Fantasy, Fireflies, Fireworks & A Film Fest: This Weekend In CT

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut's music scene and summer festivals/reasons-to-eat-at-food trucks continue to expand in 2024, and we could not be happier.

Exhibit "A": A brand-new music festival rolls into Hartford this weekend. The Capitol Groove music festival promises two days of folk and roots music from June 29 to 30. Music is slated to begin at noon and end at 10 p.m. daily. In total, 14 bands are expected to play the one stage in Bushnell Park, against a backdrop of craft beverages and food trucks. Tickets are available online here.

Many Connecticut cities and towns will be getting a jump on the July 4th holiday and touching off their fireworks displays beginning this weekend (Here's the complete rundown of who's blowing up what, where and when). Most of those will block off a few hours in the local high school stadium, light off a few crosettes and chrysanthemums, and call it a night.

Not Trumbull and Ridgefield.

Trumbull residents are celebrating Trumbull Day this weekend with fireworks and a two-day carnival. The carnival festivities will be held on the field behind Hillcrest Middle School beginning Friday, June 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and will continue on Saturday, June 29 from 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The fireworks display will be held at Trumbull High School.

The carnival rain date is Sunday, June 30 from 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., which will only take place if Saturday is canceled. The fireworks rain date is also Sunday, June 30.

The over-achievers in Ridgefield will be hosting two fireworks shows, within a week of each other, in addition to four nights of fun and games. The Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department's annual old-fashioned carnival will run Wednesday through Saturday evenings, June 26-29, from 6-10 p.m. A spectacular fireworks display closes out the party on Saturday night. The festivities take place on the grounds of East Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield. The town will hold Ridgefield's Family Fireworks Celebration the following Saturday, July 6, at the high school.

We are entering peak firefly season in Connecticut, and what better place to get your glow on than The Firefly Sanctuary in New Canaan? Guests at what is believed the only dedicated firefly preserve in the country are provided with a red-beam flashlight (which we are told does not interfere with firefly signaling) and asked to apply bug spray before walking up to the meadow.

During the peak of the 2024 viewing season — June 30 through July 14 — advanced registration is required. The 8:30 p.m. showing is designed for families with children, while the 9:30 p.m. showing is intended for adults. It must be special, because The New Canaan Land Trust sure hasn't made it easy to find. Just do your best to locate the intersection of Sleepy Hollow Road and Laurel Road in northern New Canaan.

Their tag-line is "enjoy a fantasy world where elves, fairies, orcs, goblins, animal-kin, dwarves, and magic are REAL." Hartford during the legislative session? No! It's The Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Fair at Warsaw Park in Ansonia for three weekends, beginning this Saturday. Stage shows, music, mead, live combat, and plenty of oddball vendors will be holding court every weekend through July 14.

Drawbridge drops at 11 a.m., and pulls up at 6:30 p.m. every day, but there's a special after hours Pub Sing and Fire Show Saturdays from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are available online here.

Or skip the pub, put down the turkey leg and cool off at the fourteenth edition of Womanimation! in Hamden. The film festival will showcase wide-ranging visual styles, from traditional 2-D to stop-motion to computer animation with story-telling that ranges from satire to drama, and from the everyday to the surreal. It's one day only — Saturday, June 29 — but there are three shows, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., presented at Best Video Film & Cultural Center.

Tickets are available at the door or online in advance here.