Spring Festivals, Foodie Events And Cherry Blossoms Bloom In CT

CONNECTICUT — The cherry blossoms are (just about) in bloom, and restaurants throughout the state are rolling out their red carpets and crafting special deals in the hopes of tempting the locals and tourists out of their winter dens. Springtime in Connecticut has fully sprung.

When it's Cherry Blossom Time in Connecticut, the sakurabitos in the know head to Wooster Square Park in New Haven. The annual spring celebration in The Elm City commemorates the planting of 73 cherry blossom trees in 1973. At the 52nd Annual Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival on Sunday, April 6, from noon to 4:30 p.m., you can expect live musical entertainment, a dedicated Children's Area with arts and crafts, pet-related interest spaces and a great range of food and display tables. Even Nat Geo thinks it's a Big Deal. Admission is free.

Spring is also a great time to be a foodie in Connecticut. "Tastes of Danbury" is serving up special deals all April long at some of Hat City's top Laotian/Thai, Ecuadoran, Brazilian and rotisserie chicken restaurants. Pick up your tickets and more details online here.

Not to be outdone, "Taste of Fairfield" will be back at Elicit Brewing Company on Sunday, April 6. Over 25 top restaurants, craft brewers, distilleries, wine shops, and local vendors from all over the Fairfield area will be serving up their signature bites, cocktails, and unique goods to gourmands from noon to 4:00 p.m. Tickets are available online here.

And there's so much going on for Washington Restaurant Week, the week lasts for 10 days. The area may be ground zero for "Gilmore Girls" fans most of the time, but from Friday, April 4, through Sunday, April 13, visitors will find it a showcase for the creativity of local chefs and artists. Enjoy special menus and sip signature cocktails before touring special art exhibitions and galleries amidst live music and performances at venues around town. Be sure to check out Explore Washington CT on Instagram leading up to Restaurant Week to enter giveaways to win gift certificates for dining experiences at participating restaurants.

You don't need to be a Gilmore Girl to appreciate wool or where it comes from (although it helps) and maybe that's why sheep and wool festivals are so perennially popular. Artisans at The Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington will be guiding knitting nuts and the people who love them "from sheep to shawl" at their "Art of Shearing" on Sunday, April 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. While the sheep get the business, fiber artists and vendors will be demonstrating skirting, carding, spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, felting, and more. There will be free hay rides to and from the barns, food vendors, and craft activities. Tickets are available online here.

Nearly as old as the community shear-in is the tribal drum circle, with ancient roots in Asia and Africa, and among shamanistic practices of Native American cultures. On Saturday, April 5, Lyman Orchards in Middlefield will host a Community Drumming Circle from noon to 3 p.m. Percussionist Ken Parker will lead. There are no wrong notes in a drum circle, so whether your jam is a djembe, cajón, conga or cowbell, you'll be welcome to get your ya-ya's out. "It's not about perfection but rather participation," according to organizers. Bring your own drums and shakers, blanket or chair.