It’s Thanksgiving weekend and let’s give thanks for our friends, family, life, and love. While we’re at it, let’s also be thankful that there are plenty of things to do in and around Connecticut this weekend. Here are a few of our favorites.
46th Annual Festival of Trees & Traditions
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main St., Hartford
Friday, November 29 through Sunday, December 8, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(Event runs through December 8, check website for specific days and times)
Established in 1973 by the Women’s Committee as a museum fundraising event, Festival of Trees & Traditions has become an annual holiday custom for visitors from throughout the state and beyond. Every year community members, artists and organizations decorate holiday trees and wreaths to be displayed in the galleries throughout the week. All items are for sale, and profits help fund the museum’s special exhibitions, educational programs, and operating expenses.
Tickets are $3 – $18.
For more information visit the website at: https://www.thewadsworth.org/festivaloftrees/
Winterfest Hartford
Bushnell Park, 60 Elm St., Hartford
November 29 – January 18 (Various times/days, check website for specific events)
Now in its tenth season, Winterfest Hartford is back with events running through the middle of January.
Fun activities include free ice skating (free skate rentals and classes, too), giant games inside the Pump House that includes chess, checkers, and jenga, photos with Santa, Music Mondays, Glow in the Dark skates, carol sings, and other festive events.
For a complete list of events, times, and other information, visit the website at https://www.winterfesthartford.com/.
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas
Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford
Friday, November 29 through Saturday, December 28 (See website for specific days and times)
The magic of Charles Dickens’ heartwarming classic returns for its 22nd season. Come see Connecticut’s favorite family holiday tradition and spend some time with Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future as they bring A Christmas Carol to life on stage.
Ticket prices range from $15 to $99.
For more information visit the website: https://www.hartfordstage.org/christmas-carol/.
Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Screening and Party
Troupe429, 3 Wall St., Norwalk
Saturday, November 30, 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.
Come celebrate the official start of the holiday season with a screening of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” at Troupe429. The festive night kicks off with a happy hour before the screening and ends with a righteous dance party.
Black and white attire is encouraged!
For more information visit the website at: https://www.troupe429.com/events
Friends of Classical Connecticut Present: Nenad Ivović
JCC of Greater New Haven, 360 Amity Rd., Woodbridge
Sunday, December 1, 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Enjoy an afternoon listening to concert pianist, Nenad Ivović, winner of Russia’s IX International Piano Competition and Israel’s Arianne Katcz Piano Competition Prize.
Ivović will perform the works of Schubert and Brahms.
Tickets are $10 – $20.
For more information: https://www.friendsofclassicalconnecticut.org/.
Ongoing Events
Trans-cending Art
The Great Room Gallery, New Haven Pride Center, 84 Orange St., New Haven
Through November 30, Gallery hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
In “Trans-cending Art,” the New Haven Pride Center challenges the artistic community to recognize the importance of transgender voices in the landscape of artistic expression. The exclusion of transgender artists and voices in art directly reflects on the visibility of transgender people in everyday life.
Featuring exclusively the works of Connecticut Transgender visual artists, “Trans-cending Art” is here to remind you that Trans folk exist.
For more information: http://www.newhavenpridecenter.org/programming/exhibitions/trans-cending-art/.
Photo Credit: You Exist. By KC Councilor
Fantasy of Lights
Lighthouse Point Park, 2 Lighthouse Rd., New Haven
Through December 31
Sun-Thurs, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Fri and Sat, 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Fantasy of Lights is a local holiday tradition for thousands of families. Now, in its twenty-fifth year, the dazzling nighttime event not only gets visitors in the holiday spirit, but it also supports the Goodwill mission of enhancing employment, educational, social, and recreational opportunities for people with disabilities and other challenges.
The route is more than a mile long and features dozens of LED displays.
For more information: https://www.goodwillsne.org/fantasy-of-lights/.
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