someone’s doorstep. \nWhat it can do that the box can’t is put readers in the same room. \nSaturday’s watch party takes that idea a step further. \nThe featured historian won’t physically be in Mystic. Neither will Hustvedt. \nBut the audience will. \nRather than watching the livestream individually at home\, people can hear the same conversation together\, discuss it and connect it to the civic work happening where they actually live. \nThat’s the entire idea behind WDA’s Solidarity Watch Parties. \nYou Can Arrive at 2:30 or Join for the Livestream at 3\nBank Square Books is inviting guests to arrive at 2:30 p.m. for the social portion of the event. \nRefreshments will be available\, and attendees can submit questions. \nThe national program begins at 3 p.m. \nThere is a slight discrepancy in the published ending time. Bank Square Books’ current event calendar lists the event from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.\, while regional event calendars list the gathering through approximately 4 p.m. The national WDA schedule describes the livestream itself as running from 3 to 4 p.m. \nAnyone attending should therefore plan on the main livestream running until about 4 p.m.\, with the bookstore’s event window potentially continuing afterward. \nThe event is free. \nAdvance registration is requested. \nAn Author Event Where the Book Isn’t the End of the Conversation\nThere’s an interesting inversion at the heart of Saturday’s event. \nRichardson became famous in part by using history to explain politics. \nWriters for Democratic Action is using writers to encourage political participation. \nBank Square Books is using a bookstore as a place for civic gathering. \nAnd the League of Women Voters will be there to turn some of those conversations into the decidedly practical business of making sure people can vote. \nBooks are still at the center of it. \nSo are writers. \nBut the WDA Heather Cox Richardson Watch Party is built around the idea that reading about democracy and participating in one are related activities. \nOn Saturday afternoon\, those two things meet at a bookstore in Mystic. \nDetails\nEvent: WDA Heather Cox Richardson Watch Party\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nArrival/Mingling: 2:30 p.m.\nNational Livestream: 3 p.m.\nLivestream End: Approximately 4 p.m.\nBank Square Books Calendar Window: 2:30–4:30 p.m.\nLocation: Bank Square Books\nAddress: 80 Stonington Road\, Suite 8\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: Free\nRegistration: Advance RSVP requested\nFeatured Guest: Heather Cox Richardson\, historian\, author and Boston College professor\nAward: Inaugural Gitlin-Auster Defender of Democracy Award\nConversation: Heather Cox Richardson and Siri Hustvedt\nPresented Nationally By: Writers for Democratic Action\nLocal Host: Bank Square Books\nLocal Civic Resource: League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut representative available for voter registration and election questions\nBefore the Livestream: Mingling\, refreshments and question submission\nGeneral Election: Tuesday\, November 3\, 2026\nBank Square Books Phone: 860-536-3795 \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo reserve your spot\, click the Event Registration 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. \nResources\nWriters for Democratic Action\nHeather Cox Richardson – Boston College\nHeather Cox Richardson – American Academy of Arts and Sciences\nDemocracy Awakening – Penguin Random House\nGhost Stories – Siri Hustvedt\nConnecticut Voter Information
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/wda-heather-cox-richardson-watch-party-brings-a-national-democracy-event-to-bank-square-books/
LOCATION:Bank Square Books\, 80 Stonington Rd\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Bank Square Books
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T220000
DTSTAMP:20260918T024641Z
CREATED:20260910T022601Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260918T024641Z
UID:10007533-1789819200-1789855200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:South County Folk Festival in Downtown Wakefield
DESCRIPTION:NOTE: This is a rescheduled event.\nSouth County Folk Festival in Downtown Wakefield makes its debut Saturday\, September 19\, turning Sunset Stage at Birch & Bay into a nine-hour outdoor celebration of folk\, indie folk\, Americana\, and the music being made around Rhode Island right now. \nPresented by Westerly Sound in partnership with Sunset Stage at Birch & Bay\, the first-year festival runs from noon to 9 p.m. Its announced lineup brings together internationally touring musicians and emerging regional artists\, including Brad Barr\, Nic Panken\, Lefty Parker\, Ruby of Thanks\, Lily Rhodes and Breachway. \nThere will also be food\, drinks and vendors throughout the day. The festival is open to all ages; children 12 and younger get in free\, and free parking is available. \nBut the most interesting thing about this new festival may be its definition of “folk.” \nThis isn’t an afternoon devoted exclusively to traditional acoustic music. The musicians gathered in Wakefield stretch the term through indie rock\, alt-country\, experimental folk\, lo-fi recording and contemporary singer-songwriter music. \nAt the center is a musician whose Rhode Island roots reach back decades. \nLive Music on the Main Stage\n11:00–11:20 a.m. — The Full Fill\n11:35–11:55 a.m. — Christina Holmes\n12:10–12:30 p.m. — Margeaux Lynn\n12:45–1:05 p.m. — Lily Rhodes\n1:20–2:00 p.m. — Guess Method\n2:15–2:45 p.m. — Mead Savage\n3:00–3:20 p.m. — Chrissy Stewart\n3:35–3:55 p.m. — Sam Slick\n4:10–4:30 p.m. — Josh Feld\n4:45–5:30 p.m. — Kara McKee\n5:30–6:30 p.m. — Will Evans\n6:40–7:05 p.m. — Lefty Parker\n7:15–7:40 p.m. — Aedie\n7:50–8:50 p.m. — Brad Barr \nAfter the Show\n8:20–10:00 p.m. — DJ Dyn-O-Mite \nBrad Barr Comes Home to Rhode Island\nBrad Barr has spent much of his musical career elsewhere\, but his story begins in Providence. \nBarr and his brother Andrew grew up in Rhode Island and became known through The Slip\, the adventurous trio they formed with bassist Marc Friedman. The band developed a following through years of touring and an improvisational approach that resisted easy classification\, moving among rock\, jazz\, folk and experimental music. \nBrad and Andrew eventually relocated to Montreal. \nThere\, an accidental musical connection helped create the next major chapter of their careers. \nBrad Barr heard harpist Sarah Pagé practicing through the wall of his apartment. The musicians met\, began playing together\, and The Barr Brothers eventually emerged around Brad and Andrew Barr with Pagé. \nThe resulting music was difficult to categorize in a different way than The Slip had been. Folk and Americana sat alongside blues\, African and other global influences\, unconventional guitar techniques and Pagé’s harp. \nThe Barr Brothers’ 2014 album Sleeping Operator earned a Juno Award nomination\, while subsequent records and extensive touring established the group internationally. \nBrad Barr has now spent roughly three decades making music professionally\, but Sunday’s appearance brings a Providence-born songwriter back to Rhode Island for a festival explicitly celebrating the state’s folk music community. \nThat makes him an especially appropriate anchor for the first South County Folk Festival. \nLily Rhodes Represents Another Side of Rhode Island Songwriting\nLily Rhodes brings the festival closer to home again. \nBased in Warren\, Rhode Island\, Rhodes describes herself as a singer-songwriter\, producer\, writer and multimedia artist. \nHer released music includes Weather the Storm\, Leave Me Blue\, Calling To Say and Rightful Place. \nShe’s been part of Rhode Island’s independent music scene for years. Her performances have included WaterFire Providence and Newport’s NIMFest summer concert series\, where she appeared at King Park in August. \nRhodes’ work sits comfortably within the singer-songwriter tradition while reflecting the increasingly fluid boundaries between folk\, indie music and self-produced recording. \nThat variety matters on a nine-hour bill. \nA festival built entirely around musicians who approach songwriting the same way can become repetitive no matter how talented they are. South County Folk Festival appears to be using “folk” more as a common starting point than a strict musical rule. \nLefty Parker Adds Another Voice to the Bill\nLefty Parker joins Brad Barr\, Nic Panken\, Ruby of Thanks\, Lily Rhodes and Breachway on the festival’s announced lineup. \nCompared with some of Sunday’s other performers\, reliable published biographical material about Parker is relatively limited. Rather than fill that gap with assumptions\, it’s more useful to view the booking in the context of the festival itself. \nThe organizers aren’t presenting South County Folk Festival simply as a collection of established touring acts. They’re explicitly pairing artists with broader touring histories with rising talent connected to South County and the regional scene. \nThat creates a discovery component. \nYou may arrive because you recognize Brad Barr or another artist on the bill and leave having heard someone you didn’t know at noon. \nThat’s one of the things small festivals can still do particularly well. \nA First-Year Festival With a Rhode Island Point of View\nThe phrase “first annual” carries a certain optimism. \nThere isn’t yet a long South County Folk Festival tradition to draw upon. No stories about legendary performances from ten years ago. No established routine about where everyone puts their blankets or which performer traditionally closes the afternoon. \nThis is year one. \nWesterly Sound and Sunset Stage are effectively asking whether there’s room for a new folk-oriented gathering in South County. \nRhode Island already occupies an unusually important place in American folk music because of the Newport Folk Festival\, whose history reaches back to 1959. \nTrying to duplicate Newport would make little sense. \nSouth County Folk Festival instead appears to be working on a deliberately smaller scale\, using a downtown Wakefield venue and a mixture of touring and regional musicians to build something centered on the community around it. \nThe lineup itself tells that story. \nBrad Barr was born in Providence and built an international career. \nBreachway’s Noah Barreto grew up attending Newport Folk Festival and now lives and performs beyond Rhode Island. \nLily Rhodes is actively making music in the state. \nNic Panken and Ruby of Thanks bring outside voices into the mix. \nIt’s regional without being insular. \nFolk Music Has Never Stayed Still\nThere’s also something fitting about calling all of this folk music. \nThe genre has always changed depending on who was making it and when. \nTraditional songs became singer-songwriter music. Blues and country became intertwined with it. Bob Dylan plugged in an electric guitar at Newport and helped ignite one of the most famous arguments in American music history. \nLater generations brought rock\, psychedelia\, indie music\, electronic textures and experimental recording techniques with them. \nThe South County lineup reflects that continuing evolution. \nBreachway can use pedal steel and synthesizers. \nRuby of Thanks can make a home-recorded song feel like an artifact discovered from another decade. \nBrad Barr can move between folk songwriting and guitar experimentation. \nLily Rhodes can be songwriter\, producer and multimedia artist at the same time. \nThere doesn’t have to be one correct answer to what folk music sounds like in 2026. \nThe common thread remains the song. \nSunset Stage Puts the Festival in Downtown Wakefield\nThe setting gives the festival another advantage. \nBirch & Bay sits at 323 Main Street in downtown Wakefield\, rather than on an isolated festival field miles outside town. \nThe coastal-inspired restaurant includes indoor dining and bar space along with its seasonal outdoor areas\, while Sunset Stage provides the setting for live music. \nFor the festival\, organizers are promising food\, drinks and vendors in addition to the performances. \nThat makes this more than a sequence of concerts with everyone asked to leave between sets. \nIt’s designed as an all-day gathering. \nWith music running from noon until 9 p.m.\, attendees can make an afternoon of it\, stay through dinner and continue into the evening sets. \nKids 12 and younger are admitted free\, which also makes the festival unusually approachable for families interested in exposing younger listeners to live music without buying another full-price ticket. \n  \nDetails\nEvent: South County Folk Festival\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: Noon–9 p.m.\nLocation: Sunset Stage at Birch & Bay\nSetting: Outdoor festival at Birch & Bay’s Sunset Stage\nAddress: 323 Main Street\, Wakefield\, RI 02879\nPresented by: Westerly Sound in partnership with Sunset Stage at Birch & Bay\nAdmission: Ticketed event; advance purchase is encouraged and capacity is limited\nAges: All ages\nChildren: Ages 12 and younger admitted free\nFood & Drink: Food and beverages available during the festival\nVendors: Vendors will be on site\nParking: Free parking\nDuration: Approximately nine hours\nRefunds: Available up to seven days before the event through Eventbrite \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \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/south-county-folk-festival-in-downtown-wakefield/
LOCATION:Sunset Stage at Birch & Bay\, 323 Main Street\, Wakefield\, RI\, 02879\, United States
CATEGORIES:Sunset Stage at Birch & Bay
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T180000
DTSTAMP:20260918T023634Z
CREATED:20260918T023634Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260918T023634Z
UID:10008452-1789819200-1789840800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Niantic Bay Oyster Festival Brings Local Oysters\, Beer and Live Music to St. John’s Green
DESCRIPTION:Niantic Bay Oyster Festival Brings Local Oysters\, Beer and Live Music to St. John’s Green Saturday\, Sept. 19\, turning the downtown Niantic green into a six-hour celebration of Connecticut shellfish\, local breweries\, food and live music\, all supporting the Miracle League of Southeastern Connecticut. \nNow in its eighth year\, the free festival runs from noon to 6 p.m. at St. John’s Green\, 400 Main Street. The premise is straightforward: eat oysters\, sample local food and drinks\, listen to three bands and raise money for an organization working to make recreation accessible to people with disabilities. \nAnd the oysters really are local. \nFive oyster producers are on the 2026 lineup: Behan Family Farm\, Watch Hill Oysters\, Niantic Bay Oyster Farm\, Sixpenny Oyster Farm and CT Cultured Oysters. Together they give festivalgoers a chance to sample shellfish from several growers rather than getting the experience of a single raw bar. \nBeer\, Cocktails and Plenty Beyond Oysters\nThe beverage lineup has a similarly local focus. Niantic Public House & Brewery\, Grey Sail Brewing\, Tox Brewing Company\, Myrcene Ale Co.\, Outer Light Brewing Company and Taylor Brooke Brewery are among those scheduled\, along with By the Bay Niantic and cocktails from Sip\, Sip Hooray. \nFor anyone who doesn’t consider a dozen oysters lunch\, the food lineup broadens considerably. \nThe Black Sheep\, Frank’s Wood-Fired Pizza\, Keifer’s Kettle Korn\, Kona Shaved Ice\, Constantine’s on the Bay\, Yummy Wagon and Beach Buns Hot Dog Stand are among the announced food vendors. \nFood and drinks operate on a ticket system. Tickets cost $1 each and can be purchased with cash or credit at festival ticket tables. Individual vendors determine how many tickets their items cost\, so that $1 is the value of a ticket\, not the price of an oyster or drink. \nAdmission itself is free. \nThree Bands\, Five and a Half Hours of Music\nMusic starts when the festival opens and continues through most of the afternoon. \nAzalea Drive gets the first slot from noon to 2 p.m. \nFusion takes over from 2 to 4 p.m. \nThen southeastern Connecticut favorite Wicked Peach closes the musical lineup from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The longtime regional rock band has become a familiar presence at festivals\, clubs and outdoor stages around southeastern Connecticut\, making them a natural choice for the festival’s late-afternoon set. \nWith the performances scheduled consecutively\, visitors can hear live music for five and a half of the festival’s six hours. \nA Festival With a Larger Purpose\nThe oysters and beer may get people onto the green\, but the reason for the festival is the Miracle League of Southeastern Connecticut. \nThe nonprofit works to provide recreational opportunities for children and others with physical\, cognitive and developmental challenges. Its work includes accessible sports programs and a specially designed athletic field intended to remove barriers that can prevent people with disabilities from participating in traditional recreational sports. \nThe Niantic Bay Oyster Festival is one of the organization’s annual fundraisers\, and organizers say 100% of festival proceeds benefit the Miracle League of Southeastern Connecticut. \nThat gives every plate of oysters and round of drinks a second purpose. \nThe festival also includes cornhole and a children’s activity area\, making this more than an adults-only oyster-and-beer afternoon. \nHow the Festival Works\nThere’s no admission charge\, although parking on St. John’s Green costs $5. \nFood and beverage tickets are sold in $1 increments\, with both cash and credit cards accepted at the ticket tables. Tickets are nonrefundable. \nAnyone purchasing alcoholic beverages should also bring identification. Organizers say they will conduct a 100% ID check before issuing drink wristbands. \nOne other rule is worth knowing before bringing the entire family: pets and emotional-support animals are not permitted on the festival grounds. Service animals as defined by the ADA are permitted. \nWith five oyster growers\, a substantial collection of local breweries and food vendors\, three live bands and six hours on the green\, the Niantic Bay Oyster Festival has grown into considerably more than an afternoon raw bar. \nAnd every oyster\, beer and food ticket helps support a local organization built around the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to play. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: 8th Annual Niantic Bay Oyster Festival\nDate: Saturday\, Sept. 19\, 2026\nTime: Noon–6 p.m.\nLocation: St. John’s Green\nAddress: 400 Main Street\, Niantic\, CT 06357\nAdmission: Free\nParking: $5 on St. John’s Green\nFood & Beverage Tickets: $1 each; cash and credit accepted at ticket tables; no refunds\nLive Music: Azalea Drive\, noon–2 p.m.; Fusion\, 2–4 p.m.; Wicked Peach\, 4–5:30 p.m.\nOyster Vendors: Behan Family Farm\, Watch Hill Oysters\, Niantic Bay Oyster Farm\, Sixpenny Oyster Farm and CT Cultured Oysters\nActivities: Local oysters\, food and beverages\, live music\, cornhole and children’s activities\nAlcohol: ID required for drink wristbands\nPets: No pets or emotional-support animals; ADA-defined service animals permitted\nBeneficiary: 100% of festival proceeds benefit the Miracle League of Southeastern Connecticut \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/niantic-bay-oyster-festival-brings-local-oysters-beer-and-live-music-to-st-johns-green/
LOCATION:ST John’s Green\, 400 Main Street\, Niantic\, 06357\, United States
CATEGORIES:ST John's Green
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T170000
DTSTAMP:20260918T032818Z
CREATED:20260918T032818Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260918T032818Z
UID:10008459-1789819200-1789837200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Mitchell Farm Music Festival Brings Three Days of ’70s-Rooted Music to a Horse Sanctuary
DESCRIPTION:Mitchell Farm Music Festival Brings Three Days of ’70s-Rooted Music to a Horse Retirement Sanctuary Sept. 18–20\, pairing Jon Pousette-Dart\, Laurel Canyon\, Broken Arrow and Mystic Dead with a setting unlike the typical weekend concert venue: a working sanctuary where aged and infirm horses have come to spend the rest of their lives. \nNow in its 19th year\, the annual fundraiser takes place at Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement in Salem\, about 20 miles from Mystic. The weekend stretches from a Friday evening concert through two afternoon performances Saturday and Sunday\, with proceeds helping support the horses\, ponies and donkeys living at the nonprofit farm. \nIt is part music festival\, part picnic and part introduction to a place built around a simple idea: retirement should mean retirement for horses\, too. \nThree Days of Music\nThe festival opens Friday at 7 p.m. with the Jon Pousette-Dart Acoustic Duo. \nPousette-Dart emerged nationally in the 1970s as leader of the Pousette-Dart Band\, blending folk\, country and soft rock during a period when artists such as James Taylor\, the Eagles and Little Feat were expanding the boundaries of American singer-songwriter music. The band released a series of albums for Capitol Records and became a fixture of the era’s college and concert circuit. \nSaturday’s music begins at 2:30 p.m. with Laurel Canyon and Broken Arrow\, a pairing firmly rooted in the music of the late 1960s and 1970s. \nLaurel Canyon celebrates the music associated with the famed Los Angeles neighborhood that became a creative center for singer-songwriters and folk-rock musicians during that period. \nBroken Arrow turns the focus toward the music of Neil Young\, drawing from the electric and acoustic sides of a catalog that stretches from intimate folk songs to the raw guitar sound associated with Crazy Horse. \nSunday belongs to Mystic Dead\, beginning at 2:30 p.m. The southeastern Connecticut band has built its shows around the music of the Grateful Dead\, making the final afternoon a natural fit for a festival that openly embraces the sounds of the 1970s. \nWhere Retired Horses Get to Be Horses Again\nThe setting gives the weekend considerably more meaning than a typical outdoor concert. \nMitchell Farm Equine Retirement was founded by Dee Doolittle in August 2004 and received federal nonprofit status the following year. It became fully accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries in 2012 and says it has provided permanent sanctuary to more than 127 horses during its 22 years of operation. \nIts mission is to provide a safe and comfortable retirement for aged and infirm horses while educating the public about equine welfare. The farm describes retirement there as an opportunity for horses to have the time and space to simply be horses again. \nThat distinction matters. \nThese aren’t horses being maintained so they can continue working\, performing or carrying riders. Mitchell Farm exists as their final home\, providing the food\, shelter and specialized care that older animals may need after their working lives have ended. \nAnd demand for that kind of retirement is substantial. Mitchell Farm’s admissions information currently estimates a waiting period of two to four years for horses needing placement. \nWhere the Festival Money Goes\nThe Music Festival is one of the events that helps make that retirement possible. \nMitchell Farm says proceeds from its fundraising events go directly toward feed\, veterinary care and farrier expenses for horses in its care. \nThat means the connection between buying a festival ticket and supporting the animals is unusually direct: a weekend spent listening to music on the farm helps pay for the everyday necessities of caring for an aging herd. \nFestivalgoers will be able to see the place their money supports while they’re there. \nBring a Chair\, a Picnic and Settle In\nThe atmosphere is deliberately informal. \nGuests are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair\, and they’re welcome to pack a picnic and BYOB. Food will also be available on site. According to the farm’s current festival information\, the concerts take place under a tent and are scheduled rain or shine. Dogs are not permitted. \nThe farm’s social media announcement lists The Grill by Kay as Friday’s food vendor\, with Rustic StrEats on site Saturday and Sunday. \nFriday parking opens at 5 p.m.\, with gates opening at 6 p.m. before the 7 p.m. concert. Saturday and Sunday parking opens at noon\, followed by gates at 1:30 p.m. and music at 2:30 p.m. \nTickets are available at the gate. \nFor a Beacon reader in the Mystic area\, this one requires a little more driving than most of our weekend picks. But roughly half an hour up Route 85 leads to something that’s difficult to duplicate closer to the coast: three days of music from the ’70s and the artists it inspired\, performed at a farm devoted to giving old horses a comfortable place to spend their final years. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: 19th Annual Mitchell Farm Music Festival\nDates: Friday\, Sept. 18–Sunday\, Sept. 20\, 2026\nLocation: Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement\nAddress: 300 East Haddam Road (Route 82)\, Salem\, CT 06420\nWeather: Rain or shine; tented event\nSeating: Bring a blanket or lawn chair\nFood: Picnics welcome; food vendors available\nBeverages: BYOB permitted\nDogs: Not permitted\nBeneficiary: Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement; fundraising proceeds help pay for feed\, veterinary care and farrier costs for horses in its care. \nFriday\, Sept. 18: Jon Pousette-Dart Acoustic Duo at 7 p.m.; parking opens 5 p.m.; gate opens 6 p.m.; gate admission $42 or $40 cash. \nSaturday\, Sept. 19: Laurel Canyon and Broken Arrow at 2:30 p.m.; parking opens noon; gate opens 1:30 p.m.; gate admission $72 or $70 cash. \nSunday\, Sept. 20: Mystic Dead at 2:30 p.m.; parking opens noon; gate opens 1:30 p.m.; gate admission $32 or $30 cash. \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/mitchell-farm-music-festival-brings-three-days-of-70s-rooted-music-to-a-horse-sanctuary/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:Mitchell Farm\, 300 E Haddam Rd\, Salem\, 06420\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mitchell Farm
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T153000
DTSTAMP:20260911T235710Z
CREATED:20260911T235710Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T235710Z
UID:10007548-1789819200-1789831800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:1st Annual Misquamicut End of Summer Car Show
DESCRIPTION:1st Annual Misquamicut End of Summer Car Show brings classic and specialty vehicles to the Misquamicut Drive-In Theatre on Saturday\, September 19\, for a free afternoon of cars\, live music and end-of-season fun near the beach. \nThe inaugural show runs from noon to 3:30 p.m. and is presented by the Misquamicut Business Association. Admission is free for spectators\, with classic and specialty cars providing the main attraction and a $100 cash prize waiting for one Best in Show winner. \nLive music comes from Never Enuff\, adding a local rock soundtrack to an afternoon designed to give Misquamicut one more big gathering before summer officially gives way to fall. \nA New September Tradition Starts in Misquamicut\nThe “1st Annual” on the poster matters. \nThis isn’t the latest edition of an established Westerly car show being given a new name. The Misquamicut Business Association is launching a new event built specifically around the end of the beach season. \nThat’s familiar territory for the organization. \nThe MBA has spent years stretching Misquamicut’s calendar beyond the traditional Memorial Day-to-Labor Day beach season with festivals\, drive-in movies and other events that give visitors reasons to return when the biggest summer crowds have disappeared. \nA car show fits surprisingly well into that strategy. \nSeptember still offers the possibility of beautiful beach weather\, but Atlantic Avenue is no longer dealing with the relentless traffic of peak summer weekends. \nAnd the venue was practically made for parking interesting cars where people can walk around them. \nThe Misquamicut Drive-In Becomes a Show Field\nThe car show will be held at the Misquamicut Drive-In Theatre\, the seasonal outdoor movie venue operated by the Misquamicut Business Association. \nThe drive-in is located at 316 Atlantic Avenue\, on the grounds of Wuskenau Town Beach. \nDuring movie nights\, vehicles line up facing the giant outdoor screen. \nSaturday afternoon\, the vehicles themselves become the entertainment. \nThe show is being promoted for classic and specialty cars\, which gives organizers considerably more flexibility than a show restricted to one make\, decade or automotive category. \nExpect the potential for restored American classics\, muscle cars\, sports cars\, customs and other unusual vehicles rather than rows of identical late-model automobiles. \nWhat Exactly Makes a Car a Classic?\nThat’s a question with more than one answer. \nThe term “classic car” is used casually for almost anything old and desirable\, but formal definitions vary. \nConnecticut\, Rhode Island\, insurers\, collectors and automotive organizations can all use different age requirements or terminology. \nCollectors may also make distinctions among antique\, vintage\, classic\, muscle\, exotic and specialty vehicles. \nFor a community car show\, those boundaries are generally less important. \nWhat matters is whether the vehicle gives people a reason to stop walking. \nSometimes that’s a meticulously restored car that looks exactly as it did when it left the showroom decades ago. \nSometimes it’s a custom build that looks nothing like the factory intended. \nAnd sometimes it’s the car someone remembers sitting in as a kid. \nThe Cars Can Turn Into Time Machines\nThat’s one reason small local car shows remain so popular. \nPeople don’t necessarily respond to an old car because they know its horsepower\, engine displacement or production numbers. \nThey remember it. \nA 1950s Chevrolet can evoke an entirely different America than a late-’60s muscle car. \nA 1970s land yacht with acres of hood and chrome can instantly recall an era when fuel economy wasn’t exactly leading the design meeting. \nCars from the 1980s and 1990s are now old enough to trigger the same nostalgia among younger collectors. \nThe definition of an “old car” keeps moving. \nSomeone who attended a classic-car show in 1986 probably wasn’t expecting to see a 1986 vehicle entered as a collectible. \nForty years later\, that same car can qualify for historic plates in many states. \nTime is rude that way. \nThere’s $100 Riding on Best in Show\nThe afternoon isn’t purely exhibition. \nOrganizers are offering a $100 cash prize for Best in Show. \nThe event announcement doesn’t break the competition into a long list of vehicle classes\, so the emphasis appears to be on choosing an overall standout rather than distributing trophies among dozens of narrowly defined categories. \nThat should make the field interesting. \nAn immaculate restoration can end up competing for attention with a custom build\, unusual survivor or specialty vehicle. \nThe poster also promises other giveaways during the afternoon. \nFor spectators\, however\, judging is unofficial and considerably easier. \nWalk around until you find the one you’d most like to drive home. \nThat’s your winner. \nNever Enuff Supplies the Live Soundtrack\nThe show isn’t relying entirely on engines for its soundtrack. \nNever Enuff will perform live during the afternoon. \nThe Rhode Island-based group has been a familiar presence at area bars\, festivals\, outdoor concerts and community events\, playing danceable rock and popular favorites designed for a crowd rather than a quiet listening room. \nThat makes the band a good match for the loose format of a car show. \nPeople can wander the rows\, stop to talk with vehicle owners\, grab something nearby and listen to the music without needing to organize the afternoon around a formal concert schedule. \nThe cars remain the headliners. \nThe band keeps the field alive. \nMisquamicut and Cars Have Always Gone Together\nThere’s also a historical logic to holding a car show here. \nMisquamicut became the kind of beach destination generations of southern New England families could reach by automobile. \nAtlantic Avenue’s motels\, restaurants\, amusement businesses and beach parking developed in a world increasingly shaped by the family car. \nUnlike an older resort community built primarily around a railroad station or grand hotel\, much of modern Misquamicut is linear. \nYou drive Atlantic Avenue. \nYou choose a beach. \nYou park. \nYou walk to the water. \nThe area’s surviving roadside character is part of its identity. \nPutting classic automobiles along Atlantic Avenue taps directly into that history. \nThe Drive-In Is Part of That Same Car Culture\nEven the venue depends on the automobile. \nDrive-in theaters emerged as one of the quintessential forms of mid-20th-century American entertainment. \nFamilies could watch a movie without leaving their cars. Parents didn’t have to worry as much about restless children. Teenagers discovered certain other advantages that drive-in theater advertisements tended not to emphasize. \nThousands of drive-ins eventually operated around the United States. \nMost disappeared as land values increased and entertainment habits changed. \nMisquamicut’s drive-in is a modern revival rather than a continuously operating relic from the drive-in boom\, but it recreates the same basic experience: arrive by car\, park facing a screen and tune in for the movie. \nOn September 19\, the Misquamicut Business Association flips that formula around. \nInstead of driving to the theater to watch the show\, people bring cars that are the show. \nA Last Saturday of Summer at the Beach\nThe timing is almost perfect. \nThe astronomical end of summer arrives only a few days later. \nBy September 19\, the busiest portion of Misquamicut’s season is finished\, but there’s still every reason to hope for an afternoon warm enough to enjoy Atlantic Avenue and the beach. \nThat’s exactly the period the event’s name captures. \nNot quite summer. \nNot quite fall. \nOne more Saturday at Misquamicut. \nBring out the classics\, turn up the music and see which car leaves with $100. \nIf the first edition works\, the “1st Annual” on this year’s poster becomes a promise. \nDetails\nEvent: 1st Annual Misquamicut End of Summer Car Show\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: Noon–3:30 p.m.\nVenue: Misquamicut Drive-In Theatre\nAddress: 316 Atlantic Avenue\, Westerly\, RI 02891\nPresented By: Misquamicut Business Association\nAdmission: Free\nVehicles: Classic and specialty cars\nBest in Show: $100 cash prize\nGiveaways: Additional giveaways are planned\nLive Music: Never Enuff\nSetting: Outdoor event near Misquamicut Beach\nWeather: Outdoor programming is weather-dependent\nSponsors: Coastal Graphics\, Vito Ventures and Final Touch Auto Detailing\nSpectators: Free and open to the public \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/1st-annual-misquamicut-end-of-summer-car-show/
LOCATION:Misquamicut Drive-In\, 316 Atlantic Avenue\, Westerly\, RI\, 02891\, United States
CATEGORIES:Misquamicut Drive-In
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1st-Annual-Misquamicut-End-of-Summer-Car-Show.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T130000
DTSTAMP:20260917T165240Z
CREATED:20260917T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T165240Z
UID:10007927-1789819200-1789822800@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/2026-09-19/
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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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T210000
DTSTAMP:20260913T020703Z
CREATED:20260913T020703Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T020703Z
UID:10007554-1789817400-1789851600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Oktoberfest at Jealous Monk Brings Five Weeks of Bavarian Food\, Seasonal Beer and Live Music to Mystic
DESCRIPTION:Oktoberfest at Jealous Monk isn’t a one-day festival. Mystic’s European-style beer hall is turning much of fall into Oktoberfest\, beginning Saturday\, September 19 and continuing through Saturday\, October 24\, with a special German-inspired menu\, seasonal beers\, live entertainment\, and Oktoberfest competitions and activities. \nThe extended celebration is something Jealous Monk has been doing for years\, and the restaurant takes the inspiration more seriously than the lederhosen-and-pretzel graphics might suggest. \nJealous Monk says members of its team have made annual research trips to Munich during Oktoberfest\, bringing ideas from the world’s most famous beer festival back to Mystic. \nThey even use the German word that helps explain what they’re trying to recreate: Gemütlichkeit. \nThere isn’t a perfect English translation. It’s a combination of warmth\, friendliness\, comfort\, good cheer\, and the feeling of enjoying yourself in good company. \nIn other words\, it’s pretty much the reason beer halls have big tables. \nMore Than a Single Oktoberfest Party\nJealous Monk’s 2026 celebration begins September 19\, but don’t read that as the date of the entire event. \nThe restaurant’s announcement calls this an “extended” Oktoberfest season running September 19 through October 24. \nThroughout that period\, Jealous Monk plans a special seasonal food menu and Oktoberfest beers along with a changing schedule of musicians and other entertainment. \nContests are part of the celebration as well\, including the most recognizable American Oktoberfest test of endurance: stein hoisting. \nThe restaurant is still completing its detailed 2026 entertainment schedule and Oktoberfest menu\, so individual performers\, contest dates and this year’s complete food and beer lineup have not all been announced yet. \nThat’s worth knowing before making plans around a particular weekend. \nBut the larger celebration is already confirmed. \nJealous Monk Was Practically Built for This\nThere are plenty of restaurants that can put bratwurst on the menu for three weeks and call it Oktoberfest. \nJealous Monk has a bit of a head start. \nThe locally owned restaurant describes itself as Mystic’s only beer garden\, and its home in Olde Mistick Village was designed as a contemporary interpretation of a European beer hall. \nInside\, there’s a barrel-vaulted ceiling\, old-world artwork and long communal tables rather than a dining room filled exclusively with little two- and four-person islands. \nOutside is an expansive beer garden with picnic tables\, games and gathering spaces. \nThen there are the taps. \nJealous Monk maintains 32 rotating draft lines\, allowing the restaurant to shift a significant portion of its beer selection as seasonal Märzens\, Festbiers and other fall releases arrive. \nIts regular menu already leans European in places\, too. Belgian frites\, a Bavarian-style pretzel\, bratwurst and schnitzel live comfortably alongside burgers\, wings\, chowder and other American pub food. \nOktoberfest isn’t much of a costume change here. \nThe Food Gets More German for the Season\nThe complete 2026 Oktoberfest menu has not yet been published\, but previous Jealous Monk Oktoberfest menus give a much better indication of what “special menu” means here. \nLast year’s seasonal offerings included Schweinshaxe\, the German pork knuckle strongly associated with Bavarian cooking. \nJealous Monk prepared its version braised and served it with spätzle\, rotkohl and beer au jus. \nSpätzle are small\, soft egg noodles or dumplings common throughout southern Germany and neighboring parts of Central Europe. \nRotkohl is braised red cabbage\, usually cooked until tender with a balance of sweet and acidic flavors. \nAnother recent Oktoberfest dish was Brathendl\, Bavarian-style roast chicken\, served at Jealous Monk with rotkohl and mashed potatoes. \nThose dishes went considerably further into Bavarian cooking than simply putting mustard on a sausage. \nUntil the restaurant releases this year’s finished menu\, however\, those should be treated as examples from previous celebrations rather than promises for 2026. \nSome Oktoberfest Food Is Available Even Before Oktoberfest\nA few things don’t have to wait until September 19. \nJealous Monk’s regular menu currently includes its Big A Pretzel\, a large Bavarian-style pretzel served with spicy and sweet mustards\, with bier cheese available to add. \nThere’s also a Bavarian Bratwurst\, available traditionally with sauerkraut and spicy mustard or prepared panini-style with Swiss cheese. \nThe regular Chicken Schnitzel is a less traditional Jealous Monk interpretation: crispy breaded chicken with Swiss cheese\, grilled onions and peppers and chipotle aioli\, served with house-cut Belgian frites. \nThose staples give the regular menu a European foundation before the temporary Oktoberfest dishes arrive. \nThen Come the Oktoberfest Beers\nBeer is where an extended celebration makes particularly good sense. \nOktoberfest beer doesn’t describe just one modern style. \nFor much of the 20th century\, Americans came to associate Oktoberfest with Märzen\, an amber German lager with a malty character and clean finish. \nThe beer traditionally had a practical connection to the brewing calendar. Before refrigeration\, brewing during warm summer weather was difficult and potentially dangerous for the beer. Märzen\, meaning “March beer\,” could be brewed in March\, stored through the summer and consumed in autumn. \nModern Munich Oktoberfest has shifted toward Festbier\, generally paler\, lighter in body and extremely drinkable despite retaining enough malt character to stand up to festival food. \nOnly beer from Munich’s six traditional breweries can officially be served at the Oktoberfest in Munich: Augustiner\, Hacker-Pschorr\, Hofbräu\, Löwenbräu\, Paulaner and Spaten. \nJealous Monk’s 32 rotating taps give the Mystic restaurant considerable room to explore both imported German beer and American interpretations of Oktoberfest styles. \nThe exact 2026 seasonal tap list is still developing\, so anyone hunting for a particular brewery should check the current list closer to their visit. \nThe Real Oktoberfest Isn’t Actually in October\nJealous Monk’s September 19 start also lines up almost perfectly with Munich. \nThe 2026 Oktoberfest in Munich runs September 19 through October 4. \nThat often surprises people who understandably assume a festival named Oktoberfest should happen primarily in October. \nIt used to. \nThe original Oktoberfest was held in October 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. \nThe public celebration included horse racing and proved popular enough to return. \nOver time\, the festival grew and its schedule moved earlier to take advantage of September’s generally better weather and longer daylight. \nThe October name stayed. \nJealous Monk begins its Mystic celebration on the same Saturday that Munich opens its 2026 festival\, then keeps going for another three weeks after Munich has packed up the tents. \nA Royal Wedding Started All of This\nThat first celebration took place on fields outside Munich’s city gates. \nThe site became known as Theresienwiese\, or Therese’s Meadow\, in honor of the bride. Munich residents still commonly shorten the name of Oktoberfest itself to the Wiesn. \nWhat began as a royal wedding celebration evolved into an enormous annual festival of beer\, Bavarian food\, music\, rides\, costumes and communal drinking. \nToday’s Oktoberfest bears little resemblance in scale to the 1810 event. \nMillions of people attend during a typical year. \nThe enormous beer tents can accommodate thousands of guests apiece. \nTraditional Bavarian clothing\, particularly lederhosen and dirndls\, has become inseparable from the modern image of the festival. \nAnd the beer arrives by the liter. \nAbout That Stein-Hoisting Contest\nJealous Monk says contests will be part of the 2026 festivities\, with stein hoisting among the activities being promoted. \nThe rules vary by competition\, but the basic concept is wonderfully uncomplicated. \nTake a full beer stein. \nHold it straight out in front of you with one arm. \nDo not bend the elbow. \nDo not lower the arm. \nDo not spill it. \nWait for everyone else to regret entering. \nA full one-liter glass stein weighs roughly five pounds\, so what seems fairly easy for the first few seconds becomes progressively less pleasant. \nIt’s become a staple of American Oktoberfest celebrations\, combining German beer-hall imagery with the very American instinct to turn practically anything into a contest. \nLive Music Will Rotate Through the Celebration\nThe other major piece still being assembled is the entertainment calendar. \nJealous Monk says live musicians will perform throughout the extended Oktoberfest season\, rather than concentrating entertainment into a single opening-day party. \nThat follows the format the restaurant has used in previous years. Its 2024 Oktoberfest\, for example\, featured live music on several dates spread between late September and late October. \nThe restaurant’s September 12 announcement says it is currently putting the finishing touches on its 2026 list of musicians and will add specifics to its events calendar as they are finalized. \nSo this is an event worth checking more than once. \nSeptember 19 is the beginning\, not the whole story. \nWhy Jealous Monk Works as a Beer Hall\nOktoberfest also makes some of Jealous Monk’s design choices easier to understand. \nTraditional beer halls aren’t designed around privacy. \nThey’re designed around gathering. \nLong tables put strangers next to one another. Food is hearty. Beer comes in substantial quantities. Music and conversation create enough noise that nobody expects a hushed dining room. \nJealous Monk borrowed that social model for its Mystic restaurant. \nThe indoor hall includes large communal tables\, while the outdoor beer garden uses picnic-style seating. Board games\, pinball and old-school video games add to the idea that customers are supposed to stay for a while rather than simply eat and leave. \nThe restaurant’s full name says it plainly: \nJealous Monk Social Hall & Beer Garden. \nFor five weeks beginning September 19\, the “beer garden” part gets to take center stage. \nYou Don’t Have to Drink Beer\nDespite the name and the Oktoberfest theme\, Jealous Monk isn’t exclusively for beer drinkers. \nThe restaurant also maintains wine\, liquor and cocktail selections\, and its food menu includes burgers\, sandwiches\, salads\, seafood and vegetarian options alongside the more obvious beer-hall fare. \nIt’s also a restaurant rather than a ticketed beer festival. \nThe currently announced Oktoberfest season does not carry a general admission charge. Customers visit Jealous Monk normally and order food and drinks\, while special entertainment and activities occur throughout the run. \nThat makes this fundamentally different from the one-afternoon Oktoberfests where admission buys a tasting glass and a fixed number of pours. \nYou can go once. \nOr you can go back as the taps\, menu specials and entertainment change. \nFive Weeks Gives You Time to Do It Properly\nThat’s really the advantage of Jealous Monk’s approach. \nOktoberfest doesn’t have to be crammed into one Saturday afternoon. \nThe first visit might be for the seasonal menu. \nAnother could coincide with live music. \nA third might involve a Märzen you haven’t tried. \nAnd eventually someone is going to convince you that holding a five-pound glass at arm’s length sounds like fun. \nThe 2026 celebration opens September 19. \nBy the time it ends October 24\, Mystic will be deep into foliage\, Olde Mistick Village will have shifted from late-summer visitors toward its fall crowds\, and Jealous Monk will have spent more than a month doing what a beer garden was designed to do. \nGather people around a table. \nPour the beer. \nBring out the food. \nProst. \nDetails\nEvent: Oktoberfest at Jealous Monk\nDates: Saturday\, September 19 through Saturday\, October 24\, 2026\nVenue: Jealous Monk Social Hall & Beer Garden\nLocation: Olde Mistick Village\, Building 20\nAddress: 27 Coogan Boulevard\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: No general admission charge announced; food and beverages purchased separately\nFood: Special Oktoberfest menu planned for the season; complete 2026 menu is still being finalized\nBeer: Seasonal Oktoberfest beers plus Jealous Monk’s rotating draft selection\nDrafts: 32 rotating taps\nEntertainment: Live musicians throughout the Oktoberfest run; individual performers and dates are still being announced\nActivities: Oktoberfest contests and activities\, including stein-hoisting festivities\nIndoor/Outdoor: Indoor social hall and outdoor beer garden\, weather permitting\nRegular Hours: Monday–Thursday\, 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; Friday–Saturday\, 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday\, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m.\nPhone: 860-536-6665 \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/oktoberfest-at-jealous-monk-brings-five-weeks-of-bavarian-food-seasonal-beer-and-live-music-to-mystic/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:Jealous Monk\, 27 Coogan Blvd\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Jealous Monk
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T190000
DTSTAMP:20260915T031528Z
CREATED:20260907T034359Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T031528Z
UID:10007495-1789815600-1789844400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Olde Mistick Village Garlic Festival
DESCRIPTION:Olde Mistick Village Garlic Festival returns to Mystic on September 19 and 20 for its 19th year\, filling the Village with fresh garlic\, specialty foods\, regional farms\, artisans\, and live music during one of its longest-running fall traditions. \nThe two-day festival runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. \nMore than 50 vendors and 16 local bands and performers are expected for the 2026 festival\, transforming the walkways and greens of Olde Mistick Village into a sprawling celebration of the fall harvest. \nAnd\, as the name suggests\, there will be a lot of garlic. \nGarlic Is the Reason for the Weekend\nThe Garlic Festival was created around something that can get lost amid the food stands and live music: the agricultural cycle of garlic itself. \nGarlic is generally planted in Connecticut during the fall. It spends the winter underground\, resumes growing in spring and is harvested during the summer. After harvest\, growers cure the bulbs so they can be stored and sold well beyond the growing season. \nBy September\, local growers are arriving at the festival with garlic from that year’s harvest. \nVisitors can encounter different varieties of the bulb rather than the relatively limited selection usually found at a supermarket\, while farmers traditionally bring other parts of the season’s harvest as well. \nPast Garlic Festivals have included fresh vegetables and herbs alongside honey\, jams\, preserves\, syrups\, sauces and other locally produced foods. \nFor anyone who wants to take some of the festival home\, the farmers’ stands are as important as the prepared food. \nA Festival That Started With Farmers\nThe event’s roots stretch beyond its 19 years at Olde Mistick Village. \nThe Garlic Festival originated as a farmers market-style celebration at Adam’s Garden of Eden in Pawcatuck\, where the emphasis was on the fall harvest and locally grown garlic. \nIt eventually moved to Olde Mistick Village and grew considerably. \nBy 2020\, the festival was ordinarily attracting between 50 and 70 vendors and approximately 20\,000 visitors\, according to reporting at the time. What began with farmers and garlic had expanded to include food\, entertainment\, artists\, craftspeople and live music. \nEven as the festival has grown\, farmers remain part of its foundation. \nThat makes the weekend something of a hybrid: part harvest festival\, part food festival\, part artisan market and part outdoor music festival. \nCome Hungry\, and Don’t Expect Garlic to Stay in Its Lane\nOver the years\, vendors have demonstrated that there are very few foods into which someone won’t attempt to introduce garlic. \nPast festivals have offered everything from garlic fries and garlic fried dough to garlic fudge and garlic Italian ice. \nThose particular foods shouldn’t be considered a confirmed 2026 menu until this year’s individual vendors announce what they’re serving\, but they illustrate how far the festival has historically taken its central ingredient. \nPrepared-food vendors and Village restaurants participate alongside the growers\, and non-garlic choices are traditionally available for anyone who reaches their personal limit. \nBakers and specialty-food producers add another layer to the weekend\, while the Village’s permanent restaurants and food businesses remain open around the festival. \nThe result is less a single food court than a trail of things to eat spread throughout the property. \nMore Than 50 Vendors Fill the Village\nGarlic may provide the theme\, but the festival has grown well beyond food. \nThe 2026 event is expected to bring more than 50 vendors to Olde Mistick Village\, including farmers\, bakers\, crafters\, artisans and artists. \nTheir booths are incorporated into the Village itself\, lining paths between the shops\, restaurants\, duck pond and greens rather than occupying a separate fairground. \nThat layout is particularly suited to an event built around browsing. \nOlde Mistick Village was designed as a walkable interpretation of an early New England village\, with individual buildings arranged around pedestrian paths and landscaped common areas. It opened in 1973 and today contains more than 40 shops and boutiques along with restaurants and other businesses. \nDuring Garlic Festival weekend\, the visiting farmers and makers effectively add another temporary layer to the Village. \nSixteen Local Bands and Performers Bring Music to the Weekend\nFood isn’t the only reason to linger. \nThe 2026 Garlic Festival is expected to feature 16 local bands and performers across the two days. \nThe complete performance schedule has not yet been released by Olde Mistick Village\, but at least some of this year’s musicians have begun announcing their appearances independently. \nThe Rich Badowski Band is scheduled to perform Sunday\, September 20\, from noon to 3 p.m. \nBadowski is a familiar presence on the southeastern Connecticut music circuit\, performing blues and roots-oriented music at festivals\, restaurants\, breweries and other venues around the region. \nAnother Sunday performance has been announced by Liz Reed\, who is scheduled to appear as a duo with Dave at 3 p.m. \nAdditional performers and individual set times are expected as the festival approaches. \nLive music has become a substantial part of the Garlic Festival rather than background entertainment. Previous editions have placed performers at multiple locations around Olde Mistick Village\, allowing visitors to encounter different music as they move around the grounds. \nFrom Garlic Market to Major Fall Festival\nNineteen editions have given the Garlic Festival time to develop its own identity among Mystic’s increasingly crowded calendar of fall events. \nIts original agricultural purpose is still visible in the farmers selling freshly harvested garlic and produce\, but the festival now reaches considerably further. \nArtists sell original work. Crafters and makers set up along the pathways. Bakers and specialty-food businesses bring products that can be taken home. Prepared-food vendors turn garlic into lunch\, dinner and occasionally something that probably wasn’t meant to contain garlic in the first place. \nMeanwhile\, musicians perform throughout the Village. \nThe combination has previously earned the festival recognition from the American Bus Association\, which selected it for its list of top events in North America. \nIt has also become one of Olde Mistick Village’s signature annual events\, returning each September as summer gives way to the fall festival season. \nTwo Days to Explore Olde Mistick Village\nSaturday offers the longer festival day\, running from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. \nThe festival returns Sunday at 11 a.m. and continues until 6 p.m. \nBecause vendors and entertainment are distributed around the Village\, visitors can move between festival booths and Olde Mistick Village’s permanent shops and restaurants throughout the day. \nThere is no admission gate separating the festival from the rest of the property. \nVisitors can arrive for garlic and leave with local honey\, baked goods\, artwork or something they never intended to buy. They can stop for a band\, wander through the shops and return to the festival paths. \nOr they can simply follow the smell. \nEvent Details\nEvent: 19th Annual Garlic Festival\nDates: Saturday and Sunday\, September 19–20\, 2026\nSaturday Hours: 11 a.m.–7 p.m.\nSunday Hours: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.\nLocation: Olde Mistick Village\nAddress: 27 Coogan Boulevard\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nAdmission: Free\nVendors: More than 50 expected\nEntertainment: 16 local bands and performers expected\nFeaturing: Local garlic and produce\, farms\, food vendors\, bakers\, specialty foods\, crafters\, artisans\, artists\, live music and family activities\nConfirmed Sunday Music: Rich Badowski Band\, noon–3 p.m.; Liz Reed with Dave\, 3 p.m. \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. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/olde-mistick-village-garlic-festival/2026-09-19/
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/2026/09/Olde-Mistick-Village-Garlic-Festival-1.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T180000
DTSTAMP:20260818T020946Z
CREATED:20260818T020946Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260818T020946Z
UID:10007216-1789815600-1789840800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Stonington Vineyards Harvest Food & Wine Festival 2026
DESCRIPTION:Stonington Vineyards Harvest Food & Wine Festival 2026 celebrates the approaching fall season with two days of wine\, live music\, food trucks and local artisans on Saturday and Sunday\, September 19 and 20. \nThe annual festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days at the vineyard on Taugwonk Road in Stonington\, giving visitors a chance to spread out on the lawn\, listen to music\, explore local vendors and enjoy wine produced at one of Connecticut’s longtime vineyards. \nAnd Sunday’s music already has a familiar local name attached to it. \nWicked Peach takes the stage Sunday at 3 p.m.\, bringing one of southeastern Connecticut’s longest-running rock bands to the vineyard for the final afternoon of the festival. \nTwo Days at the Vineyard\nThis isn’t simply a Wicked Peach concert. \nThe Harvest Food & Wine Festival runs throughout the weekend\, with live bands\, food trucks and local artisans joining the vineyard’s wine offerings. \nMusic:\nSat: 11-2 Ben Freiert\nSat: 3-6  Nick Bosse Band\nSun: 11-2 Luke & Mike\nSun: 3-6 Wicked Peach \nFood:\nFlavors\nTaste House\nScoops T Ice Cream\nFresh Fire Food \nVendors:\nValomie Boutique\nDreaming Light Creations\nCandybox Watch Hill\nMade by Nowa\nSeacoast Alpacas\nWalking Tree Creations\nDipped by Britt\nMary Moonchild Candles\nGold Leaf Home Decor \nGuests are encouraged to make themselves comfortable. Bring lawn chairs and blankets\, or even a pop-up tent no larger than 10 feet by 10 feet for your group. \nThe festival takes place rain or shine. \nMusical Acts:\nBen Freiert — Saturday\, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.\nStonington-based musician Ben Freiert opens the Harvest Festival Saturday with a mix of indie\, folk\, alternative rock and acoustic music. \nFreiert has been making music for more than two decades\, beginning with trumpet before moving into guitar\, piano and songwriting. While in college\, he formed the original rock band Twenty Grand with his roommate\, playing shows near their school and in New York City. He later established himself as a regular performer around southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island\, both as a solo musician and alongside other area artists. \nHe’s also become particularly familiar to Stonington’s vineyard audiences. Freiert has performed repeatedly at Stonington Vineyards\, Saltwater Farm Vineyard and other area wineries\, and was part of Stonington Vineyards’ 2024 Kickoff to Summer celebration. In 2026\, he’s again part of the vineyard’s summer concert series before returning for Harvest Festival weekend. \nHis acoustic-driven sound makes him a natural fit for the festival’s opening hours\, when visitors are arriving\, finding a spot on the lawn and settling in for the weekend. \nNick Bosse Band — Saturday\, 3–6 p.m.\nSaturday afternoon shifts firmly toward country music with North Stonington singer-songwriter Nick Bosse and his band. \nBosse is a New England-based independent country artist and Nashville recording artist whose music draws heavily from traditional and outlaw country\, southern rock and bluegrass. His influences include Waylon Jennings\, Johnny Cash\, Merle Haggard\, Willie Nelson\, Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers. Rather than chasing contemporary pop-country\, Bosse has built his identity around a grittier\, working-class approach to the genre. \nHe began playing cover gigs in local bars in 2013 before forming his backing band\, The Northern Roots\, which has accompanied him for much of his career. His original song What Happened to Country has surpassed 2 million streams\, and Bosse has won a New England Music Award for Best Vocalist and headlined performances at both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. \nThere’s a particularly strong local connection here. Bosse grew up in North Stonington and has spent years playing venues throughout southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. In 2022\, Nick Bosse & The Northern Roots won Mohegan Sun’s Locals Live competition\, with judges considering originality\, stage presence\, musical presentation and audience response. \nThat makes the Saturday 3–6 p.m. slot considerably more substantial than the original festival post suggests. This isn’t simply background music from a local cover band. Bosse is an established regional country artist with original music and a following of his own. \nLuke & Mike open Sunday’s music with a three-hour set from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.\nThe Mystic-based duo have become familiar faces at Stonington Vineyards\, returning regularly for concerts and special events. They’ve appeared at previous Harvest Festivals\, performed for the vineyard’s annual holiday celebration and are part of its 2026 Summer Concert Series. They’re also scheduled at nearby Saltwater Farm Vineyard during the 2026 summer season. \nIn fact\, this isn’t their first time helping provide the soundtrack for Harvest Festival weekend. Luke & Mike were among the performers at Stonington Vineyards’ 2019 Harvest Fest and returned for the festival again in 2022. \nWicked Peach Closes Out Sunday Afternoon\nIf you’ve been around southeastern Connecticut for any length of time\, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered Wicked Peach somewhere. \nThe New London-area band has been performing throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island since 1996\, building a following with high-energy sets drawing heavily from rock and pop-rock. \nThe current core lineup features Ernie Lewis on lead vocals and guitar\, Stan Smith on bass and Jonathan Souza on drums\, with Dan Watson and Corey Carter serving as alternating guitarists. \nTheir repertoire stretches across decades\, but ’90s hard rock remains a particular strength. The City of Groton describes the band as a staple of southeastern New England’s music scene\, mixing its ’90s material with songs from the ’70s\, ’80s and 2000s. \nThat makes Wicked Peach a natural fit for the Harvest Festival’s Sunday afternoon rather than a quiet acoustic set tucked into the corner of the vineyard. \nTheir scheduled 3 p.m. performance on September 20 is also confirmed on the band’s own 2026 tour schedule. \nWine Is Part of the Admission\nFestival admission includes more than entry. \nEach ticket includes a glass of Stonington Vineyards wine and a keepsake wine glass\, along with access to the weekend’s live music and festival amenities. Additional wine will be available for purchase by the glass or bottle. \nGuests may also bring their own food\, making a picnic on the vineyard lawn another option if you’d rather pack something from home than visit the food trucks. \nThere is one firm restriction: no outside alcohol is permitted. \nCoolers may be checked\, and the vineyard says outside alcohol will be confiscated. \nOne of Connecticut’s Established Vineyards\nThe festival setting has its own story. \nStonington Vineyards was established by Nick and Happy Smith in 1987 after they purchased 58 acres in the Stonington Uplands. The winery followed in 1989\, combining contemporary winemaking equipment with traditional oak-barrel fermentation. \nIt also became one of the founding members of the Connecticut Wine Trail. \nWinemaker Mike McAndrew has been with Stonington Vineyards since its early days\, developing a reputation for European-style wines. The vineyard is particularly associated with its barrel-fermented Chardonnay and proprietary blends. \nToday\, more than 10 of the property’s 58 acres are planted\, with annual production of approximately 6\,000 cases. Its current wine list includes Oak Chardonnay\, Sheer Chardonnay\, Seaport White\, Cabernet Franc\, Triad Rosé\, Riesling and Pawcatuck River Red. \nSo a harvest festival here isn’t just seasonal branding. Wine grapes have been growing on this property for decades. \nMake Yourself at Home on the Lawn\nThe Harvest Festival is designed for people to settle in rather than continually circulate through a traditional fairground. \nBring lawn chairs\, blankets or a small pop-up tent and establish a spot for the afternoon. \nOutside food is permitted\, so you can also pack a picnic while leaving room to try the food trucks. \nThe vineyard describes the festival as suitable for couples\, families and groups of friends. \nDogs are normally welcome on the vineyard grounds when leashed and supervised\, although I’d wait for festival-specific confirmation before putting that in the Event Details as a guarantee for this particular weekend. \nTickets\nOne-day advance admission is $30. \nTickets purchased on the day of the festival are $35. Two-day passes are also offered through the vineyard’s ticketing page. Tickets are non-refundable. \nBecause parking at the vineyard is limited\, organizers are asking festival visitors to carpool whenever possible. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Stonington Vineyards Harvest Food & Wine Festival 2026\nDates: Saturday\, September 19 & Sunday\, September 20\, 2026\nTime: 11 a.m.–6 p.m. daily\nLocation: Stonington Vineyards\nAddress: 523 Taugwonk Road\, Stonington\, CT 06378\nSunday Music: Wicked Peach at 3 p.m.\nFeaturing: Live music\, food trucks\, local artisans and Stonington Vineyards wines\nAdvance One-Day Admission: $30\nDay-of Admission: $35\nIncludes: Glass of wine\, keepsake wine glass\, live music and festival amenities\nWeather: Rain or shine\nOutside Food: Permitted\nOutside Alcohol: Prohibited\nWhat to Bring: Lawn chairs\, blankets or a pop-up tent no larger than 10′ x 10′ ( \nMore information is available through the Stonington Vineyards Harvest Festival page. \nTickets can also be purchased through the festival page above. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/stonington-vineyards-harvest-food-wine-festival-2026/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:Stonington Vineyards\, 523 Taugwonk Rd\, Stonington\, CT\, 06378\, United States
CATEGORIES:Stonnington Vineyards
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Stonington-Vineyards-Harvest-Food-and-Wine-Festival-2026.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T170000
DTSTAMP:20260701T201347Z
CREATED:20260701T201347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260701T201347Z
UID:10006480-1789815600-1789837200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Luxe CT: Velvet Mills to Modern Runways at Mystic Museum of Art
DESCRIPTION:Luxe CT: Velvet Mills to Modern Runways at Mystic Museum of Art explores the history of textiles in southeastern Connecticut\, tracing how fabrics\, fashion\, and craftsmanship have shaped the region from the precolonial era through the present day. On view from June 26 through October 11\, 2026\, the exhibition brings together historic artifacts and contemporary works to examine how textiles reflect labor\, immigration\, cultural identity\, and changing ideas of luxury. \nInspired by southeastern Connecticut’s once-thriving velvet industry\, the exhibition features a collaboration between Mystic Museum of Art\, Historic Stonington\, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center\, Mystic Seaport Museum\, and the Connecticut Region of the Studio Art Quilt Associates. Visitors will encounter an extensive collection of beadwork\, embroidery\, quilts\, velvet\, fashion\, and textile art drawn from partner institutions and the museum’s own collection. \nThe exhibition also highlights contemporary fashion designers with Connecticut connections\, including Xarea Lockhart\, Toriana Sauro\, Christian Siriano\, and Peter Som. Their work connects the region’s textile heritage with modern fashion\, demonstrating how clothing and material culture continue to influence art\, identity\, and design. Throughout the exhibition\, the museum will present lectures\, artist conversations\, and hands-on workshops that further explore these themes. \nExhibition Details\n\nExhibition: Luxe CT: Velvet Mills to Modern Runways\nVenue: Mystic Museum of Art\nDates: June 26-October 11\, 2026\nLocation: Mystic\, CT\n\nExhibition Highlights\nVisitors will experience: \n\ns\nWorks from Mystic Museum of Art’s permanent collection\nLoans from regional museums and organizations\n\nFeatured Partners\nThe exhibition includes contributions from: \n\nHistoric Stonington\nMashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center\nMystic Seaport Museum\nStudio Art Quilt Associates\, Connecticut Region\n\nFeatured Designers\nThe exhibition showcases work by designers with Connecticut ties\, including: \n\nXarea Lockhart\nToriana Sauro\nChristian Siriano\nPeter Som\n\nAdmission\n\nGeneral Admission: $12\nNew London County residents: $10\nSeniors (65+): $10\nStudents with valid ID: $10\nFree:\n\nMystic Museum of Art members\nYouth ages 17 and under\nMilitary personnel and veterans\n\n\n\nExhibition Programs\nPublic programs are held on select Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. \nTuesday\, July 7\nMystic Mudlarking: The River and the Rossie Velvet Mill \n\nGuest speaker: Mary Hendrickson\n\nTuesday\, July 21\nImmigration and Industry \n\nGuest speaker: Chelsea Mitchell\, Library Director & Collections Manager\, Historic Stonington\n\nTuesday\, September 1\nConversation with Alana Ryder and Emerging Designers \nFeaturing: \n\nAlana Ryder\nXarea Lockhart\nToriana Sauro\n\nWorkshops\nAll workshops take place in KTJ Studios. \nSaturday\, September 19\nFrom Textile to Art: Felt Collage Workshop \nSaturday\, September 26\nIntroduction to Sewing Workshop \n\nFeatured designer: Toriana Sauro\n\nSaturday\, October 10\nRelief Printing on Silk Scarf Workshop \nWhy Visit\nLuxe CT examines how textiles have connected communities across centuries while reflecting the region’s history of manufacturing\, immigration\, craftsmanship\, and artistic innovation. By pairing historical artifacts with contemporary fashion and fiber art\, the exhibition offers visitors a deeper understanding of southeastern Connecticut’s cultural heritage and its continuing influence on today’s artists and designers. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/luxe-ct-velvet-mills-to-modern-runways-at-mystic-museum-of-art/2026-09-19/
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/2026/07/Luxe-CT-Velvet-Mills-to-Modern-Runways-at-Mystic-Museum-of-Art-daily-11am-5pm.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T170000
DTSTAMP:20260705T020852Z
CREATED:20260510T162306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T020852Z
UID:10000486-1789815600-1789837200@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-3/2026-09-19/
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:20260919T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T180000
DTSTAMP:20260903T140908Z
CREATED:20260903T140908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260903T140908Z
UID:10007444-1789813800-1789840800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2026 Guide
DESCRIPTION:Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2026 transforms the Lebanon Country Fairgrounds into a sprawling 16th-century fantasy village for nine weekends of jousting\, comedy\, live music\, costumed characters\, artisan shopping\, food\, games and themed adventures. \nThe Faire runs from August 29 through October 25 at 122 Mack Road in Lebanon\, with regular hours from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. It also opens on holiday Mondays\, including Labor Day and Columbus Day. \nFor 2026\, the Faire is advertising more than 40 shows each day across 13 stages\, along with dozens of games and activities and more than 200 artisans\, food vendors and other merchants. \nAnd this isn’t an event where you simply watch from the sidelines. \nWalk through the gates and you enter a village populated by kings\, queens\, knights\, fairies\, musicians\, rogues and other characters who interact with visitors throughout the day. You can watch armored combat\, cheer at the joust\, throw an axe\, shop for a handmade sword or drinking horn\, take the kids on human-powered rides\, eat a turkey leg and end up in a conversation with a member of the royal court on the way to your next show. \nHere’s how to plan a day at the 2026 Connecticut Renaissance Faire. \nWhen Is the Connecticut Renaissance Faire?\nThe 2026 season runs from August 29 through October 25. \nThe Faire is generally open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.\, with special openings on Labor Day and Columbus Day. \nThe season is divided into themed weekends\, so the experience changes as fall progresses. Themes for 2026 include Dragons & Dungeons\, Roses & Romance\, Shirefolk\, Faerie Ring Revels\, Pirates & Vikings\, Time Travelers\, All Hallows and the new Merry Macabre weekend. \nLabor Day weekend\, September 5–7\, is Dragons & Dungeons\, a fantasy-focused weekend built around quests\, heroes and legendary characters. \nCostumes aren’t required to attend. Some visitors arrive in everyday clothes\, while others treat the themed weekends as an opportunity to build elaborate Renaissance\, fantasy\, pirate\, Viking or other character costumes. \nHow Much Are Connecticut Renaissance Faire Tickets?\nGeneral admission for the 2026 season is $18 for adults and $10 for youth\, while children in the Faire’s child admission category enter free. \nAdmission covers the Faire itself and its regular stage performances. Certain games\, rides\, food\, drinks and premium experiences cost extra. \nOne useful change from the way some fairs and festivals operate is that there are no food tickets. Food and beverages are purchased directly from individual merchants. \nSame-day re-entry is also permitted with a handstamp\, so leaving the grounds doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your Faire day. \nStart With the Shows\nTrying to see everything at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in one day is probably the wrong approach. \nThere are simply too many performances. \nThe 2026 Faire uses 13 stages and advertises more than 40 shows daily. Entertainment ranges from music and comedy to acrobatics\, combat demonstrations\, theatrical performances and interactive shows. \nOne of the biggest spectacles is the armored combat demonstration from the Knights of Gore. These aren’t performers simply swinging lightweight theatrical weapons around one another. The demonstrations feature fighters in plate armor engaging in full-contact medieval-style combat. \nThe Knights of Gore also present educational demonstrations throughout the day covering subjects such as medieval helmets\, the roles of knights and squires and siege weapons including the trebuchet. \nThe Joust Remains a Centerpiece\nIt’s difficult to imagine a Renaissance faire without knights charging toward one another on horseback. \nJousting remains one of the major attractions in Lebanon. \nThe 2026 season includes jousting from Roundtable Productions and Equus Nobilis\, both listed among the Faire’s new entertainment additions this year. \nThe joust combines horsemanship\, theatrical storytelling and medieval-style competition on a scale that’s difficult to replicate on one of the smaller stages. \nIf seeing a joust is high on your list\, check the schedule when you arrive and build the rest of the day around it rather than assuming you’ll simply stumble across the right performance. \nThere Is Plenty of Comedy\nNot everything involves swords and armor. \nComedy is scattered throughout the Faire\, sometimes on a stage and sometimes walking directly toward you in the lanes. \nThe Norfolk Theatricals specialize in interactive theatrical comedy\, presenting deliberately chaotic original plays with audience members sometimes pulled into the performance. \nBone Dallaire roams the grounds as a self-important thespian and playwright whose opinion of his own talent may exceed everyone else’s. \nThe Faire’s cast of Crown Players adds another layer of continuous theater. Instead of performing only at scheduled times\, characters inhabit the village and interact with guests throughout the day. \nThat distinction is important for first-time visitors. \nThe Connecticut Renaissance Faire isn’t simply a collection of scheduled shows surrounded by food booths. The space between the stages is part of the performance. \nMusic Runs From Celtic Traditions to Sea Chanteys\nLive music is another major part of the day. \nThe 2026 roster includes performers working with Celtic music\, traditional folk\, sea chanteys and other styles that fit naturally into the Faire setting. \nJesse Ofgang and the Diaspora\, new for 2026\, combine Scottish and Irish musical traditions with contemporary rhythms using instruments including bagpipes\, whistles and guitars. \nNemeton: Folk Fantasy Music and Dance brings an especially unusual collection of instruments to the Faire\, including bagpipes\, drums\, double flutes\, penny whistles\, English concertina\, medieval small pipes\, rauschpfeife and hurdy-gurdy. \nNew England’s Misfits of Avalon draw from Celtic music with hammered dulcimer\, mandolin\, guitar and violin. \nOther weekends bring different musicians\, including the maritime and Celtic sounds of the Crimson Pirates and southeastern Connecticut’s Bards of Gungywamp. \nBecause performers vary by themed weekend\, it’s worth checking the schedule for the specific date you’re attending. \nSome of the Best Entertainment Is Strange\nRenaissance faires have always left room for acts that don’t fit neatly into a category. \nThat’s part of the fun. \nFor 2026\, Fly by Night joins the Connecticut Faire with a combination of comedy\, juggling\, whip cracking and sideshow skills. The duo of Steve King and Ryan Roberts has been performing since 1990 and appeared as semifinalists on the fourth season of America’s Got Talent. \nCircus Stella puts rescued dogs into a circus environment alongside Dextre Tripp\, mixing canine tricks with juggling\, ladder balancing\, rope walking and unicycling. \nElsewhere\, visitors can encounter puppetry\, dance\, storytelling\, magic and roaming performers without necessarily planning to see them. \nLeave some empty space in the schedule. \nAt a Renaissance faire\, getting distracted is part of the itinerary. \nGames and Rides Go Beyond the Stages\nThere’s plenty to do when you want to participate rather than watch. \nThe Faire’s games and activities include old-fashioned and Renaissance-inspired challenges\, physical games and human-powered attractions. \nSome activities carry an additional fee. \nYou’ll find opportunities to test skill and strength\, explore the Royal Maze and take part in attractions spread throughout the village. \nFor families with younger children\, this can provide a useful break between longer stage performances. \nFor adults\, it can become surprisingly competitive. \nEat the Turkey Leg\, But Don’t Stop There\nYes\, there are giant turkey legs. \nThe Faire’s Turkey Legs and More stand serves the oversized roasted festival staple along with turkey sundaes\, mac and cheese\, smoked chicken\, lemonade and fried dough. \nBut the food selection has grown far beyond the Renaissance-faire stereotype. \nThe 2026 Faire lists 37 food merchants and seven pubs and taverns\, with meals\, desserts\, snacks and beverages distributed throughout the grounds. \nThere are burgers and hot dogs\, chicken sandwiches\, baked goods\, fried seafood\, sweets and a broad assortment of festival food. \nThe Faire also identifies vendors offering vegetarian\, vegan\, gluten-free and dairy-free choices. \nEvery food merchant is required to offer at least one item priced at $7\, an attempt to keep at least one lower-priced choice available at each location. \nOutside snacks and nonalcoholic drinks are also permitted. \nYou Can Walk the Faire With a Drink\nThere are no isolated beer tents requiring guests to remain inside a designated drinking area. \nAdults can purchase alcoholic beverages from the Faire’s pubs and taverns and carry their drinks while exploring the grounds. \nValid identification is required for alcohol purchases. \nThat also makes the taverns part of the atmosphere rather than simply concession stands. \nFor visitors looking for something more structured\, the Faire offers two separate 21-and-over experiences. \nThe Pub Crawl Is a 90-Minute Quest\nThe Connecticut Renaissance Faire Pub Crawl isn’t simply four drink tickets stapled together. \nThe approximately 90-minute experience is hosted by Fae Frostwhiperer and takes a group of no more than 15 participants through four Faire taverns. \nThere are four alcoholic drinks along the way\, but participants also complete challenges\, play games\, sing\, chant and interact with their guide. \nOne stop at Shattered Shield includes Liar’s Dice\, a vegetable platter and an exclusive small-batch mead that isn’t sold from the tavern’s regular menu. \nAnother stop includes a Test of Strength at King’s Inn Crossing. \nPub Crawls depart twice each Faire day\, at 11 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. \nThe price is $75\, plus a processing fee when purchased online. Tickets can also be purchased at Shattered Shield without the online processing fee\, although each crawl is limited to 15 participants and can sell out. \nParticipants must be 21 or older with valid identification. \nRegular Faire admission is not included with the Pub Crawl. \nWhiskey Tastings Offer a Quieter Break\nFor adults who prefer sipping to crawling\, guided whiskey tastings offer a considerably calmer experience. \nThe approximately one-hour sessions explore a curated selection of whiskies\, with hosts discussing origins\, production methods\, flavor profiles and techniques for nosing and tasting. \nCharcuterie is served alongside the pours. \nThe experience is designed for both beginners and experienced whiskey drinkers\, and advance reservations are strongly recommended because seating is intentionally limited. \nParticipants must be 21 or older and bring valid government-issued photo identification. \nLike the Pub Crawl\, a whiskey tasting is an additional experience. Regular Connecticut Renaissance Faire admission must be purchased separately. \nShopping Is a Major Part of the Faire\nDon’t treat the merchant area as an afterthought. \nThe Faire says the 2026 season includes 213 artisans\, games and food vendors\, with 32 new shops joining the grounds this year. \nThe marketplace is where the fantasy world starts becoming something you can take home. \nDepending on the merchant\, visitors can find clothing\, leatherwork\, jewelry\, drinking vessels\, artwork\, fantasy accessories\, home décor and handcrafted goods. \nSome merchants make items that are specifically useful for people building Renaissance or fantasy costumes\, while others sell pieces that work perfectly well outside the Faire. \nFor someone arriving without a costume\, the marketplace also provides an easy way to gradually become more appropriately dressed as the day progresses. \nYou may enter in jeans. \nThere is no guarantee you will leave without a cloak. \n2026 Is a Significant Expansion Year\nThe Faire has added a substantial amount of new material for 2026. \nIts official count includes 11 new shows\, 32 new shops and seven new food offerings. \nAmong the new entertainment are the two jousting productions\, Fly by Night and Jesse Ofgang and the Diaspora. \nThe Faire is also introducing Merry Macabre\, a new themed weekend for October 24–25 that takes the season into darker territory just before Halloween. \nThat expansion matters even to people who have attended in previous years. \nThe basic formula remains recognizable\, but the Faire is deliberately designed so returning on another weekend doesn’t simply reproduce the same day. \nBringing Kids to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire\nChildren don’t have to understand Renaissance history to find things to do here. \nThere are family-oriented performances\, interactive games\, rides and characters throughout the village. \nOne particularly memorable experience is the Knighting Ceremony with the King and Queen\, where children can present themselves before King Basil and Queen Gwendolyn Genevieve and receive royal recognition before the parade. \nThere are also quests and interactive encounters with the Knights of Gore. \nThe Faire’s combination of structured shows and wandering characters means children can become involved in the fantasy rather than spending the entire day watching adults perform. \nYes\, You Can Bring Your Pet\nThe Connecticut Renaissance Faire has an unusually broad pet policy. \nWell-behaved dogs\, cats\, rabbits\, ferrets\, rats and lizards are permitted. \nPet admission is $5 per animal\, while service animals enter free. \nDogs and cats must have proof of current rabies vaccination. A veterinarian’s letter\, email or current rabies tag can serve as proof. \nPets must remain on a non-retractable leash no longer than six feet and owners are responsible for cleaning up after them. \nLivestock\, horses\, donkeys\, mules and other large animals aren’t permitted. \nThe Faire advises owners to bring food and water for their animals. Water bowls may be available from merchants\, but pet food isn’t sold on the grounds. \nPets are also permitted on the parking shuttles. \nParking Has Changed for 2026\nThis is one section worth reading before leaving home. \nThe Faire has a new parking system for 2026. \nVisitors who want to park directly at the Faire grounds at 122 Mack Road can purchase Premium Parking for $10 per vehicle. \nThere are only 525 Premium Parking spaces available each Faire day\, and they must be purchased online in advance for the specific date you’re attending. \nYou cannot purchase Premium Parking when you arrive at the lot. \nVIP admission includes Premium Parking. \nThere are also 125 free ADA parking spaces at the main Faire site for vehicles displaying a valid handicapped placard or plate. These spaces can’t be reserved and are available on a first-available basis. \nMotorcycles can park at the main site for free. \nFree Parking and Shuttles Are Available\nYou don’t have to pay to park. \nThe Faire operates free satellite parking with continuous shuttle service beginning at 9:30 a.m. \nOne free lot is located at 744 Trumbull Highway in Lebanon. \nAdditional parking is available at Lebanon Middle School\, 891 Exeter Road\, and Lyman Memorial High School\, 917 Exeter Road. \nThere is one important wrinkle with the school lots: the shuttles do not pick up directly at the schools. \nGuests parking at either school walk to the Mobil station located between the two schools\, which serves as the shuttle pickup and drop-off point. \nThe last shuttle leaves the Faire 30 minutes after closing. \nAnd don’t blindly follow your GPS. \nThe Faire specifically warns visitors not to use Barker Road\, which police close to through traffic on Faire weekends. \nWhere to Stay\nFor visitors coming from farther away\, the Faire maintains a list of nearby lodging options rather than operating an on-site campground. \nBecause the event runs for nine weekends\, staying overnight can also make sense for visitors who want to attend both Saturday and Sunday without making the drive twice. \nCheck lodging availability early for popular themed weekends\, particularly as the season moves toward October and foliage season in eastern Connecticut. \nWhat First-Time Visitors Should Know\nThe easiest mistake is approaching the Connecticut Renaissance Faire like an attraction where everything follows one obvious route. \nIt doesn’t. \nThere are performances happening simultaneously\, characters wandering the lanes\, merchants to explore\, food to try and activities that can consume far more time than expected. \nCheck the day’s performance schedule first and choose the handful of shows you really don’t want to miss. \nThen allow the rest of the day to happen around them. \nYou might stop for lunch and encounter a roaming performer. \nYou might head toward a stage and spend 30 minutes shopping instead. \nYou might intend to watch one song and stay for an entire set. \nThat’s not poor planning. \nThat’s pretty much how a Renaissance faire is supposed to work. \nConnecticut Renaissance Faire 2026 Details\nEvent: Connecticut Renaissance Faire\nSeason: August 29–October 25\, 2026\nRegular Days: Saturdays and Sundays\, plus Labor Day and Columbus Day\nHours: 10:30 a.m.–6 p.m.\nLocation: Lebanon Country Fairgrounds\nAddress: 122 Mack Road\, Lebanon\, CT 06249\nAdult General Admission: $18\nYouth Admission: $10\nChild Admission: Free\nEntertainment: More than 40 shows daily across 13 stages\nMarketplace: More than 200 artisans\, food vendors\, games and other merchants\nFood: 37 food merchants and seven pubs and taverns\nPremium On-Site Parking: $10\, advance date-specific purchase required\nFree Parking: Satellite lots with shuttle service\nPet Admission: $5; service animals free\nSame-Day Re-Entry: Permitted with handstamp\nOutside Food: Snacks and nonalcoholic drinks permitted \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/connecticut-renaissance-faire-2026-guide/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:Lebanon Fair Grounds\, 122 Mack Road\, Lebanon\, 06249\, United States
CATEGORIES:Lebanon Fairgrounds
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Connecticut-Renaissance-Faire-2026-Guide.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T173000
DTSTAMP:20260915T010603Z
CREATED:20260915T010603Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T010603Z
UID:10007605-1789812000-1789839000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Waterfest 2026 Brings Paddling\, Indigenous Music\, Art and a Community Conversation to Long Pond
DESCRIPTION:Waterfest 2026 brings a full day of paddling\, swimming\, music\, art\, environmental learning\, and community conversation to Long Pond in Ledyard on Saturday\, September 19\, with this year’s festival built around a deceptively simple theme: Water Inspires. \nThe Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed’s free annual gathering takes place at 79 Homestead Road\, along a part of the watershed where recreation\, Indigenous history\, wildlife habitat and some very modern questions about flooding and climate resilience all converge. \nThe main Waterfest program begins at 10 a.m.\, with an optional Native-led Lantern Hill hike beginning earlier at 8 a.m. The day’s scheduled activities continue through 4 p.m.\, followed by event cleanup through 5:30. \nAnd this isn’t a festival where the water merely provides the scenery. \nParticipants can get onto Long Pond\, learn how to keep invasive species from hitching a ride on their boats\, paddle toward the site of a proposed fishway\, hear Indigenous music and poetry\, and participate in discussions about what should happen to this landscape in the future. \nWaterfest Is Free for a Reason\nThe Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed describes Waterfest as one of its two signature free community learning events\, along with Springfest. \nThe organization deliberately mixes environmental education with recreation\, arts\, food and conversation. \nWaterfest isn’t intended to feel like a conference about water. \nIt’s meant to get people interacting with it. \nThis year’s “Water Inspires” theme looks at the different ways water can inspire life\, creativity\, learning\, collaboration and movement. \nThat means swimming and paddling belong beside environmental exhibits. Music and poetry belong beside discussions about flood control. Art belongs beside habitat restoration. \nAdmission is free\, although the Alliance is asking anyone who can contribute to consider making a donation toward the cost of producing Waterfest and its ongoing watershed work. \nThe Day Can Start on Top of Lantern Hill\nFor early risers\, Waterfest actually begins two hours before the main program. \nAn optional Native-led hike on Lantern Hill starts at 8 a.m. \nHikers should meet and sign in at the Two Trees Inn parking lot at 7:45 a.m. \nLantern Hill is far more than a convenient place to get a good view. \nThe quartzite ridge rises dramatically above the surrounding ponds and wetlands and is one of the defining natural landmarks of the upper Mystic River watershed. \nThe hill and surrounding landscape also carry deep cultural significance for the Mashantucket Pequot people. \nBeginning Waterfest there provides a different perspective on everything that follows. \nFrom high ground\, water becomes part of a system rather than an isolated pond. \nLong Pond Is Near the Top of the Mystic River Watershed\nWaterfest’s location helps explain much of the day’s programming. \nThe Mystic River doesn’t simply begin somewhere near downtown Mystic and flow toward the sea. \nIts watershed reaches north through portions of Groton\, Stonington\, Ledyard and North Stonington\, as well as the lands of the Mashantucket Pequot and Eastern Pequot Tribal Nations. \nIn the upper watershed\, water flows through a landscape of forested hills\, wetlands and ponds around Lantern Hill. \nLong Pond is one of the important pieces of that system. \nThe pond covers roughly 100 acres and reaches a maximum depth of about 72 feet. Water leaving its southern end flows into Whitford Brook and eventually continues toward the Mystic River and Long Island Sound. \nSo what happens around Long Pond doesn’t necessarily stay around Long Pond. \nThat’s the basic idea behind a watershed. \nYootay Singers Open the Main Program\nAt 10 a.m.\, the Yootay Singers will help open Waterfest\, followed by welcomes\, introductions and instructions for the day. \nIndigenous participation isn’t an ornamental addition to the festival. \nThe Alliance itself is structured around collaboration among the four watershed municipalities and the Eastern Pequot and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nations. \nThat partnership carries through the day’s schedule. \nLater in the afternoon\, Rashad Young of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation will perform on flute\, followed by poetry from Derrick Strong of the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation. \nYoung is the Language Director for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and serves on the Alliance’s Co-Leadership Board. \nHe’s also a traditional artisan. \nHis work includes making Native flutes\, pipes\, bows\, drums\, bags\, leatherwork and other objects informed by Mashantucket Pequot and Narragansett traditions. \nHis flute playing has been featured at Tribal and public ceremonies\, including Schemitzun and Indigenous commemorations at the Connecticut State Capitol. \nAt Waterfest\, that music returns to the landscape from which much of the cultural tradition surrounding it emerged. \nBefore You Paddle\, Learn to Clean the Boat\nThe first boat-cleaning demonstration begins at 10:30 a.m. \nAnother is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. \nIt might sound like a surprisingly mundane subject for a festival until you consider what can travel on a kayak\, canoe\, paddle\, trailer\, fishing equipment or other wet gear. \nAquatic invasive plants and organisms can be moved from one waterbody to another by recreational users without anyone realizing they’re carrying them. \nCleaning\, draining and drying boats and equipment is one of the simplest ways individual paddlers can reduce that risk. \nFor a festival encouraging people to enjoy the water\, teaching them how to avoid damaging the next body of water they visit is a logical companion lesson. \nAt 11\, Waterfest Turns Back to 2010\nOne of the day’s most substantive programs begins at 11 a.m. \nThe first Community Conversation and Design Circle will look back at the catastrophic flooding of March 2010 and ask participants to help develop recommendations for reducing future flood risk. \nFor people who lived around Lantern Hill at the time\, this isn’t an abstract climate discussion. \nThe 2010 flood physically changed the landscape. \nHeavy rain caused Long Pond Dam to overtop. \nWhitford Brook overtopped Lantern Hill Road. \nLantern Hill Pond flooded the intersection around Homestead and Lantern Hill roads. \nA bridge south of Lantern Hill Pond was breached and washed out. \nRoad infrastructure suffered significant damage. \nIn Ledyard\, firefighters spent days pumping flooded properties while public works crews dealt with damaged roads. A year later\, the town was still planning major reconstruction work. \nSixteen years later\, the flood remains important enough that the Alliance’s current Mystic River Watershed Vulnerability Assessment uses photographs of the 2010 event to illustrate the risks facing the upper watershed. \nThe Flood Question Isn’t Settled\nThat’s what makes the Waterfest conversation more than a history lesson. \nThe towns and watershed organizations are still working on infrastructure in the Lantern Hill and Whitford Brook corridor. \nIn 2022\, Ledyard accepted $3 million in state funding for infrastructure improvements involving the Whitford Brook area\, including work connected with Long Pond Dam\, Bush Pond Dam\, Bush Pond Dike and nearby culverts. \nThen\, in April 2026\, Ledyard authorized another $3.2248 million transportation grant for replacement of the Lantern Hill Road bridge over Whitford Brook below Long Pond. \nThose projects exist alongside a broader regional effort to understand how flooding\, extreme heat and drought could affect the Mystic River watershed in the future. \nThe current vulnerability assessment brings together the four watershed towns\, both Tribal Nations\, the Alliance\, Connecticut Sea Grant\, Fuss & O’Neill\, Resilient Land & Water and the Long Island Sound Study. \nWaterfest gives ordinary residents a seat in that conversation. \nLunch Comes With a Dance Like Water Party\nAfter a morning spent thinking about infrastructure and flood resilience\, the schedule deliberately loosens up. \nFrom 12:30 to 1 p.m.\, it’s time for lunch\, music and the Dance Like Water Party. \nFree food is part of the Waterfest experience. \nIt’s another example of how the Alliance has structured its community events differently from conventional environmental meetings. \nYou don’t have to arrive with technical knowledge. \nYou don’t need to belong to an environmental organization. \nYou can come because you want to paddle. \nYou can come for the music. \nYou can come because your children want to swim. \nAnd while you’re there\, you might learn why a culvert a few hundred yards away matters to a fish swimming north from Long Island Sound. \nRashad Young and Derrick Strong Take Over at 1\nAt 1 p.m.\, Waterfest shifts toward Indigenous music and spoken word. \nRashad Young will perform on Mashantucket flute\, followed by poems from Eastern Pequot writer and Alliance co-founder Derrick Strong. \nStrong’s words are already woven into the Alliance’s identity. \nThe organization prominently uses his line: \n“The rivers flow through us.” \nIt’s an unusually concise expression of the idea behind Waterfest. \nA watershed isn’t simply a blue line on a map that communities agree to protect. \nIts water passes through drinking supplies\, ecosystems\, food systems\, cultural traditions and communities. \nThe people living around it are part of the watershed\, too. \nAt 1:30\, Paddle Toward a Fishway That Doesn’t Exist Yet\nOne of the most interesting activities of the day begins at 1:30 p.m. \nFollowing another boat-cleaning demonstration\, participants can join a guided paddle to the future fishway at Long Pond Dam. \nThe project could dramatically change what Long Pond means to migratory fish. \nRight now\, Long Pond Dam creates a barrier on Whitford Brook. \nAlewives are anadromous fish. They’re born in freshwater\, migrate to the ocean and later return to freshwater to spawn. \nA dam can turn what was once a connected migration route into a dead end. \nThe proposed solution at Long Pond is a nature-like fishway. \nInstead of relying on a highly engineered ladder-like structure\, the concept uses a channel designed to mimic natural stream conditions\, allowing fish to gradually move around the obstruction. \nThe Numbers Behind the Fishway Are Enormous\nThe potential ecological payoff is much larger than the size of the project might suggest. \nEngineering work for the Long Pond project reports that Connecticut DEEP Fisheries estimated restored passage could eventually support an annual run of more than 250\,000 alewives. \nThe project could help establish approximately 6.6 miles of connected river corridor\, stretching from the confluence of Whitford Brook and the Mystic River upstream toward the top of the Lantern Hill Pond system. \nAlewives aren’t the only species that could benefit. \nThe Whitford Brook system is also habitat for migratory and resident fish including American eel\, and improved stream connectivity can benefit an entire aquatic food web. \nThat’s why the afternoon paddle is more interesting than simply paddling to a dam. \nParticipants will be traveling toward a place where people are actively trying to reconnect the freshwater at Waterfest with the sea. \nAt 2\, The Conversation Moves From Water to Hemp\nThe second Community Conversation begins at 2 p.m. with an unusual subject: \nLiving in a locally grown hemp home. \nIt may seem like a detour from ponds and fishways\, but it fits the larger theme of community resilience. \nIndustrial hemp can be processed into building materials\, including hemp-lime composites commonly known as hempcrete. These materials have attracted attention as alternatives to more carbon-intensive conventional construction materials. \nWaterfest’s afternoon conversation puts that idea into the local context: what happens when building materials can be grown regionally\, and how might housing itself become part of a more regenerative relationship between people\, land and climate? \nIt’s another example of Waterfest deliberately stretching the definition of watershed care beyond picking up trash beside a stream. \nThere Are Prizes at 3\nThe day’s prize drawing begins at 3 p.m. \nThe Alliance hasn’t published a complete prize list in the event information provided\, so consider that part a surprise. \nThe main public festival concludes at 4 p.m. \nVolunteers who want to stay and help put the site back together can participate in cleanup from 4 to 5:30 p.m. \nThat’s an appropriately practical ending for an event about stewardship. \nWaterfest Is Really About Who Gets to Make the Decisions\nThe Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed is a relatively young nonprofit\, but its organizational model is one of the more interesting things about it. \nRather than treating the watershed as belonging to whichever municipality happens to contain a particular stream\, the Alliance works across four towns and two Tribal Nations. \nIts mission combines ecological health with community resilience and cultural vitality. \nThat matters because water ignores political borders. \nFloodwater doesn’t stop at a town line. \nNeither does pollution. \nNeither does a migrating alewife. \nAnd neither does the Mystic River watershed. \nWaterfest puts that philosophy into practice for a day. \nSwim in the pond. \nPaddle it. \nListen to music beside it. \nLearn how to keep invasive species out of it. \nRemember what happened when it overflowed in 2010. \nImagine hundreds of thousands of fish eventually reaching it again. \nAnd\, most importantly\, join the conversation about what happens next. \nDetails\nEvent: Waterfest 2026\nTheme: Water Inspires\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nMain Location: Long Pond\nAddress: 79 Homestead Road\, Ledyard\, CT\nAdmission: Free\nDonations: Encouraged to help offset Waterfest costs and support the Alliance’s watershed programs\nMain Program: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.\nOptional Lantern Hill Hike: 8 a.m.; meet/sign in at Two Trees Inn parking lot at 7:45 a.m.\n10 a.m.: Yootay Singers; welcome\, introductions and instructions\n10:30 a.m.: Boat-cleaning demonstration\n11 a.m.–Noon: Community Conversation/Design Circle on the 2010 flood and flood-risk-reduction recommendations\n12:30–1 p.m.: Lunch\, music and Dance Like Water Party\n1 p.m.: Rashad Young\, Mashantucket flute; Derrick Strong\, Eastern Pequot poetry\n1:30 p.m.: Boat-cleaning demonstration and guided paddle to the future fishway\n2 p.m.: Community Conversation Round 2\, Living in a Locally Grown Hemp Home\n3 p.m.: Prize drawing\n4–5:30 p.m.: Event cleanup\nActivities: Swimming\, paddling\, environmental learning\, art\, music\, community exhibits and conversations\nOrganizer: Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed\nEvent Contact: 914-462-2857\nWhat to Bring: Dress for outdoor activities and the day’s weather. Participants planning to paddle or swim should bring appropriate personal equipment and follow event safety instructions.\nWeather: Outdoor waterfront event; check the organizer’s event information for any weather-related updates. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \nResources\nAlliance for the Mystic River Watershed – Team\nAlliance for the Mystic River Watershed – Support Our Work\nMystic River Watershed Vulnerability Assessment\nMystic River Watershed Living Atlas\nTown of Ledyard – Whitford Brook Watershed Infrastructure Improvements\nTown of Ledyard – 2026 Lantern Hill Road Bridge Funding\nPrinceton Hydro – Long Pond Nature-Like Fishway\nSave the Sound – Long Pond Fish Passage\nMashantucket Pequot Museum – Rashad Young\nUnited Way of Southeastern Connecticut – Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/waterfest-2026-brings-paddling-indigenous-music-art-and-a-community-conversation-to-long-pond/
LOCATION:Long Pond\, 79 Homestead Rd\, Ledyard\, 06339\, United States
CATEGORIES:Long Pond Ledyard
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T160000
DTSTAMP:20260916T220152Z
CREATED:20260916T220035Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T220152Z
UID:10007921-1789812000-1789833600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Harvest Moon Living Exhibition Celebrates the Season Through Pequot Culture\, Food and Community
DESCRIPTION:Harvest Moon Living Exhibition brings Indigenous art\, foodways\, music\, storytelling\, social dancing and hands-on cultural activities together at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center on Saturday\, September 19. \nRunning from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.\, the family-friendly celebration is built around something much older than the modern idea of a fall festival. \nFor the Mashantucket Pequot people\, September’s Harvest Moon marks the final period for gathering crops and preparing for winter. \nThe museum’s Living Exhibition turns those seasonal traditions into something visitors can experience rather than simply read about behind glass. \nThere will be corn roasting over fire\, corn husk crafts\, Indigenous vendors\, storytelling\, social dancing\, a flute performance\, food samples\, animals\, a marine touch tank and opportunities to explore the landscape surrounding the museum. \nIt’s a full day devoted to the relationship among culture\, community and the land. \nThe Harvest Moon Is Part of a Larger Cycle\nThe Harvest Moon isn’t an isolated celebration at the museum. \nIt belongs to Kunâhneepamuhshâtunônak\, “Our Moons\,” a larger Mashantucket Pequot cultural framework based on the lunar cycle and the changing seasons. \nDifferent moons mark changes in the natural world and the activities traditionally associated with them. \nJune brings the Strawberry Moon\, connected with the year’s first berries. July is the Blueberry Moon. August’s Green Corn Moon coincides with the annual Schemitzun celebration and the green corn harvest. \nThen comes September. \nThe Harvest Moon represents the period when the last crops are harvested and preparations for winter begin. \nLater moons mark cranberry harvesting\, falling leaves\, hunting and winter gift-giving. \nRather than presenting those traditions as something that existed only in the past\, the museum’s Living Exhibitions emphasize their continuation within contemporary Pequot life. \nThat’s an important distinction. \nThis isn’t a historical reenactment. \nIt’s living culture. \nThe Day Starts With an Indigenous Market\nFrom 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.\, visitors can explore the day’s vendor market along with craft activities and scavenger hunts. \nThe marketplace gives Native makers and artisans a place within the celebration while allowing visitors to encounter Indigenous art as something being created now. \nThat’s another recurring theme in the museum’s seasonal programming. \nTraditional knowledge doesn’t have to mean static tradition. Art\, food\, storytelling and music can retain connections to earlier generations while continuing to change with the people creating them. \nThe market runs throughout the entire six-hour event\, making it something visitors can return to between performances and activities. \nCorn Becomes One of the Stars of the Day\nHarvest celebrations tend to eventually lead to food. \nHere\, corn takes center stage. \nFrom 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.\, the Weewachum Food & Beverage Station is scheduled to serve fresh corn on the cob\, popcorn and purple corn juice\, or chicha morada\, while supplies last. \nBeginning at noon\, visitors can also watch a series of fire-roasted corn salad demonstrations. \nDemonstrations are scheduled for noon\, 12:30\, 1 and 1:30 p.m. \nIt’s food\, but it’s also interpretation. \nThe museum uses foodways throughout its seasonal programming to connect agriculture\, environment\, culture and community. Ingredients become another way of explaining how people interacted with the land and how that relationship continues. \nTurn Corn Husks Into Something Else\nThe day also puts the remains of the harvest to work. \nCorn Husk Creations sessions are scheduled for noon and 2 p.m.\, with each session lasting approximately an hour. \nThe activity is free for museum members. Nonmembers can contribute what they can. \nCorn husk work provides an accessible entry into a much larger idea: when a crop is valuable\, the useful part isn’t necessarily limited to what ends up on the dinner table. \nThat kind of resourcefulness was fundamental to life long before the modern language of sustainability arrived. \nFor children in particular\, making something offers a different kind of connection than simply looking at an object in an exhibit case. \nThey leave having actually worked with the material. \nAnimals Arrive at 11 a.m.\nFamilies have another particularly kid-friendly section of the day beginning at 11 a.m. \nXen’s Critters will bring animal encounters to the museum through 3 p.m. \nThe museum is also advertising a Maritime Aquarium touch tank during the same period. \nThat broadens the day’s connection to the natural world beyond agriculture. \nMashantucket Pequot history is inseparable from the environment of southern New England\, including its forests\, rivers\, wetlands and coastal waters. \nAnimals and marine life make that relationship tangible for younger visitors who may not be ready for a long discussion about ecology or traditional lifeways. \nLet them touch something first. \nThe questions tend to follow. \nSocial Dancing Begins at 12:30 p.m.\nThe afternoon shifts increasingly toward performance and shared experience. \nFollowing the day’s welcome and program introduction\, social dancing begins at 12:30 p.m. \nA flute performance follows at 12:55 p.m. \nAt 1:20 p.m.\, the program turns toward Stories of the Harvest\, with a storyteller sharing another form of cultural knowledge. \nThen at 2:45 p.m.\, social dancing returns for the closing portion of the program. \nThat mixture of music\, movement and oral tradition is deliberate. \nCulture isn’t transmitted through one medium. \nIt moves through stories\, songs\, dance\, food\, language\, objects\, places and relationships between generations. \nThe Living Exhibition puts several of those forms in the same room on the same day. \nGo Deeper With a Pequot Village Tour\nVisitors who want to add more museum interpretation to the day have several options. \nAt 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.\, the museum offers its one-hour Exhibit Highlight Tour. \nThe guided experience travels across roughly 20\,000 years of history\, moving from the Ice Age and the arrival of Indigenous peoples through the museum’s Pequot Village and the enormous changes that followed European contact. \nThose tours require separate tickets. \nAt noon\, visitors can instead take the museum’s 20-minute Pequot Village guided tour\, which also requires a ticket. \nThe recreated 16th-century village is one of the museum’s signature experiences. \nRather than displaying a collection of disconnected artifacts\, the immersive environment places homes\, tools\, activities\, sounds and other details into the context of a functioning Pequot community. \nThe short guided tour focuses on family\, community and daily life. \nMuseum Members Get a First Look at a New Outdoor Experience\nThere’s also something new happening at 1 p.m. \nMuseum members can participate in a first-look version of Gifts of the Land\, a guided walk along the Pequot Trails surrounding the museum. \nThe experience explores native plants\, wildlife and the Mashantucket landscape while connecting them with Pequot knowledge and culture. \nParticipation in this particular program is limited to museum members. \nIts inclusion during the Harvest Moon celebration is especially fitting. \nThe day’s central idea isn’t merely harvesting crops. \nIt’s understanding the relationship between people and the environment that sustains them. \nA walk through the actual landscape makes that relationship considerably less abstract. \nThis Is a Museum Where the Building Is Only Part of the Story\nThe Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center opened in 1998 and is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. \nIts permanent exhibitions span thousands of years\, including natural history\, Indigenous life before European arrival\, the Pequot War and the Tribe’s survival and resurgence into the present day. \nBut the Harvest Moon Living Exhibition illustrates an important part of what the institution has increasingly emphasized. \nA museum devoted to Indigenous people cannot tell the story solely in the past tense. \nThe Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is here now. \nIts artists are creating now. \nIts families are passing knowledge between generations now. \nIts agricultural work continues now. \nIts seasonal traditions continue now. \nA “living exhibition” makes that point right in the name. \nSpend an Hour or Spend the Day\nThe schedule makes Harvest Moon unusually flexible. \nSomeone could arrive for the market and a little social dancing and stay for an hour or two. \nFamilies could build most of the day around crafts\, animal encounters\, the touch tank\, scavenger hunts and food. \nVisitors interested primarily in history and culture could combine the Harvest Moon programming with the museum’s permanent exhibitions and one of the guided tours. \nAnd because the event stretches from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.\, there’s no single performance that defines the entire experience. \nIt’s meant to be explored. \nCome for the harvest. \nThen see where the day takes you. \nDetails\nEvent: Harvest Moon Living Exhibition\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.\nVenue: Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center\nAddress: 110 Pequot Trail\, Mashantucket\, CT 06338\nAdmission: Harvest Moon activities are free with museum admission; some guided experiences require separate tickets\nAudience: All ages and family-friendly\nVendor Market & Craft Activities: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.\nXen’s Critters & Maritime Aquarium Touch Tank: 11 a.m.–3 p.m.\nGourd Painting: 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; free for members\, nonmembers may donate what they can\nWeewachum Food & Beverage Station: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.\, while supplies last\nFire-Roasted Corn Salad Demonstrations: Noon\, 12:30\, 1 and 1:30 p.m.\nCorn Husk Creations: Noon and 2 p.m.; free for members\, nonmembers may donate what they can\nSocial Dancing: 12:30 and 2:45 p.m.\nFlute Performance: 12:55 p.m.\nStories of the Harvest: 1:20 p.m.\nExhibit Highlight Tours: 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.; separate tickets required\nPequot Village Guided Tour: Noon; separate ticket required\nGifts of the Land Trail Walk: 1 p.m.; museum members only\nParking: Free parking is available at the museum\nPhone: 860-396-6910 \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase museum admission\, 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.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/harvest-moon-living-exhibition-celebrates-the-season-through-pequot-culture-food-and-community/
LOCATION:Mashantucket Pequot Museum\, 110 Pequot Trail\, Mashantucket\, 06338\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mashantucket Pequot Museum
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Harvest-Moon-Living-Exhibition-Celebrates-the-Season-Through-Pequot-Culture-Food-and-Community.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T160000
DTSTAMP:20260915T024614Z
CREATED:20260905T020341Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T024614Z
UID:10007471-1789812000-1789833600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Ninigret Park Annual Arts and Crafts Show
DESCRIPTION:Ninigret Park Annual Arts and Crafts Show on Saturday\, September 19\, will bring about 50 artists and makers to the park for a day of handmade work\, live music and food. \nNow in its third year\, the show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New Pavilion area of Ninigret Park. This year’s exhibitors span woodworking\, pottery\, jewelry\, quilting\, crochet\, macramé\, and other forms of handmade art and craft. \nStonington-area guitarist and singer-songwriter Ron Drago will provide live music during the event\, and local organizations and vendors will provide food and refreshments. \nA rain date is scheduled for Saturday\, September 26. \nAbout 50 Artists and Makers in One Place\nThe scale of the show is large enough to offer variety without turning the day into a sprawling commercial festival. \nOrganizers expect approximately 50 exhibitors\, with the emphasis on artists\, artisans and makers rather than mass-produced merchandise. \nThe announced mix includes woodworkers\, potters\, jewelers\, quilters\, crochet artists and macramé makers\, along with other crafts. \nOne returning Charlestown artist is Brian O’Connor of South County Paddles\, whose work goes well beyond the business name. \nO’Connor is a woodworker known for creating carved fish and detailed fish dioramas. His work frequently draws on the species and waterways of southern Rhode Island\, making his booth particularly connected to the landscape surrounding the show. \nOne of O’Connor’s past pieces\, Anadromous Ascension III\, depicted the migration of fish such as river herring from saltwater into freshwater rivers to reproduce. O’Connor is also a founding member of Protect Rhode Island Brook Trout\, connecting his woodworking with his interest in the region’s native fish and waterways. \nHe is scheduled to return to the show this year with a selection of his fish dioramas. \nRon Drago Provides the Live Music\nThe arts and crafts aren’t the only attraction. \nRon Drago\, a guitarist and singer-songwriter based in the Stonington area\, will perform live during the show. \nDrago is a familiar name around southeastern Connecticut and southwestern Rhode Island\, performing solo acoustic shows at wineries\, restaurants\, breweries and other local venues. \nHis repertoire draws from decades of popular music\, making the performance more of a soundtrack to an afternoon of browsing than a separate concert that requires visitors to stop everything and gather around a stage. \nThat format fits this event particularly well. Visitors can move between booths\, stop for food\, explore the park and return to the music throughout the day. \nFood Will Be Available at the Show\nFood and refreshments are also planned. \nThe Downey Weaver American Legion Post 34 is among the organizations scheduled to sell food\, and Del’s Lemonade is expected to be part of the day as well. \nAdditional food offerings may also be available. \nThat gives visitors the option of turning a quick trip through the craft booths into a longer afternoon at Ninigret Park. \nThe Park Is Part of the Day\nOne of the things that distinguishes this show from an indoor craft fair is its location. \nNinigret Park is one of Charlestown’s major public recreation spaces\, with a combination of open fields\, trails and recreational facilities spread across the property. \nThe show is being held near the New Pavilion\, but visitors aren’t limited to the vendor area. \nNinigret Park includes Little Nini Pond\, A Kid’s Place Playground\, picnic shelters\, walking and bicycling paths\, an 18-hole disc golf course\, basketball and tennis courts and other recreational areas. \nThat makes the show particularly easy to combine with a family day at the park. Someone who isn’t interested in spending several hours looking through craft booths has plenty of other options nearby. \nNinigret’s Wildlife Refuge Is Next Door\nThe natural landscape extends beyond the town park itself. \nNinigret Park sits alongside the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge\, part of the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex. \nThe refuge protects coastal habitat associated with Ninigret Pond and includes trails through grasslands\, shrubland and other habitat used by migratory birds and wildlife. \nAccess from the park also connects visitors with the salt pond environment\, including a kayak launch area. \nIt’s an unusually fitting setting for an arts event with makers whose work often draws inspiration from Rhode Island’s coast\, forests and wildlife. \nFrom Naval Airfield to Community Park\nThe open landscape at Ninigret has another layer that’s easy to miss. \nMuch of the property was once part of a World War II-era naval auxiliary airfield. \nAfter the military use ended\, the former air station property eventually became a combination of town recreation land and federally protected wildlife habitat. Traces of the old airfield remain visible in the unusually broad\, flat landscape. \nToday\, the town-owned portion has become one of Charlestown’s busiest gathering places\, hosting everything from community recreation to major annual festivals. \nThe arts and crafts show operates at the opposite end of the scale from Ninigret’s largest festivals. Instead of multiple stages and thousands of visitors\, the focus is on individual makers\, their work and a day in the park. \nThe Show Is Only in Its Third Year\nDespite the “annual” name\, this isn’t a decades-old Charlestown tradition. \n2026 marks the third year of the Ninigret Park Arts and Crafts Show. \nThe event began with roughly 50 exhibitors\, a scale organizers have continued as the show has developed. \nThat also explains its straightforward format. There isn’t a midway\, complicated admission structure or packed schedule of attractions. \nIt’s essentially a community craft show in one of South County’s best-known parks: dozens of makers\, live acoustic music\, something to eat and plenty of room to spend time outdoors afterward. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Ninigret Park Annual Arts and Crafts Show\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.\nRain Date: Saturday\, September 26\nLocation: New Pavilion at Ninigret Park\nAddress: Park Lane\, Charlestown\, RI 02813\nExhibitors: Approximately 50 artists and makers\nCrafts: Woodworking\, pottery\, jewelry\, quilting\, crochet\, macramé and more\nLive Music: Ron Drago\nFood: Downey Weaver American Legion Post 34\, Del’s Lemonade and additional offerings \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/ninigret-park-annual-arts-and-crafts-show/
LOCATION:Ninigret Park\, 5 Park Lane\, Charlestown\, RI\, 02813\, United States
CATEGORIES:Ninigret Park
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Ninigret-Park-Annual-Arts-and-Crafts-Show.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T130000
DTSTAMP:20260624T031304Z
CREATED:20260624T030727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260624T031304Z
UID:10006249-1789812000-1789822800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Waterford Farmers Market
DESCRIPTION:The Waterford Farmers Market returns for the 2026 season\, bringing local food\, handmade goods\, and community spirit to the Waterford Community Center every Saturday from June 20 through October 24. Shoppers can browse a rotating selection of vendors offering fresh produce\, baked goods\, meats\, honey\, flowers\, artisan crafts\, specialty foods\, and other locally made products. \nWhether you’re picking up ingredients for the week\, searching for unique gifts\, or simply enjoying a Saturday morning outing\, the market offers a chance to support local farmers\, makers\, and small businesses. New vendors and seasonal offerings appear throughout the season\, making each visit a little different from the last. \nEvent Details \nDates: Saturdays\, June 20 – October 24\, 2026\nTime: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM\nLocation: Waterford Community Center\, 24 Rope Ferry Road\, Waterford\, CT \nVendors May Include: \n\nFresh fruits and vegetables\nLocal meats and seafood\nBaked goods and breads\nHoney and specialty foods\nFlowers and plants\nArtisan crafts and handmade goods\nLocal artists and makers\n\nAdmission: Free \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/waterford-farmers-market/2026-09-19/
LOCATION:Waterford Community Center\, 24 Rope Ferry Rd\, Waterford\, 06385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Waterford Community Center
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Waterford-Farmers-Market-Saturdays-June-20-October-24-10am-1pm-Waterford-Community-Center-24-Rope-Ferry-Road-Waterford.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T120000
DTSTAMP:20260917T191159Z
CREATED:20260915T002435Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T191159Z
UID:10007604-1789812000-1789819200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Westerly Performing Arts Tour Takes Young Performers Behind the Scenes at Three Downtown Arts Institutions
DESCRIPTION:The Westerly Performing Arts Tour gives young singers\, musicians and actors something they don’t normally get from sitting in the audience: a look behind the curtain at three of Westerly’s major performing arts organizations and a chance to find out how they can become part of them. \nThe guided walking tour begins beneath the marquee at The UNITED Theatre at 10 a.m. Saturday\, September 19\, before heading through downtown to the Granite Theatre and George Kent Performance Hall\, home of The Chorus of Westerly. \nOver roughly 90 minutes\, participants will meet artists and educators\, explore performance spaces\, learn about training programs and discover opportunities to sing\, act\, play an instrument or otherwise become involved in Westerly’s performing arts community. \nFor a young person who knows they want to perform but doesn’t know where to begin\, that’s really the point of the morning. \nThree Stops\, Three Different Ways Onto a Stage\nThe tour isn’t simply a walk through three interesting buildings. \nEach stop represents a different part of the performing arts. \nAt The UNITED\, the focus includes music education and the many ways musicians can develop their skills. \nAt the Granite Theatre\, participants actually step onto the stage while learning about acting\, theatrical training and performance. \nAt The Chorus of Westerly\, the tour moves into vocal and ensemble training inside Kent Hall. \nTogether\, the three organizations offer a surprisingly broad introduction to what’s available to a young performer within a relatively small section of downtown Westerly. \nAnd participants will hear directly from the people who teach and create the work rather than simply picking up three brochures. \nIt Starts Under The UNITED Marquee\nThe first meeting point is one of downtown Westerly’s most recognizable landmarks: the marquee at The UNITED Theatre at 5 Canal Street. \nFrom there\, participants head behind the scenes. \nThe UNITED today is considerably more than a movie theater. \nIts modern arts complex contains a 750-capacity flexible performance space\, three cinemas\, an event and gallery space and a dedicated music school. \nThe building hosts concerts\, theater\, dance\, comedy\, films\, lectures and other programming while maintaining an increasingly substantial educational operation. \nYoung visitors on Saturday’s tour will get a closer look at that educational side. \nThe UNITED Music School Is a Working Training Center\nThe UNITED Music School offers instruction and performance opportunities across a range of instruments\, ages and ability levels. \nThe idea isn’t simply to teach someone how to play scales in a practice room. \nStudents can develop through lessons and ensembles while being conneGcted to an active performing arts organization where musicians are regularly rehearsing\, recording and appearing onstage. \nThe UNITED also extends its education programs beyond traditional instrumental instruction. \nIts broader arts programming has included songwriting\, voice\, photography\, video\, visual arts\, film and podcasting\, along with after-school programming for local students. \nThe tour gives prospective students a chance to see where that work happens and ask the people involved what participating actually looks like. \nThe Building Has Been Training Entertainers for a Century\, in a Way\nThere’s another reason the UNITED is an appropriate place to begin. \nIn 1926\, the original United Theatre opened as a vaudeville house. \nThat means the building turns 100 years old in 2026. \nVaudeville theaters were variety houses. A single bill could contain singers\, dancers\, comedians\, musicians\, novelty performers and other acts. \nThe United later became a movie theater before closing in 1986. \nDecades later\, a major redevelopment joined the historic theater with the neighboring Montgomery Ward building. Following an extensive renovation\, the new UNITED reopened in July 2021 as a multipurpose arts center. \nA building that once presented performers now both presents them and helps train the next generation. \nSaturday’s tour makes that connection unusually literal. \nThen the Tour Heads Through Wilcox Park\nFrom The UNITED\, the group walks through Wilcox Park toward the Granite Theatre. \nThat makes the event a genuine downtown arts tour rather than three disconnected building visits. \nThe park itself is one of the features that makes this possible. \nWesterly’s compact downtown puts theaters\, music spaces\, restaurants\, shops and historic buildings within walking distance of one another\, with Wilcox Park sitting near the center of it all. \nFor young participants\, the walk also demonstrates something that’s easy to overlook when visiting one venue at a time: \nThese organizations are neighbors. \nThey’re part of the same arts community. \nAt the Granite\, Young Performers Get to Step Onto the Stage\nThe second major stop is the Granite Theatre at 1 Granite Street. \nHere\, participants will step onto the stage and hear how theatrical training reaches beyond memorizing lines and learning where to stand. \nThe Granite specifically emphasizes the ways theater can develop confidence\, communication skills and personal growth. \nThose benefits matter even for children who never intend to become professional actors. \nGetting onstage requires speaking clearly. \nActors have to listen to one another. \nThey need to collaborate\, remember instructions\, adapt when something unexpected happens and become comfortable communicating in front of other people. \nA theatrical production is also intensely collaborative. \nThe person delivering the line may be the one the audience sees\, but performances depend on directors\, designers\, technicians\, stage managers and many others working together. \nFor a child interested in theater but uncertain about being the center of attention\, there are plenty of ways into that world. \nThe Granite Has Been Expanding Its Youth Programs\nThe Granite’s mission specifically combines entertainment and education\, and the theater has been developing dedicated programming for younger performers. \nIts Youth Theatre Program has included theatrical training\, summer camps and staged productions for young actors. \nRecent youth programming has been designed for participants roughly 8 to 18 years old\, giving children and teenagers the opportunity to work toward an actual performance rather than treating theater solely as a classroom exercise. \nSaturday’s stop gives prospective young actors and their families a chance to see the space before deciding whether that kind of program feels right for them. \nThat can be much more useful than trying to make the decision from a website. \nThe Granite’s Stage Is Inside an 1849 Church\nThe building itself has already spent more than 175 years gathering people together. \nThe Greek Revival structure was purchased for $200 in 1843 and became the Christian Chapel in Westerly. \nThe building was completed in 1849 and later became the Broad Street Christian Church. \nIts basic historic character survived remarkably well\, although the steeple required remodeling after being damaged during the Hurricane of 1938. \nThe building eventually found an entirely different purpose. \nIn 2000\, it reopened as the Granite Theatre. \nThe former church sanctuary became an intimate performance venue where actors now perform only a short distance from the audience. \nFor a young performer stepping onto its stage Saturday morning\, it’s worth looking around. \nThat’s not a purpose-built modern auditorium. \nIt’s another piece of Westerly history that the arts helped preserve. \nThe Final Stop Is Kent Hall\nThe walking tour continues to 119 High Street\, where another former church has become one of Westerly’s major performance spaces. \nGeorge Kent Performance Hall is home to The Chorus of Westerly. \nThe organization uses Kent Hall for rehearsals\, classes\, concerts and educational programs throughout the year. \nFor young singers\, this portion of the tour may be particularly useful because The Chorus of Westerly has made children’s musical education part of its identity from the beginning. \nParticipants will learn how singers develop musicianship\, vocal technique and ensemble skills\, and how children can progress into serious choral performance even without arriving with years of previous training. \nYou Don’t Need to Arrive Already Knowing How to Sing in a Chorus\nThe Chorus of Westerly explicitly says that children don’t need previous voice lessons\, formal music classes or other musical training to begin its children’s program. \nTeaching them is part of the job. \nIts children’s program is designed for young people approximately ages 8 through 18 and uses multiple levels so developing singers can be placed appropriately. \nEach young singer receives at least two hours of rehearsal per week. \nAnd this isn’t a children’s choir that exists entirely apart from the organization’s major performances. \nOne of The Chorus of Westerly’s founding principles was giving children and teenagers the opportunity to sing challenging music alongside adults in serious performance settings. \nYoung singers have long participated in the organization’s main symphonic and Pops programming. \nThat makes the Kent Hall stop less about asking\, “Can my child already do this?” \nIt’s about discovering how they can learn. \nThe Chorus Has Built a Program That Can Last a Lifetime\nThe children’s program is only one piece of The Chorus of Westerly. \nThere is an auditioned Symphonic Chorus for adults. \nThere are also non-auditioned programs designed to make group singing accessible to people with different experience levels and at different stages of life. \nThe organization has developed a Foundations Chorus\, Threshold Singers and an Encore Choir for older adults\, among other educational and outreach programs. \nThat creates an unusual continuum. \nSomeone can begin singing at Kent Hall as a child and remain involved in choral music well into adulthood. \nThe organization isn’t simply producing concerts. \nIt’s trying to create singers. \nKent Hall Has Heard Some Extraordinary Music\nThe room the young performers will visit has hosted considerably more than local rehearsals. \nThe Chorus of Westerly first performed there in 1968. \nOver the decades\, Kent Hall has welcomed internationally known musicians and ensembles including Yo-Yo Ma\, Pete Seeger\, Rudolf Serkin\, The King’s Singers\, Chanticleer\, The Tallis Scholars\, the Choir of King’s College Cambridge and the Vienna Boys’ Choir. \nIts history predates all of them. \nConstruction of the building began in 1886 as Westerly’s first Roman Catholic church\, Immaculate Conception. \nThe Chorus eventually acquired the building and undertook years of restoration and renovation. \nIn 2004–05\, a nearly $2 million project added an office wing and backstage access. Later work addressed the roof\, bell tower\, HVAC systems\, rehearsal spaces and lower level. \nToday it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. \nSo Saturday’s young singers will be standing in a room with some stories to tell. \nThe Tour Is Really About Finding Your Door In\nA child saying “I like music” doesn’t necessarily know what comes next. \nDo I need lessons? \nCan I join a band? \nWhat if I’ve never acted before? \nDo I have to audition? \nWhat happens at an audition? \nCan I sing in a chorus if I can’t read music? \nWhat if I want to work in theater but don’t want to act? \nThose questions can make arts organizations seem more intimidating from the outside than they actually are. \nThe Westerly Performing Arts Tour removes some of that barrier by putting families directly in the spaces and introducing them to the people who can answer those questions. \nThere’s no requirement that a participant emerge from Saturday morning having chosen an artistic career. \nFinding something they’d like to try is enough. \nParents Need to Come Along With Younger Participants\nThe tour is designed for young performers\, but participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. \nThat makes sense for another reason. \nParents are usually the ones who need answers about schedules\, commitments\, auditions\, costs and transportation before a child can join a program. \nInstead of a young person coming home excited about something and trying to explain it\, parent and child can hear the information together. \nThe UNITED asks participants to reserve a spot in advance. \nThe tour begins at the UNITED marquee at 10 a.m. The UNITED describes the guided experience as approximately 90 minutes\, while the Chamber calendar blocks out 10 a.m. to noon\, so families would be wise to keep the full two-hour window available. \nThree Institutions\, One Arts Community\nThe most interesting part of the Westerly Performing Arts Tour may not be any single stop. \nIt’s the fact that all three stops exist so close together. \nWithin one morning\, a young person can explore a century-old theater reborn as a modern music and arts center\, stand on the stage of an 1849 church transformed into a community theater and visit an 1880s church that became home to a nationally recognized choral organization. \nThey’re different institutions with different histories and specialties. \nBut they’re doing versions of the same thing. \nThey’re taking people who want to create something and giving them a place to begin. \nOn September 19\, they’re opening those doors together. \nDetails\nEvent: The Westerly Performing Arts Tour\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nStart Time: 10 a.m.\nCalendar Window: 10 a.m.–noon\nGuided Tour Length: Approximately 90 minutes\nStarting Point: The UNITED Theatre marquee/front entrance\nStarting Address: 5 Canal Street\, Westerly\, RI 02891\nStops: The UNITED Theatre and Music School\, Granite Theatre and George Kent Performance Hall/The Chorus of Westerly\nAudience: Young performers and families interested in local performing arts opportunities\nUnder 18: Must be accompanied by an adult\nActivities: Behind-the-scenes theater visit\, music school introduction\, Granite Theatre stage visit\, choral education introduction and conversations with artists and educators\nWalking: The tour travels between downtown locations\, including a walk through Wilcox Park\nRegistration: Advance reservation is requested\nContact: The UNITED Theatre\, 401-388-8208 \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo reserve your spot\, click the Event Registration 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/westerly-performing-arts-tour-takes-young-performers-behind-the-scenes-at-three-downtown-arts-institutions/
LOCATION:United Theatre\, 5 Canal Street\, Westerly\, RI\, 02891\, United States
CATEGORIES:United Theater
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Westerly-Performing-Arts-Tour-Takes-Young-Performers-Behind-the-Scenes-at-Three-Downtown-Arts-Institutions.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T113000
DTSTAMP:20260916T231507Z
CREATED:20260916T231507Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T231507Z
UID:10007922-1789812000-1789817400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Mystic River Boathouse Park Ribbon Cutting Opens a New Stretch of the River to the Public
DESCRIPTION:Mystic River Boathouse Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony celebrates the opening of a project nearly a decade in the making on Saturday\, September 19\, transforming a former industrial brownfield into a new public waterfront park\, community rowing center\, and permanent home for Stonington High School Crew. \nThe ceremony runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at 123 Greenmanville Avenue\, just north of Mystic Seaport Museum. \nBut this is much bigger than a ribbon-cutting for another small town park. \nThe roughly 1.5-acre property includes new public access to a portion of the upper Mystic River where much of the shoreline has historically been privately owned. It also incorporates the Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse\, rowing and public-access docks\, a pedestrian launch for non-motorized watercraft\, ADA-accessible waterfront features\, a living shoreline and recreational space. \nAnd getting it built took about 10 years. \nIt Started With a Vote in 2016\nStonington residents approved the project at a town meeting in 2016\, authorizing the purchase of the Greenmanville Avenue property. \nThe location was attractive for an obvious reason. \nIt sits directly on the Mystic River. \nBut underneath that waterfront property was a much more complicated story. \nThe peninsula had been shaped during Mystic’s industrial era\, in part through deposits of coal slag and other industrial material associated with the neighboring Rossie Velvet Mill. \nThat meant the town wasn’t simply buying an empty waterfront lot and turning it into grass and docks. \nEnvironmental remediation had to come first. \nIn 2021\, Stonington secured a $753\,889 state grant to help remediate the contaminated property. \nThat was only one of the obstacles. \nThen There Was a Historic House That Couldn’t Simply Be Demolished\nSitting on the property was another complication: the Lovelace House. \nBecause the house was located within a historic district\, plans had to accommodate its preservation rather than simply removing it. \nThe State Historic Preservation Office became involved\, and Stonington Community Rowing committed to helping relocate and rehabilitate the building as part of the overall project. \nThe house had to be incorporated into a substantially larger plan that was already trying to balance a public park\, environmental cleanup\, shoreline restoration and a modern rowing facility. \nThere were also objections to an earlier boathouse design. \nPlans were revised. \nPermits were needed from state agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. \nCosts rose. \nAnd the years accumulated. \nBy 2025\, the Price Had Reached About $5.3 Million\nBy the time construction was finally ready to move forward in 2025\, the overall project had grown to approximately $5.3 million. \nFunding came together through a combination of state and federal grants\, town funding and private fundraising associated with Stonington Community Rowing. \nStonington had assembled roughly $4.9 million for the public portion before the Board of Finance approved an additional $400\,000 in June 2025. \nThat finally cleared one of the project’s last major financial obstacles. \nConstruction began later that year. \nThe September 19 ribbon cutting is the other end of that story. \nThe New Park Gives Mystic Something Surprisingly Rare: More Public River Access\nMystic is defined by its river. \nThat doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to reach the water. \nLarge portions of the Mystic River shoreline are occupied by private homes\, businesses\, marinas and other properties. \nThe new Mystic River Boathouse Park creates another publicly accessible piece of waterfront north of Mystic Seaport Museum. \nThe park includes lawn and landscaped areas\, waterfront access and ADA-accessible coastal walkways. \nMore importantly for people who want to get onto the river rather than simply look at it\, the project includes a pedestrian boat ramp\, access piers and floating docks. \nThe public launch is intended for non-motorized personal watercraft\, opening another access point for activities such as kayaking and paddling. \nThat’s one of the reasons town officials have consistently described the project as more than a rowing facility. \nThe rowing program occupies an important part of the property. \nThe park belongs to the public. \nThe Shoreline Itself Is Part of the Project\nLook closely at the water’s edge and another piece of the project emerges. \nInstead of treating the riverbank solely as infrastructure\, designers incorporated a living shoreline using natural materials\, native vegetation and tidal-wetland enhancements. \nLiving shorelines can help stabilize waterfront property while maintaining or improving habitat and allowing the edge of the land to behave more naturally than a continuous hardened seawall. \nThe Mystic project includes tidal-wetland enhancements and shoreline sills as part of that approach. \nRACE Coastal Engineering also designed the project’s piers\, gangways\, rowing docks and pedestrian boat ramp. \nEven the way the floating docks are secured reflects the needs of rowers. \nRather than conventional pilings that could interfere with long racing shells and oars\, the docks use helix-style moorings and elastomeric lines that move with the changing tide. \nIt’s an unusually technical detail for a public park. \nBut this isn’t an ordinary park. \nStonington Crew Finally Gets a Home\nFor the Stonington High School rowing program\, September 19 represents something even bigger. \nThe program has existed for nearly three decades without a permanent facility of its own. \nFor approximately 20 years\, Mystic Seaport Museum hosted Stonington Crew\, allowing generations of students to train and launch from museum property. \nThe new facility changes that. \nStonington Community Rowing will operate from the Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse\, giving the high school program a permanent home while expanding rowing opportunities beyond the school team. \nThe boathouse includes two bays for shells\, oars\, coach boats and other equipment. \nUpstairs is a roughly 4\,500-square-foot training center with rowing machines and strength-training equipment. \nThe broader plan calls for rowing opportunities for youth and adults at different experience levels\, including recreational\, competitive and adaptive rowing. \nJim Dietz Is One of American Rowing’s Major Figures\nThe name on the rowing center isn’t ceremonial window dressing. \nJim Dietz is one of the most accomplished figures in American rowing. \nDietz represented the United States at three Olympic Games as a rower\, competed internationally for years and later built a long coaching career. \nHis rowing résumé includes numerous national championships and international competitions\, and he became closely associated with southeastern Connecticut rowing. \nNaming the community rowing center for Dietz connects the new facility with a much larger American rowing tradition. \nMembers of the Dietz family are expected to participate in Saturday’s celebration. \nHart Perry’s Name Carries Its Own Rowing History\nThe boathouse is named for another towering figure in the sport. \nHart Perry spent decades as executive director of the National Rowing Foundation and became one of the best-known administrators and advocates in American rowing. \nHe was also deeply connected to Mystic. \nPerry helped establish and develop rowing activity associated with Mystic Seaport and played a central role in the growth of the Coastweeks Regatta\, which became a fixture on the Mystic River. \nMembers of the Perry family are also expected at Saturday’s opening. \nPutting the names Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse together therefore says something about the ambitions for the facility. \nIt’s a community boathouse with unusually deep connections to the history of American rowing. \nThe Coastweeks Regatta Has Already Come Home\nThere’s an especially nice piece of timing surrounding the ribbon cutting. \nJust six days earlier\, on September 13\, the 29th Coastweeks Regatta returned to the Mystic River. \nThe race had previously been hosted by Mystic Seaport Museum and became one of the early head races of the fall rowing calendar. \nFor its return in 2026\, Stonington Community Rowing hosted the regatta from the new Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse. \nThe approximately 2-kilometer course began upriver and finished near the new boathouse park and Delamar Mystic. \nSo although the ceremonial ribbon isn’t cut until September 19\, the new rowing facility has already begun doing exactly what its supporters spent years trying to make possible. \nBoats are back on the river. \nThe Plan Extends Beyond Rowing\nThe project’s organizers have consistently envisioned the property as a community resource rather than a private rowing compound. \nStonington Community Rowing has identified partnerships with Stonington Recreation\, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and Mystic Seaport Museum as avenues for expanding programming. \nThat could bring marine science education\, health and recreation activities and other programs onto the property in addition to rowing. \nThe town has similarly discussed using nonprofit partnerships to expand river access for children\, families and residents from different backgrounds. \nThat’s significant because a new boathouse alone would primarily benefit people who row. \nA public waterfront park can serve everyone else too. \nSomeone can launch a kayak. \nSomeone can walk down to the river. \nSomeone can sit on the lawn. \nA child can learn something about the estuary. \nSomeone who has lived in Stonington for decades but never had a reason to enter a rowing facility can simply use the waterfront. \nSaturday Celebrates the People Who Kept It Alive\nThe ribbon cutting is being organized with Stonington Community Rowing\, the Town of Stonington and the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce. \nThe Dietz and Perry families are expected to join members of the Stonington community for the ceremony. \nThat feels appropriate for a project that survived environmental problems\, preservation requirements\, redesigns\, permitting\, funding gaps\, rising construction costs and nearly a decade between public approval and completion. \nThere is one important parking instruction for Saturday. \nVisitors may park behind the Rossie Mill or in Mystic Seaport Museum’s North Parking Lot. \nOrganizers specifically ask attendees not to use Velvet Lane. \nThen walk down toward the river. \nAfter ten years\, there’s finally a park waiting there. \nDetails\nEvent: Mystic River Boathouse Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 10–11:30 a.m.\nLocation: Mystic River Boathouse Park\nAddress: 125 – 129 Greenmanville Avenue\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nHosts/Partners: Stonington Community Rowing\, Town of Stonington and Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce\nFeatured Facilities: Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse\nPark Features: Public waterfront access\, lawn and landscaped areas\, ADA-accessible waterfront features\, living shoreline\, rowing docks\, access piers and pedestrian launch for non-motorized watercraft\nParking: Available behind Rossie Mill and at the Mystic Seaport Museum North Parking Lot\nImportant: Do not park on Velvet Lane\nAdmission: No admission charge is listed for the public ribbon-cutting ceremony\nCeremony: Members of the Dietz and Perry families and the Stonington community are invited to participate in the opening celebration \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/mystic-river-boathouse-park-ribbon-cutting-opens-a-new-stretch-of-the-river-to-the-public/
LOCATION:Mystic River Boathouse Park\, 125 - 129 Greenmanville Avenue\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic River Boathouse Park
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