What's happening in CT this weekend? Breaking down the tatoos, brews, bears and puppets

CONNECTICUT — Tattoos, puppets, bears, brews, and the greatest women's basketball team in the country are just a few of the event choices Connecticut residents will have to make before the start of the weekend.

The 5th Annual New England Tattoo Expo is a magnet for some of the world's most talented tattoo artists (and Connecticut's coolest people), drawing them and a variety of vendors to Mohegan Sun’s Earth Expo & Convention Center. The state's complete tattoo experience kicks off on Friday, April 11, is set to run from 4 to 11 p.m. on the opening night, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 13. Organizers estimate over 600 international, national and local professional tattoo artists, over 60 vendors, and approximately 10,000-plus fans will converge in Uncasville throughout this three-day weekend. Tickets are available online here.

What else is big in Connecticut? Bears and beer, of course. The Hungerford Nature Center in Berlin will be offering up plenty of both on Friday, April 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A bear expert from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will provide the ursine insights while you draw down local craft beer and hard cider while indulging in bear-themed trivia and snacks. It's a fundraiser for guests 21-years-old and older. Get your tickets here.

The 2025 UConn Spring Puppet Slam won't be nearly as painful as it sounds, not for the puppets, and certainly not for the audience. The show by the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the UConn Puppet Arts Program will feature new and experimental short works by professional puppeteers and performers, including Tau Bennett and Charlotte Lily Gaspard from New York City, as well as new works by UConn Puppet Arts students. Mansfield’s Waldron’s Studios 88 will return once more as the Puppet Slam house band. The show is free and open to the public. Doors at UConn’s Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre in Storrs open at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 11, for the 8 p.m. show.

UConn may turn out pretty good puppeteers, but its ballers are world-class. The state will be holding yet another victory parade and rally in Downtown Hartford for the UConn women's basketball team on Sunday. The Huskies won their 12th NCAA National Championship after an 82-59 victory over South Carolina at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, Sunday. The program has now won the NCAA championship in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2025. The parade will begin at 1:00 p.m. and will step off at the State Capitol building at the intersection of Trinity Street and Elm Street. From there, it will proceed north on Trinity Street, go through the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, turn right (east) onto Jewell Street, turn left (north) onto Trumbull Street, and end at the intersection of Asylum Street and Trumbull Street. More information can be found here.

The Pink Moon, the fourth full moon of the year, is a true harbinger of spring, and will hit the night sky this Saturday, April 12, peaking to its "fullness" at around 8:22 pm. Unfortunately, the name doesn't refer to the moon's color, but was inspired by the hue of the blooming creeping phlox often associated with early spring. Astrologers love it — it's the first full moon of their new year. You can learn even more about it, or just take it all in, slowly and blissfully, at the Peace Sanctuary in Mystic. Join other lunar enthusiasts on a guided hike through the Sanctuary that ends at an overlook where you'll watch that ol' Pink Moon rise. Pre-registration is required, but the whole experience is free, from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m.