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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261004T150000
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SUMMARY:Manhattan Short Film Festival Turns the Garde Audience Into the Jury
DESCRIPTION:Manhattan Short Film Festival Turns the Garde Audience Into the Jury Oct. 4\, New London moviegoers watch the same 10 short films being screened around the world and then help decide which film and actor should win the festival’s top awards. \nThere is no jury of filmmakers\, critics or industry executives making the final decision. \nThe ballot goes to you. \nEvery audience member at the Garde receives one\, watches the complete slate and votes for Best Film and Best Actor. Those New London ballots are then combined with votes from audiences at more than 500 participating venues across six continents. \nThe winners are scheduled to be announced the following morning\, Oct. 5. \nThat makes Sunday’s screening something considerably different from simply watching a collection of festival shorts. The people sitting inside the Garde become part of a worldwide jury. \nTen Countries. Ten Films.\nFor the first time in Manhattan Short’s 29-year history\, its 10 finalists represent 10 different countries. \nThe program moves through science fiction\, mystery\, comedy\, drama and animation\, with stories coming from the United States\, Ireland\, Australia\, South Africa\, the United Kingdom\, Moldova\, Russia\, Cuba\, Georgia and Mexico. \nHere is what New London audiences will be judging: \nSmall Talk — USA — 9 minutes\nDirected by Eduardo Moral. In a neon-lit future where artificial intelligence has eliminated nearly every profession\, a cab driver holds onto one increasingly rare human behavior: talking to people. His passengers include workers whose jobs have disappeared to automation\, turning ordinary conversation into a story about identity and what happens when society decides it no longer needs your work. \nMary Is Missing — Ireland — 22 minutes\nDirected by Aisling Byrne. A care worker disappears and Detective Foley arrives at the Yellow Tree Day Service to find out what happened. The problem is that the witnesses’ accounts become increasingly contradictory and strange. The mystery gradually becomes as much about who gets believed\, and why people tell stories\, as it is about finding Mary. \nCandy Bar — Australia — 6 minutes\nDirected by Nash Edgerton and written by actor Damon Herriman. A grieving young girl encounters a man in a cinema candy-bar line and tells him that he looks like her father. What begins as an awkward encounter develops into something unexpectedly emotional. The film premiered at Sundance in 2026 and stars Herriman alongside Andrea Demetriades\, Zumi Edgerton and Caitlin Burley. \nVultures — South Africa — 15 minutes\nDirected by Dian Weys. In the chaotic minutes following a car crash\, a desperate tow-truck driver tries to protect his claim to the wreck before authorities arrive. Competition and desperation escalate the situation beyond his control. The Afrikaans- and English-language film also screened at the 2026 Tribeca Festival. \nLife Goes On — United Kingdom — 19 minutes\nDirected by Kat Butterfield and Daniel Audritt. Bill is in end-of-life care and ready to die. There’s just one problem: every time his heart stops\, the day starts over again. The dark comedy turns the familiar time-loop premise into a story about mortality\, unfinished business and the things people wait too long to say. The cast includes David Bradley\, Maggie Steed\, Matt Berry and Laura Checkley. \nHai Davai — Moldova — 16 minutes\nDirected by Vlad Gradescu. Nina is about to leave her rural Moldovan village for a new life abroad when a black cat crosses the road. Her grandmother sees the old superstition as a warning and refuses to let her continue. The comedy pits the possibility of a different future against family\, tradition and the beliefs people carry from one generation to the next. \nPickup — Russia — 3 minutes\nDirected by Viktoriia Lapushkina. At a workshop where women are assigned exercises in flirting\, shy Di gets what sounds like a simple task: persuade a man to buy her coffee. Instead she reaches a rooftop smoking area and encounters Alex\, who is preparing to end his life. It’s the shortest film in the competition\, packing its reversal into just three minutes. \nNorheimsund — Cuba — 12 minutes\nDirected by Cuban filmmaker Ana A. Alpizar. A girl’s long-distance relationship with an older Norwegian man appears to offer both her and her mother a way out of an austere life in Cuba\, until she begins discovering that the man she has imagined may not match reality. The Spanish-language film previously screened at both Venice and Sundance and won the Fiction category at the 2026 Sony Future Filmmaker Awards. \nWhen the Sea Was Calm — Georgia — 18 minutes\nDirected and animated by Mamuka Tkeshelashvili. This dialogue-free\, handcrafted animation returns to Sokhumi on the eve of war in 1992\, where a 13-year-old boy experiences first love before violence forces the girl to flee. Decades later\, he returns to a city transformed by war and memories of a childhood that disappeared with it. Tkeshelashvili uses cut-outs and puppets rather than conventional live action or computer animation. \nNever Give Up! — Hungary/Mexico — 20 minutes\nDirected by Tamás Yvan Topolánszky. After a deadly border crossing separates a young boy from his mother\, he is left alone in the desert with a damaged phone and the words she taught him to remember: never give up. An unexpected encounter changes the direction of his attempt to survive. \nTogether\, the films create a roughly 2½-hour international program\, with subjects ranging from AI and automation to aging\, migration\, war\, superstition\, grief and human connection. \nFrom a Truck in Little Italy to Six Continents\nManhattan Short began on a considerably smaller screen. \nFounder Nicholas Mason launched the festival in 1998\, gathering roughly 200 people on Mulberry Street in New York’s Little Italy to watch 16 short films projected onto a screen mounted on the side of a truck. \nThe following year it moved to Union Square Park. \nWhat developed from there wasn’t simply another film festival. Mason created a model in which the same finalists would be shown during the same period at participating venues around the world. \nBy 2026\, Manhattan Short says the festival reaches more than 100\,000 moviegoers at more than 500 venues on six continents. \nAnd those audiences still perform the job that normally belongs to a festival jury. \nYour Vote Actually Counts\nEveryone attending receives a ballot. \nAt the conclusion of the program\, audience members select their choice for Best Film and Best Actor. Participating venues tally their ballots and send the results to Manhattan Short headquarters. \nThe worldwide totals determine the winners. \nThere’s another reason the competition matters to the filmmakers. \nSelection as one of Manhattan Short’s finalists also makes each of the 10 films Oscar-qualified\, putting them in position to be considered for an Academy Award nomination. \nThere is precedent for the festival becoming part of that path. \nIn 2024\, four Manhattan Short selections reached the Academy’s shortlist and two went on to receive Oscar nominations. I’m Not a Robot ultimately won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. \nThat means Sunday’s audience isn’t necessarily watching obscure films destined to disappear after the festival circuit. Some of the filmmakers and actors on the Garde screen could be appearing in the Academy Awards conversation a few months from now. \nA Global Film Festival Inside a 100-Year-Old Movie Palace\nThere’s also something particularly appropriate about where New London’s screening is happening. \nThe Garde opened in 1926 as a movie palace\, designed for an era when going to see a film was itself an event. \nExactly 100 years later\, during the theater’s Centennial Season\, the Garde is again gathering an audience around a movie screen\, except this time that audience is simultaneously connected to people watching the same films around the world. \nThe screening is part of the Garde’s Real Movie Palace Experience\, and it arrives one day after the theater’s elaborate centennial recreation of its original 1926 opening night. \nThe 2026 festival also includes music during intermission from featured artist Madeline Rosene\, whose song Love & Algorithms was selected for this year’s program. \nBy the time the lights come back up Sunday afternoon\, however\, the important piece of paper isn’t the program. \nIt’s the ballot. \nTen filmmakers have already convinced Manhattan Short that their work belongs among this year’s finalists. \nNow New London gets a vote on what happens next. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Manhattan Short Film Festival 2026\nDate: Sunday\, Oct. 4\, 2026\nTime: 3 p.m.\nVenue: Garde Arts Center\nAddress: 325 State Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nAdmission: $15 plus fees\nProgram: 10 international short films\nCountries Represented: United States\, Ireland\, Australia\, South Africa\, United Kingdom\, Moldova\, Russia\, Cuba\, Georgia and Mexico\nAudience Participation: Attendees receive ballots and vote for Best Film and Best Actor\nFestival Dates Worldwide: Sept. 24–Oct. 4\, 2026\nFestival Reach: More than 500 venues across six continents\nWinner Announcement: Monday\, Oct. 5\, 2026\nFeatured Intermission Artist: Madeline Rosene\nContent Note: Some films contain adult themes and strong language\nGarde Box Office: 860-444-7373 \n  \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/manhattan-short-film-festival-turns-the-garde-audience-into-the-jury/
LOCATION:Garde Arts Center\, 325 State Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Garde Arts Center
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T230000
DTSTAMP:20260929T031152Z
CREATED:20260929T031152Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T031152Z
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SUMMARY:The Garde Turns Back the Clock 100 Years to Recreate Its 1926 Opening Night
DESCRIPTION:The Garde Turns Back the Clock 100 Years to Recreate Its 1926 Opening Night Oct. 3\, when New London’s surviving movie palace celebrates its centennial by attempting something considerably more ambitious than a birthday party: recreating the kind of night audiences experienced when the theater first opened its doors a century ago. \nFor five hours\, the Garde Arts Center will become a version of itself from 1926. \nClassic automobiles will line the street\, with cocktails and strolling entertainers in the lobby\, tarot readers and a wandering magician\, an organ processional\, vaudeville\, a jazz orchestra\, dancing\, a vintage-style newsreel\, and a silent movie with live organ accompaniment. \nThen\, after the theater presentation ends\, everyone is invited onto the stage for a speakeasy with live jazz and dancing until 11 p.m. \nThe evening is called A Night to Remember\, and it’s the centerpiece of the Garde’s Centennial Season. \nThis isn’t simply a Roaring Twenties-themed party being held inside an old theater. \nIt’s a party about this particular theater and the night New London first discovered it. \nImagine State Street in 1926\nThe Garde opened on Sept. 22\, 1926\, during the great American movie-palace boom. \nMovies were silent. Television didn’t exist. Going to the movies could mean far more than sitting down\, watching a feature and going home. \nThe grand urban movie palaces were designed to make the entire evening feel like an event. \nThe Garde was built as a “photoplay house” under the direction of Arthur S. Friend\, a New York movie-industry attorney associated with the company that became Paramount Pictures. New London architect Arland W. Johnson designed the theater\, which was named for businessman Walter Garde. \nInside\, audiences entered an elaborate world of Moroccan and Middle Eastern-inspired decoration\, murals and architectural ornamentation. \nThe opening attraction was The Marriage Clause\, a silent romantic drama starring two major screen names of the era\, Francis X. Bushman and Billie Dove. \nBut a night at the Garde wasn’t necessarily just a movie. \nLike other theaters of its era\, the Garde combined motion pictures with live entertainment. Vaudeville performers could share the program with feature films\, comedy shorts and newsreels\, giving audiences a variety show and a movie in the same visit. \nOne hundred years later\, that’s the experience the Garde is trying to bring back. \nThe Night Begins Before Anyone Takes a Seat\nThe centennial celebration starts at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception\, and the theater itself becomes part of the performance. \nGuests will encounter classic automobiles\, strolling performers and a wandering magician\, along with photo opportunities and a mystical lounge with tarot card readers and live piano music. \nIt’s meant to create the sense that something is happening everywhere rather than asking guests to arrive\, find their seats and wait for a curtain. \nPeriod dress isn’t required\, but 1920s-inspired clothing is encouraged for anyone who wants to become part of the scenery. \nThen\, at 7:30 p.m.\, everyone heads into the theater. \nVaudeville\, Silent Film and a Mighty Organ\nThe feature presentation is constructed as a recreation of a 1926 theater program rather than a conventional stage show. \nAn organ processional and audience sing-along open the proceedings. Historical figures Arthur S. Friend and Walter Garde make appearances as characters in the evening\, reconnecting the celebration to the men behind the original theater. \nA symphonic jazz orchestra supplies the sound of the period\, while an Arthur Murray dance showcase and vaudeville performances bring back forms of live entertainment that would have been familiar to audiences entering a movie palace in the 1920s. \nThere’s even a vintage-style newsreel. \nAnd then the clock rolls all the way back to the era before movies talked. \nA silent film will be presented with live organ accompaniment and Foley sound effects — the sounds created to accompany actions on screen. \nThat’s particularly fitting inside the Garde. \nThe theater’s history spans the enormous technological transition that transformed movies at the end of the 1920s. Just three years after the Garde opened\, Warner Bros. purchased the theater as part of its expansion during the arrival of talking pictures. \nThe reported purchase price in 1929 was $1 million. \nThe building celebrating silent film in 2026 survived the revolution that made silent film obsolete. \nThen Everybody Gets Invited Onto the Stage\nAt 9 p.m.\, the formal presentation ends. \nThe party doesn’t. \nThe Garde will turn its stage into a speakeasy\, with guests invited up for a live jazz quartet\, dancing and additional surprises until 11 p.m. \nThat final portion changes the relationship between audience and theater in a wonderful way. \nFor most of the past century\, generations of New Londoners have looked at the Garde’s stage. \nOn this night\, they’ll get to party on it. \nThe building they’re celebrating almost didn’t make it to its 100th birthday. \nAfter decades as one of southeastern Connecticut’s major movie theaters\, the Garde closed in 1977 amid the enormous changes reshaping downtown movie houses across America. The nonprofit Garde Arts Center was established in 1985\, beginning the long process of saving and restoring the theater rather than losing another movie palace to demolition or redevelopment. \nToday\, the Garde once again hosts concerts\, movies\, comedy\, theater and community events beneath the elaborate interior created for audiences a century ago. \nThat makes A Night to Remember more than an exercise in nostalgia. \nOn Oct. 3\, people won’t be celebrating a vanished theater by looking at old photographs of it. \nThey’ll be standing inside it. \nAnd for one night\, the Garde gets to be 1926 again. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: A Night to Remember: 1926 Opening Night Reenactment\nDate: Saturday\, Oct. 3\, 2026\nTime: 6–11 p.m.\nLocation: Garde Arts Center\nAddress: 325 State Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nAdmission: $26 and $126\, plus fees\n6–7 p.m.: Cocktail reception with signature cocktails\, classic automobiles\, strolling performers\, wandering magician\, photo opportunities\, tarot readers and live piano\n7:30 p.m.: Opening Night Reenactment and feature presentation\nFeature Presentation: Organ processional and sing-along\, Arthur S. Friend and Walter Garde appearances\, symphonic jazz orchestra\, Arthur Murray dance showcase\, vaudeville\, vintage-style newsreel and silent film with live organ accompaniment and Foley effects\n9–11 p.m.: Speakeasy on the Garde stage with live jazz quartet and dancing\nAttire: 1920s-inspired clothing encouraged but optional\nVIP: Includes additional benefits such as a drink ticket and live caricature portrait\nPhone: 860-444-7373\nEmail: info@gardearts.org \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/the-garde-turns-back-the-clock-100-years-to-recreate-its-1926-opening-night/
LOCATION:Garde Arts Center\, 325 State Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Garde Arts Center
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T150000
DTSTAMP:20261001T150233Z
CREATED:20261001T150233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261001T150233Z
UID:10009218-1791028800-1791039600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Hygienic Art’s YART Sale Digs Into the Closets for an Art-Lover’s Treasure Hunt
DESCRIPTION:Hygienic Art’s YART Sale Digs Into the Closets for an Art-Lover’s Treasure Hunt Saturday\, Oct. 3\, when the New London arts institution empties its corners and storage spaces for three hours of abandoned artwork\, old posters\, prints\, T-shirts\, and whatever other creative oddities have accumulated over the years. \nThis isn’t a conventional gallery sale. \nHygienic is specifically pulling out unclaimed and abandoned artwork\, along with its own memorabilia and assorted odds and ends\, and offering it at what the organization describes as bargain-friendly prices. \nThere may be polished artwork worth hanging over the sofa. There may be a forgotten Hygienic poster from years ago. There may be something wonderfully strange for which no reasonable person has an immediate use. \nThat’s rather the point. \nThe YART Sale runs from noon to 3 p.m. at 79 Bank Street\, with cold adult beverages also available for purchase. \nWhat Exactly Is a YART Sale?\nThink yard sale\, except the attic belongs to an arts organization that’s been collecting things for decades. \nHygienic says it is clearing out closets\, corners and storage areas\, producing a sale that includes artwork that was never reclaimed as well as T-shirts\, posters\, prints\, merchandise and miscellaneous pieces of Hygienic history. \nThat makes this less predictable than walking into an art gallery knowing what’s currently hanging on the walls. \nThe organizers aren’t promising a neatly catalogued collection. They’re inviting people to dig. \nAnd at Hygienic\, decades of accumulation could make that interesting. \nThe Place Has Been Collecting Art Since 1979\nThe YART Sale makes more sense when you understand the institution holding it. \nHygienic Art traces its beginnings to 1979\, when a group of New London artists began staging an annual exhibition inside the old Hygienic Restaurant. \nThe idea was modeled on the independent salon tradition that challenged the gatekeepers of the established Paris art world. \nNew London’s version developed rules that remain central to Hygienic’s identity: no judge\, no jury\, no fees and no censorship. \nArtists could bring one piece and participate without first convincing a curator or selection committee that their work deserved a wall. \nIt became an annual tradition. \nThe restaurant eventually closed\, but the artists kept the exhibition alive at other locations. When the old Hygienic building itself was threatened with demolition in the 1990s\, the arts community organized to save it. \nHygienic Art ultimately acquired the property in 1998\, renovated it and reopened its galleries in 2000. \nToday the organization operates galleries\, artist live/work spaces and an outdoor Art Park while continuing the annual Hygienic Art exhibition that started the whole thing. \nSo when Hygienic says it has old art and assorted material tucked away in storage\, there is potentially quite a history behind those closets. \nSome of the Art Has Literally Been Left Behind\nThe phrase “unclaimed and abandoned artwork” is what separates this from a normal merchandise clearance. \nThese aren’t simply reproductions Hygienic ordered too many of. \nThey are pieces that\, for one reason or another\, remained behind. \nThe organization isn’t publishing a complete inventory in advance\, which preserves the garage-sale quality of the afternoon. Buyers won’t necessarily know what’s waiting until they start looking. \nHygienic itself sums up the mystery nicely: some pieces have stories\, some need new homes\, and some apparently fall into a category that requires seeing them in person. \nFor anyone who enjoys flea markets\, estate sales\, thrift shops or digging through record-store bins\, that uncertainty may be the best part. \nPosters and T-Shirts Can Be Little Pieces of New London History\nDon’t overlook the non-artwork. \nA poster from an old Hygienic event isn’t simply advertising once enough time has passed. It becomes an artifact from New London’s arts scene. \nHygienic’s annual exhibitions have been happening for more than four decades\, while the organization has also hosted concerts\, festivals\, performances and exhibitions throughout the year. \nIts Bank Street home has an even longer history. \nThe building predates Hygienic Art and was associated for decades with the Hygienic Restaurant\, once a fixture of downtown New London. The restaurant became the unlikely home of those early artist exhibitions before the nonprofit eventually took over the building itself. \nOld Hygienic shirts\, prints and posters can therefore carry a little of that history with them. \nExactly which years\, designs and events will turn up Saturday isn’t specified. That’s another part of the hunt. \nAn Art Sale That Fits Hygienic\nThere is something particularly appropriate about unwanted artwork getting another chance at Hygienic. \nThis is an organization whose best-known exhibition was built around removing barriers between artists and gallery walls. \nIts annual Salon des Indépendants has traditionally accepted work without judging whether it is fashionable\, marketable or worthy of inclusion. \nSaturday applies a similarly democratic principle to the other end of an artwork’s life. \nSomething was made. \nSomebody left it behind. \nNow somebody else gets to decide whether they love it. \nNo curator required. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: YART Sale\nDate: Saturday\, Oct. 3\, 2026\nTime: Noon–3 p.m.\nLocation: Hygienic Art\nAddress: 79 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nSale Includes: Unclaimed and abandoned artwork\, Hygienic Art T-shirts and merchandise\, posters\, prints\, odds and ends and other creative finds\nPrices: Described by Hygienic Art as bargain-friendly; individual prices have not been published\nAdult Beverages: Cold adult beverages will be available for purchase\nAdmission: No separate admission charge is listed for the sale\nPhone: 860-443-8001\nRegular Gallery Hours Saturday: 11 a.m.–7 p.m. \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/hygienic-arts-yart-sale-digs-into-the-closets-for-an-art-lovers-treasure-hunt/
LOCATION:Hygenic Art\, 79 Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Hygenic Art
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T130000
DTSTAMP:20260917T165240Z
CREATED:20260917T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T165240Z
UID:10007931-1791028800-1791032400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Climb 116 Steps Inside New London Harbor Lighthouse on Weekend Tours
DESCRIPTION:Climb 116 Steps Inside New London Harbor Lighthouse on Weekend Tours for a rare look inside the historic 1801 tower\, with Saturday and Sunday tours taking visitors all the way to the lantern room overlooking Long Island Sound. \nThe New London Maritime Society is opening New London Harbor “Pequot” Light for 45-minute tours every weekend at noon through Feb. 28\, 2027. Groups are deliberately tiny\, limited to just five people\, turning the visit into something closer to a guided exploration than a typical historic-site tour. \nAnd there’s quite a bit waiting above those 116 steps. \nA Lighthouse That’s Been Watching the Harbor for Centuries\nNew London Harbor Light’s story stretches back to the colonial era. A lighthouse was established here in 1761 under King George III\, while the octagonal stone tower standing today was completed in 1801. \nAt 89 feet tall\, it’s the tallest lighthouse on Long Island Sound as well as its oldest. The U.S. Coast Guard still operates the light as an active aid to navigation. \nInside is another survivor: an 1850 fourth-order Fresnel lens that remains in use. \nVisitors climb the tower while learning about the lighthouse and the generations of keepers who tended it. At the top\, the lantern room opens up a view across New London Harbor\, the Thames River and Long Island Sound. \nThere are lighthouses everywhere you look. From Harbor Light\, it’s possible to spot at least seven others\, including New London Ledge Light\, Race Rock\, Little Gull Island\, Plum Island\, Little Dumpling\, Montauk and Avery Point. \nAnd then there’s the traffic below. \nNew London remains a working maritime port\, so the view can include ferries\, commercial vessels and Coast Guard traffic moving through the harbor. The Maritime Society makes one thing clear: they can’t promise you’ll see a submarine. \nBut in New London\, you never know. \nPart of New London’s Chain of Lights\nHarbor Light is one of three historic lighthouses owned and preserved by the New London Maritime Society. \nNew London Ledge Light\, completed in 1909\, stands offshore near the mouth of the Thames. Farther out\, Race Rock Light Station has guarded the notoriously difficult waters between Fishers Island and Long Island Sound since 1878. \nTogether with Harbor Light\, the three create a chain of beacons leading vessels from the Atlantic into the historic port of New London. \nThe Maritime Society took ownership of Harbor Light in 2010 through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Money raised through lighthouse tours supports the preservation and restoration of the area’s historic lights. \nBefore You Climb\nThis isn’t a lighthouse where visitors can simply walk onto the property. \nTours are limited to five people\, and reservations should be made at least 48 hours in advance. Children must be at least 8 years old. \nVisitors meet their guide on Pequot Avenue in front of the lighthouse and must wait there for the New London Maritime Society representative. Guests should not enter the lighthouse property or neighboring driveways on their own. \nThe climb also requires proper footwear. Sneakers or deck shoes are required; sandals and flip-flops aren’t permitted. \nTours are weather dependent\, so visitors should check their email before leaving home for any cancellation notice. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nNew London 24 hour Harbor Cam\nDetails\nDates: Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 28\, 2027\nTime: Noon–12:45 p.m.\nLocation: New London Harbor “Pequot” Lighthouse\, New London\nMeeting Point: Pequot Avenue in front of the lighthouse\nTour Length: Approximately 45 minutes\nCapacity: Maximum of five people per tour\nAdmission: $35 adults; $30 New London Maritime Society members; $25 children ages 8–18\nAge Requirement: Children must be at least 8 years old\nReservations: Reservations should be made at least 48 hours in advance\nClimb: 116 steps to the lantern room\nFootwear: Deck shoes or sneakers required; no sandals or flip-flops\nFood & Drink: Water is permitted; other food and beverages are not. Alcohol is prohibited.\nParking: Street parking is available on the west side of Pequot Avenue\, across from the lighthouse\nWeather: Tours are weather dependent. Check your email before departing for cancellation notices.\nCancellations: Must be made at least three days in advance. Payments are non-refundable except when a tour is canceled because of weather.\nLast-Minute Tickets: Call 203-444-2884 to ask whether space is available.\nImportant: Do not enter the lighthouse property or neighboring driveways without a New London Maritime Society representative. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/climb-116-steps-inside-new-london-harbor-lighthouse-on-weekend-tours/2026-10-03/
LOCATION:Pequot Lighthouse\, Pequot Avenue\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Pequot Lighthouse
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T160000
DTSTAMP:20261001T201856Z
CREATED:20261001T201856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261001T201856Z
UID:10009229-1791025200-1791043200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:New London Art Stroll Turns Downtown Into a 28-Stop Citywide Gallery
DESCRIPTION:New London Art Stroll Turns Downtown Into a 28-Stop Citywide Gallery Oct. 3\, when artists move beyond traditional galleries and into shops\, studios\, restaurants\, cultural institutions and unexpected corners of downtown for five hours of art\, music\, fashion\, demonstrations and open studios. \nRunning from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday\, the 2026 Art Stroll stretches roughly 0.7 miles through downtown New London\, with 28 locations marked on this year’s official map. \nAnd “Art Stroll” considerably understates what organizers have assembled. \nThere are painters\, sculptors\, photographers and jewelry makers\, but also four group art shows\, three vendor markets\, live singers\, poetry and open-mic spoken word\, a fashion show\, printmaking demonstration\, artist studios\, an art swap and guided tours. \nSome stops take only a few minutes. Others could become destinations of their own. \nThe idea is to keep moving. \nDowntown Becomes the Gallery\nThe New London Arts Council and New London Cultural District have effectively removed the walls from a conventional art exhibition. \nInstead of gathering everyone inside one building\, artists have been paired with locations throughout downtown. Visitors follow the map from Broad and Federal streets through State and Golden streets and eventually down Bank Street toward the waterfront. \nSome participating locations are established arts organizations. Others are businesses that become temporary exhibition or performance spaces for the afternoon. \nThe arrangement also means visitors are likely to discover places they haven’t entered before while moving between artists. \nThere is no admission charge for the Stroll\, and artists exhibiting through the Arts Council keep their sales rather than paying the organization a commission. \nStart at Fiddleheads and Work Toward the Waterfront\nAt the northern end of the route\, Fiddleheads Food Co-op at 13 Broad Street becomes Stop No. 1\, featuring whydoirock. \nNearby\, Red Square Gallery at 116 Federal Street is offering tours at noon and 3 p.m. \nAt St. James Episcopal Church\, 76 Federal Street\, visitors will encounter work connected with Louis Comfort Tiffany\, along with artists Cathy Cosby\, Roxanne Steed\, William Allyn and Garrett Brennan. \nFrom there\, the route begins moving deeper into downtown. \nThe Garde Becomes a Group Gallery\nThe Garde Arts Center at 325 State Street is one of four group-show locations on the Stroll. \nArtists listed there include Maurene Kennedy\, Virginia Reyes Conde\, Trish Reyburn\, Heather Flynn\, Beth Pite\, Kira Seamon and Michael Congdon. \nThat makes the Garde worth entering even if you’ve walked past its marquee dozens of times without thinking of it as an art gallery. \nAcross the route\, the historic theater is functioning as one piece of a much larger temporary exhibition spread across the city. \nGo Upstairs: Some of the Most Interesting Stops Are Studios\nThe Stroll isn’t limited to street-level galleries. \nInside the Dewart Building at 300 State Street\, visitors can head upstairs to find participating artists. Katie Fogg is in Suite 310 on the third floor\, while Esmeralda Bustamante and Ellen Kleckner are exhibiting in Suite 203 on the second floor. \nAt 250 State Street\, Jacob Cullers opens J. Cullers Studio to visitors\, although this is one stop where timing matters: the studio is scheduled to close at 1:30 p.m. \nEbbe Dahlor is exhibiting at Washington Street Coffee House at 13 Washington Street. \nThese are the kinds of stops that make the map useful. Some of the day’s art won’t necessarily announce itself from the sidewalk. \nThree Vendor Markets Add Another Layer\nThe Stroll also incorporates several mini-markets rather than limiting shopping to individual artist displays. \nAt Harris Place Atrium\, 165 State Street\, a Vendor Market & Art Swap brings together Jac Meyers/TheBrassGlass\, Hanah Masters\, Olivia Wolfe\, Ari C.\, Alyssa Drake and Quinn Lee/Writer’s Block Ink. \nAnother vendor market takes over The Union Room at 86 Golden Street\, where participating artists and makers include Ivan Abarca\, Chloe Dankocsik\, Theresa Bryan\, Sara Leone/The Verge Collective\, Patrick Miller/Dead Photo Society\, Bryan R. Tyler and Jaylynn Claudio. \nThat stop also includes live music. \nAt the other end of the route\, Tox Brewing at 123 Bank Street is hosting its Toxoween Vendor Market\, with Dan Desrochers among the artists identified by the Arts Council. \nThat creates an interesting overlap: Toxoween isn’t simply another event happening elsewhere in New London Saturday. It becomes part of the larger Art Stroll. \nPoetry\, Music and Performance Join the Visual Art\nThis isn’t an afternoon devoted solely to things hanging on walls. \nAt 19 Golden Street\, Casaundra Fenty is exhibiting artwork while Madeline Weisbeck presents a poetry reading and open-mic spoken-word program. \nSara Leone/The Verge Collective participates at The Union Room\, where visitors can learn more about the collective alongside the vendor market and live music. \nThe performance schedule also sends visitors between several downtown locations\, including Telegraph Autonomous Zone at 137 Bank Street\, The Union Room at 86 Golden Street and Favorites Bistro at 90 Bank Street. \nZachary Vincent is scheduled at Telegraph Autonomous Zone beginning at 11:30 a.m.\, with additional performances occurring throughout the afternoon. \nRather than building a single stage\, the Stroll scatters performance across the same streets occupied by the visual artists. \nThere Is Even a Fashion Show\nOne of the more unusual stops is New Youth Affairs at Map Location 18\, where the day’s programming includes a fashion show. \nElsewhere\, the map identifies Spark Makerspace for a printmaking demonstration. \nThose additions expand the definition of what counts as art during the Stroll. Visitors can move from painting and sculpture to fashion\, poetry\, printmaking and music without leaving the downtown route. \nExpressiones Opens an Artist-in-Residence Studio\nAt Expressiones Cultural Center\, 84 Bank Street\, visitors get something different again: an opportunity to enter the working world of an artist rather than simply see finished pieces. \nCurrent Artist-in-Residence Ixel Orozco Peregrina will open her studio from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. \nHer practice brings together sculpture\, installation\, ecology and craft\, and Expressiones is inviting visitors to see work in progress\, learn about her creative process and talk with her about the residency. \nThat’s an important distinction. \nAn art stroll doesn’t have to be only about seeing what an artist has finished. At Expressiones\, visitors can encounter the process while it is still happening. \nBank Street Is Packed With Stops\nThe southern portion of the route becomes particularly dense as the Stroll reaches Bank Street. \nThe official map includes Flavours of Life/Faire Trade Store\, Favorites Bistro Bar\, The Local\, Studio 33 Frame & Art Gallery\, Custom House Maritime Museum\, Thames River Gallery\, Old Testament Electric Tattooing\, Telegraph Autonomous Zone and Tox Brewing. \nEddie Shaw is participating at Old Testament Electric Tattooing\, while Zachary Vincent is among the performers at Telegraph. \nSeveral of these locations sit only a short walk apart\, allowing visitors to hit a cluster of stops without repeatedly crossing downtown. \nHygienic’s YART Sale Joins the Stroll\nThere’s another crossover we’ve already been following. \nHygienic Art’s YART Sale is officially Stop No. 17 on the Art Stroll map. \nFrom noon to 3 p.m.\, Hygienic is digging into its closets and storage areas to sell unclaimed and abandoned artwork\, prints\, posters\, old Hygienic T-shirts and assorted creative oddities. \nThat means someone following the Art Stroll can fold the YART Sale into the route rather than treating it as a separate Saturday event. \nAnd it illustrates just how much is happening simultaneously. \nThe Art Stroll isn’t competing with New London’s other arts events Saturday. In several cases\, it is connecting them. \nThe Stroll Reaches Beyond the 0.7-Mile Core\nOne stop sits noticeably beyond the compact downtown route. \nThe Lyman Allyn Art Museum is offering its Free First Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.\, with Pick and Paint a Pumpkin from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. \nChildren can choose and decorate a pumpkin while supplies last\, and museum admission is free throughout the day. \nWe’ve covered that as its own event\, but the Art Stroll map deliberately includes Lyman Allyn\, creating a connection between downtown’s independent artists and one of New London’s major museums. \nDon’t Try to See This Like a Checklist\nWith 28 mapped locations and only five hours\, attempting to spend meaningful time at every stop would leave roughly ten minutes per location before accounting for walking. \nThat’s probably the wrong way to approach it anyway. \nLook at the map before leaving. Circle the artists\, performances or demonstrations you particularly want to see. Then allow yourself to wander into some places you didn’t plan on visiting. \nThat’s what makes the format work. \nA conventional arts festival brings the artists to one field. \nThe New London Art Stroll asks visitors to explore the city to find them. \n[ 2026 New London Art Stroll Map ] (pdf) \n2026 Art Stroll Artists & Makers\nUse the map numbers to find participating artists and makers along the route. \n1 — Fiddleheads Food Co-op\, 13 Broad Street: whydoirock\n2 — Red Square Gallery\, 116 Federal Street: Mike Alewitz; gallery tours at noon and 3 p.m.\n3 — St. James Episcopal Church\, 76 Federal Street: Louis Comfort Tiffany\, Cathy Cosby\, Roxanne Steed\, William Allyn and Garrett Brennan\n4 — Garde Arts Center\, 325 State Street: Maurene Kennedy\, Virginia Reyes Conde\, Trish Reyburn\, Heather Flynn\, Beth Pite\, Kira Seamon and Michael Congdon\n5 — Dewart Building\, 300 State Street: Katie Fogg\, Suite 310\, third floor; Esmeralda Bustamante and Ellen Kleckner\, Suite 203\, second floor\n8 — J. Cullers Studio\, 250 State Street: Jacob Cullers; studio closes at 1:30 p.m.\n9 — Washington Street Coffee House\, 13 Washington Street: Ebbe Dahlor\n12 — Harris Place Atrium\, 165 State Street: Vendor Market & Art Swap with Jac Meyers/TheBrassGlass\, Hanah Masters\, Olivia Wolfe\, Ari C.\, Alyssa Drake and Quinn Lee/Writer’s Block Ink\n14 — The Union Room\, 86 Golden Street: Vendor Market & Live Music with Ivan Abarca\, Chloe Dankocsik\, Theresa Bryan\, Sara Leone/The Verge Collective\, Patrick Miller/Dead Photo Society\, Bryan R. Tyler and Jaylynn Claudio\n16 — The Golden Owl Bookstore\, 19 Golden Street: Casaundra Fenty; Madeline Weisbeck presents poetry and open-mic spoken word\n26 — Old Testament Electric Tattooing\, 191 Bank Street: Eddie Shaw\n27 — Telegraph Autonomous Zone\, 137 Bank Street: Zachary Vincent\n28 — Tox Brewing\, 123 Bank Street: Toxoween Vendor Market with Dan Desrochers \n2026 Art Stroll Performances\nPerformances are spread across the Stroll rather than concentrated on one stage. \nThe Union Room — Map 14\, 86 Golden Street: Vendor market and live music\, including Sara Leone/The Verge Collective. Performances are listed at noon and 1 p.m. \nThe Golden Owl Bookstore — Map 16\, 19 Golden Street: Madeline Weisbeck presents a poetry reading and Open Mic Spoken Word. \nTelegraph Autonomous Zone — Map 27\, 137 Bank Street: Zachary Vincent is listed at 11:30 a.m.\, with another performance scheduled at 1 p.m. \nFavorites Bistro — Map 21\, 90 Bank Street: Performance scheduled for 3 p.m. \nDetails\nEvent: 2026 New London Art Stroll\nDate: Saturday\, Oct. 3\, 2026\nTime: 11 a.m.–4 p.m.\nLocation: Downtown New London and additional participating locations\nMain Route: Approximately 0.7 mile through downtown\nMapped Locations: 28\nAdmission: Free\nPresented By: New London Arts Council and New London Cultural District\nWhat You’ll Find: Painting\, sculpture\, photography\, jewelry\, mixed-media art\, fashion\, poetry\, spoken word\, live music\, printmaking\, open studios and other creative work\nGroup Art Shows: Four listed by organizers\nVendor Markets: Three listed by organizers\nSpecial Activities: Artist studio visits\, Red Square Gallery tours\, printmaking demonstration\, art swap\, fashion show\, poetry reading and open-mic spoken word\nInformation Booth: Corner of Eugene O’Neill Drive and Golden Street\nTimed Stop: J. Cullers Studio closes at 1:30 p.m.\nExpressiones Cultural Center: Open studio with Artist-in-Residence Ixel Orozco Peregrina\, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.\, 84 Bank Street\nHygienic Art: YART Sale\, noon–3 p.m.\nLyman Allyn Art Museum: Free admission 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Pick and Paint a Pumpkin 11 a.m.–1 p.m.\nParking: Several public parking areas are marked on the official Art Stroll map\nPlanning: Check the map before arriving because several performances\, tours and participating studios have their own scheduled times \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/new-london-art-stroll-turns-downtown-into-a-28-stop-citywide-gallery/
LOCATION:Downtown New London\, 181 State Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Downtown New London
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T170000
DTSTAMP:20261001T171444Z
CREATED:20261001T171447Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261001T171444Z
UID:10009224-1791021600-1791046800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Pick and Paint a Pumpkin Turns Free First Saturday Into a Fall Family Day at Lyman Allyn
DESCRIPTION:Pick and Paint a Pumpkin Turns Free First Saturday Into a Fall Family Day at Lyman Allyn Oct. 3\, combining the New London museum’s monthly free-admission day with pumpkins\, paint\, live animals\, and dancing witches. \nThe pumpkin painting itself runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.\, but there’s an important distinction in the schedule: admission to the Lyman Allyn Art Museum is free for the entire day\, from its 10 a.m. opening until 5 p.m. \nThat makes this considerably more than a two-hour children’s craft project. Families can paint a pumpkin\, meet some animals\, and then spend the rest of the visit exploring the museum without paying regular admission. \nAnd there happens to be quite a bit to see inside right now. \nThe Pumpkins Are for the Kids\nThis is Lyman Allyn’s annual Pick and Paint a Pumpkin edition of Free First Saturday. \nChildren get a pumpkin to decorate in the museum’s art studio\, with the museum providing the artmaking activity. There is one catch worth knowing before promising a pumpkin on the drive over: pumpkins are reserved for children and are available first come\, first served. \nThe museum also advises families to dress for mess\, which seems like sound advice anytime children\, paint and pumpkins are put in the same room. \nThe art project runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. \nThere Are Animals and Dancing Witches\, Too\nThis year’s event expands beyond the art studio. \nXen’s Critters will bring its mobile petting zoo to the museum\, adding live animals to the afternoon\, while the Wayward Witches are scheduled to provide dancing as part of the festivities. \nThat gives younger visitors several things to move between rather than asking them to spend two hours working on a single craft. \nThe entire program is free. \nFree First Saturdays are supported by Chelsea Groton Bank and Dime Bank\, and they’re part of a larger effort by Lyman Allyn to make the museum approachable as a place where families can actually do something rather than simply walk through galleries. \nThe museum regularly schedules artmaking on the first and third Saturdays of the month\, with Free First Saturday occupying the first weekend and other family programming appearing throughout the calendar. \nDon’t Leave After the Pumpkin Is Painted\nThe timing of this particular Free First Saturday makes the free museum admission especially useful. \nTwo temporary exhibitions will be open Oct. 3\, including one that’s entering its final weekend. \nHoward McCalebb: The Golden Mean closes the following day\, Oct. 4. \nMcCalebb’s exhibition explores the artist’s long fascination with the Golden Ratio through sculpture and other work. The mathematical proportion has appeared repeatedly in discussions of art\, architecture and design\, but McCalebb approaches geometry as a working visual language\, building compositions from proportion\, form and spatial relationships. \nSo a child can spend part of the morning freely covering a pumpkin with paint and then encounter an artist upstairs doing almost the opposite: carefully constructing work around geometry and proportion. \nThe exhibition has been on view since June 27. Oct. 3 is the next-to-last opportunity to see it. \nNew London’s Whaling Families Are Looking Back From the Walls\nThe museum’s other major temporary exhibition is much more closely tied to New London itself. \nIsaac Sheffield: Portraits from New London’s Whaling Era\, which opened Sept. 12\, is the first exhibition devoted specifically to Sheffield’s work. \nSheffield painted portraits and portrait miniatures during the 1830s and 1840s\, placing his career directly inside the period when New London’s fortunes were increasingly connected to whaling and maritime commerce. \nThe exhibition uses those portraits to put faces to that era rather than treating whaling simply as ships\, harpoons and statistics. \nIt remains on view through Jan. 3\, 2027. \nThere’s a Surprisingly Good Children’s Gallery Downstairs\nFamilies coming specifically for pumpkin painting should also know about Playthings of the Past\, one of the museum’s permanent family spaces. \nDesigned particularly with children ages 3 to 10 in mind\, the gallery explores childhood through historic toys\, dolls and playthings from the museum’s collection. \nAmong its highlights is an elaborate Victorian dollhouse constructed for the museum in 1962\, with miniature furnishings representing domestic life from the Victorian period into the early 20th century. \nIt’s an unusually good fit for Free First Saturday because it gives younger children somewhere inside the museum that was created with them specifically in mind. \nElsewhere\, adults can explore American Perspectives\, which follows American art and decorative arts from the colonial period through the 20th century\, often through the particular history of Connecticut and New London County. \nThe museum’s permanent Louis Comfort Tiffany in New London exhibition also examines Tiffany’s connections to the region through stained glass\, lamps\, Favrile glass\, jewelry\, paintings\, silver and archival material. \nA Museum That’s Been Here Since 1932\nThe Lyman Allyn itself is approaching a century in New London. \nThe museum opened in 1932 and today holds a broad collection particularly strong in American painting and decorative arts while also presenting changing historical and contemporary exhibitions. \nIts imposing neoclassical building sits at 625 Williams Street\, adjacent to Connecticut College. \nThe grounds outside are currently undergoing a major transformation of their own. The museum is developing Lyman Allyn Park\, a planned 12-acre public urban art park surrounding the institution. \nThe museum remains open during construction\, although visitors may encounter construction activity and noise while entering and leaving the building. \nThat is worth knowing for families arriving expecting the grounds to look exactly as they may remember them from previous visits. \nFree Really Does Mean Free\nRegular adult admission to Lyman Allyn is currently $12\, with seniors paying $9 and active military $7. Children 12 and younger\, New London residents and museum members are among those who already qualify for free admission. \nOn the first Saturday\, those distinctions disappear: general museum admission is free for everyone. \nThat means there’s little reason to treat the pumpkin activity as the entire visit. \nCome for the pumpkin. Let the kids meet the animals and watch the witches. Then head into the galleries\, find the children’s collection downstairs\, look at Tiffany glass\, meet some of the faces of New London’s whaling era and catch The Golden Mean before it closes the following afternoon. \nSpecial event traveling and parking information: \n\nEntrance to the museum grounds is at 625 Williams Street.\nThe museum driveway will be single lane\, one way\, driving heading towards. One side of the driveway will be available for parallel parking.\nMain activities will take place in the museum’s new parking lot. The other half will be available for parking.\nOverflow parking will be located at the Connecticut College South Lot.\nAttendees can exit the event back to Williams Street via the Connecticut College service road.\nWe appreciate everyone’s efforts to drive carefully and watch out for children!\n\n \nDetails\nEvent: Free First Saturday – Pick and Paint a Pumpkin\nDate: Saturday\, Oct. 3\, 2026\nLocation: Lyman Allyn Art Museum\nAddress: 625 Williams Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nMuseum Hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; last admission at 4 p.m.\nSpecial Activities: 11 a.m.–1 p.m.\nAdmission: Free all day\nPumpkin Painting: Children only; pumpkins available first come\, first served\nOther Activities: Xen’s Critters mobile petting zoo and dancing with the Wayward Witches\nWhat to Wear: Clothing appropriate for potentially messy artmaking\nCurrent Exhibitions: Isaac Sheffield: Portraits from New London’s Whaling Era and Howard McCalebb: The Golden Mean\nLast Weekend: Howard McCalebb: The Golden Mean closes Sunday\, Oct. 4\nAccessibility: Public museum areas are wheelchair accessible; a side-entrance ramp is available\, and the museum has one wheelchair available to borrow on a first-come basis\nStrollers: Public areas are stroller accessible\nConstruction: The museum remains open while work continues on Lyman Allyn Park; visitors may encounter construction activity or noise around the grounds\nPhone: 860-443-2545 \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/pick-and-paint-a-pumpkin-turns-free-first-saturday-into-a-fall-family-day-at-lyman-allyn/
LOCATION:Lyman Allyn Art Museum\, 625 Williams St\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Lyman Allyn Art Museum
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261001T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261001T210000
DTSTAMP:20261001T013303Z
CREATED:20261001T013303Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261001T013303Z
UID:10009212-1790883000-1790888400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Randy Travis Brings His Songs Back to the Stage Without Singing a Note
DESCRIPTION:Randy Travis Brings His Songs Back to the Stage Without Singing a Note when the Country Music Hall of Famer arrives at New London’s Garde Arts Center Thursday\, Oct. 1\, for a concert unlike the tours that made him one of country music’s defining voices.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe important thing to understand before buying a ticket is also what makes the More Life Tour unusual: Randy Travis does not sing during the concert. \nAfter the massive stroke that nearly killed him in 2013 severely affected his ability to speak and sing\, a conventional Randy Travis concert was no longer possible. \nInstead\, Travis is onstage as his longtime band performs the songs that built his career\, with singer James Dupré handling the lead vocals. Travis participates in the evening\, interacts with the audience\, and watches the musicians who spent years on the road with him bring his catalog back to life. \nIt is less a replacement for a Randy Travis concert than a celebration of the music\, the musicians who made it with him and the fact that Travis himself is still here to experience it. \nThe Band Is Randy Travis’ Band\nThat distinction is important. \nThe musicians aren’t a newly assembled tribute band playing approximations of Travis’ records. The More Life Tour reunites members of his longtime touring band\, which had not been on the road with him since before his 2013 stroke. \nThe lineup includes Steve Hinson\, David Johnson\, Lance Dary\, Bill Cook\, Joe Van Dyke and Herb Shucher\, along with longtime tour manager Jeff Davis. \nThey knew Travis’ arrangements from the inside. \nThe tour is built around his 16 No. 1 songs\, with Dupré singing a catalog that includes “On the Other Hand\,” “Forever and Ever\, Amen” and “Three Wooden Crosses.” \nFor people who grew up with Travis’ records\, that makes the evening something more personal than a conventional tribute show. \nThe Voice Belongs to James Dupré\nDupré has the difficult job at the center of the production. \nHe isn’t there to impersonate Travis. He’s there to sing songs so closely associated with one of country’s most recognizable baritone voices that separating singer from song initially seems almost impossible. \nThe connection between the two men predates this tour. \nDupré appeared with Travis in the 2015 film The Price\, and the Travis family later chose him to perform the catalog on the More Life Tour. \nDupré had already established his own country career. The Louisiana native gained a national following through online performances\, released his debut album It’s All Happening in 2010 and later competed on NBC’s The Voice. \nOn this tour\, however\, the material belongs unmistakably to Travis. \nDupré’s job is to give those songs a live voice while the man who originally made them famous shares the stage. \nRandy Travis Helped Change Country Music\nIt’s difficult to overstate how significant Travis was when he broke through during the 1980s. \nCountry radio had increasingly embraced polished crossover production\, but Travis arrived with a deep baritone and a traditional style rooted in artists such as George Jones\, Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard. \nHis 1986 major-label debut\, Storms of Life\, became a landmark of country’s neotraditional movement. \nSongs including “On the Other Hand” and “1982” established him almost immediately. Then came “Forever and Ever\, Amen\,” “I Told You So\,” “Deeper Than the Holler\,” “Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart” and a succession of records that helped move traditional country back toward the center of the genre. \nLater\, “Three Wooden Crosses” became another defining song\, connecting the country and gospel sides of a career that eventually earned Travis seven Grammy Awards\, multiple CMA and ACM honors and membership in both the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame. \nHis lifetime record sales exceed 25 million. \nThen Everything Changed\nIn July 2013\, Travis suffered viral cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure and subsequently experienced a massive stroke. \nHe survived\, but the neurological damage profoundly affected his speech and ability to sing. \nWhat followed was a long rehabilitation rather than a conventional comeback story. \nThat history changes the emotional context of the More Life Tour. The audience isn’t waiting for Travis to suddenly step to the microphone and sing “Forever and Ever\, Amen.” The Garde explicitly tells ticket buyers that he will not be singing. \nHis presence is the point. \nThe audience gets Travis\, his musicians and the songs together in the same room again\, even though the relationship among them has necessarily changed. \nTechnology Has Given Him Another Way to Record\nTravis’ inability to perform his songs conventionally hasn’t completely stopped him from making new music. \nIn 2024\, “Where That Came From” became his first newly recorded song in more than a decade through the use of artificial intelligence and voice technology. \nThe project began with a guide vocal recorded by Dupré. Technology was then used to transform that performance using a model trained on Travis’ earlier recordings\, with Travis and his team participating in the process. \nThe result raised larger questions about artificial intelligence and music\, but Travis’ project differed substantially from unauthorized AI songs that imitate living performers without their participation. This was undertaken with Travis’ approval as a way of restoring a musical capability his stroke had taken away. \nHe subsequently released “Horses in Heaven\,” extending that experiment with technology-assisted vocals. \nOnstage in New London\, however\, there is no attempt to use technology to make Travis appear to be singing. \nDupré sings. \nTravis is Travis. \nOne of the Final Stops for the More Life Tour\nThe New London performance also comes during the announced final stretch of the More Life Tour. \nAfter more than two years on the road\, covering more than 50 cities and two dozen states\, the fall 2026 dates were announced as the final run of this particular tour concept. \nNew London begins a four-night New England stretch. \nAfter Thursday night’s Garde performance\, the tour travels to Keene\, New Hampshire\, on Friday\, Plymouth\, Massachusetts\, on Saturday and Northampton\, Massachusetts\, on Sunday. \nThat puts the Garde near the end of a project that found an unexpected way to put Randy Travis and his music back onstage together. \nFor a performer whose career was built around one of the most instantly recognizable voices in country music\, it’s an unusual proposition. \nThe singer can’t sing. \nThe songs haven’t gone anywhere. \nAnd neither has Randy Travis. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Randy Travis: The More Life Tour\nDate: Thursday\, Oct. 1\, 2026\nTime: 7:30 p.m.\nVenue: Garde Arts Center\nAddress: 325 State Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nTickets: $72–$122 plus fees\nFeatured Artist: Randy Travis\nGuest Vocalist: James Dupré\nImportant: Randy Travis appears and participates in the show but does not sing\nMusic: James Dupré and Travis’ longtime touring band perform his catalog\, including his 16 No. 1 hits\nBand: Steve Hinson\, David Johnson\, Lance Dary\, Bill Cook\, Joe Van Dyke and Herb Shucher\nVIP: Meet-and-greet passes with Randy Travis are expected to be available at the show\nBox Office: 860-444-7373 \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/randy-travis-brings-his-songs-back-to-the-stage-without-singing-a-note/
LOCATION:Garde Arts Center\, 325 State Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Garde Arts Center
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T220000
DTSTAMP:20260906T033008Z
CREATED:20260906T033008Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T033008Z
UID:10007483-1790798400-1790805600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Bad Movie Night at The Oasis Pub: September 2026 Lineup
DESCRIPTION:Bad Movie Night at The Oasis Pub every Wednesday in September with five gloriously questionable pieces of cinema ranging from bargain-basement purgatory and sorority vampires to killer bees and a teenage Paul Walker trapped inside a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. \nThe weekly cult-film night begins at 8 p.m. every Wednesday at the downtown New London pub. Admission is free\, with donations accepted toward keeping the screenings going. \nThe Oasis has made Bad Movie Night a regular part of its Wednesday schedule\, fitting alongside the live music\, games and offbeat programming that have helped make the small Bank Street bar a gathering place for more than two decades. \nSeptember’s selections lean heavily into the strange end of horror\, science fiction and action cinema. \nSeptember Bad Movie Night Schedule\n\nWednesday\, September 2 at 8 p.m. — Despiser (2003)\nArtist Gordon Hauge is fired\, dumped by his wife and then killed in a car crash\, only to discover that death has somehow made his situation even worse. He lands in Purgatory\, where monstrous Shadowmen and Ragmen serve a mysterious evil known as the Despiser. Gordon joins a ragtag collection of dead freedom fighters from different periods of history and sets out across a surreal afterlife to confront its ruler. Written and directed by Philip J. Cook\, Despiser mixes horror\, fantasy\, science fiction\, digital effects and an impressively strange vision of the afterlife.\nWednesday\, September 9 at 8 p.m. — Fit to Kill (1993)\nDirector Andy Sidaris delivers an action movie built around international intrigue\, assassins and a stolen Russian imperial diamond. Chinese businessman Chang plans to return the Alexa Diamond\, taken from Russia during World War II\, but international arms dealer Kane has other plans. L.E.T.H.A.L. agents Donna and Nicole are pulled into the fight to recover it\, leading to gun battles\, explosions\, seduction and even lethal remote-controlled helicopters. The movie stars Dona Speir\, Roberta Vasquez\, Bruce Penhall and Julie Strain.\nWednesday\, September 16 at 8 p.m. — Vampire Time Travelers (1998)\nFour college women trying to pledge a decidedly unusual sorority find themselves fighting vampires and other supernatural creatures instead. Director Les Sekely’s 65-minute horror comedy throws its characters into a deliberately chaotic mixture of bloodsuckers\, bizarre humor\, unexplained jumps through time and increasingly absurd situations. The obscure shot-on-video movie received renewed attention in 2026 with a collector’s edition release after years of obscurity.\nWednesday\, September 23 at 8 p.m. — Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)\nYes\, the premise really is what it sounds like. A mad scientist takes the brain of high-school student Michael\, played by a young Paul Walker\, and implants it inside a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. The newly conscious T-Rex escapes\, takes revenge on Michael’s tormentors and tries to reunite with his girlfriend Tammy\, played by Denise Richards. Directed by Stewart Raffill\, the science-fiction horror comedy has become a cult favorite thanks to a premise so bizarre that explaining it almost spoils the fun.\nWednesday\, September 30 at 8 p.m. — The Bees (1978)\nSouth American killer bees are illegally brought into the United States\, where the situation becomes considerably worse when the insects mutate into an increasingly intelligent threat. As enormous swarms begin attacking cities\, scientists race to stop a disaster capable of spreading across the world. The 83-minute disaster-horror movie arrived during the 1970s cycle of nature-run-amok films and stars John Saxon\, Angel Tompkins and John Carradine.\n\nFive Wednesdays of Movies That Went Wrong in Just the Right Way\nThere is a pretty good mission statement hidden inside that lineup. \nBad Movie Night isn’t programming five merely unsuccessful movies. September jumps between movies that are interesting because of their excesses\, strange decisions\, improbable premises or sheer audacity. \nDespiser tries to construct an entire digital purgatory on an independent-film budget. Fit to Kill delivers the particular combination of espionage\, action and exploitation that became director Andy Sidaris’ signature. Vampire Time Travelers embraces the chaotic world of late-’90s shot-on-video horror. \nAnd then there is Tammy and the T-Rex\, a movie in which Paul Walker’s brain is transplanted into a mechanical dinosaur. \nBy the time intelligent killer bees arrive on the final Wednesday of September\, they almost seem reasonable. \nBad Movie Night at The Oasis\nThe Oasis Pub has been part of downtown New London’s nightlife for more than two decades\, operating from 16 Bank Street with a focus on craft beer\, live music and unconventional events. \nBad Movie Night is one of its regular weekly fixtures\, taking place every Wednesday at 8 p.m. \nThat communal setting is an important part of the concept. These aren’t necessarily movies demanding reverent silence in a dark theater. They’re movies made considerably more entertaining by experiencing the weirdness with a room full of other people. \nSeptember provides five chances to do exactly that. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Bad Movie Night: September Lineup\nDates: Wednesdays\, September 2\, 9\, 16\, 23 and 30\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m. each Wednesday\nVenue: The Oasis Pub\nAddress: 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nAdmission: Free; donations accepted\nSeptember 2: Despiser\nSeptember 9: Fit to Kill\nSeptember 16: Vampire Time Travelers\nSeptember 23: Tammy and the T-Rex\nSeptember 30: The Bees \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 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/bad-movie-night-at-the-oasis-pub-september-2026-lineup/2026-09-30/
LOCATION:Oasis Pub\, 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Oasis Pub
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T160000
DTSTAMP:20260924T144010Z
CREATED:20260924T144010Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T144010Z
UID:10008597-1790517600-1790524800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Felicia Rose Brings Sacred Song\, World Rhythms and Electronic Trance to the Garde
DESCRIPTION:Felicia Rose Brings Sacred Song\, World Rhythms and Electronic Trance to the Garde Sunday\, Sept. 27\, for an afternoon that moves between singer-songwriter intimacy\, Sanskrit chanting\, percussion\, world music and the electronic transformation of songs originally written as spiritual music. \nPresented by Mezza Stage + Studio\, the 2 p.m. performance pairs Rose with percussionists Tam Zezulka and Kevin Gallagher II\, musicians associated with The Omies and Shakti Ma and the Rainbow Serpents. The concert is being presented as an afternoon of meditative\, devotional\, and electronic world music. \nBut this isn’t simply a concert. \nPsychic mediums and readers from Mystical Horizons will be available before and after the performance\, with short readings offered for an additional charge. Guests can also arrive early or remain afterward to meet the musicians. \nThe afternoon will include a tribute to Verline Eldrige\, a longtime spiritual teacher and medium who died earlier this year after more than 50 years of spiritual work. \nFrom Folk-Rock Songs to Sanskrit Chants\nRose describes what she creates as conscious music\, a broad category that allows her to move between musical forms without separating the music from its spiritual purpose. \nHer repertoire includes romantic ballads centered on love for the Divine as well as more rhythmic chants performed in both English and Sanskrit. \nMusically\, the originals draw from folk rock\, world beat and gospel\, while kirtan and mantra are also central to her performances and workshops. \nKirtan comes from the devotional traditions of India and commonly uses repeated chants or mantras in a communal setting. Rather than the audience remaining completely separate from the performer\, repetition can turn the room itself into part of the music. \nThat helps explain the unusual range represented in Sunday’s program. \nA singer-songwriter ballad\, Sanskrit chant and percussion-driven piece may sound like they belong in entirely different concerts. Rose approaches them as different routes toward the same meditative and emotional experience. \nThen She Put the Sacred Music on the Dance Floor\nRose’s music has recently taken another turn. \nIn 2026\, she collaborated with electronic producer DJ JackEL on Deep Elevation\, Vol. 1\, reworking spiritual songs as deep-house and melodic electronic tracks. \nThe project takes material originally associated with meditation\, yoga and sacred performance and places it inside an electronic framework suited to movement and dance. \nAmong the 2026 releases are remixes of songs including Repetition\, Through the Sound\, Rain Falls\, Longing and Let It Go. \nIt’s an interesting collision of purposes. \nElectronic dance music is built around repetition. \nSo is mantra. \nIn one setting\, repetition keeps bodies moving on a dance floor. In another\, repeating words or sounds can become a meditative practice. \nRose’s recent work deliberately puts those ideas together. \nKevin Gallagher II Builds the Rhythm From Several Traditions\nPercussionist Kevin Gallagher II brings another set of musical traditions into Sunday’s performance. \nThe Lyme musician has studied and performed West African\, Latin and kirtan rhythms\, with experience ranging from Nigerian ceremonial mask performances and West African dance classes to rock\, jazz\, jam and fusion bands. \nHe currently plays mridanga and percussion with Connecticut kirtan groups The Omies and the Rainbow Serpents. \nThe mridanga is a double-headed drum closely associated with devotional music from India\, giving Gallagher a way to connect rhythmic traditions that stretch far beyond the conventional Western drum kit. \nThat percussion becomes particularly important in music intended not merely to be heard\, but sung\, chanted or moved to. \nA Memorial Within the Music\nThe concert will also pause to remember Verline Eldrige. \nOrganizers describe Eldrige as a beloved spiritual teacher and medium who spent more than half a century doing that work before her death earlier in 2026. \nHer inclusion gives Sunday’s gathering a memorial dimension alongside its musical and spiritual elements. \nThe presence of readers from Mystical Horizons extends that atmosphere beyond the stage. Short individual readings will be available at an additional cost before and after the concert\, while the musicians themselves will also be available for a meet-and-greet. \nSo the two-hour advertised performance is only part of the experience. \nAn Intimate Project Inside a Very Big Theater\nThe afternoon is presented by Mezza Stage + Studio\, a queer-led performance project built around intimate\, small-scale arts events. \nRather than committing itself to one discipline or permanent venue\, Mezza produces spoken word\, theater\, dance\, music\, comedy\, film and other performances\, shaping individual events around the rooms in which they happen. \nSunday brings that philosophy to the Garde Arts Center\, the historic State Street performing arts venue now celebrating its centennial season. \nAnd the pairing is an unusual one. \nA theater created during the age of grand movie palaces becomes the setting for Sanskrit chants\, world percussion\, spiritual singer-songwriter music and songs newly reinvented through electronic dance music. \nSomewhere between concert\, meditation\, remembrance and gathering\, Felicia Rose’s Sunday afternoon doesn’t fit neatly into one category. \nFor Mezza Stage + Studio\, that’s pretty much the point. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Felicia Rose\, presented by Mezza Stage + Studio\nDate: Sunday\, Sept. 27\, 2026\nTime: 2–4 p.m.\nLocation: Garde Arts Center\nAddress: 325 State St.\, New London\, CT 06320\nAdmission: $27–$32 plus fees\nFeatured Artist: Felicia Rose\nPercussion: Tam Zezulka and Kevin Gallagher II\nMusic: Devotional and meditative music\, folk rock\, world beat\, gospel influences\, Sanskrit and English chants and electronic music\nAlso Featured: Meet-and-greet with the artists and psychic mediums/readers from Mystical Horizons before and after the concert\nReadings: Short readings available for an additional charge\nSpecial Tribute: The late spiritual teacher and medium Verline Eldrige\nPresented By: Mezza Stage + Studio\nBox Office: 860-444-7373 ext. 1 \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/felicia-rose-brings-sacred-song-world-rhythms-and-electronic-trance-to-the-garde/
LOCATION:Garde Arts Center\, 325 State Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Garde Arts Center
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T130000
DTSTAMP:20260917T165240Z
CREATED:20260917T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T165240Z
UID:10007930-1790510400-1790514000@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/2026-09-27/
LOCATION:Pequot Lighthouse\, Pequot Avenue\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Pequot Lighthouse
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Pequot-Lighthouse-New-London.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T160000
DTSTAMP:20260924T150113Z
CREATED:20260924T150113Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T150113Z
UID:10008598-1790506800-1790524800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Pop vs. R&B Drag Brunch Turns The Social Into a Live Diva Concert
DESCRIPTION:Pop vs. R&B Drag Brunch Turns The Social Into a Live Diva Concert Sunday\, Sept. 27\, when New York performer Wesley returns to New London with a show built around some of pop and R&B’s biggest voices. \nThis edition of Pink Eggs & Glam Drag Brunch isn’t being presented as a conventional lip-sync drag show. Wesley sings live\, using the brunch as the setting for what organizers describe as essentially a concert in drag. \nThere are two performances at The Social Bar + Kitchen on Bank Street. The first seating begins at 11 a.m. for a noon show\, followed by a 2 p.m. seating for a 3 p.m. show. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door\, with brunch and drinks purchased separately. The event is open to ages 14 and older. \nThe Voice Is the Point\nDrag can encompass lip-syncing\, dance\, comedy\, theater\, impersonation and countless combinations of all of them. \nWesley’s specialty is different. \nShe’s a trained musical-theater vocalist whose drag performances are built around actually singing the material. \nWesley holds a BFA in Musical Theatre and has performed professionally in New York as well as at sea as a headline entertainer aboard Virgin Voyages. She is also the lead vocalist of The Bad Judies\, billed by organizers as New York City’s only all-drag live band. \nThat background explains the theme chosen for her September return to New London. \nRather than centering the show on a single artist\, Pop vs. R&B Divas gives Wesley a much bigger songbook to work with. \nPrevious appearances at The Social have highlighted her ability to tackle the music of artists including Lady Gaga\, Beyoncé and Ariana Grande\, pairing the vocals with the dance\, comedy and theatricality expected from a drag performance. \nThe result lands somewhere between drag brunch\, cabaret and pop concert. \nWesley Has Been Here Before\nThis isn’t Wesley’s first Pink Eggs & Glam appearance in New London. \nShe headlined a Pride edition of the brunch in June 2025\, when The Social described her as an emerging force in New York’s drag and cabaret scene\, combining powerhouse vocals with dance and comedy. \nThe September 2026 engagement brings her back with a more focused musical concept. \nPop and R&B have always overlapped\, particularly as artists move between dance music\, soul\, hip-hop\, rock and mainstream radio. Building a show around the two genres gives a live singer considerably more room than a single-artist tribute. \nA song can become a vocal showcase. \nThe next can turn the room into a dance floor. \nAnd because Wesley is singing rather than simply recreating a recording\, familiar music can be rearranged around the performer instead of the other way around. \nPink Eggs & Glam Has Become a New London Regular\nThe show is also part of something that has lasted considerably longer than a single brunch. \nPink Eggs & Glam is Sky Casper Entertainment’s recurring drag-brunch series at The Social\, combining visiting drag performers with food\, cocktails and audience interaction. \nSky Casper describes its brunches as high-energy\, interactive events ranging from live-singing cabaret performers to dancing divas. Its 2026 New London calendar has featured changing themes and headliners throughout the year\, with additional Pink Eggs & Glam dates already scheduled into December. \nThat rotating-headliner model means the basic brunch format can change substantially depending on who’s performing. \nSome editions lean heavily into comedy. \nOthers revolve around particular pop stars or themes. \nThis one is built around the thing Wesley does particularly well: sing. \nBrunch Is Separate From the Show\nOne practical detail is worth understanding before buying a ticket. \nThe $20 advance admission does not include brunch or beverages. Food and drinks are ordered separately from The Social. Door admission is $25 if tickets remain available. \nThe two-show structure also means guests should pay attention to both the seating time and performance time. \nFor the early show\, seating begins at 11 a.m. and Wesley performs at noon. \nFor the second\, seating begins at 2 p.m. with the show beginning at 3 p.m. \nThat hour before each performance gives guests time to get settled and order brunch before the focus shifts toward the stage. \nThe event is 14+\, and Eventbrite lists a no-refund policy. \nThen the restaurant becomes a concert room. \nBeyoncé-sized vocals may normally belong in arenas. On Sunday\, the distance between the singer and the brunch table will be considerably smaller. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Pop & R&B Pink Eggs & Glam Drag Brunch with Wesley\nDate: Sunday\, Sept. 27\, 2026\nLocation: The Social Bar + Kitchen\nAddress: 208 Bank St.\, New London\, CT 06320\nFirst Seating: 11 a.m.\nFirst Show: Noon\nSecond Seating: 2 p.m.\nSecond Show: 3 p.m.\nPerformer: Wesley\nTheme: Pop & R&B Divas\nAdmission: $20 in advance; $25 at the door\nAge: 14+\nFood & Beverages: Sold separately\nRefunds: No refunds\nPresented By: Sky Casper Entertainment and The Social Bar + Kitchen \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/pop-vs-rb-drag-brunch-turns-the-social-into-a-live-diva-concert/
LOCATION:The Social Bar + Kitchen\, 208 Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Social Bar + Kitchen
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T150000
DTSTAMP:20260915T211951Z
CREATED:20260915T211951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T211951Z
UID:10007610-1790503200-1790521200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brunch Sundays Brings Southern Comfort Food With a Haitian Island Twist to New London
DESCRIPTION:Brunch Sundays – Southern Dishes With an Island Twist turns Sunday into a five-hour affair at Favorites Bistro Bar in downtown New London\, pairing brunch standards like chicken and waffles\, French toast\, and grits with the Haitian and Caribbean flavors that have become the restaurant’s calling card. \nThe weekly brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday at Favorites\, located at 90 Bank Street. \nAnd while plenty of restaurants serve brunch\, Favorites has a fairly compelling reason for adding the words “island twist.” \nOwner Majan Pierre grew up with Haitian cooking\, and the restaurant she and her husband Ederjson “EJ” Pierre created uses those flavors as a jumping-off point rather than treating them as rigid boundaries. \nThe result can put oxtail beside grits\, Haitian seasonings into familiar American comfort foods\, and a caramelized crème brûlée treatment onto French toast. \nIt’s brunch\, but not necessarily the brunch you already know. \nChicken and Waffles Gets the Favorites Treatment\nThe restaurant’s current Brunch Sundays promotion puts three dishes front and center: chicken and waffles\, oxtail and grits\, and crème brûlée French toast. \nChicken and waffles already lives comfortably at the intersection of sweet and savory. \nFavorites pushes further into that territory. \nThe restaurant’s broader approach incorporates the seasonings\, sauces and ingredients of Haitian and Caribbean cooking into recognizable American dishes rather than separating the menu into “traditional” and “island” sections. \nThat philosophy has helped chicken and waffles become one of the dishes frequently associated with Favorites since the restaurant began developing its brunch service. \nBut the oxtail and grits may be an even better example of what the restaurant is trying to do. \nOxtail and Grits Connects Two Comfort-Food Traditions\nOxtail has a long history in Caribbean cooking\, including Haitian cuisine\, where slow cooking turns a notoriously tough cut into something rich and deeply flavored. \nGrits come from a different culinary tradition but perform much the same job on the plate: warm\, uncomplicated comfort food capable of carrying an intensely flavored braise. \nPut them together and the combination makes immediate sense. \nFavorites has used oxtail elsewhere on its menu in inventive ways\, including oxtail rangoons. \nThat willingness to move ingredients between culinary traditions is central to the restaurant’s identity. \nPierre has described Favorites as Haitian street food\, but she’s also made clear that she doesn’t want the menu confined by that description. \nThe restaurant has served familiar dishes such as Caesar salad and pasta alongside Haitian staples and Caribbean-influenced creations. \nWhat connects them is often what happens in the kitchen. \nHaitian Flavor Is Built Into the Food\nOne of the building blocks is épis. \nThe Haitian seasoning base varies from kitchen to kitchen but generally combines fresh herbs\, peppers\, aromatics and spices into a concentrated mixture used to season meats\, seafood and other dishes. \nAt Favorites\, épis has been incorporated into dishes such as braised short ribs. \nThen there’s pikliz\, the sharp Haitian pickled vegetable condiment that can bring acidity\, crunch and heat to rich food. \nFavorites uses versions of it throughout its cooking. \nPierre told Connecticut food writer James Gribbon that the goal isn’t necessarily to make everything overwhelmingly hot. \nThe seasoning goes into the food from the beginning. \nThat’s a meaningful distinction. \nAdding a hot sauce to an otherwise conventional brunch dish creates heat. \nBuilding a dish around a different seasoning tradition changes its underlying flavor. \nFavorites is aiming for the second approach. \nThen There’s the Crème Brûlée French Toast\nIf oxtail and grits represents the savory side of the menu\, crème brûlée French toast heads in the opposite direction. \nThe basic idea borrows from the contrast that makes crème brûlée work: a rich\, soft interior against a caramelized exterior. \nApplied to French toast\, it turns one of brunch’s most familiar dishes into something closer to dessert. \nFavorites has served French toast in several forms\, and the dish has become one of the restaurant’s recognizable brunch offerings. \nIt’s also a good example of why “Southern dishes with an island twist” doesn’t tell the entire story. \nThere are Caribbean influences here\, certainly. \nBut there are also French influences\, Southern American comfort food and contemporary brunch culture colliding on the same menu. \nIn Haitian cooking\, that kind of overlap isn’t particularly strange. \nHaitian Cuisine Was Already a Fusion Cuisine\nHaiti’s food traditions developed from an unusually complicated history. \nWest African culinary traditions mixed with Indigenous Caribbean ingredients and techniques and European\, particularly French\, influences. \nThat history can still be seen in the language and food. \nFrench-derived culinary terms coexist with ingredients and cooking methods rooted elsewhere. \nSo a New London restaurant moving comfortably among Haitian food\, Southern comfort dishes and French-inspired brunch isn’t necessarily abandoning one tradition for another. \nIt’s continuing the mixing that created the cuisine in the first place. \nPierre has described Haitian food as difficult to reduce to a single definition because of those influences and because recipes can vary considerably between communities and households. \nHer own reference point is especially personal. \nBefore opening Favorites\, Pierre had never worked in a restaurant. \nShe learned food at home. \nMajan Pierre Went From Home Cooking to Restaurant Owner\nFavorites Bistro Bar opened in 2023\, making Pierre’s route into the restaurant business an unusual one. \nShe wasn’t a chef leaving someone else’s kitchen. \nShe wasn’t a longtime restaurant manager finally opening her own place. \nPierre told Gribbon that Favorites was her first restaurant job of any kind. \nHer culinary background came largely from watching her mother cook and from her own interest in food. \nShe and EJ Pierre nevertheless turned that home-cooking foundation into a downtown restaurant. \nBy April 2026\, Favorites was celebrating its third anniversary and a grand reopening\, along with an expansion of its lunch service. \nThe restaurant also brought Chef Bel into its culinary leadership. \nBrunch has become an increasingly important part of that evolution. \nSundays Have Become Their Own Thing\nFavorites now dedicates 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday to brunch. \nThat’s not merely an hour or two added onto lunch service. \nIt’s the Sunday service. \nThe restaurant’s Brunch Sundays promotion makes that clear\, presenting the meal as a recurring weekly event rather than a one-off special. \nThat gives diners considerably more flexibility than a traditional late-morning brunch. \nCome at 10 and it’s breakfast. \nArrive at noon and you’re firmly in brunch territory. \nShow up at 2 and it can function as a late lunch. \nThe restaurant’s drinks follow the same leisurely approach to Sunday\, with brunch cocktails among the offerings. \nFavorites Has One of Downtown’s More Interesting Locations\nThe restaurant occupies space in the historic granite Roberts Building along Bank Street. \nIts location puts it in the middle of downtown New London’s restaurant\, arts and waterfront district. \nHygienic Art is nearby\, and the Thames River waterfront is only a short walk away. \nInside\, Favorites is bright during the day\, with large windows bringing natural light into a dining room and bar designed to feel more contemporary than rustic. \nThere’s also outdoor seating with views toward the harbor. \nThat gives Sunday brunch an easy extension into the rest of downtown. \nEat first\, then walk Bank Street\, head toward the waterfront or see what’s happening in the surrounding arts district. \nParking Is Easier on Sunday Than You Might Expect\nFor people who avoid downtown New London because they’re worried about parking\, Sunday has an advantage. \nFavorites lists Bank Street and State Street among the nearby free parking options. \nThe O’Neill-Tilley Municipal Lot and Water Street Garage provide additional paid parking nearby. \nAs always downtown\, availability depends on what else is happening that day. \nBut Favorites sits in a walkable part of New London\, so there’s little reason to circle the restaurant looking for the closest possible space if other downtown parking is available. \nA Sunday Brunch That Actually Tells You Something About the Restaurant\nChicken and waffles is everywhere now. \nFrench toast certainly isn’t difficult to find. \nNeither are eggs\, mimosas or grits. \nSo the interesting question isn’t whether Favorites serves brunch food. \nIt’s what happens when those dishes pass through this particular kitchen. \nA Haitian-American owner who learned from her mother’s cooking opened her first restaurant on Bank Street. \nShe began combining the food she knew with dishes that belonged to other traditions. \nThree years later\, that experiment has developed into a Sunday brunch where oxtail can land on grits and French toast can arrive dressed like crème brûlée. \nThat’s a much better reason to go to brunch than simply because it’s Sunday. \nDetails\nEvent: Brunch Sundays – Southern Dishes With an Island Twist\nDate: Sunday\, September 20\, 2026\nRecurring: Every Sunday\nTime: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.\nLocation: Favorites Bistro Bar\nAddress: 90 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nFeatured Brunch Dishes: Chicken and waffles\, oxtail and grits\, crème brûlée French toast\nCuisine: Southern comfort food with Haitian and Caribbean influences\nOwners: Majan and Ederjson “EJ” Pierre\nPhone: 860-446-6188\nParking: Free parking is available on Bank Street and State Street; paid options include the O’Neill-Tilley Municipal Lot and Water Street Garage\nReservations: Favorites accepts reservations; advance reservations may be useful for Sunday brunch\nAccessibility: Contact the restaurant directly for specific accessibility needs or seating accommodations. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brunch-sundays-brings-southern-comfort-food-with-a-haitian-island-twist-to-new-london/2026-09-27/
LOCATION:Favorites Bistro Bar\, 90 B Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Favorites Bistro Bar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Brunch-Sundays-Brings-Southern-Comfort-Food-With-a-Haitian-Island-Twist-to-New-London.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T210000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T010000
DTSTAMP:20260924T181959Z
CREATED:20260924T181959Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T181959Z
UID:10008606-1790456400-1790470800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Eclectic Electric\, The Forest Room and The Kosmographers Turn Oasis Into a Three-Genre Experiment
DESCRIPTION:Eclectic Electric\, The Forest Room and The Kosmographers Turn Oasis Into a Three-Genre Experiment Saturday\, Sept. 26\, when three very different corners of New England’s independent music scene share the stage at the Oasis Pub in New London. \nCalling this an indie-rock show doesn’t quite explain it. \nThe night moves from the jazz of a Connecticut guitar trio to a one-man collision of electronic beats\, live guitar and custom lighting before reaching the bass-heavy psychedelic rock of a Providence power trio. \nOasis describes the combination as moving through sophisticated jazz grooves\, hypnotic electronic beats and heavy psychedelic rock. \nIn other words\, don’t expect three bands that sound alike. \nEclectic Electric Brings the Heavy End of the Night\nProvidence-based Eclectic Electric has been working the Southern New England underground since 2015. \nThe trio features Thomas McCorry on vocals and bass\, Alyson Hammond on drums and Andrew Labossiere on guitar\, with a sound built around an unusually prominent bass presence and a mix of rock\, soul and psychedelia. \nThere are pieces of different generations in it. \nThe warmth and groove of 1960s and ’70s rock sit alongside the heavier textures of ’90s alternative and stoner rock. Rhode Island music writer Rob Duguay has described the band as bass-driven rock that incorporates heavy metal\, rhythmic elements and alternative-rock influences. \nTheir 2024 single Little Black Cat provides a good example. \nMcCorry said the band approached it with the idea of capturing something in the territory of ZZ Top or Cream. The result is less retro imitation than evidence of where Eclectic Electric’s musical vocabulary comes from. \nThe trio has become a regular presence around Providence’s independent music rooms and has also played the Particle Accelerator Music Festival. In 2025\, Eclectic Electric was nominated in the Rhode Island Music Awards’ alternative-rock category. \nSaturday brings them back to a room they already know. Oasis lists Eclectic Electric among the regional acts that have become regular performers at the New London club. \nThe Forest Room Calls It “Positive Gloom”\nThen there’s The Forest Room\, and this is where the bill takes a sharp turn. \nThe Plainville\, Connecticut project is a one-man band\, combining live acoustic and electric guitar with electronic rhythms\, progressive beats and trip-hop atmosphere. \nThe Forest Room has a name for the resulting sound: “positive gloom.” \nIt’s a pretty effective description. \nInstead of trying to reproduce the sound of a conventional band alone onstage\, the project treats electronics as part of the instrumentation. Guitar moves against programmed and electronic rhythms\, creating music that can be dark and atmospheric without becoming static. \nThe visual presentation is part of it\, too. \nThe Forest Room performs with custom-built vertical light towers\, surrounding the solo setup with changing light and giving the performance a scale that wouldn’t necessarily be expected from one musician. \nThe project has been active around independent venues throughout New England and the Northeast\, taking what is essentially a self-contained audio-visual performance into rooms normally occupied by full bands. \nAt Oasis\, that means the stage can go from a traditional jazz trio to one person surrounded by guitars\, electronics and light. \nAnd then change completely again. \nThe Kosmographers Start From Jazz\nConnecticut’s The Kosmographers occupy another part of the musical map. \nThe trio features Scott Drouin on guitar\, Fred Fagan on bass and Glen Metcalfe on drums\, working in a jazz format built around the interaction between three musicians rather than a large arrangement. \nOasis characterizes their sound as sophisticated and smooth\, but placing a jazz trio on this particular bill makes things more interesting than simply booking them for a conventional jazz night. \nImprovisation is one of the few threads that can connect jazz to the more experimental electronic and psychedelic music surrounding it Saturday. \nThe vocabulary changes. \nThe willingness to see where a piece can go doesn’t necessarily have to. \nThree Acts That Shouldn’t Necessarily Be on the Same Bill\nThat’s what makes this night worth noticing. \nA lot of three-band shows are variations on a theme. If you like the first band’s style\, there’s a good chance the next two are working somewhere nearby. \nSaturday’s lineup works differently. \nThe Kosmographers bring guitar-led jazz. \nThe Forest Room moves into trip-hop\, progressive electronic music and atmospheric guitar. \nEclectic Electric finishes the journey in the heavier territory of psychedelic\, alternative and bass-driven rock. \nIt makes the show less like three separate concerts and more like a progression. \nAnd Oasis is the kind of room where that experiment can work. \nA Small Room Built for New London’s Alternative Side\nThe Oasis Pub at 16 Bank Street has long occupied its own place in New London’s music ecosystem. \nIt’s a 21+ bar rather than a formal concert hall\, with live music sharing the space with the club’s craft beer and drinks program. \nThat intimacy matters for underground music. \nThere isn’t much distance between performers and audience\, and a band doesn’t need to fill hundreds of seats before it makes sense to put it onstage. Rooms like Oasis give regional musicians somewhere to experiment\, build an audience and share bills with acts that don’t necessarily fit neatly into the same genre. \nSaturday night may be a particularly good demonstration of why that matters. \nYou could arrive for jazz and leave having discovered a one-man electronic project. \nYou could show up for psychedelic rock and hear a guitar trio you wouldn’t otherwise encounter. \nOr you could simply let three very different approaches to making music take over the same small stage. \nThe show begins at 9 p.m. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Eclectic Electric with The Kosmographers and The Forest Room\nDate: Saturday\, Sept. 26\, 2026\nTime: 9 p.m.\nVenue: The Oasis Pub\nAddress: 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nAge: 21+\nPerformers: Eclectic Electric\, The Kosmographers and The Forest Room\nMusic: Jazz\, electronic\, trip-hop\, psychedelic rock\, alternative rock and rock\nOasis Saturday Hours: 7 p.m.–2 a.m.\nAdmission: A confirmed admission price was not published on the official event page at the time of publication. \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/eclectic-electric-the-forest-room-and-the-kosmographers-turn-oasis-into-a-three-genre-experiment/
LOCATION:Oasis Pub\, 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Oasis Pub
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T220000
DTSTAMP:20260928T002153Z
CREATED:20260920T191833Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260928T002153Z
UID:10008476-1790452800-1790460000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Magic Rocks Brings Illusionist Leon Etienne’s Rock-and-Roll Magic Show to the Garde
DESCRIPTION:Magic Rocks Brings Illusionist Leon Etienne’s Rock-and-Roll Magic Show to the Garde on Saturday\, Sept. 26\, combining large-scale illusions\, sleight of hand\, and comedy with the pace and attitude of a rock concert. \nEtienne brings his touring Magic Rocks! production to New London for an 8 p.m. performance at the Garde Arts Center. The family-friendly show runs roughly two hours and is designed less like a traditional magician standing behind a table and more like a theatrical spectacle built around music\, lighting and high-energy stage illusions. \nMagic With the Volume Turned Up\nLeon Etienne calls himself “America’s Rock Illusionist\,” and the description fits the approach he has taken to modernizing the traditional magic show. \nMagic Rocks! mixes close-up skills and sleight of hand with much larger theatrical illusions\, comedy and a rock-and-roll presentation. Rather than slowing the evening down to demonstrate individual tricks\, Etienne builds the show around speed\, surprise and spectacle. \nIt is an approach that has taken him considerably farther than the touring theater circuit. \nEtienne has performed at Radio City Music Hall and appeared internationally in countries including England\, Ireland\, France\, China and Australia. His career has also included performances at casinos and entertainment venues around the world. \nFrom America’s Got Talent to Penn & Teller\nTelevision brought Etienne’s magic to an even larger audience. \nHe has appeared on America’s Got Talent\, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon\, Masters of Illusion and Penn & Teller: Fool Us. \nThose appearances are particularly suited to Etienne’s style. Television magic has to move quickly\, establish the premise of an illusion almost immediately and deliver a payoff before an audience has time to lose interest. That same rapid-fire approach carries into Magic Rocks!. \nBut the touring show gives him something television can’t: a full stage. \nThat allows the performance to move between smaller demonstrations of sleight of hand and the grand illusions that have become a signature of the production. \nA Family Show Without the Kiddie-Show Treatment\nThe Garde is presenting Magic Rocks! as an all-ages\, family-friendly performance\, but this isn’t being packaged solely as children’s entertainment. \nThat’s an important distinction. \nThe production is built to work for children seeing theatrical magic for the first time while still delivering the larger illusions\, humor and showmanship expected by adults. The result is one of the relatively uncommon Saturday-night theater events that can work for multiple generations without being specifically aimed at young children. \nThe historic Garde should also provide an appropriately theatrical setting. The State Street venue originally opened in 1926 and celebrates its centennial this year\, giving Etienne a nearly century-old movie palace-sized stage for a show deliberately built around spectacle. \nA Touring Show With a Long Reach\nNew London is one stop on an extensive Magic Rocks! tour. \nEtienne performs in Natick\, Massachusetts\, the night before his Garde appearance\, followed by dates in Ohio\, Illinois\, Wisconsin\, California\, New York\, Florida and Canada into 2027. \nThat touring history helps explain the scale of the production coming to New London. This isn’t a locally assembled magic program or a collection of individual tricks brought together for one appearance. Magic Rocks! is Etienne’s established touring stage show\, developed for theaters and large entertainment venues. \nOn Saturday night\, the next one happens to be downtown New London. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Magic Rocks! — Illusionist Leon Etienne\nDate: Saturday\, Sept. 26\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: Garde Arts Center\nAddress: 325 State Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nRunning Time: Approximately two hours\nAdmission: $39–$79 plus applicable fees\nAudience: Family-friendly/all ages\nShow: Grand illusions\, sleight of hand\, comedy and rock-and-roll-style theatrical production \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/magic-rocks-brings-illusionist-leon-etiennes-rock-and-roll-magic-show-to-the-garde/
LOCATION:Garde Arts Center\, 325 State Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Garde Arts Center
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T190000
DTSTAMP:20260922T020953Z
CREATED:20260922T020953Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260922T020953Z
UID:10008490-1790443800-1790449200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Full Harvest Moon Cruise Puts New London’s Waterfront Under the September Moon
DESCRIPTION:Full Harvest Moon Cruise Puts New London’s Waterfront Under the September Moon Sept. 25 and 26\, taking passengers onto the Thames River just as daylight begins fading and one of early autumn’s most recognizable full moons rises over southeastern Connecticut. \nThe one-hour cruise departs New London City Pier at 5:45 p.m.\, timed for that transition when the waterfront begins losing its daylight colors and reflections become more prominent across the river. \nThere is no formal dinner\, no complicated itinerary and no lengthy historical program attached to this one. Guests can pack their own drinks and snacks\, board one of Thames River Heritage Park’s boats and spend an hour on the water. \nThe moon provides the main attraction. \nWhy It’s Called the Harvest Moon\n“Harvest Moon” doesn’t identify one particular month’s full moon. \nInstead\, it is the name traditionally given to the full moon occurring closest to the autumnal equinox. Depending on the year\, that can make it either September’s or October’s full moon. \nThe name has a practical origin. \nAround the autumn equinox\, successive moonrises occur unusually close together in time. Before tractors carried powerful headlights into agricultural fields\, the bright moon rising shortly after sunset provided farmers with additional natural light during one of the busiest periods of the agricultural year. \nThat connection between moonlight and the harvest eventually gave the moon its familiar name. \nThe September full moon is also traditionally called the Corn Moon\, reflecting the time of year when corn and other crops reached harvest. \nThames River Heritage Park combines both names for its September cruise. \nThe Thames Looks Different From the Water\nThe route also puts passengers in the middle of one of Connecticut’s most historically dense waterways. \nNew London and Groton rise on opposite sides of the Thames\, a river corridor shaped by centuries of maritime trade\, military activity and shipbuilding. \nFrom the water\, the landscape includes working waterfronts and naval infrastructure alongside historic sites such as Fort Trumbull and Fort Griswold\, with the river opening toward Long Island Sound. \nThe cruise is operated by Thames River Heritage Park\, an organization that treats the river itself as the connecting corridor between historic and cultural sites on both shores. \nAnd the boats have some history of their own. \nThe Heritage Park uses refurbished former U.S. Navy utility boats that once transported sailors between ships and shore. Their second career now involves carrying visitors through the same river that remains closely associated with the Navy and the region’s submarine industry. \nBring Your Own Drinks and Snacks\nThis is also one of the more informal specialty cruises on the Thames. \nGuests are invited to bring a cooler with their favorite beverages and snacks\, making it possible to turn the hour into a floating picnic. \nAll ages are welcome. \nTickets are $50 for adults 18 and older\, $35 for children ages 4–17 and free for children 3 and younger. \nThe cruise leaves from City Pier at New London Waterfront Park and runs from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. \nThere are departures on both Friday\, Sept. 25 and Saturday\, Sept. 26. \nAn Autumn Cruise With One Uncontrollable Guest\nOf course\, putting the moon at the center of an event comes with one obvious complication. \nThe sky has to cooperate. \nCloud cover can determine whether the moon dominates the evening or remains hidden\, while wind and other marine conditions can affect whether the boat sails at all. \nThames River Heritage Park notes that its evening cruises are weather dependent and advises ticket holders to check its website and social media for the latest schedule information. \nBut even before the moon takes over\, the departure time provides another reason to be on the river. \nAt 5:45 on a late-September evening\, the cruise catches the Thames during the transition toward sunset\, turning what is normally a familiar New London and Groton waterfront into an hour framed by fading daylight\, autumn air and the approaching night. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Full “Corn or Harvest” Moon Cruise\nDates: Friday\, Sept. 25 and Saturday\, Sept. 26\, 2026\nTime: 5:45–6:45 p.m.\nDeparture: New London City Pier / Waterfront Park\nAddress: 1 Waterfront Park\, New London\, CT 06320\nOperator: Thames River Heritage Park\nAdult Admission (18+): $50\nChildren (4–17): $35\nChildren 3 and Younger: Free\nAge: All ages welcome\nFood & Drinks: Guests may bring a cooler with beverages and snacks\nLength: Approximately one hour\nWeather: Evening cruises are weather dependent; check for schedule updates before departure\nQuestions: 860-333-6706 \nExcerpt: \nMeta Description: \nReference Links\nhttps://business.mysticchamber.org/event-calendar/Details/full-corn-or-harvest-moon-cruise-1913594?sourceTypeId=Website \nhttps://business.mysticchamber.org/ap/Events/Register/wZFlBmGIeCxCw \nhttps://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/ \nhttps://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/repeating-harbor-cruises-historic-boat-tours-wrap-up-for-season/ \nhttps://ctvisit.com/events/full-corn-or-harvest-moon-cruise \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/full-harvest-moon-cruise-puts-new-londons-waterfront-under-the-september-moon/2026-09-26/
LOCATION:New London Waterfront Park\, 1 Waterfront Park\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:New London Waterfront Park
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T130000
DTSTAMP:20260917T165240Z
CREATED:20260917T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T165240Z
UID:10007929-1790424000-1790427600@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/2026-09-26/
LOCATION:Pequot Lighthouse\, Pequot Avenue\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Pequot Lighthouse
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T210000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T233000
DTSTAMP:20260924T174041Z
CREATED:20260924T174041Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T174041Z
UID:10008604-1790370000-1790379000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:A Toast to Dolly Brings Drag\, Burlesque and Live Music to 33 Golden Street
DESCRIPTION:A Toast to Dolly Brings Drag\, Burlesque and Live Music to 33 Golden Street Friday\, Sept. 25\, as New London celebrates 80 years of Dolly Parton with a late-night tribute built around the music\, style and outsized personality of the Queen of Appalachia. \nThe 21+ show begins at 9 p.m. at 33 Golden Street and combines live music\, drag and burlesque\, with the performers putting their own spin on the enormous songbook and cultural legacy Parton left behind. \nThere’s no traditional ticket price attached to the celebration. \nInstead\, organizers will collect donations for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library\, turning a night of rhinestones\, music and performance into a fundraiser for the children’s literacy program Parton considered among the most important accomplishments of her life. \nEight Decades of Dolly\nParton would have turned 80 in January 2026\, making this year’s celebrations different even before her death in August. \nShe left behind a career that stretched far beyond country music. \nParton wrote thousands of songs\, crossed repeatedly into pop\, starred in movies\, built Dollywood into one of Tennessee’s major attractions and created a public persona recognizable from Nashville to places where country radio barely registers. \nThe songs alone give Friday’s performers plenty to work with. \nJolene transformed a moment of romantic insecurity into one of country music’s most recognizable recordings. Coat of Many Colors turned childhood poverty into a song about dignity. I Will Always Love You became a landmark recording twice\, first through Parton’s own version and later through Whitney Houston’s global hit. \nThen there’s 9 to 5. \nThe song and film gave Parton a crossover pop anthem about working women while introducing her as a movie star alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. \nThere’s an especially appropriate bit of timing here: Sept. 25 has become a day devoted to Parton’s legacy in 2026\, including the newly announced Give Like Dolly Day supporting the Imagination Library. \nIn Nashville\, Sept. 25 is also being formally recognized as Dolly Day\, with the date chosen as a play on 9 to 5. \nNew London’s celebration arrives on exactly the right night. \nDolly and Drag Have Always Made Sense Together\nParton spent decades embracing exaggeration rather than running from it. \nThe enormous blonde hair. Rhinestones. Heels. Elaborate makeup. Sequins. Curves. Country glamour pushed far enough that Parton was usually in on the joke before anyone else could make it. \nThat made her a natural figure for drag. \nBut imitation is only part of the connection. \nParton’s public image mixed femininity\, humor\, sexuality and self-awareness in ways that allowed her to be glamorous without pretending the glamour was effortless. She famously joked about the amount of work and money required to look the way she did. \nBurlesque and drag performers work in much the same territory\, taking costume\, movement\, makeup and character and deliberately turning the volume up. \nFriday’s show expands that idea beyond impersonation. The poster promises drag and burlesque alongside live music\, leaving room for performers to interpret Dolly rather than simply reproduce her. \nThe Fundraiser Goes Back to Dolly’s Father\nThe beneficiary gives the night considerably more meaning. \nParton created the Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county in East Tennessee. Its inspiration was intensely personal: her father\, Lee Parton\, couldn’t read or write. \nThe idea was to make books part of children’s lives before they even reached school. \nChildren enrolled in the program receive an age-appropriate book in the mail every month from birth until age five\, regardless of family income. What began locally eventually expanded across the United States and into Canada\, the United Kingdom\, Australia and the Republic of Ireland. \nBy June 2026\, the program had distributed more than 325 million books and was mailing more than 3.5 million books every month. \nThat makes the donation jar at 33 Golden more than a symbolic nod to Parton. \nIt’s supporting the project she spent three decades building. \nExactly the Kind of Show 33 Golden Was Made For\nThere’s also something particularly New London about where this tribute is happening. \n33 Golden Street isn’t a polished theater or country-music venue. It’s a compact downtown bar and music room with deep roots in New London’s alternative scene. \nOver the years\, its stage has hosted punk\, metal\, indie and experimental bands\, local musicians\, touring acts and DJs. It’s the kind of room where the audience is close enough that the boundary between performer and crowd can become fairly theoretical. \nA Dolly Parton tribute featuring drag\, burlesque and live music fits that environment better than a conventional tribute concert might. \nThe source material may come from Nashville. \nThe interpretation belongs to New London. \nAnd instead of ending the evening with Dolly simply as an image onstage\, the organizers are attaching the celebration to something she spent much of her life trying to accomplish. \nGet more books into the hands of kids. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: A Toast to Dolly\nDate: Friday\, Sept. 25\, 2026\nShow Time: 9 p.m.\nVenue: 33 Golden Street\nAddress: 33 Golden St.\, New London\, CT 06320\nAge: 21+\nEntertainment: Live music\, drag and burlesque\nTheme: Celebrating 80 years of Dolly Parton\nAdmission: No conventional ticket price is listed\nFundraiser: Donations will be collected for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library\nVenue Type: Bar and live-music venue \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/a-toast-to-dolly-brings-drag-burlesque-and-live-music-to-33-golden-street/
LOCATION:33 Golden Street\, 33 Golden St\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:33 Golden Street
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T220000
DTSTAMP:20260924T195227Z
CREATED:20260924T195227Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T195227Z
UID:10008609-1790366400-1790373600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:The Subliminals Bring “Party Jazz” Underground at Tox Brewing
DESCRIPTION:The Subliminals Bring “Party Jazz” Underground at Tox Brewing Friday night\, when the New London instrumental collective takes over The Apothecary for an evening built around jazz\, funk\, and groove rather than the usual brewery soundtrack. \nThe show begins at 8 p.m. Sept. 25 in Tox Brewing Company’s downstairs performance space at 123 Bank Street. \nThe Subliminals have been part of New London’s music ecosystem for years\, but they’re difficult to squeeze into a conventional jazz-band description. Their own shorthand gets closer: music influenced by Herbie Hancock\, Miles Davis\, Roy Hargrove and John Scofield\, played with an emphasis on rhythm and groove. \nElsewhere\, the sound has earned an even simpler description: “party jazz.” \nA Jazz Band Built to Change Shape\nAt the center of The Subliminals are drummer Mike Winslow and guitarist Tom Perrone\, who conceived the project as something closer to a musical collective than a band with an unchanging lineup. \nThat’s important to understanding what happens onstage. \nDepending on the night\, The Subliminals can operate as a compact trio or expand into an ensemble of as many as nine musicians. The lineup shifts\, but the idea remains the same: use jazz as a starting point and build something atmospheric\, rhythmic and accessible around it. \nRather than treating the music like a recital\, the group leans into the parts of modern jazz that make people move. \nHancock is an obvious reference point. His 1970s work helped push jazz decisively toward funk\, electric keyboards and deep rhythmic grooves. Miles Davis was simultaneously tearing apart traditional boundaries between jazz\, rock and electric music\, while later musicians such as Roy Hargrove and John Scofield continued finding ways to move between jazz improvisation\, funk\, soul and groove. \nThat’s the musical neighborhood The Subliminals inhabit. \nIt also means listeners don’t need to be serious jazz aficionados to understand what the band is doing. \nA Band Rooted in New London’s Music Scene\nWinslow’s history helps explain why. \nHe’s moved through several very different corners of southeastern Connecticut’s music community\, performing with groups including Fatal Film\, The Hempsteadys\, Surgery Sessions and 20th Century Kids\, along with earlier work in the funk and groove-rock band Incognito Sofa Love. \nThe Subliminals gave him and Perrone another outlet: a band that could bring together musicians from that broader community and change according to the room\, the players and the night. \nThat makes Friday’s performance particularly well matched to its setting. \nDownstairs at The Apothecary\nTox Brewing itself has undergone a transformation. \nThe brewer moved from its original Broad Street home into a much larger downtown location at 123 Bank Street\, building a brewery\, taproom\, coffee operation and event space around the company’s distinctive science-inspired identity. \nThe name isn’t simply branding. \nTox traces its identity to an interest in toxicology and describes its brewing philosophy as combining the curiosity of scientists with the creativity of artists. Beer becomes an experiment\, customers become collaborators and even the visual language surrounding the brewery draws from poisons\, antidotes\, plants and chemistry. \nThen there’s The Apothecary. \nLocated downstairs from the main taproom\, the space gives Tox a separate room for music and special events\, creating something closer to an intimate underground club than a band performing alongside the regular brewery crowd. \nThat’s where The Subliminals will set up Friday night. \nThere is one accessibility consideration worth knowing beforehand: The Apothecary is downstairs and is accessible only by stairs; there is no elevator to the lower level. \nOne Band\, Two Nights\nFriday won’t be The Subliminals’ only southeastern Connecticut appearance this weekend. \nThe band is also scheduled to play Daniel Packer Inne in Mystic Saturday night\, giving listeners two opportunities to catch the group’s groove-heavy approach to jazz in two very different rooms. \nBut there’s something particularly fitting about Friday’s combination. \nA musical collective built around experimentation playing underneath a brewery that describes every beer as an experiment feels less like a random booking and more like two New London ideas meeting in the same basement. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: The Subliminals at The Apothecary\nDate: Friday\, Sept. 25\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: The Apothecary at Tox Brewing Company\nAddress: 123 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nMusic: Instrumental jazz\, funk and groove\nAccessibility: The Apothecary is located downstairs and does not have elevator access\nPhone: 860-440-8127 \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/the-subliminals-bring-party-jazz-underground-at-tox-brewing/
LOCATION:Tox Brewing Company\, 123 Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Tox Brewing Company
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T220000
DTSTAMP:20260924T180015Z
CREATED:20260924T180015Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T180015Z
UID:10008605-1790364600-1790373600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Nick Di Maria Brings Connecticut Jazz to New London’s Newest Music Room
DESCRIPTION:Nick Di Maria Brings Connecticut Jazz to New London’s Newest Music Room Friday\, Sept. 25\, when the New Haven trumpeter\, composer and bandleader takes the stage at The Marquee on State Street for a 7:30 p.m. performance. \nDi Maria arrives with bassist Jason Santini and drummer John Soni\, giving the night the compact instrumentation of a trumpet-led trio. For a musician whose career has moved between straight-ahead jazz\, funk\, fusion and more experimental territory\, that stripped-down lineup leaves plenty of room for improvisation. \nIt also puts one of Connecticut’s established jazz musicians inside a venue that is barely two months old. \nFrom Straight-Ahead Jazz to Funk and Fusion\nDi Maria has been leading his own groups on the Connecticut jazz circuit since 2006. \nA graduate of Western Connecticut State University’s jazz performance program\, he studied with acclaimed trumpeter Eddie Henderson and has worked with musicians including Abraham Burton\, Brian Charette\, Peter Bernstein and Mike Clark. \nBut Di Maria’s musical history doesn’t stay neatly inside jazz. \nHe spent part of his early career playing in Connecticut’s ska and punk scene with The Flaming Tsunamis before developing his own jazz projects. Over the years\, his original music has incorporated post-bop\, electronic jazz\, funk\, groove music and fusion. \nThat range is particularly apparent in SkyLab\, Di Maria’s jazz-funk-fusion project. \nIts 2025 album\, SKYLAB\, was recorded at New Haven’s Firehouse 12 and moves through electric keyboards\, horns\, bass and drums with an emphasis on groove and improvisation. Di Maria wrote and arranged the album’s music\, with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt producing several tracks. \nIt’s music that can reward close listening without treating jazz like something that has to be studied before it can be enjoyed. \nMore Than a Performer\nDi Maria has also spent years working on the other side of Connecticut jazz: creating places for musicians to actually play it. \nHe founded and directs the New Haven Jazz Underground\, a grassroots organization devoted to producing and preserving jazz in Connecticut. \nThat matters in a genre where the ecosystem depends heavily on small rooms. \nMajor jazz festivals and concert halls may attract the attention\, but working musicians develop bands\, test material and build audiences in clubs\, bars\, restaurants and listening rooms. \nWhich makes Friday’s location particularly interesting. \nThe Marquee Is Brand New\nThe Marquee on State Street opened in July 2026 at 312 State Street\, in the former DEVS/Nico’s space in downtown New London. \nThe concept combines a jazz bar with the visual atmosphere of classic cinema. \nThe intimate room has seating for roughly 45 people\, a performance stage\, classic-movie memorabilia\, cocktails and small plates. The venue describes the atmosphere as bringing together the glamour of old movies and live jazz. \nThat adds another music room to a downtown already unusually rich in performance spaces. \nThe Garde Arts Center is just down State Street. The Oasis Room operates inside the Garde complex. Hygienic Art has its outdoor and indoor performance spaces nearby\, while clubs and bars around downtown regularly book local and regional musicians. \nThe Marquee fills a somewhat different niche: a small room deliberately built around sitting down with a drink and listening to musicians play. \nFor jazz\, that’s a useful thing to have. \nA Trio Leaves Nowhere to Hide\nFriday’s lineup should also make for a different Di Maria performance than one of his larger ensembles. \nWith trumpet\, bass and drums\, there isn’t a dense arrangement surrounding the soloist. \nSpace becomes part of the music. \nThe bass can move from accompaniment into melody. The drums can shift the direction of a piece without waiting for an arrangement to tell them where to go. And the trumpet has enormous freedom to move over both. \nIt’s one of the things that can make a small jazz group fascinating even when the audience doesn’t know the composition. \nYou don’t have to know what is supposed to happen next. \nOften\, neither do the musicians. \nThat’s the point. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Nick Di Maria at The Marquee on State Street\nDate: Friday\, Sept. 25\, 2026\nTime: 7:30 p.m.\nVenue: The Marquee on State Street\nAddress: 312 State St.\, New London\, CT\nPerformers: Nick Di Maria\, trumpet; Jason Santini\, bass; John Soni\, drums\nMusic: Jazz and improvisational music\nVenue: Intimate jazz bar and performance room with cocktails and small plates \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/nick-di-maria-brings-connecticut-jazz-to-new-londons-newest-music-room/
LOCATION:The Marquee on State Street\, 312 State Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:The Marquee on State Street
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T190000
DTSTAMP:20260922T020953Z
CREATED:20260922T020953Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260922T020953Z
UID:10008489-1790357400-1790362800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Full Harvest Moon Cruise Puts New London’s Waterfront Under the September Moon
DESCRIPTION:Full Harvest Moon Cruise Puts New London’s Waterfront Under the September Moon Sept. 25 and 26\, taking passengers onto the Thames River just as daylight begins fading and one of early autumn’s most recognizable full moons rises over southeastern Connecticut. \nThe one-hour cruise departs New London City Pier at 5:45 p.m.\, timed for that transition when the waterfront begins losing its daylight colors and reflections become more prominent across the river. \nThere is no formal dinner\, no complicated itinerary and no lengthy historical program attached to this one. Guests can pack their own drinks and snacks\, board one of Thames River Heritage Park’s boats and spend an hour on the water. \nThe moon provides the main attraction. \nWhy It’s Called the Harvest Moon\n“Harvest Moon” doesn’t identify one particular month’s full moon. \nInstead\, it is the name traditionally given to the full moon occurring closest to the autumnal equinox. Depending on the year\, that can make it either September’s or October’s full moon. \nThe name has a practical origin. \nAround the autumn equinox\, successive moonrises occur unusually close together in time. Before tractors carried powerful headlights into agricultural fields\, the bright moon rising shortly after sunset provided farmers with additional natural light during one of the busiest periods of the agricultural year. \nThat connection between moonlight and the harvest eventually gave the moon its familiar name. \nThe September full moon is also traditionally called the Corn Moon\, reflecting the time of year when corn and other crops reached harvest. \nThames River Heritage Park combines both names for its September cruise. \nThe Thames Looks Different From the Water\nThe route also puts passengers in the middle of one of Connecticut’s most historically dense waterways. \nNew London and Groton rise on opposite sides of the Thames\, a river corridor shaped by centuries of maritime trade\, military activity and shipbuilding. \nFrom the water\, the landscape includes working waterfronts and naval infrastructure alongside historic sites such as Fort Trumbull and Fort Griswold\, with the river opening toward Long Island Sound. \nThe cruise is operated by Thames River Heritage Park\, an organization that treats the river itself as the connecting corridor between historic and cultural sites on both shores. \nAnd the boats have some history of their own. \nThe Heritage Park uses refurbished former U.S. Navy utility boats that once transported sailors between ships and shore. Their second career now involves carrying visitors through the same river that remains closely associated with the Navy and the region’s submarine industry. \nBring Your Own Drinks and Snacks\nThis is also one of the more informal specialty cruises on the Thames. \nGuests are invited to bring a cooler with their favorite beverages and snacks\, making it possible to turn the hour into a floating picnic. \nAll ages are welcome. \nTickets are $50 for adults 18 and older\, $35 for children ages 4–17 and free for children 3 and younger. \nThe cruise leaves from City Pier at New London Waterfront Park and runs from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. \nThere are departures on both Friday\, Sept. 25 and Saturday\, Sept. 26. \nAn Autumn Cruise With One Uncontrollable Guest\nOf course\, putting the moon at the center of an event comes with one obvious complication. \nThe sky has to cooperate. \nCloud cover can determine whether the moon dominates the evening or remains hidden\, while wind and other marine conditions can affect whether the boat sails at all. \nThames River Heritage Park notes that its evening cruises are weather dependent and advises ticket holders to check its website and social media for the latest schedule information. \nBut even before the moon takes over\, the departure time provides another reason to be on the river. \nAt 5:45 on a late-September evening\, the cruise catches the Thames during the transition toward sunset\, turning what is normally a familiar New London and Groton waterfront into an hour framed by fading daylight\, autumn air and the approaching night. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Full “Corn or Harvest” Moon Cruise\nDates: Friday\, Sept. 25 and Saturday\, Sept. 26\, 2026\nTime: 5:45–6:45 p.m.\nDeparture: New London City Pier / Waterfront Park\nAddress: 1 Waterfront Park\, New London\, CT 06320\nOperator: Thames River Heritage Park\nAdult Admission (18+): $50\nChildren (4–17): $35\nChildren 3 and Younger: Free\nAge: All ages welcome\nFood & Drinks: Guests may bring a cooler with beverages and snacks\nLength: Approximately one hour\nWeather: Evening cruises are weather dependent; check for schedule updates before departure\nQuestions: 860-333-6706 \nExcerpt: \nMeta Description: \nReference Links\nhttps://business.mysticchamber.org/event-calendar/Details/full-corn-or-harvest-moon-cruise-1913594?sourceTypeId=Website \nhttps://business.mysticchamber.org/ap/Events/Register/wZFlBmGIeCxCw \nhttps://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/ \nhttps://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/repeating-harbor-cruises-historic-boat-tours-wrap-up-for-season/ \nhttps://ctvisit.com/events/full-corn-or-harvest-moon-cruise \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/full-harvest-moon-cruise-puts-new-londons-waterfront-under-the-september-moon/2026-09-25/
LOCATION:New London Waterfront Park\, 1 Waterfront Park\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:New London Waterfront Park
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260924T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260924T213000
DTSTAMP:20260923T003832Z
CREATED:20260923T003623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260923T003832Z
UID:10008495-1790272800-1790285400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:$25 Girl Dinner Turns Thursday Night Into a Three-Course Deal at Favorites Bistro Bar
DESCRIPTION:$25 Girl Dinner Turns Thursday Night Into a Three-Course Deal at Favorites Bistro Bar Sept. 24\, offering a choice of appetizer\, entrée\, and cocktail for roughly the price of a single dinner entrée at many restaurants. \nAnd despite the name\, this isn’t a women-only event. \nFavorites describes its weekly Girl Dinner as a night for girlfriends\, couples\, families or anyone simply looking for dinner out. The event is open to the public\, casual\, and requires no special admission beyond the $25 dinner. \nThe real attraction is what that $25 buys. \nGuests choose one of five appetizers\, one of three entrées\, and one drink\, including wine\, a mimosa\, or the evening’s featured house cocktail. \nFirst\, Pick an Appetizer\nThe opening course has considerably more choice than a typical prix fixe promotion. \nGuests can choose a house garden salad with fresh greens\, tomatoes\, cucumbers\, and house dressing; steamed mussels simmered in a rich garlic tomato sauce; pan-seared dumplings filled with shrimp or jerk pork and served with a house dipping sauce; crispy wings tossed in a signature sauce; or loaded fries topped with crispy fries\, bacon and Parmesan cheese. \nThen comes the entrée. \nThe Signature Rasta Pasta combines a creamy\, spicy sauce with onions and bell peppers\, a dish that fits particularly well with Favorites’ Caribbean identity. \nThere’s also Honey Mustard Salmon\, with pan-seared glazed salmon served over garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables\, or a Garden Stir-Fry Veggies option built around fresh vegetables and greens. \nThen There’s the Cocktail\nThe $25 package also includes one drink. \nGuests choose between the featured house cocktail\, a glass of red\, white or rosé wine\, or a mimosa. \nThat makes the pricing stand out when compared with Favorites’ regular dinner menu. \nThe restaurant currently lists its Rasta Pasta at $18 and salmon at $27 before adding an appetizer or drink. Regular appetizers include $12 honey jerk wings and $15 mussels\, while cocktails and wine are normally purchased separately. \nGirl Dinner essentially bundles the whole evening into a single price. \nFavorites Is More Haitian Than the Word “Bistro” Suggests\nThe restaurant itself is worth knowing because the name doesn’t reveal much about what’s happening in the kitchen. \nFavorites Bistro Bar is a Black-owned restaurant run by Majan and Ederjson Pierre\, and its food draws heavily from Haitian and Caribbean cooking. \nMajan Pierre has described what Favorites does as Haitian street food\, bringing flavors and dishes associated with Haiti into a contemporary downtown restaurant and cocktail-bar setting. \nThat influence shows up throughout the regular menu. \nThere are oxtail rangoons filled with braised oxtail and ricotta\, jerk chicken\, sweet plantains\, black beans and rice\, honey jerk wings\, Rasta Pasta and dishes seasoned with epis\, the aromatic seasoning base fundamental to Haitian cooking. \nFavorites also uses pikliz\, Haiti’s sharply flavored pickled vegetable condiment\, alongside several dishes. \nThe result isn’t a restaurant attempting to reproduce a traditional Haitian menu from beginning to end. Instead\, Caribbean ingredients and techniques move freely into familiar American restaurant formats. \nAn oxtail becomes the filling for a rangoon. Jerk flavors appear in chicken wings and sandwiches. Caribbean seasoning meets pasta\, burgers\, tacos and brunch dishes. \nThat crossover is part of the restaurant’s identity. \nA Restaurant Entering Its Fourth Year\nFavorites is still relatively young. \nThe restaurant opened on Bank Street in 2023\, and this spring celebrated its third anniversary with something of a second beginning. \nIn April\, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut and Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting marking Favorites’ grand reopening and expansion into lunch service. \nThe restaurant had evolved beyond its original dinner operation\, adding daytime hours and updating its menu while retaining the Caribbean flavors around which it was built. \nToday\, lunch brings dishes such as jerk pork sliders\, orange chicken tacos\, short rib melts\, chicken and waffles and Rasta Pasta. \nDinner moves toward larger plates\, including oxtail with rice\, black beans and sweet plantains; jerk chicken; braised short ribs; steak frites; salmon; and tomato shrimp pasta. \nSunday has developed an identity of its own with brunch\, including chicken and waffles and crème brûlée French toast. \n“Girl Dinner” Has Changed Quite a Bit\nThere’s also a little cultural joke hiding behind the name of Thursday’s promotion. \n“Girl dinner” exploded as a social-media phrase in 2023\, originally describing the kind of improvised meal someone might assemble when cooking an actual dinner felt unnecessary: cheese\, crackers\, fruit\, bread\, leftovers or whatever else happened to be available. \nIt was less a recipe than permission to call a collection of snacks dinner. \nRestaurants eventually began borrowing the phrase for specials aimed at turning the idea into a night out. \nFavorites has taken that transformation nearly to its logical extreme. \nThere aren’t any crackers standing in for dinner here. \nFor $25\, the restaurant’s version involves an appetizer\, a plated entrée and a cocktail. \nAnd although the name survived the transition\, Favorites makes a point of saying everyone is invited. \nThursday Night on Bank Street\nGirl Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at Favorites Bistro Bar at 90 Bank Street in downtown New London. \nThe promotion isn’t limited to Sept. 24. Favorites has scheduled it as a recurring Thursday event into the fall\, making this week’s dinner part of an ongoing series rather than a one-night special. \nThe restaurant describes the atmosphere as relaxed and encourages people to come with friends\, partners or family\, or simply come on their own. \nThat may ultimately be the smartest part of the promotion. \nAt a time when dinner and a cocktail can quickly turn into a considerably more expensive night out\, Favorites has made the offer remarkably easy to understand: \nPick an appetizer. \nPick an entrée. \nPick a drink. \nPay $25. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Girl Dinner on Thursdays\nDate: Thursday\, Sept. 24\, 2026\nStarts: 6 p.m.\nLocation: Favorites Bistro Bar\nAddress: 90 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nPrice: $25\nIncludes: One appetizer\, one entrée and one craft cocktail\, glass of wine or mimosa\nAppetizer Choices: House Garden Salad\, Steamed Mussels\, Pan-Seared Dumplings\, Crispy Wings or Loaded Fries\nEntrée Choices: Signature Rasta Pasta\, Honey Mustard Salmon or Garden Stir-Fry Veggies\nDrink Choices: Featured house cocktail\, glass of red/white/rosé wine or mimosa\nWho Can Attend: Open to the public; despite the “Girl Dinner” name\, everyone is welcome\nDress: Casual\nReservations: The event listing says guests may simply show up.\nPhone: 860-446-6188 \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/25-girl-dinner-turns-thursday-night-into-a-three-course-deal-at-favorites-bistro-bar/2026-09-24/
LOCATION:Favorites Bistro Bar\, 90 B Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Favorites Bistro Bar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/25-Dollar-Girl-Dinner-Turns-Thursday-Night-Into-a-Three-Course-Deal-at-Favorites-Bistro-Bar.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260923T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260923T220000
DTSTAMP:20260906T033008Z
CREATED:20260906T033008Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T033008Z
UID:10007482-1790193600-1790200800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Bad Movie Night at The Oasis Pub: September 2026 Lineup
DESCRIPTION:Bad Movie Night at The Oasis Pub every Wednesday in September with five gloriously questionable pieces of cinema ranging from bargain-basement purgatory and sorority vampires to killer bees and a teenage Paul Walker trapped inside a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. \nThe weekly cult-film night begins at 8 p.m. every Wednesday at the downtown New London pub. Admission is free\, with donations accepted toward keeping the screenings going. \nThe Oasis has made Bad Movie Night a regular part of its Wednesday schedule\, fitting alongside the live music\, games and offbeat programming that have helped make the small Bank Street bar a gathering place for more than two decades. \nSeptember’s selections lean heavily into the strange end of horror\, science fiction and action cinema. \nSeptember Bad Movie Night Schedule\n\nWednesday\, September 2 at 8 p.m. — Despiser (2003)\nArtist Gordon Hauge is fired\, dumped by his wife and then killed in a car crash\, only to discover that death has somehow made his situation even worse. He lands in Purgatory\, where monstrous Shadowmen and Ragmen serve a mysterious evil known as the Despiser. Gordon joins a ragtag collection of dead freedom fighters from different periods of history and sets out across a surreal afterlife to confront its ruler. Written and directed by Philip J. Cook\, Despiser mixes horror\, fantasy\, science fiction\, digital effects and an impressively strange vision of the afterlife.\nWednesday\, September 9 at 8 p.m. — Fit to Kill (1993)\nDirector Andy Sidaris delivers an action movie built around international intrigue\, assassins and a stolen Russian imperial diamond. Chinese businessman Chang plans to return the Alexa Diamond\, taken from Russia during World War II\, but international arms dealer Kane has other plans. L.E.T.H.A.L. agents Donna and Nicole are pulled into the fight to recover it\, leading to gun battles\, explosions\, seduction and even lethal remote-controlled helicopters. The movie stars Dona Speir\, Roberta Vasquez\, Bruce Penhall and Julie Strain.\nWednesday\, September 16 at 8 p.m. — Vampire Time Travelers (1998)\nFour college women trying to pledge a decidedly unusual sorority find themselves fighting vampires and other supernatural creatures instead. Director Les Sekely’s 65-minute horror comedy throws its characters into a deliberately chaotic mixture of bloodsuckers\, bizarre humor\, unexplained jumps through time and increasingly absurd situations. The obscure shot-on-video movie received renewed attention in 2026 with a collector’s edition release after years of obscurity.\nWednesday\, September 23 at 8 p.m. — Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)\nYes\, the premise really is what it sounds like. A mad scientist takes the brain of high-school student Michael\, played by a young Paul Walker\, and implants it inside a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. The newly conscious T-Rex escapes\, takes revenge on Michael’s tormentors and tries to reunite with his girlfriend Tammy\, played by Denise Richards. Directed by Stewart Raffill\, the science-fiction horror comedy has become a cult favorite thanks to a premise so bizarre that explaining it almost spoils the fun.\nWednesday\, September 30 at 8 p.m. — The Bees (1978)\nSouth American killer bees are illegally brought into the United States\, where the situation becomes considerably worse when the insects mutate into an increasingly intelligent threat. As enormous swarms begin attacking cities\, scientists race to stop a disaster capable of spreading across the world. The 83-minute disaster-horror movie arrived during the 1970s cycle of nature-run-amok films and stars John Saxon\, Angel Tompkins and John Carradine.\n\nFive Wednesdays of Movies That Went Wrong in Just the Right Way\nThere is a pretty good mission statement hidden inside that lineup. \nBad Movie Night isn’t programming five merely unsuccessful movies. September jumps between movies that are interesting because of their excesses\, strange decisions\, improbable premises or sheer audacity. \nDespiser tries to construct an entire digital purgatory on an independent-film budget. Fit to Kill delivers the particular combination of espionage\, action and exploitation that became director Andy Sidaris’ signature. Vampire Time Travelers embraces the chaotic world of late-’90s shot-on-video horror. \nAnd then there is Tammy and the T-Rex\, a movie in which Paul Walker’s brain is transplanted into a mechanical dinosaur. \nBy the time intelligent killer bees arrive on the final Wednesday of September\, they almost seem reasonable. \nBad Movie Night at The Oasis\nThe Oasis Pub has been part of downtown New London’s nightlife for more than two decades\, operating from 16 Bank Street with a focus on craft beer\, live music and unconventional events. \nBad Movie Night is one of its regular weekly fixtures\, taking place every Wednesday at 8 p.m. \nThat communal setting is an important part of the concept. These aren’t necessarily movies demanding reverent silence in a dark theater. They’re movies made considerably more entertaining by experiencing the weirdness with a room full of other people. \nSeptember provides five chances to do exactly that. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Bad Movie Night: September Lineup\nDates: Wednesdays\, September 2\, 9\, 16\, 23 and 30\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m. each Wednesday\nVenue: The Oasis Pub\nAddress: 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nAdmission: Free; donations accepted\nSeptember 2: Despiser\nSeptember 9: Fit to Kill\nSeptember 16: Vampire Time Travelers\nSeptember 23: Tammy and the T-Rex\nSeptember 30: The Bees \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 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/bad-movie-night-at-the-oasis-pub-september-2026-lineup/2026-09-23/
LOCATION:Oasis Pub\, 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Oasis Pub
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Bad-Movie-Night-at-The-Oasis-Pub-September-2026-Lineup.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T130000
DTSTAMP:20260917T165240Z
CREATED:20260917T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T165240Z
UID:10007928-1789905600-1789909200@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/2026-09-20/
LOCATION:Pequot Lighthouse\, Pequot Avenue\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Pequot Lighthouse
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Pequot-Lighthouse-New-London.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260920T150000
DTSTAMP:20260915T211951Z
CREATED:20260915T211951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T211951Z
UID:10007609-1789898400-1789916400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brunch Sundays Brings Southern Comfort Food With a Haitian Island Twist to New London
DESCRIPTION:Brunch Sundays – Southern Dishes With an Island Twist turns Sunday into a five-hour affair at Favorites Bistro Bar in downtown New London\, pairing brunch standards like chicken and waffles\, French toast\, and grits with the Haitian and Caribbean flavors that have become the restaurant’s calling card. \nThe weekly brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday at Favorites\, located at 90 Bank Street. \nAnd while plenty of restaurants serve brunch\, Favorites has a fairly compelling reason for adding the words “island twist.” \nOwner Majan Pierre grew up with Haitian cooking\, and the restaurant she and her husband Ederjson “EJ” Pierre created uses those flavors as a jumping-off point rather than treating them as rigid boundaries. \nThe result can put oxtail beside grits\, Haitian seasonings into familiar American comfort foods\, and a caramelized crème brûlée treatment onto French toast. \nIt’s brunch\, but not necessarily the brunch you already know. \nChicken and Waffles Gets the Favorites Treatment\nThe restaurant’s current Brunch Sundays promotion puts three dishes front and center: chicken and waffles\, oxtail and grits\, and crème brûlée French toast. \nChicken and waffles already lives comfortably at the intersection of sweet and savory. \nFavorites pushes further into that territory. \nThe restaurant’s broader approach incorporates the seasonings\, sauces and ingredients of Haitian and Caribbean cooking into recognizable American dishes rather than separating the menu into “traditional” and “island” sections. \nThat philosophy has helped chicken and waffles become one of the dishes frequently associated with Favorites since the restaurant began developing its brunch service. \nBut the oxtail and grits may be an even better example of what the restaurant is trying to do. \nOxtail and Grits Connects Two Comfort-Food Traditions\nOxtail has a long history in Caribbean cooking\, including Haitian cuisine\, where slow cooking turns a notoriously tough cut into something rich and deeply flavored. \nGrits come from a different culinary tradition but perform much the same job on the plate: warm\, uncomplicated comfort food capable of carrying an intensely flavored braise. \nPut them together and the combination makes immediate sense. \nFavorites has used oxtail elsewhere on its menu in inventive ways\, including oxtail rangoons. \nThat willingness to move ingredients between culinary traditions is central to the restaurant’s identity. \nPierre has described Favorites as Haitian street food\, but she’s also made clear that she doesn’t want the menu confined by that description. \nThe restaurant has served familiar dishes such as Caesar salad and pasta alongside Haitian staples and Caribbean-influenced creations. \nWhat connects them is often what happens in the kitchen. \nHaitian Flavor Is Built Into the Food\nOne of the building blocks is épis. \nThe Haitian seasoning base varies from kitchen to kitchen but generally combines fresh herbs\, peppers\, aromatics and spices into a concentrated mixture used to season meats\, seafood and other dishes. \nAt Favorites\, épis has been incorporated into dishes such as braised short ribs. \nThen there’s pikliz\, the sharp Haitian pickled vegetable condiment that can bring acidity\, crunch and heat to rich food. \nFavorites uses versions of it throughout its cooking. \nPierre told Connecticut food writer James Gribbon that the goal isn’t necessarily to make everything overwhelmingly hot. \nThe seasoning goes into the food from the beginning. \nThat’s a meaningful distinction. \nAdding a hot sauce to an otherwise conventional brunch dish creates heat. \nBuilding a dish around a different seasoning tradition changes its underlying flavor. \nFavorites is aiming for the second approach. \nThen There’s the Crème Brûlée French Toast\nIf oxtail and grits represents the savory side of the menu\, crème brûlée French toast heads in the opposite direction. \nThe basic idea borrows from the contrast that makes crème brûlée work: a rich\, soft interior against a caramelized exterior. \nApplied to French toast\, it turns one of brunch’s most familiar dishes into something closer to dessert. \nFavorites has served French toast in several forms\, and the dish has become one of the restaurant’s recognizable brunch offerings. \nIt’s also a good example of why “Southern dishes with an island twist” doesn’t tell the entire story. \nThere are Caribbean influences here\, certainly. \nBut there are also French influences\, Southern American comfort food and contemporary brunch culture colliding on the same menu. \nIn Haitian cooking\, that kind of overlap isn’t particularly strange. \nHaitian Cuisine Was Already a Fusion Cuisine\nHaiti’s food traditions developed from an unusually complicated history. \nWest African culinary traditions mixed with Indigenous Caribbean ingredients and techniques and European\, particularly French\, influences. \nThat history can still be seen in the language and food. \nFrench-derived culinary terms coexist with ingredients and cooking methods rooted elsewhere. \nSo a New London restaurant moving comfortably among Haitian food\, Southern comfort dishes and French-inspired brunch isn’t necessarily abandoning one tradition for another. \nIt’s continuing the mixing that created the cuisine in the first place. \nPierre has described Haitian food as difficult to reduce to a single definition because of those influences and because recipes can vary considerably between communities and households. \nHer own reference point is especially personal. \nBefore opening Favorites\, Pierre had never worked in a restaurant. \nShe learned food at home. \nMajan Pierre Went From Home Cooking to Restaurant Owner\nFavorites Bistro Bar opened in 2023\, making Pierre’s route into the restaurant business an unusual one. \nShe wasn’t a chef leaving someone else’s kitchen. \nShe wasn’t a longtime restaurant manager finally opening her own place. \nPierre told Gribbon that Favorites was her first restaurant job of any kind. \nHer culinary background came largely from watching her mother cook and from her own interest in food. \nShe and EJ Pierre nevertheless turned that home-cooking foundation into a downtown restaurant. \nBy April 2026\, Favorites was celebrating its third anniversary and a grand reopening\, along with an expansion of its lunch service. \nThe restaurant also brought Chef Bel into its culinary leadership. \nBrunch has become an increasingly important part of that evolution. \nSundays Have Become Their Own Thing\nFavorites now dedicates 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday to brunch. \nThat’s not merely an hour or two added onto lunch service. \nIt’s the Sunday service. \nThe restaurant’s Brunch Sundays promotion makes that clear\, presenting the meal as a recurring weekly event rather than a one-off special. \nThat gives diners considerably more flexibility than a traditional late-morning brunch. \nCome at 10 and it’s breakfast. \nArrive at noon and you’re firmly in brunch territory. \nShow up at 2 and it can function as a late lunch. \nThe restaurant’s drinks follow the same leisurely approach to Sunday\, with brunch cocktails among the offerings. \nFavorites Has One of Downtown’s More Interesting Locations\nThe restaurant occupies space in the historic granite Roberts Building along Bank Street. \nIts location puts it in the middle of downtown New London’s restaurant\, arts and waterfront district. \nHygienic Art is nearby\, and the Thames River waterfront is only a short walk away. \nInside\, Favorites is bright during the day\, with large windows bringing natural light into a dining room and bar designed to feel more contemporary than rustic. \nThere’s also outdoor seating with views toward the harbor. \nThat gives Sunday brunch an easy extension into the rest of downtown. \nEat first\, then walk Bank Street\, head toward the waterfront or see what’s happening in the surrounding arts district. \nParking Is Easier on Sunday Than You Might Expect\nFor people who avoid downtown New London because they’re worried about parking\, Sunday has an advantage. \nFavorites lists Bank Street and State Street among the nearby free parking options. \nThe O’Neill-Tilley Municipal Lot and Water Street Garage provide additional paid parking nearby. \nAs always downtown\, availability depends on what else is happening that day. \nBut Favorites sits in a walkable part of New London\, so there’s little reason to circle the restaurant looking for the closest possible space if other downtown parking is available. \nA Sunday Brunch That Actually Tells You Something About the Restaurant\nChicken and waffles is everywhere now. \nFrench toast certainly isn’t difficult to find. \nNeither are eggs\, mimosas or grits. \nSo the interesting question isn’t whether Favorites serves brunch food. \nIt’s what happens when those dishes pass through this particular kitchen. \nA Haitian-American owner who learned from her mother’s cooking opened her first restaurant on Bank Street. \nShe began combining the food she knew with dishes that belonged to other traditions. \nThree years later\, that experiment has developed into a Sunday brunch where oxtail can land on grits and French toast can arrive dressed like crème brûlée. \nThat’s a much better reason to go to brunch than simply because it’s Sunday. \nDetails\nEvent: Brunch Sundays – Southern Dishes With an Island Twist\nDate: Sunday\, September 20\, 2026\nRecurring: Every Sunday\nTime: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.\nLocation: Favorites Bistro Bar\nAddress: 90 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nFeatured Brunch Dishes: Chicken and waffles\, oxtail and grits\, crème brûlée French toast\nCuisine: Southern comfort food with Haitian and Caribbean influences\nOwners: Majan and Ederjson “EJ” Pierre\nPhone: 860-446-6188\nParking: Free parking is available on Bank Street and State Street; paid options include the O’Neill-Tilley Municipal Lot and Water Street Garage\nReservations: Favorites accepts reservations; advance reservations may be useful for Sunday brunch\nAccessibility: Contact the restaurant directly for specific accessibility needs or seating accommodations. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brunch-sundays-brings-southern-comfort-food-with-a-haitian-island-twist-to-new-london/2026-09-20/
LOCATION:Favorites Bistro Bar\, 90 B Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Favorites Bistro Bar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Brunch-Sundays-Brings-Southern-Comfort-Food-With-a-Haitian-Island-Twist-to-New-London.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
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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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T220000
DTSTAMP:20260917T173613Z
CREATED:20260917T173613Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T173613Z
UID:10008450-1789759800-1789768800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters Open Friday Night Folk’s New Season in New London
DESCRIPTION:Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters Open Friday Night Folk’s New Season in New London on Sept. 18\, bringing country\, bluegrass\, folk\, and western swing to All Souls for the first concert of a nine-show season stretching into next spring. \nThe 7:30 p.m. concert pairs Gallatin’s lead vocals with one of the group’s defining sounds: Roger Williams on resophonic guitar. They’ll be joined by Williams’ son\, JD Williams\, on mandolin and vocals\, and veteran bluegrass musician Bob Dick on bass and vocals. \nTogether\, the quartet occupies a musical space somewhere between an old country record and a bluegrass picking session. Traditional country songs get stripped back to acoustic instruments. Bluegrass can soften into a ballad. Folk\, western swing and Americana move in and out of the set without requiring anyone to stop and announce that the genre has changed. \nIt’s music built around voices and strings. \nFor Friday Night Folk\, it’s also the beginning of another season in a New London concert tradition that dates back to 1989. \nFrom Western Ranches to the New England Bluegrass Scene\nGallatin’s road to Connecticut didn’t exactly follow the standard path to becoming a New England folk and bluegrass performer. \nBorn in Muscle Shoals\, Alabama\, she spent years moving around the American West\, including time in Idaho\, Montana\, Oregon and California. Horses and music were both part of the picture. She worked at guest ranches\, helped organize horseback riding programs and performed as an entertainer. \nGallatin later recalled spending about a dozen years working on ranches in the West\, along with stints as a ski bum and bartender. \nMusic was there all along\, but the career began to take a different shape after she encountered Connecticut musicians while spending a winter in New England in 1992. \nThe acoustic music community she discovered here offered something she hadn’t found to the same degree out West: a network of musicians and an established bluegrass scene. \nSo Gallatin packed her guitar into a Ford Econoline van and headed east in 1993. \nConnecticut became home. \nOver the years that followed\, Gallatin recorded 10 albums and toured across the United States as well as Canada\, Mexico\, the United Kingdom and Europe. Stillwaters has made multiple European tours\, and the group has twice represented the United States as featured performers at the European World of Bluegrass convention in the Netherlands. \nHer influences reach well beyond bluegrass. Gallatin points to the cowboy songs she encountered in the West along with country artists including Emmylou Harris\, Merle Haggard\, Loretta Lynn and the Everly Brothers. \nThat helps explain why an Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters show doesn’t fit neatly into one musical drawer. \nThe Sound of a Guitar Built to Be Heard\nThen there’s Roger Williams. \nWilliams plays resophonic guitar\, often called a Dobro\, an instrument that can look vaguely familiar until you hear it. \nInstead of relying solely on a wooden soundboard to amplify the strings like a conventional acoustic guitar\, a resophonic guitar uses a metal resonator. The result is that bright\, ringing\, almost vocal sound closely associated with bluegrass. \nPlayed horizontally with a steel bar\, the instrument can slide between notes rather than simply jumping from one fretted pitch to another. In the right hands\, it can cry behind a country vocal one moment and turn into a fast-moving lead instrument the next. \nWilliams has had plenty of time to figure out what it can do. \nHe began playing Dobro-style resophonic guitar in 1963 while still a teenager. Within roughly a year\, he was performing with the Lilly Brothers and Don Stover at Boston’s Hillbilly Ranch\, an important venue in the development of New England bluegrass. \nHis career since then has connected him with an extensive list of folk and bluegrass musicians\, including Hazel Dickens\, Joe Val\, Mac Wiseman\, Southern Rail\, Mark Schatz\, Wyatt Rice and others. His work has also taken him overseas numerous times. \nEventually\, his musical path crossed Gallatin’s. \nTheir partnership grew around a shared affection for country standards\, but rather than simply reproducing the arrangements of the originals\, they began giving the songs an acoustic bluegrass treatment. \nThat contrast became part of Stillwaters’ identity: Gallatin’s country-rooted lead vocal out front\, with Williams’ resophonic guitar winding around it. \nA Father and Son Share the Stage\nThere’s another relationship inside Friday night’s lineup. \nMandolin player JD Williams grew up with Roger Williams as his father\, which meant music wasn’t exactly something waiting to be discovered outside the house. \nHe learned multiple instruments early\, eventually attending Berklee College of Music and developing a style that draws not only from bluegrass but from jazz and blues. \nJD has since worked as a sideman and session player with musicians and groups around New England and New York\, including Southern Rail\, The Hot Flashes\, The Cadleys and Connecticut songwriter Nathan Day. \nHe has also spent years performing alongside his father. \nThe smaller mandolin occupies a very different sonic space from Roger’s resophonic guitar\, allowing the two Williamses to trade rhythmic and melodic roles while Gallatin handles the lead vocal. \nThe family connection isn’t just a footnote in the band’s biography. Years of playing together can create the sort of musical shorthand that’s difficult to manufacture in rehearsal. One player knows where the other is headed before he quite gets there. \nBob Dick Brings His Own Bluegrass History\nHolding down the bottom end Friday night is Bob Dick\, another musician whose history reaches deep into New England bluegrass. \nDick is a Berklee alumnus and a founding member of the long-running Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band. Earlier in his career he played with several regional groups before joining Front Range in 1991. \nFront Range went on to tour nationally and in Europe\, with Dick recording six albums with the group. \nHis work eventually extended beyond performing. Dick founded Appleland Recording Studios in Northbridge\, Massachusetts\, and became a producer and recording engineer. His credits include Front Range’s One Beautiful Day\, which received the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Gospel Recording of the Year honor in 1995. \nThat means Friday’s quartet isn’t Gallatin surrounded by anonymous backing musicians. \nThere are decades of New England acoustic-music history standing beside her. \nA New London Folk Tradition Since 1989\nThe room has some history\, too. \nFriday Night Folk began at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Congregation in New London in 1989\, bringing traditional and contemporary folk performers to southeastern Connecticut. \nThe names that have passed through the series over the decades amount to a substantial piece of modern folk history. \nJohn Gorka has played there. So have Tom Chapin\, Richard Shindell\, Patty Larkin\, Cheryl Wheeler\, Gordon Bok\, Bill Staines\, Bill Morrissey\, Vance Gilbert\, Utah Phillips\, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Aztec Two-Step\, among many others. \nBut Friday Night Folk was never conceived simply as a concert promoter. \nIts stated mission connects music with social and environmental justice\, and the series has used benefit concerts to support grassroots organizations working in southeastern Connecticut. \nPast beneficiaries have included FRESH New London\, Save the Sound\, the Southeastern Connecticut Community Land Trust\, refugee resettlement organization Start Fresh and other local causes. \nThat relationship between folk music and activism has a long history of its own. American folk traditions have carried labor songs\, civil rights songs\, antiwar music and environmental messages for generations. Friday Night Folk keeps that connection visible rather than treating “folk” simply as an acoustic musical style. \nThe result is something New London doesn’t have many equivalents to: a recurring concert series where nationally and regionally established performers play in an intimate community setting rather than a nightclub or large theater. \nNine Concerts Carry Friday Night Folk Into Spring\nGallatin and Stillwaters aren’t simply playing another date on the Friday Night Folk calendar. They’re opening its 2026-27 season. \nThe series continues Oct. 9 with Crys Matthews\, followed Nov. 13 by the Connecticut Hope Collective for World Kindness Day in a benefit for FRESH New London. \nThe Rivergods arrive Dec. 11\, followed by Geoff Kaufman on Jan. 8. \nA February benefit concert\, Sounds of Justice: From Seeger and Odetta to Today!\, directly taps the relationship between folk music and social movements. March brings Troubadours of Connecticut with Kala Farnham\, Lara Herscovitch and Charlie Widmer. \nWindborne follows April 9\, with Joe Jencks closing the season May 7. \nSeason tickets are available for $125. \nIndividual tickets for Gallatin and Stillwaters are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. \nFor people who can’t make it into Unity Hall\, Friday Night Folk also plans a livestream through the All Souls New London YouTube channel\, with donations encouraged. \nBut inside the room Friday night\, the new season begins the old-fashioned way: four musicians\, a collection of acoustic instruments and songs that have traveled a long way before arriving on Jay Street. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters — Friday Night Folk 2026-27 Season Opener\nDate: Friday\, Sept. 18\, 2026\nTime: 7:30-10 p.m.\nLocation: Friday Night Folk at All Souls UU\, Unity Hall\nAddress: 19 Jay St.\, New London\, CT 06320\nPerformers: Amy Gallatin\, vocals; Roger Williams\, resophonic guitar and vocals; JD Williams\, mandolin and vocals; Bob Dick\, bass and vocals\nMusic: Country\, bluegrass\, folk\, Americana and western swing\nTickets: $20 in advance; $25 at the door\nSeason Tickets: $125 for the 2026-27 Friday Night Folk season\nLivestream: A livestream is scheduled to be available through the All Souls New London YouTube channel on the night of the concert. Donations are encouraged.\nAccessibility: All Souls describes its Jay Street building as fully accessible\, with wheelchair spaces and assistive listening devices available.\nParking: All Souls has an on-site parking lot\, including designated accessible parking. Additional parking is available at the adjacent courthouse lot on Cottage Street.\nRefund Policy: Refunds are available up to 14 days before the event.\n2026-27 Season: Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters\, Sept. 18; Crys Matthews\, Oct. 9; Connecticut Hope Collective for World Kindness Day\, Nov. 13; The Rivergods\, Dec. 11; Geoff Kaufman\, Jan. 8; Sounds of Justice: From Seeger and Odetta to Today!\, Feb. 12; Troubadours of Connecticut\, March 12; Windborne\, April 9; Joe Jencks\, May 7. \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/amy-gallatin-and-stillwaters-open-friday-night-folks-new-season-in-new-london/
LOCATION:All Souls UU\, Unity Hall\, 19 Jay Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:All Souls UU
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Amy-Gallatin-and-Stillwaters-Open-Friday-Night-Folks-New-Season-in-New-London.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T210000
DTSTAMP:20260921T030407Z
CREATED:20260911T222131Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260921T030407Z
UID:10007546-1789754400-1789765200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:54th Brewfest at Ocean Beach Park
DESCRIPTION:54th Brewfest at the Beach returns to the Ocean Beach Park boardwalk Friday\, September 18\, with three hours of beer and beverage sampling\, food and live music from southeastern Connecticut favorite Wicked Peach\, all while raising money for the New London Rotary Foundation. \nThe 21-and-over fundraiser runs from 6 to 9 p.m. overlooking Long Island Sound\, with advance admission priced at $30 plus fees. Each ticket includes 15 sampling tickets\, beer-friendly food and entertainment. \nAnd the entertainment this year is a band that should need very little introduction around New London. \nWicked Peach Takes the Beach\nWicked Peach has been playing rock\, pop-rock and radio favorites around southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island since 1996. \nThree decades is an unusually long run for a regional cover band\, particularly one that continues to maintain a busy performance calendar. \nThe current lineup features Ernie Lewis on lead vocals and guitar\, Dan Watson on lead guitar and vocals\, Corey Carter on guitar\, Stan Smith on bass and Jonathan Souza on drums. \nRather than concentrating on a single decade or artist\, Wicked Peach builds its shows around recognizable rock and pop-rock songs\, the kind of material designed to keep a crowd moving rather than standing around quietly analyzing a beer sample. \nThat makes the band a particularly natural fit for Brewfest. \nThis isn’t intended to be a hushed tasting event. \nIt’s a Friday night party on the Ocean Beach boardwalk. \nFifteen Samples Come With Admission\nThe Brewfest format gives guests a chance to work their way through different beers and other beverages rather than committing to a full serving of each. \nAdmission includes 15 sampling tickets. \nOrganizers describe the selection as encompassing hundreds of beers and other beverages\, although the complete 2026 participating brewery list had not yet been published when this event was researched. \nThat’s worth keeping in mind. \nThe tasting lineup is still developing\, so anyone primarily interested in a particular brewery or beer should check the event page as September 18 approaches rather than assuming a previous year’s participant will return. \nThere will also be beer-friendly food included with admission. \nOne of New London’s Longest-Running Fundraisers\nThe number on this year’s poster is remarkable. \nFifty-four. \nBrewfest at the Beach isn’t a recent craft-beer festival created during the brewery boom of the last couple of decades. It is a longstanding New London Rotary fundraising tradition that predates the modern American craft-beer movement. \nThe New London Rotary Foundation uses proceeds from events like Brewfest to support charitable and community work locally\, regionally and beyond. \nAmong the programs and organizations supported by New London Rotary are the New London Community Meal Center\, Little Free Libraries\, youth programs and Student of the Year recognition for New London schools. \nThe club’s broader community work has included Camp Rotary\, senior programs\, Thanksgiving food assistance\, playground projects and grants to area nonprofits. \nInternationally\, New London Rotary has also supported humanitarian and educational projects involving clean water\, sanitation\, health care\, schools and disaster relief. \nSo those 15 tasting tickets are doing a little more than determining what you want in your next pint. \nRotary Has Left Its Mark Around New London\nThe Rotary Club of New London’s relationship with the city extends beyond fundraising. \nThe organization has participated in projects including the Rotary Centennial Playground at Toby May Park\, the Centennial Pavilion at Ocean Beach Park\, restoration work involving the city’s trolley station visitor center and the nautical-flag welcome sign in New London. \nThat makes Ocean Beach a fitting location for one of the organization’s signature fundraisers. \nThe event raises money for community projects in a place where Rotary has already invested in the community. \nOcean Beach After Summer\nThere’s also something appealing about getting another night out of Ocean Beach after the traditional beach season has ended. \nThe park’s summer rhythm changes dramatically after Labor Day. \nThe crowds thin. \nMost families are back into school schedules. \nThe September sun starts setting noticeably earlier. \nBut the boardwalk is still there\, and Long Island Sound hasn’t gone anywhere. \nBrewfest takes advantage of that shoulder season by turning the boardwalk into an outdoor tasting venue. \nRather than fluorescent lights and a convention-hall floor\, the backdrop is the beach and Sound. \nOrganizers specifically describe the event as taking place under the stars on the Ocean Beach boardwalk. \nProvided\, of course\, that the weather cooperates. \nRain Doesn’t Cancel Brewfest\nThis one is rain or shine. \nIf rain threatens the outdoor event\, Brewfest moves into the Ocean Beach Pavilion at the west end of the boardwalk. \nThat’s an important distinction from outdoor festivals where questionable weather can mean spending Friday repeatedly checking social media for a cancellation announcement. \nThe New London Rotary Foundation already has the backup plan. \nBoardwalk if the weather behaves. \nPavilion if it doesn’t. \nThe Ticket Price Includes More Than the Tastings\nAdvance tickets are listed at $30 before online service fees. \nThe current ticketing system brings the online advance purchase total to $33.76 including fees. \nDay-of-event admission is $35 before fees\, with the ticketing site currently showing a $39.07 total when purchased online. \nBoth include the same basic package: 15 sampling tickets\, food and entertainment. \nTickets are limited\, including the number available at the door. \nFor anyone already planning to attend\, buying in advance saves a few dollars and eliminates the gamble over whether walk-up tickets remain. \nThis Is Strictly 21+\nUnlike most Ocean Beach events\, Brewfest isn’t a family night. \nEveryone entering must be at least 21 years old\, and organizers require a valid state-issued ID at the gate. \nThe rule applies to entry itself\, not simply to alcohol sampling. \nThat’s important for anyone thinking a non-drinking spouse\, designated driver or younger adult could simply accompany the group without participating in the tastings. \nThe published event policy says attendees must be 21 to enter. \nAnd with 15 tasting tickets available\, planning the ride home before the first sample is a considerably better strategy than working it out after the fifteenth. \nWicked Peach Turns the Tasting Into a Party\nThe live music is what should push this year’s Brewfest beyond a simple walk from tasting table to tasting table. \nWicked Peach is built for this kind of crowd. \nThe New London-based band has spent decades playing casinos\, beach bars\, festivals\, clubs and community events throughout the region. Its repertoire favors familiar songs and high-energy rock rather than obscure material that requires an attentive listening room. \nThe band describes itself simply as New England’s ultimate rock cover band\, playing rock\, pop-rock and rock hits. \nFor Brewfest\, that’s probably the right formula. \nSample something you’ve never tried. \nFind some food. \nHead toward the music. \nGo back for another sample. \nRepeat as necessary. \nA Friday Night Fundraiser That Doesn’t Feel Like One\nPlenty of charitable fundraisers ask supporters to dress up\, sit through dinner and listen to speeches. \nBrewfest at the Beach has survived for more than half a century using a different approach. \nPut people on the Ocean Beach boardwalk. \nGive them a wide selection of things to taste. \nFeed them. \nBring in a local rock band. \nThen direct the money raised back into community service. \nThe charitable purpose is serious. \nThe evening doesn’t have to be. \nDetails\nEvent: 54th Brewfest at the Beach\nDate: Friday\, September 18\, 2026\nTime: 6–9 p.m.\nVenue: Ocean Beach Park\nAddress: 98 Neptune Avenue\, New London\, CT 06320\nLocation in Park: Ocean Beach boardwalk\nPresented By: New London Rotary Foundation\nAge: 21+ only\nID: Valid state-issued identification required for entry\nAdvance Admission: $30 plus ticketing fees; currently $33.76 online\nDay-of Admission: $35 plus applicable fees; currently $39.07 through the online ticketing system\nIncluded: 15 beverage sampling tickets\, beer-friendly food and live entertainment\nLive Music: Wicked Peach\nWicked Peach Lineup: Ernie Lewis\, lead vocals/guitar; Dan Watson\, lead guitar/vocals; Corey Carter\, guitar; Stan Smith\, bass; Jonathan Souza\, drums\nWeather: Rain or shine\nRain Location: Ocean Beach Pavilion at the west end of the boardwalk\nTickets: Limited advance and day-of tickets are available\nRefunds: Ticket sales are final unless the event is canceled\nBeneficiary: New London Rotary Foundation and its charitable programs\nOcean Beach Phone: 860-447-3031 \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/54th-brewfest-at-the-beach/
LOCATION:Ocean Beach Park\, 98 Neptune Avenue\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Ocean Beach Park
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260916T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260916T220000
DTSTAMP:20260906T033008Z
CREATED:20260906T033008Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T033008Z
UID:10007481-1789588800-1789596000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Bad Movie Night at The Oasis Pub: September 2026 Lineup
DESCRIPTION:Bad Movie Night at The Oasis Pub every Wednesday in September with five gloriously questionable pieces of cinema ranging from bargain-basement purgatory and sorority vampires to killer bees and a teenage Paul Walker trapped inside a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. \nThe weekly cult-film night begins at 8 p.m. every Wednesday at the downtown New London pub. Admission is free\, with donations accepted toward keeping the screenings going. \nThe Oasis has made Bad Movie Night a regular part of its Wednesday schedule\, fitting alongside the live music\, games and offbeat programming that have helped make the small Bank Street bar a gathering place for more than two decades. \nSeptember’s selections lean heavily into the strange end of horror\, science fiction and action cinema. \nSeptember Bad Movie Night Schedule\n\nWednesday\, September 2 at 8 p.m. — Despiser (2003)\nArtist Gordon Hauge is fired\, dumped by his wife and then killed in a car crash\, only to discover that death has somehow made his situation even worse. He lands in Purgatory\, where monstrous Shadowmen and Ragmen serve a mysterious evil known as the Despiser. Gordon joins a ragtag collection of dead freedom fighters from different periods of history and sets out across a surreal afterlife to confront its ruler. Written and directed by Philip J. Cook\, Despiser mixes horror\, fantasy\, science fiction\, digital effects and an impressively strange vision of the afterlife.\nWednesday\, September 9 at 8 p.m. — Fit to Kill (1993)\nDirector Andy Sidaris delivers an action movie built around international intrigue\, assassins and a stolen Russian imperial diamond. Chinese businessman Chang plans to return the Alexa Diamond\, taken from Russia during World War II\, but international arms dealer Kane has other plans. L.E.T.H.A.L. agents Donna and Nicole are pulled into the fight to recover it\, leading to gun battles\, explosions\, seduction and even lethal remote-controlled helicopters. The movie stars Dona Speir\, Roberta Vasquez\, Bruce Penhall and Julie Strain.\nWednesday\, September 16 at 8 p.m. — Vampire Time Travelers (1998)\nFour college women trying to pledge a decidedly unusual sorority find themselves fighting vampires and other supernatural creatures instead. Director Les Sekely’s 65-minute horror comedy throws its characters into a deliberately chaotic mixture of bloodsuckers\, bizarre humor\, unexplained jumps through time and increasingly absurd situations. The obscure shot-on-video movie received renewed attention in 2026 with a collector’s edition release after years of obscurity.\nWednesday\, September 23 at 8 p.m. — Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)\nYes\, the premise really is what it sounds like. A mad scientist takes the brain of high-school student Michael\, played by a young Paul Walker\, and implants it inside a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. The newly conscious T-Rex escapes\, takes revenge on Michael’s tormentors and tries to reunite with his girlfriend Tammy\, played by Denise Richards. Directed by Stewart Raffill\, the science-fiction horror comedy has become a cult favorite thanks to a premise so bizarre that explaining it almost spoils the fun.\nWednesday\, September 30 at 8 p.m. — The Bees (1978)\nSouth American killer bees are illegally brought into the United States\, where the situation becomes considerably worse when the insects mutate into an increasingly intelligent threat. As enormous swarms begin attacking cities\, scientists race to stop a disaster capable of spreading across the world. The 83-minute disaster-horror movie arrived during the 1970s cycle of nature-run-amok films and stars John Saxon\, Angel Tompkins and John Carradine.\n\nFive Wednesdays of Movies That Went Wrong in Just the Right Way\nThere is a pretty good mission statement hidden inside that lineup. \nBad Movie Night isn’t programming five merely unsuccessful movies. September jumps between movies that are interesting because of their excesses\, strange decisions\, improbable premises or sheer audacity. \nDespiser tries to construct an entire digital purgatory on an independent-film budget. Fit to Kill delivers the particular combination of espionage\, action and exploitation that became director Andy Sidaris’ signature. Vampire Time Travelers embraces the chaotic world of late-’90s shot-on-video horror. \nAnd then there is Tammy and the T-Rex\, a movie in which Paul Walker’s brain is transplanted into a mechanical dinosaur. \nBy the time intelligent killer bees arrive on the final Wednesday of September\, they almost seem reasonable. \nBad Movie Night at The Oasis\nThe Oasis Pub has been part of downtown New London’s nightlife for more than two decades\, operating from 16 Bank Street with a focus on craft beer\, live music and unconventional events. \nBad Movie Night is one of its regular weekly fixtures\, taking place every Wednesday at 8 p.m. \nThat communal setting is an important part of the concept. These aren’t necessarily movies demanding reverent silence in a dark theater. They’re movies made considerably more entertaining by experiencing the weirdness with a room full of other people. \nSeptember provides five chances to do exactly that. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Bad Movie Night: September Lineup\nDates: Wednesdays\, September 2\, 9\, 16\, 23 and 30\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m. each Wednesday\nVenue: The Oasis Pub\nAddress: 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT 06320\nAdmission: Free; donations accepted\nSeptember 2: Despiser\nSeptember 9: Fit to Kill\nSeptember 16: Vampire Time Travelers\nSeptember 23: Tammy and the T-Rex\nSeptember 30: The Bees \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 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/bad-movie-night-at-the-oasis-pub-september-2026-lineup/2026-09-16/
LOCATION:Oasis Pub\, 16 Bank Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Oasis Pub
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T170000
DTSTAMP:20260910T173727Z
CREATED:20260910T173727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T173727Z
UID:10007542-1789293600-1789318800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Three Special Thames River Cruises
DESCRIPTION:Three Special Thames River Cruises give Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival visitors three very different ways to experience New London and Groton from the water September 12 and 13\, from free transportation between festival sites to narrated history cruises and a Saturday night trip beneath a 300-drone light show. \nThames River Heritage Park is expanding its normal role during festival weekend with free Hop On\, Hop Off Harbor Cruises Saturday and Sunday\, four free 45-minute historic boat tours Sunday\, and a special Saturday night Drone Show Cruise that heads downriver toward New London Ledge Light before returning to the harbor for the festival’s nighttime spectacle. \nTogether\, the trips also demonstrate what makes Thames River Heritage Park a little unusual. \nIt isn’t one park. \nIt’s a network of historic and cultural sites spread along both shores of the Thames River\, with the river itself serving as the connection between them. \nAnd for one weekend\, much of that connection is free. \n1. Ride the Thames for Free All Weekend\nThe most useful cruise of the weekend may also be the simplest. \nThames River Heritage Park’s Hop On\, Hop Off Harbor Cruise will be completely free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday\, with the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival sponsoring the service. \nNormally\, an adult Harbor Cruise ticket costs $15. \nDuring the festival\, visitors can simply use the boats to move among three major locations: \nFort Trumbull State Park in New London \nCity Pier in downtown New London \nThames River Landing in Groton \nThere is an important change from the Heritage Park’s regular summer schedule. \nDuring festival weekend\, there will be no fixed departure or arrival times. The boats will travel continuously among the three landings\, and boarding will be first-come\, first-served. \nThat makes the service part transportation and part attraction. \nSomeone attending the festival at Fort Trumbull can board a boat\, cross the harbor to Groton\, get off to explore and later catch another boat back to downtown New London. \nOr visitors can simply stay aboard and see the harbor from the water. \nThe Boats Have a Navy History of Their Own\nEven the vessels carrying festival visitors are pieces of maritime history. \nThames River Heritage Park operates refurbished former U.S. Navy liberty boats. \nUtility boats like these weren’t designed as sightseeing vessels. They transported sailors between larger Navy ships and shore\, including taking crews ashore for “liberty\,” the Navy term for authorized time away from a ship. \nOne of the Heritage Park boats was assigned to the USS La Salle\, which served as flagship for Commander Middle East Force beginning in 1988. \nAnother was assigned to the USS Hunley\, a submarine tender that supported the Navy’s Polaris ballistic-missile submarine fleet. \nNow\, instead of carrying sailors ashore\, the old Navy boats carry visitors through the same harbor that remains home to one of America’s most important naval communities. \nIt’s particularly fitting in 2026. \nThe United States is celebrating the Navy’s 250th anniversary\, while the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London is celebrating its 150th. \nA River Where American Naval History Is Still Happening\nThe scenery from the boat isn’t simply historic. \nThe Thames remains a working military and commercial river. \nThe U.S. Coast Guard Academy occupies the New London shoreline farther upriver. \nAcross the Thames in Groton is Naval Submarine Base New London\, the Navy’s primary East Coast submarine base and a place so closely associated with undersea warfare that Groton calls itself the Submarine Capital of the World. \nNearby is the historic USS Nautilus\, the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine. \nDownriver\, Fort Trumbull stands near the entrance to New London Harbor\, while ferries\, fishing boats\, recreational craft\, commercial traffic and military vessels continue using the water around it. \nBut the history stretches much farther back. \nNew London became one of America’s major whaling ports during the 19th century. \nThe river witnessed colonial trade\, privateering and the American Revolution. \nIndigenous people had lived along and traveled these waters for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. \nThe Heritage Park’s weekend cruises approach those overlapping histories in very different ways. \n2. Sunday Brings Four Free 45-Minute History Cruises\nSunday offers the best deal for visitors who want more than transportation. \nThames River Heritage Park will operate four free narrated historic boat tours from City Pier in New London. \nThese aren’t the regular Hop On\, Hop Off rides. \nEach is a 45-minute mini-tour led by a Heritage Park docent\, concentrating on a particular part of the region’s history. \nNormally\, Thames River Heritage Park’s full historic boat tours cost $35 for adults. \nThe four festival mini-tours are free\, sponsored by the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\, and available first-come\, first-served. \nTwo different subjects alternate throughout the afternoon. \n11 a.m. — Black Heritage Along the Thames: The Half That’s Never Been Told\nThe first departure introduces stories that were often missing from traditional accounts of New London’s history. \nBlack Heritage Along the Thames: The Half That’s Never Been Told draws from Thames River Heritage Park’s larger tour of the same name\, which explores approximately 400 years of local history through the experiences and contributions of the region’s Black community. \nThat history begins long before the Civil War. \nSlavery existed in colonial Connecticut. \nEnslaved people lived and worked in New London and Groton\, including within households whose surviving homes and documents are now used to interpret colonial life. \nBlack sailors worked from New London’s waterfront. \nThe city’s history intersects with abolition\, education\, military service and the long struggle for civil rights. \nAnd one of the most consequential events in American history arrived in New London Harbor aboard a ship in 1839. \nThe schooner La Amistad was seized off Long Island after captive Africans aboard the vessel revolted against the men illegally transporting them into slavery. \nThe ship was brought to New London. \nThe legal battle that followed eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court\, where former President John Quincy Adams helped argue the Africans’ case. \nThe Court ruled in their favor in 1841. \nIt is one of the most internationally significant stories connected to the New London waterfront\, but it is only one part of the Black history preserved along the Thames. \nDeparture: Sunday at 11 a.m. from City Pier \nNoon — The Mashantucket Pequot’s Story\nAt noon\, the perspective shifts much farther back. \nThe Mashantucket Pequot’s Story focuses on the Indigenous history of the region and the people who lived here long before New London or Groton existed. \nThe Pequot homeland historically encompassed portions of southeastern Connecticut. \nThe waterways of the region weren’t barriers separating communities. They were transportation corridors and sources of food\, trade and communication. \nThen European colonization transformed the landscape. \nTensions over land\, trade and political power culminated in the Pequot War of 1636–1637\, one of the defining conflicts of early colonial New England. \nThe war devastated the Pequot population\, but it did not eliminate the Pequot people. \nThat distinction matters. \nFor generations\, popular histories often treated Native nations as if they disappeared when a particular colonial-era chapter ended. \nThe Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is very much a living community today\, headquartered just a few miles from the Thames River. \nThe tour offers a chance to look at familiar southeastern Connecticut shoreline through a story that began thousands of years before the forts\, submarines and whaling ships. \nDeparture: Sunday at noon from City Pier \n1 p.m. — Black Heritage Along the Thames\nThe Black heritage mini-tour receives a second departure at 1 p.m. \nThat gives visitors who spend the morning elsewhere at the festival another opportunity to take the 45-minute narrated cruise. \nDeparture: Sunday at 1 p.m. from City Pier \n2 p.m. — The Mashantucket Pequot’s Story\nThe final free history cruise of the weekend repeats the Mashantucket Pequot program at 2 p.m. \nAll four tours depart from City Pier in downtown New London\, not from the other Hop On\, Hop Off landings. \nAnd because they’re free and first-come\, first-served\, arriving early makes sense. \nDeparture: Sunday at 2 p.m. from City Pier \n3. Saturday Night Goes From History to 300 Drones\nSaturday’s third special cruise is completely different. \nAfter the daytime festival winds down and the sun disappears\, Thames River Heritage Park heads back onto the water for its Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival Drone Show Cruise. \nThe evening begins with a trip down the Thames River. \nWeather and marine traffic permitting\, the boat will continue beyond New London Harbor toward New London Ledge Light\, the distinctive lighthouse sitting near the mouth of the Thames. \nThen it turns around. \nThe boat returns to position itself for a front-row view of the festival’s 300-drone light show over the New London waterfront. \nInstead of watching from the shore\, passengers watch from the water beneath the display. \nNew London Ledge Light Is Worth the Trip by Itself\nEven before the drones appear\, the cruise has an unusual destination. \nNew London Ledge Light stands at the entrance to the Thames River\, where New London Harbor opens toward Long Island Sound. \nCompleted in 1909\, it doesn’t resemble the stereotypical round New England lighthouse. \nInstead\, the three-story brick building looks almost like a substantial waterfront home that somebody inexplicably placed in the middle of the water and then put a lantern on top. \nLocal tradition has also supplied the lighthouse with its own ghost. \nFor decades\, stories have circulated about “Ernie\,” the supposed spirit of an early keeper said to haunt the lighthouse. \nThe legend has become part of Ledge Light’s identity\, although the more elaborate details attached to Ernie are folklore rather than established history. \nFrom the Drone Show Cruise\, passengers get a nighttime maritime trip toward one of the region’s most recognizable navigational landmarks before returning to the festival. \nThen 300 Drones Take Over the Sky\nThe show waiting back in New London Harbor is part of the America’s Navy 250 Celebration. \nThree hundred illuminated drones will fly coordinated patterns over the waterfront\, synchronized with music. \nThe planned display celebrates 250 years of the United States Navy\, using the drones to form patriotic imagery and naval symbols above the harbor. \nIt’s a striking place to do it. \nNew London’s relationship with the Navy stretches back to the Revolutionary era\, while the Groton side of the Thames became one of the most important submarine-building and submarine-operating centers in the world. \nFrom the cruise boat\, passengers will be watching a 21st-century aerial light show about American naval history while floating in the middle of a river where much of that history actually happened. \nOne Timing Detail Is Worth Watching\nThames River Heritage Park currently has two slightly different departure times published for the Drone Show Cruise. \nThe dedicated festival-weekend schedule lists departure at 7:55 p.m. \nA more recent Heritage Park event announcement lists 7:45 p.m. \nBecause this is a ticketed trip and the difference could result in someone literally missing the boat\, passengers should use the departure time shown on their ticket confirmation and verify it with Thames River Heritage Park before Saturday. \nThe Heritage Park also notes that only a small number of seats remained when it published its latest festival information. \nPassengers may bring snacks and drinks aboard\, but glass is prohibited\, and there is no restroom on the boat. \nThe trip to Ledge Light is also conditional on weather and boat traffic. \nThese Aren’t ADA-Accessible Tour Boats\nThere’s another important practical consideration for all three experiences. \nThe Heritage Park’s refurbished Navy boats are not ADA compliant. \nPassengers must be capable of walking up and down four stairs and boarding the vessel independently with only minimal courtesy assistance from the crew. \nThey must also be capable of disembarking without assistance if an emergency requires it. \nThe boats do not have restrooms. \nThe Heritage Park encourages passengers who require assistance to travel with a companion\, but the captain ultimately determines whether a passenger can safely board. \nThat’s particularly important information for anyone considering the cruises as an easy alternative to walking around the festival. \nFor some visitors\, they may not be. \nThe Free Harbor Cruise Can Change How You Do the Festival\nFor visitors who can board safely\, the free Hop On\, Hop Off service creates an interesting possibility. \nDon’t think of the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival as one event site. \nThink of the Thames as its main street. \nStart at Fort Trumbull. \nBoard an old Navy liberty boat. \nCross to Groton. \nCome back to City Pier. \nExplore downtown New London. \nOn Sunday\, trade the transportation ride for a narrated mini-tour and learn the stories of Black residents or the Mashantucket Pequot people who shaped the region. \nAnd Saturday night\, those with Drone Show Cruise tickets can return to the river after dark\, head toward Ledge Light and finish beneath 300 points of light moving across the sky. \nFor most of the year\, the Thames separates New London from Groton. \nFor Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival weekend\, Thames River Heritage Park turns it into the thing connecting everything together. \nDetails\nEvent: Three Special Thames River Cruises at the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\nPresented By: Thames River Heritage Park\nFestival: Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\nDates: Saturday\, September 12 and Sunday\, September 13\, 2026\nLocation: Thames River\, New London and Groton \nHop On\, Hop Off Harbor Cruise\nDates: Saturday and Sunday\nTime: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.\nAdmission: Free during festival weekend\nBoarding: First-come\, first-served\nSchedule: Continuous loop with no fixed departure or arrival times during the festival\nStops: Fort Trumbull State Park\, City Pier and Thames River Landing in Groton \nFree Historic Boat Tours\nDate: Sunday\, September 13\nLength: Approximately 45 minutes each\nAdmission: Free\nBoarding: First-come\, first-served\nDeparture Location: City Pier\, New London\n11 a.m.: Black Heritage Along the Thames: The Half That’s Never Been Told\nNoon: The Mashantucket Pequot’s Story\n1 p.m.: Black Heritage Along the Thames: The Half That’s Never Been Told\n2 p.m.: The Mashantucket Pequot’s Story \nDrone Show Cruise\nDate: Saturday\, September 12\nDeparture: Heritage Park currently publishes both 7:45 and 7:55 p.m.; passengers should follow their ticket confirmation and verify the departure time before arriving\nRoute: Down the Thames River and\, weather and boat traffic permitting\, out to New London Ledge Light before returning for the drone show\nDrone Show: 300-drone display synchronized to music as part of America’s Navy 250 Celebration\nTickets: Advance ticket purchase required; Heritage Park reports limited availability\nFood and Drink: Snacks and drinks may be brought aboard; no glass\nRestrooms: None aboard \nAccessibility: Heritage Park’s former Navy utility boats are not ADA compliant. Passengers must be able to negotiate four stairs and independently board and disembark with minimal courtesy assistance.\nBoat Operations: 860-407-5655\nWeather: Boat operations and the Ledge Light portion of the evening cruise are weather-dependent; check with Thames River Heritage Park for current operating information. \nMore information is available at the Event Website 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.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/three-special-thames-river-cruises/2026-09-13/
LOCATION:CT
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T203000
DTSTAMP:20260905T022317Z
CREATED:20260905T022317Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260905T022317Z
UID:10007472-1789243200-1789245000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:300-Drone Light Show Over the Thames River
DESCRIPTION:The 300-Drone Light Show over the Thames River will turn the sky above downtown New London into a moving canvas of illuminated ships\, maritime symbols\, and choreographed images on Saturday\, September 12. \nThe approximately 25-minute show begins at 8 p.m.\, with viewing from the New London waterfront. Three hundred synchronized drones will fly together above the river\, combining light\, motion and music for the nighttime finale of Saturday’s Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival. \nThe drone show is part of the larger two-day festival\, but it stands on its own as one of the weekend’s biggest attractions. Festival organizers are promoting it as Eastern Connecticut’s first drone light show. \n300 Drones Moving as One\nA drone light show works very differently from fireworks. \nInstead of launching pyrotechnics into the air\, hundreds of small illuminated aircraft are programmed with individual positions and flight paths. When those drones move together\, points of light become recognizable shapes\, animations and transitions across the sky. \nFor New London\, 300 drones will be synchronized into a single aerial performance. \nThe festival’s promotional artwork offers a sense of the maritime direction\, depicting a tall ship\, lighthouse\, anchor and compass rose formed from points of light. The actual show is being promoted around Connecticut’s maritime story\, with synchronized imagery\, motion and music transforming the waterfront sky. \nThe result should be particularly striking from New London because the performance isn’t taking place above a fairground or stadium. \nIt’s happening over the Thames River. \nA Maritime Show in a Maritime City\nThe location gives the technology a subject that is already all around it. \nNew London’s history has been tied to the water for centuries\, from its colonial port and whaling industry to the Navy\, Coast Guard\, commercial shipping and the working Thames River of today. \nThe Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival was created to bring those pieces together. \nDuring the day\, visitors can tour military and private vessels\, watch maritime demonstrations\, meet living-history interpreters and move between New London Waterfront Park and Fort Trumbull State Park. \nAt night\, the storytelling moves into the sky. \nInstead of looking at a historic ship tied to a pier\, visitors will watch maritime images assembled from hundreds of moving lights above the river itself. \nThe Show Follows the Burning of Benedict Arnold\nThe timing makes Saturday night more than a standalone light show. \nBefore the drones launch\, Flock Theatre’s Burning of Benedict Arnold brings one of New London’s strangest historic traditions back to Bank Street and the waterfront. \nThe March of the Traitor begins at 7:30 p.m.\, recalling the destruction Arnold brought to New London and Groton in 1781 after turning against the American cause. \nParticipants march down Bank Street toward Waterfront Park\, where Arnold’s effigy is burned. \nThe festival schedule places the burning immediately before the drone show\, creating an evening that moves from an old New London tradition to a thoroughly modern form of spectacle. \nFire on the waterfront gives way to hundreds of lights over the Thames. \nA Different Kind of Nighttime Spectacle\nDrone shows have increasingly become an alternative to traditional fireworks for large public celebrations. \nTheir strength isn’t the explosive impact of fireworks. It’s precision. \nIndividual drones can be positioned to create recognizable objects\, words and animated sequences that would be impossible to reproduce with conventional pyrotechnics. They also allow a show to be designed specifically around its location and theme. \nFor the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\, that means the technology can be used to tell a maritime story rather than simply illuminate the sky. \nThree hundred independent aircraft become pixels in an enormous moving image\, changing formation as the performance progresses. Music accompanies the approximately 25-minute presentation\, tying the individual sequences together. \nAnd unlike a projection on a screen\, the images will appear suspended above one of Connecticut’s busiest maritime corridors. \nWhere to Watch the Drone Show\nThe designated viewing area is New London Waterfront Park\, placing spectators along the Thames River directly beneath the downtown skyline. \nThe park stretches along the waterfront between the city’s historic downtown and the river\, providing broad sightlines toward the water. \nBecause the images created by a drone show are designed to be viewed from a particular direction\, spectators should use the festival’s designated waterfront viewing area rather than assuming any location around the Thames will provide the same view. \nThe performance begins at 8 p.m. and is scheduled to run until approximately 8:25 p.m. \nWith the Burning of Benedict Arnold procession beginning at 7:30 p.m.\, visitors planning to attend both events can remain downtown and move toward the waterfront as the evening progresses. \nPart of the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\nThe drone show is one attraction within the larger Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\, taking place in New London September 11 through 13. \nThe festival celebrates the city’s unusually deep connection to the sea\, bringing together historic vessels\, active-duty maritime services\, demonstrations\, tours\, educational programs\, music and living history. \nNew London is particularly suited to that kind of gathering. \nThe Thames River is home to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy\, while Naval Submarine Base New London sits upriver in Groton. The region also includes the historic shipbuilding communities of Groton and Mystic\, the Custom House Maritime Museum and centuries of commercial and military maritime history. \nThe festival puts that history back on the waterfront rather than confining it to exhibits. \nThe Saturday night drone show takes the same idea and translates it into something unmistakably contemporary. \nLeave Personal Drones at Home\nThere is one important rule for anyone thinking about capturing the show from the air. \nThe Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival is an Event One Fly Zone. Personal drones are not permitted at the event. \nThat restriction is especially important during a professional drone performance. \nA choreographed show depends on hundreds of aircraft following precisely programmed routes in controlled airspace. An unauthorized drone entering that space can create a safety risk and interfere with the performance. \nVisitors can photograph or record the show from the ground\, but personal aircraft need to stay home. \nA Saturday Night Finale Built for New London\nThe drone show could have been staged almost anywhere. \nWhat makes this one interesting is the decision to make New London’s maritime identity the subject rather than merely using the waterfront as a convenient launch site. \nThe city has spent centuries watching ships move through the Thames. \nOn September 12\, some of those ships will be made of light. \nFor about 25 minutes\, 300 synchronized drones will take the festival from the vessels tied along the waterfront to a much larger canvas overhead\, closing Saturday night with a maritime spectacle that didn’t exist when most of the history being celebrated was made. \nEvent Details\nEvent: 300-Drone Light Show at the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\nDate: Saturday\, September 12\, 2026\nTime: 8–8:25 p.m.\nViewing Area: New London Waterfront Park\nLocation: New London\, CT\nDrones: 300 synchronized aircraft\nPresentation: Choreographed illuminated formations with music and maritime imagery\nFestival: Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\nEarlier Saturday Event: Burning of Benedict Arnold procession begins at 7:30 p.m.\nPersonal Drones: Prohibited at the event\nSponsor: Enstructure \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/300-drone-light-show-over-the-thames-river/
LOCATION:New London Waterfront Park\, 1 Waterfront Park\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:New London Waterfront Park
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