Summer Festivals in Connecticut

Art, food, and a little something for the Irish can be discovered in Connecticut this summer. If you would like to spend a special time cruising the New England coast, these summer festivals are certain to make your trip an unforgettable one.

An evening concert, Midsummer Mozart, performed by the Hartford Symphony at the Talcott Mountain Music Festival in the town of Simbury, is followed by fireworks to conclude the festival, but the real treat of City and Country Canvases is what goes on throughout the Farmington Valley during the day. Thirty local artists will set up their easels at nine different historic sites located in the valley and spend the day painting where visitors can watch their creations come to life before their very eyes. The artists then transport their new artwork, along with two to three additional pieces to the Symphony grounds, where an art sale will be held. The sale will go on through the end of the concert. There is nothing like this truly one-of-a-kind event anywhere else in the United States.

If you are visiting the Mystic Seaport at the end of May, the Mystic Seaport Lobster Days and Nights are held from May 26 - 28 this year. Local bands provide the free music, but the real draw here is the lobster, served up picnic-style under the seaport's open-air boat shed. Learn more at http://www.mysticseaport.org/

Some of the biggest names in bluegrass have played the Annual Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival in Preston, Connecticut. This year the event will come to Strawberry Park from May 31^st through June 3^rd. This year you can see such renowned artists as Tim O'Brien and Rhonda Vincent. Find out how to get tickets at http://www.strawberrypark.net/

Connecticut's "biggest block party" takes over Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford from June 8 - 13 this year with the popular Taste of Hartford. This popular food and drink fest offers a daily celebrity cook-off, and food from Italian to Japanese to Jamaican. Two stages play non-stop live music and a wine garden will quench any wine lovers thirst. Find out how you can celebrate in Hartford at http://www.tasteofhartford.com/

Irish music, culture and art come alive at the Fairfield County Irish Festival in Bridgeport, on June 15 - 17, 2007. The event, held at Seaside Park West, brings in bag pipes, Gaelic Football, a full slate of genuine Irish music, and plenty of food and drink. There is also a children's tent offering rides and games for the kids. Get the information at http://www.irishfestival.org/

Plenty of good food should be available at the summer festivals in Connecticut this year. Make sure you stop in on a few of them.