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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T120000
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SUMMARY:Kids’ Sing-Along with Steve Elci & Friends
DESCRIPTION:Kids’ Sing-Along with Steve Elci & Friends keeps the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival’s youngest sailors\, mermaids and sea monsters moving Saturday\, September 12\, with a free waterfront concert immediately following the festival’s children’s costume parade. \nThe concert is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Custom House Pier in downtown New London\, according to the band’s current announcement. Steve Elci & Friends will be joined by costumed characters The Little Mermaid and The Wayfinder for a family sing-along built around familiar songs\, dancing and audience participation. \nBut the poster’s “After the Parade!” isn’t just a bit of nautical decoration. \nThere really is a parade. \nEarlier Saturday\, families can head to Fort Trumbull State Park for free face painting\, make costumes\, and then join the Little Mermaids and Sea Monsters Parade\, one of the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival’s signature children’s events. \nThe parade begins at 11:30 a.m. at Fort Trumbull State Park\, according to the festival’s most recent published information. \nThat makes the two events a natural Saturday pairing: dress up and parade through Fort Trumbull in the morning\, then head downtown for music with Steve Elci & Friends. \n11:30 a.m. — Little Mermaids and Sea Monsters Take Over Fort Trumbull\nThe festival’s children’s parade isn’t intended to be something families simply stand along the route and watch. \nKids are encouraged to become part of it. \nSaturday morning’s children’s programming at Fort Trumbull includes free face painting and costume making\, giving kids a chance to transform themselves into mermaids\, pirates\, sea monsters and other maritime characters before the parade begins. \nFree face painting is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Fort Trumbull. \nThe festival describes the parade as a combination of local folklore\, music\, dancers\, military marchers and fantastical sea creatures. Earlier festival materials have also called it the Mermaids and Privateers Children’s Walking Parade\, but the current 2026 family programming identifies it as the Little Mermaids and Sea Monsters Parade. \nIt’s a relatively new tradition. \nThe first Mermaids & Sea Monsters Parade was held during the 2022 Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\, when participants traveled through downtown New London from Bank Street to City Pier. \nBy 2023\, organizers were already calling it the third annual parade. \nFor 2026\, they’ve changed things around. \nInstead of beginning downtown\, this year’s parade is being held at Fort Trumbull State Park\, putting the procession in the middle of the festival’s large family activity area. \nThat also makes it easier for children to create a costume and then immediately become part of the event. \nAfter the Parade\, Steve Elci & Friends Take Over Custom House Pier\nOnce the procession ends\, the party shifts downtown. \nSteve Elci & Friends are scheduled to perform at 12:30 p.m. at Custom House Pier\, with The Little Mermaid and The Wayfinder joining them. \nThe concert is free and designed as a participatory children’s sing-along rather than a conventional sit-and-watch performance. \nThe poster gets directly to the point: \n“It’s time to dance and sing to some of your favorite songs!” \nThat’s familiar territory for Elci. \nSteve Elci Has Been Making Music for Kids Since 2010\nNew London County families may already know Steve Elci & Friends\, but the group’s reach extends well beyond southeastern Connecticut. \nThe award-winning children’s music group has been performing since 2010\, taking its shows from New England to Florida and Nashville. \nElci’s approach to children’s music is deliberately interactive. \nThe goal isn’t to place children quietly in front of a stage while adults perform at them. Singing\, dancing\, movement and participation are built into the experience. \nThat philosophy has also carried into the group’s recorded music and educational projects. \nThe Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival describes Steve Elci & Friends as an Emmy-nominated\, award-winning children’s music group\, and there’s a local reason for that Emmy connection. \nKidsploration Put Elci’s Music Together With Education and Adventure\nIn 2014\, Steve Elci & Friends partnered with The Day newspaper to create Kidsploration\, an online children’s program combining music\, education and adventure. \nThe project earned an Emmy nomination. \nIt was a logical extension of what Elci had already been doing onstage. \nChildren’s entertainment can be fun without treating children as passive spectators. Music can become the doorway into exploring something else. \nThat’s particularly appropriate at the Maritime Heritage Festival. \nA child might arrive because there’s a mermaid. \nThen climb aboard a ship. \nTouch a sea creature. \nWatch a Coast Guard rescue demonstration. \nWalk through a Revolutionary War encampment. \nListen to music. \nAnd leave knowing considerably more about the place where they live than when they arrived. \nThe Little Mermaid and The Wayfinder Join the Band\nSaturday’s concert adds two recognizable seafaring characters to that formula. \nThe festival announcement identifies The Little Mermaid and The Wayfinder as joining Steve Elci & Friends for the sing-along. \nThe Wayfinder character draws on the Polynesian voyaging tradition popularized for modern children through Disney’s Moana\, while The Little Mermaid brings another familiar ocean story into the program. \nTheir presence connects the morning costume parade with the concert that follows. \nChildren who’ve just spent part of the morning dressed as mermaids\, pirates and sea creatures aren’t suddenly being asked to switch gears. \nThe fantasy continues at the pier. \nCustom House Pier Puts the Concert Beside a Working Harbor\nThe setting is particularly good for a children’s maritime concert. \nCustom House Pier sits on South Water Street beside New London’s downtown waterfront\, looking across the Thames River and New London Harbor. \nThis isn’t a decorative body of water created to make a festival look nautical. \nIt’s a working harbor. \nFerries\, recreational boats\, Coast Guard vessels\, commercial traffic and other ships move through the river\, while Naval Submarine Base New London sits upriver in Groton and the Coast Guard Academy occupies the New London side of the Thames. \nA few steps away is Custom House Maritime Museum – New London Maritime Society\, housed in New London’s 1833 U.S. Custom House. \nSo while kids sing about the sea\, the real thing is directly behind them. \nGetting From the Parade to the Concert Takes a Little Planning\nThere’s one important practical detail for parents. \nThe parade and concert are not at the same location. \nThe Little Mermaids and Sea Monsters Parade takes place at Fort Trumbull State Park\, while Steve Elci & Friends perform afterward at Custom House Pier downtown. \nThe festival has anticipated the problem of moving between its waterfront locations. \nFree transportation operates throughout the weekend. \nVisitors can travel aboard the Thames River Heritage Park water taxi or use the festival’s free shuttle buses connecting the major festival areas. \nThe water taxi operates continuously from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday between Fort Trumbull\, City Pier and Thames River Landing in Groton. There isn’t a fixed departure schedule\, and boarding is first-come\, first-served. \nFamilies trying to make the 12:30 concert immediately after the parade should keep the travel time in mind. \nThe festival recommends parking once and using its free transportation to move between locations rather than repeatedly relocating the car. \nThere’s Plenty More for Kids Before and After the Music\nThe parade and Steve Elci concert are only part of Saturday’s family programming. \nThe festival’s Kids Nautical Zone offers crafts\, games and educational activities. \nProject Oceanology brings marine life close enough for children to explore through its touch-tank programming. \nThere’s also Salt\, a life-size inflatable whale that children can actually walk through while learning about whale biology. \nAt 1:30 p.m.\, shortly after Steve Elci & Friends finish\, the U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to conduct a search-and-rescue helicopter demonstration over the waterfront. \nFamilies can also tour participating vessels during the day\, including military\, training and historic ships visiting New London for the festival. \nAmong the vessels highlighted for 2026 is the USCGC Eagle\, the Coast Guard’s 295-foot tall ship and training vessel. \nThe Eagle’s presence is particularly significant this year because the Coast Guard Academy is celebrating its 150th anniversary. \nSaturday morning’s festival opening includes the unveiling of a new U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp honoring that anniversary. \nFor a child who comes because they want their face painted like a mermaid\, there’s a surprising amount of real maritime history waiting around the corner. \nTwo Very Different Parades Happen Saturday\nThere’s also a fun contrast built into Saturday’s schedule. \nThe Little Mermaids and Sea Monsters Parade isn’t the only procession taking place in New London. \nAt 7:30 p.m.\, the tone changes considerably when Flock Theatre begins its annual March of the Traitor on Bank Street. \nThat procession commemorates Benedict Arnold’s devastating 1781 attack on New London and leads to Waterfront Park\, where Arnold is burned in effigy. \nA 300-drone light show over the Thames follows later in the evening. \nSo New London gets two parades in one day. \nAt 11:30 a.m.\, children dressed as mermaids and sea monsters march through Fort Trumbull. \nAt 7:30 p.m.\, adults in Revolutionary-era garb march Benedict Arnold toward his fiery demise. \nThat’s a fairly good illustration of just how much the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival is trying to fit into one Saturday. \nStart With a Costume and Stay for the Ships\nFor families with younger children\, the morning-to-afternoon sequence may be one of the easiest ways to approach what is otherwise an enormous festival. \nGet to Fort Trumbull in time for face painting and costume making. \nJoin the Little Mermaids and Sea Monsters Parade at 11:30. \nThen use festival transportation to head downtown. \nAt 12:30\, Steve Elci & Friends\, The Little Mermaid and The Wayfinder take over Custom House Pier. \nAnd when the music ends\, the ships\, touch tanks\, waterfront activities and Coast Guard demonstration are still waiting. \nThe Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival is ostensibly about preserving the state’s relationship with the sea. \nSaturday’s children’s programming approaches that mission from a different direction. \nFirst\, make the sea fun. \nThe history can follow. \nDetails\nEvent: Kids’ Sing-Along with Steve Elci & Friends\nFestival: Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival\nDate: Saturday\, September 12\, 2026\nTime: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.\nPerformers: Steve Elci & Friends with The Little Mermaid and The Wayfinder\nLocation: Custom House Pier\nStreet: South Water Street\, New London\, CT\nAdmission: Free\nAges: All ages / family program\nProgram: Children’s music\, singing and dancing\nRelated Event: Little Mermaids and Sea Monsters Parade\nParade Time: 11:30 a.m.\nParade Location: Fort Trumbull State Park\, 90 Walbach Street\, New London\nBefore the Parade: Free face painting and costume making; face painting is scheduled from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday\nImportant: The parade and concert take place at different festival locations\nTransportation: Free festival shuttle buses and Thames River Heritage Park water taxi service connect festival areas\nWater Taxi Hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; continuous service with no fixed departure schedule and first-come\, first-served boarding\nFestival: Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival runs September 12–13 along the New London waterfront\nParking: Festival organizers recommend parking in a downtown Water Street garage or near Fort Trumbull and using the free transportation system between festival locations\nWeather: Outdoor festival programming may be affected by weather; check the festival’s current schedule before traveling \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/kids-sing-along-with-steve-elci-friends/
LOCATION:Custom House Pier\, South Water Street\, New London\, CT\, 06320\, United States
CATEGORIES:Custom House Pier
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260821T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260821T190000
DTSTAMP:20260820T022054Z
CREATED:20260820T021758Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T022054Z
UID:10007228-1787331600-1787338800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Sing & Play with Bergin at La Grua Center
DESCRIPTION:Sing & Play with Bergin at La Grua Center brings an hour of interactive children’s music to the Stonington Commons Green on Friday\, August 21\, at 6 p.m. \nThe free outdoor concert is designed especially for young children and their families\, with Stonington singer-songwriter Bergin O’Malley leading an evening of original children’s songs\, familiar classics\, singing and movement. \nUPDATE: La Grua Center’s current event listing identifies O’Malley’s musical partner for this performance as Sarah Bruno\, rather than Melissa. The organization’s own calendar now calls the program Sing and Play with Bergin & Sarah. \nMusic Made for Kids to Join In\nThis isn’t intended to be a sit-still-and-listen children’s concert. \nO’Malley’s Sing & Play Together music is built around participation\, with songs touching on animals\, colors\, friendship\, family and the small things that occupy a much bigger place in a child’s world. Families are encouraged to sing\, move and play along during the performance. (La Grua Center) \nO’Malley has released two Sing and Play Together children’s albums\, with another children’s project in development. She has also released two solo albums\, Blink and Somebody\, reflecting a broader singer-songwriter career beyond her work for children. \nHer connection to Stonington runs deeper than simply performing here. After spending summers in Stonington throughout her life\, O’Malley made the town her year-round home in 2012. She’s also a photographer whose work has appeared in local exhibitions\, including shows at La Grua Center. \nFor local families\, some of the music may already be familiar. Her children’s songs have developed a following along the shoreline\, including a Stonington song that has become a local favorite. \nBring a Blanket to the Green\nThe concert takes place outside on the Stonington Commons Green\, directly adjacent to La Grua Center at 32 Water Street. \nFamilies should bring their own blankets or lawn chairs. Seating on the lawn opens at 5 p.m.\, an hour before the concert begins. Chairs aren’t provided. \nFamilies can also bring food and make an early-evening picnic out of the concert\, although outside alcohol isn’t permitted. Dogs aren’t allowed on the Green\, and restrooms will be available inside La Grua Center. \nThe performance runs approximately one hour without an intermission. \nLa Grua’s Summer Concerts on the Green\nThe performance is part of La Grua Center’s annual Concerts on the Green\, a five-concert outdoor series running from May through September. \nThe 2026 series ranges widely in style\, from jazz and international folk music to children’s songs. All five performances are free\, with major support provided by the Stonington Village Improvement Association. \nLa Grua Center itself has been part of Stonington Borough since 2008. The nonprofit cultural center occupies a renovated building formerly associated with the Atwood Machine Company and was created through a gift from longtime Stonington resident Winifred La Grua in memory of her husband\, Maurice. Today\, the center presents concerts\, exhibitions\, lectures and other community programs throughout the year. \nParking and Weather\nFree parking is available in the North Lot at Stonington Commons\, but spaces are limited. La Grua warns that parking in Stonington Borough can be difficult during the summer and encourages Borough residents to walk when possible. \nBecause this is an outdoor concert\, weather could affect the program. If conditions look unfavorable\, La Grua plans to make a decision by noon on Friday and post an update on its website. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Concerts on the Green: Sing and Play with Bergin & Sarah\nDate: Friday\, August 21\, 2026\nTime: 6–7 p.m.\nSeating Opens: 5 p.m.\nAdmission: Free\nLocation: La Grua Center Commons Green\nAddress: 32 Water Street\, Stonington\, CT 06378 \nBring a blanket or lawn chair. Families may bring food\, but outside alcohol and dogs aren’t permitted on the Green. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/sing-play-with-bergin-at-la-grua-center/
LOCATION:La Grua Center\, 32 Water Street\, Stonington\, CT\, 06378\, United States
CATEGORIES:La Grua Center
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