CONNECTICUT, USA — Temperatures will begin cooling down just in time to enjoy this weekend! With the fall fair season underway and other events happening to celebrate the unofficial start to autumn, here's what you and the family can check out!
It's time to get hungry as the Norwalk Oyster Festival is set to kick off Friday and last until Sunday! This year, festival organizers have planned a number of new and exciting events to take place at the 35-acre Veterans Memorial Park in Norwalk. This includes live performances and concerts, a circus, and a canine show! Learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.
The Bridgeport Film Festival will take place Friday through Sunday. This nonprofit initiative is dedicated to the discovery, championing and development of independent filmmakers and audiences. Through various programming, the festival seeks to showcase, guide, and inspire independent film and theatre artists from the Bridgeport community and beyond. Local audiences will be enriched by the movies, workshops, panel discussions and other artistic expression curated by the festival team. You can learn more about the festival and schedule of events here.
Pride Month has extended into September for this year's Annual Hartford Pride Fest and Concert! On Saturday, Sept. 9, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Church Street in Downtown Hartford, the Annual Hartford Pride Fest and Concert starts with a family-centered event showcasing entertainment, food, local businesses, giveaways, activities, and numerous community organizations. During the day, a concert will feature Thelma Houston, who is well known for the song “Don’t Leave Me This Way", dance music star Cece Peniston, who sang “Finally” and Willie Gomez, who performed with Britney Spears, will return to the stage. At 8 p.m., an after-party kicks off on Pratt Street. You can learn more about the event here.
Hartford will also light up the water on Saturday with the Water Lantern Festival. The festival will include food, games, activities, vendors, music, and the dazzling beauty of thousands of lanterns that are adorned with letters of love, hopes, dreams, and other sentiments on the water. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and attendees can design their lanterns at 7 p.m. with the lanterns launching at 7:30 p.m. Learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.
Test or show off your skills on the water with this year's Fairfield Paddle Fest! The family-friendly paddle event features four opportunities for stand-up paddlers and kayakers to compete or enjoy time paddling on the beautiful Long Island Sound. For elite paddlers, there will be a 6-mile competitive race to test their skills; for recreational paddlers, there is a 3-mile course and ½ mile course for youth to try out their skills and have fun. New this year is a one-mile “Paddle For Fun” event. Check-in/registration opens at 8:30 a.m. and races start at 9:30 a.m. and there will be music and fun for all ages! Learn more about the event here.
Continuing with celebrating Connecticut's waterways is the 2023 Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival, happening Saturday and Sunday in New London. The festival honors all those who work on, under, or with the sea in naval, marine, and other maritime industries. It aims to celebrate Connecticut’s maritime heritage by emphasizing the State’s diverse population and showing how the seas have brought people worldwide to Connecticut. Featured at the festival will be a mermaid and sea monster parade, kids activities, historical and military ship tours, live music, food trucks, a touch tank, and a maritime skills challenge, among other things. Learn more about the festival here.
Carrying the nautical theme onto land, it's Pirate & Viking Invasion Weekend at the 25th Annual Connecticut Renaissance Faire! The themed event runs Saturday and Sunday. Also on Saturday, kids under 15 years old can get complimentary same-day admission with a paid adult! Now is the time to break out your best pirate costume and join in on the swashbuckling fun! Learn more about the event and about the faire, along with purchasing tickets, here.
It's a day of innovation at the Connecticut Science Center on Saturday as its MakeFest celebrates local makers and ingenuity! Get ready for a day of excitement and explore the on-site demonstrations, displays, and activities presented by our STEM Educators and local innovators, all while you enjoy some incredible music from the Science Center stage, part of the Hartbeat Music Festival. Then head up to the center's Rooftop Garden, where you can harvest four o'clock seeds from Michaela’s Garden while learning how green roofs work. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more about MakeFest here.
The 12th Annual Health Wellness & Lifestyle Expo 2023 returns to Stamford from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Harbor Point. The health and wellness expo features 120 exhibitors, eight different zones, free health screenings provided by Stamford Health, free flu shots offered by ShopRite, and numerous activities provided by sponsors and exhibitors, including free group fitness classes along the stunning Harbor Point boardwalk! Learn more about the event here.
Of course, these are the only events happening around the state this weekend. For more festivals, celebrations, and other events, head to CT Visit.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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