Take It To Go: CT Events October 18 – 20

It’s already the middle of October, where does the time go? Before long we’ll be talking about garland and wrapping paper. But for now, let’s stick with a sampling of this weekend’s events.

Hartford Fringe Festival – LGBTQ Night
The Carriage House Theatre, 360 Farmington Ave., Hartford
Friday, October 18, 6:00 p.m.

(Photo by: Short Photography)
Join the fun at Hartford’s first ever Fringe Festival, a ten-day celebration (October 17 – 26) that includes music, dance, and comedy. The event will feature 19 different acts and 40 performances.

LGBTQ night will include three performances, “Kathy’s Secret,” “Another Life,” and “Ladies at a Gay Girl’s Bar: 1938-1969.”

Individual event tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors.

For a full schedule of events, performance descriptions, and detailed information visit: https://www.hartfordfringefestival.org/.

Halloqueen 13
168 York Street Café, 168 York St., New Haven
Saturday, October 19, 9:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

The New Haven Pride Center and the Imperial Sovereign Court of All Connecticut presents Halloqueen 13, an annual Halloween tradition. New Haven Pride Center co-president, Joshua O’Connell and other special guests will host the evening which includes a variety show featuring Pride Center members, community performers, and members of the Imperial Sovereign Court of All Connecticut.

There will also be a costume contest with prizes.

Cocktails at 10:00 p.m., Showtime at 11:00 p.m. Admission is a suggested $5 donation at the door.

For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/458300891567544/.

4^th Annual New Haven Chalk Art Festival
Broadway Island, 56 Broadway (across from Apple, L.L. Bean) and Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven
Saturday, October 19, 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Enjoy a day of art and entertainment in celebration of the local community in the heart of downtown New Haven and Yale University. The Shops at Yale invites all professional and amateur artists, students, and artist groups to participate in the festival.

In addition to great art, there will be live music, a magician, and other family activities.

Check-in is at 11:30 a.m. Pre-registration is required. Artists will be given a 4 X 4 square and prizes will be awarded.

The event is free.

For more information: https://theshopsatyale.com/chalkart/

Jurassic Quest
Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Blvd., Hartford
Friday, October 18, 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 19, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 20, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

(Photo by: Jurassic Quest)
You’re gonna need a bigger boat. Wait, wrong movie. Anyway, fans of “Jurassic Park” and all things dinosaur will want to stop by the Connecticut Convention Center to get their Cretaceous on.

The family-friendly Jurassic Quest features more than 80 true-to-life sized dinosaurs, each painstakingly replicated in every detail. Some of them even walk around! Interact with baby dinos (not real ones, so chances are good you’ll leave with all your limbs) and check out the many other activities and attractions at this touring exhibit.

Tickets range from $22 to $38.

For more information visit: https://maingatetickets.com/events/view/464?_ga=2.219328025.1089252730.1570731343-1610615019.1570731343.

Tea & Tunes: An LGBTQ+ Women’s Social Space
New Haven Pride Center, 84 Orange St., New Haven
Sunday, October 20, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Join the New Haven Pride Center for the first “Tea & Tunes,” an alcohol-free social space for LGBTQ+ identified women, femmes, and non-binary folks. Drink some tea and enjoy snacks (potluck welcome). There will be dancing, and music provided DJ Soymilk.

Tea & Tunes is a new monthly LGBTQ+ women’s social hosted by the Center’s LGBTQ+ Women’s Programming Officer, Miranda Rector.

For more information visit: https://business.facebook.com/events/396144307995789/.

5^th Annual Simsbury Spooktacular Chili Challenge
Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center, 22 Iron Horse Blvd., Simsbury
Sunday, October 20, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Nothing says scary like a day of nonstop chili-eating. Stomach woes aside, come for this annual tradition in Simsbury and enjoy shopping, activities, treat-or-treating (for the kids), live music, a beer garden, costume contest, and, of course, lots of chili.

Tickets are $10 for ages 11 and older, 10 and under are free.

For more information: https://www.simsburychili.com/?fbclid=IwAR1TSa7bc0I46oEceWQARSuHk8nLd22p-LZUC7eyMMd4ITAcIqmX8Z8kelM.

TUESDAY EVENT
A Little Harmless Fun – William Mann
The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford
Tuesday, October 22, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

William Mann will discuss The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando, his new biography of Marlon Brando, with arts writer Frank Rizzo, in the A Little Harmless Fun series at The Mark Twain House & Museum.

Based on new and revelatory material from Brando’s own private archives, William Mann presents a deeply-textured, ambitious, and definitive portrait of the greatest movie actor of the twentieth century, the elusive Marlon Brando, bringing his extraordinarily complex life into view as never before.

Tickets are $10.

For more information visit: https://marktwainhouse.org/event/a-little-harmless-fun-william-mann-discusses-new-marlon-brando-biography/.

Ongoing Events
On the Grounds of Belonging
Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven
Through November 3, See website for specific dates and times

Directed by David Mendizábal and written by Ricardo Pérez Gonzále, On the Grounds of Belonging is a story of star-crossed lovers at the height of Jim Crow laws in the 1950s.

In Houston, segregation pervades society in every way, including the underground and illegal gay bar scene. A chance encounter between Russell, a local at the Blacks-only Gold Room, and Tom, from the whites-only Red Room, leads to a forbidden romance that could destroy them both.

Due to mature content On the Grounds of Belonging is recommended for ages 14 and up.

For tickets or further information visit: https://www.longwharf.org/on-the-grounds-of-belonging.

It’s a Queer Story: Everyone Has a Story
Through October 30, Tues – Thurs, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
New Haven Pride Center, 84 Orange St., New Haven

It’s a Queer Story explores the introspection of ‘What being Queer means to me.’ The artist asks several peers this same question and the answers, stories, and emotions are materialized into photographs.

The artist, Julia Genzano (she/her), is a Connecticut-based photographer who brings to life the struggles or triumphs of queer individuals. Everyone has a story and it deserves to be heard.

For more information: http://www.newhavenpridecenter.org/programming/exhibitions/its-a-queer-story-2/#

I Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghost
Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours
Select dates and times through Saturday, October 26
The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford

Featured on Syfy Channel’s “Ghost Hunters,” and the Biography Channel’s “My Ghost Story,” the Mark Twain House & Museum offers ghost tours filled with the haunted history, dark tales, and Victorian traditions surrounding seances and spirits, all in the spirit (pun intended) of good fun.