CT Escapes The Cold With Fire & Ice Festivals, Stargazing, And Music

CONNECTICUT — As temperatures plunge to single digits and below throughout the state this weekend, don't expect much in the way of parades and grange fairs for your amusement. Instead, there are two "fire and ice festivals" and some journeys to outer and inner space to warm your heart while keeping you chill.

Shivering visitors to the "Fire & Ice Winter Festival" in Stamford on Saturday, Jan. 25, will find ice sculpting demonstrations, fire pits, boutique vendors, live music and more at the celebration in Columbus Park downtown. Festivities include a Chinese New Year Dance Performance at the Carousel from 10 to 11 a.m., and ice skating with characters from Disney's "Frozen" at the Cohen Skating Center from noon to 2 p.m. Kids can also get creative making foil sculptures and fireworks in a jar at The Whittingham Discovery Center from noon to 3 p.m., while supplies last.

Litchfield will be having its own "Fire & Ice Fun Fest" on the grounds of its Community Center Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. Look for chilly hay rides, fire pits, crafts, food, fireside storytelling and more family fun.

As frosty as it will be in Connecticut this weekend (the governor has extended the duration of the state's severe cold weather protocol to remain in effect until noon on Saturday), we've got nothing on the dark side of the moon. Ponder that at the Fairfield Theatre Company's presentation of "Deconstructing Dark Side of the Moon: A Multimedia Lecture Hosted by Scott Freiman." It's the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Pink Floyd album that injected prog rock into the mainstream, and launched thousands of laser light shows in planetariums around the planet. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. lecture on Saturday. Tickets are available online here.

The moon not cold enough for you? Swing on over to Mars. The Last Green Valley and The Lebanon Historical Society will be hosting a family-friendly "Mars Party" on Saturday. TLGV "night sky rangers" will start showing the planets Saturn and Venus at 5 p.m., and the Mars viewing will begin as the Red Planet peaks over the horizon. Mars takes about two-and-a-half years to get close enough to view through a telescope here on Earth, so this opportunity won’t come around again until 2027. Families will have the chance to warm up, enjoy some hot chocolate, snacks and space activities while the planets swing into position. Admission is free.

If all of this ice festival/planet-hopping sounds a bit too cold for comfort, consider chilling inside instead. Like, really inside. The Conduit Center will be hosting a sound meditation concert at The Yoga Shop East in Glastonbury on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Attendees will "quickly access the benefits of a deep meditation practice, without needing any experience or special techniques," organizers promise. All those gongs and singing bowls will trigger "a deep connection to the space within one’s heart, mind and body." Sounds perfectly frosty. Register online here.

You can walk back the sensory stimuli even further at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Sunday morning, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. All aquarium galleries and exhibits will be open with lights dimmed and music and other sounds turned down or off to provide visitors with sensory-processing differences a fun, comfortable, and accepting environment to enjoy all the aquarium has to offer. There will also be a short film in the 4D theater where guests can enjoy a film wearing 4D glasses, but with sounds lower and theater lights brighter, and without any of the sensory effects. Register for the "Sensory Friendly Morning" online here.