LGBTQ Events & More To Check Out In Connecticut This Weekend!

From art festivals and fireworks, to food trucks outdoor concerts, summer is finally in full swing.

We’ve picked a few of our favorite events to check out this weekend, along with highlighting several ongoing exhibitions you don’t want to miss.

Finally, some of Connecticut’s biggest Pride events are just around the corner. We’ve got the dates, so you can get them on the calendar early.

Here Comes the Sun

Pride Night at The Connecticut Sun

Friday, July 12, 8:00 p.m.
Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd, Uncasville

Pride Night will feature The Sun taking on the Phoenix Mercury along with hosting numerous members of the LGBTQ+ community for a celebration of equality. The night concludes with a postgame panel of local celebrities and Connecticut Sun players discussing LGBTQ+ issues and pool party.

For more information and tickets visit the website: https://sun.wnba.com/pride-night/

Let’s Get Frank

Come Fly with Me: Celebrating the Music of Frank Sinatra

Friday, July 12, 7:30 p.m. Rain or shine.

Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center

Featuring renowned vocalist Rob Zappulla, Come Fly With Me is the ultimate show celebrating the music of Frank Sinatra.  From his days with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra to the Las Vegas showrooms, this concert is a pure swinging musical experience.

Tickets start at $25 for lawn seats, $40 for table seating.

For more information: https://hartfordsymphony.org/concerts/come-fly-with-me-celebrating-the-music-of-frank-sinatra/

Photo Credit: Hartford Symphony Orchestra

Got Food Trucks?

Riverfest Food Truck Festival

Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13, 11:00 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, Hartford

Back for a fifth year of food, music and fun, the annual Riverfest Food Truck Festival features an array of vendors serving up everything from cupcakes to Brazilian food. Come for non-stop indulging, stay for the Riverfront Fireworks show, Saturday at 9:00 p.m.

For more information: http://www.riverfront.org/events/food-truck-festival

Photo Credit: Riverfront Recapture

Come Sail Away

Sailfest ‘19

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, July 12-14 (Check website for specific times and events)
Downtown New London & Waterfront

Celebrating its 42^nd anniversary, Sailfest features amusement rides, entertainment, music, boats, tall ships, food, and more than 200 vendors, as well as a fireworks extravaganza choreographed to music, Saturday at 9:00 p.m.

For more information: http://sailfest.org/event-schedule/

Sailfest also features the Hygienic Artisans festival July 13-14.

Hygienic Artisans will occupy Bank Street between Golden and Pearl to create an atmosphere of art and culture by recruiting artists, DIY crafters, makers, and unconventional vendors.

In true Hygienic spirit, the Hygienic Artisan Market (formerly Bizarre Bazaar) is a festive, outdoor market space where people can expect the unexpected, and unearth signature crafts from artisans who create the unusual as well as beautiful.

For more information: https://www.hygienic.org/artisans/

Photo Credit: Neff Productions

Celebrate Puerto Rican Pride

Puerto Rican Parade of Fairfield County

Sunday, July 14, 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

712 Madison Ave, Bridgeport

Join the LGBTQ community and Triangle Community Center at the Puerto Rican Parade of Fairfield County.

Any and all individuals supportive and affirming of the Puerto Rican and LGBTQ communities are invited to participate. Meet at Central High School (1 Lincoln Blvd, Bridgeport) at 10:00 a.m. Attendees are invited to wear prideful Puerto Rican or LGBTQ gear (guests bringing a Puerto Rican must not alter the flag in any way per the request of the organizers).

For more information: https://www.prpfc.org/ or http://www.ctpridecenter.org/

Ongoing Events

+obias & +isms in Art

The Great Room Gallery, New Haven Pride Center, 84 Orange St, New Haven
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Thursday, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., through August 30.

In +obias & +isms in Art, convening partners #BlackLivesMatter New Haven, Nasty Women Connecticut, and the New Haven Pride Center collaborate to present a multi-artist exhibition that explores the +obias and +isms that affect people of colour, women, and the LGBTQQIP2sAA community.

For more information: http://www.newhavenpridecenter.org/programming/exhibitions/obias-isms-in-art/

Gay Gatherings: Philip Johnson, David Whitney and the Modern Arts

The Glass House, 199 Elm St, New Canaan
Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sundays through August 19

The exhibition explores interactions at the Glass House among eight gay men who profoundly shaped 20th-century artistic culture. Coincident with the 50th anniversary of New York’s Stonewall Uprising and the 70th anniversary of the Philip Johnson’s completion of the Glass House, Gay Gatherings underscores an essential element of the site’s history that has not been fully presented as part of its public interpretation.

Tickets start at $25 and are required for admission, access to site is via tour only. Advance reservations recommended.

For more information: http://theglasshouse.org/whats-on/gay-gatherings-philip-johnson-david-whitney-and-the-modern-arts/

A Brief History of Connecticut’s LGBTQ Community: A Traveling Exhibit and Digital Timeline

Connecticut Historical Society, One Elizabeth St, Hartford
Through August 3. Check website for hours.

This traveling exhibit and digital timeline explores the idea of the LGBTQ community becoming a community, finding its voice, moving from invisibility to visibility, and moving from an underground existence to a claimed communal identity. A digital timeline contains additional stories from Connecticut’s LGBTQ history.

Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (65+), and $8 for students and youth (6-17). Admission for children 5 and under and CHS members is free.

For more information: www.chs.org

Put It On The Calendar

New London Pride, Saturday, August 24, www.newlondonpride.com

Hartford Pridefest 2019, Saturday, September 14, www.hartfordpride.org

PRIDE New Haven, September 16-22, www.newhavenpridecenter.org