After a long and rainy winter, the Spring season is finally here in Connecticut. Even though it’s been a wet spring, you know the old saying, “April showers bring May flowers!” It’s time to get outside and enjoy some family time and I have four free springtime family events in Connecticut to share with you!
I have some great suggestions for activities you can do with your family to welcome in the new season. You will want to bring your cameras, because these locations will have a lot of beautiful photos opps. The best part is, these events all have FREE admissions!
The Daffodil Festival at Hubbard Park – Meriden
This festival has been running for 40 years and this year is the 41st annual Meriden Daffodil Festival! Admission is free and you can walk through the park to admire the more than 600,000 daffodils! There are three stages with live musical performances, the Silver Fork Food Tent, a parade, arts and crafts, children’s activities, and a carnival for children, plus fireworks!
The festival hours are:
Saturday, April 27 from 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 28 from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
I have lived in Connecticut my entire life. Can you believe I still haven’t made it to this festival? My daughter’s softball schedule is pretty packed. However, this year after her double-header, I’m hoping we can take a detour through the park on the drive home from the game. Or even try to watch the fireworks from the hill up near our house!
Visit the Daffodil Festival website for more information and details.
Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens – Hartford
Elizabeth Park is one of the first municipal rose gardens in the country. Enjoy the greenhouses, nature walks, perennials, and rock gardens as you stroll through this gorgeous 100-acre park with flowers in bloom.Elizabeth Park is open all year round from dawn to dusk and is free.
You can have a picnic lunch on the grounds or visit the Pond House Café for a Sunday Brunch. Also open during the summer hours is the Dog House, a take-out window with gourmet hot dogs, ice cream, cold drinks, and other warm-weather snacks. All purchases support the Elizabeth Park Conservancy and the beautiful park.
For more information about Elizabeth Park and its history visit its website http://www.elizabethparkct.org/.
46th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival – New Haven
In 1973, the New Haven Historic Commission planted 73 cherry blossom trees in Wooster Square. Enjoy live entertainment including jazz, steel band, big band music, and opera, while strolling along the streets lined with the blossoming cherry trees. The event is pet-friendly at the Little Italy Area in Wooster Square.
This event takes place from 12:00 noon to 4:00 on April 28, 2019.
The On-Stage entertainment will include:
- Neighborhood Music School Premiere Jazz Ensemble
- Tuxedo Junction (The Sound of Swing)
- St. Luke’s Steel Band
- Carlos Santiago Y Su Momento Musical (Salsa)
Enjoy a dedicated family and children’s area with arts & crafts, Nappy’s Puppets, the New Haven Free Public Library Readmobile and the New Haven Parks Department FunBus. For more information and parking, information visit the Historic Wooster Square website.
COLORBLENDS House & Spring Garden – Bridgeport
This event is currently running through May 12 at the restored 1903 Colonial Revival Mansion. The Dutch garden designer Jacqueline van der Kloet creates the blend of snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, tulips, and other spring-flowering blooms among the intimate garden in collaboration with Bridgeport-based COLORBLENDS Wholesale Flowerbulbs.
COLORBLENDS has recently designed a new garden to give ideas to visitors on how to design their own gardens at home. From raised beds to hearty moisture-tolerant bulbs, perennials, and shrubs. Hopefully, the gardens will help you think of how to lay out your garden to create a returning canvas of color each Spring.
Not only can you stroll through the beautiful garden, but you can also tour the 1903 Colonial Revival Mansion. The mansion will serve as a pop-up gallery filled with art of all kinds created by local artists.
Some artists include:
- Benjamin Casiano
- Bob Keating
- Chandler Davis
- David Joel Pratt
- Jahmane, Jennifer Williams
- JodiAnn Strmiska
- Katie Jurkiewicz
- Michael J Clocks
- Nancy Moore
- Patrice Barrett
- Tara Blackwell
- Vasilisa Romanenko
For more information about the event visit The COLORBLENDS House & Spring Garden site.
Which event are you going to visit? I’d love for you to share how they were along with sharing some pictures on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/wifemotherrunner or share them on Twitter and tag @wifemotherrunr.