fall events calendar 2015
your guide to Eastern Connecticut festivals, concerts, parades & so much more
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme
fireworks on the harbor, Norwich
Mystic Country Fall Favorites Start your New England fall travel journey right here.
Leaf peeping at its finest Fall drives. Enjoy eastern Connecticut’s blaze of autumn colors with one of Mystic Country’s scenic fall drives. Escape to these quiet Technicolor trails and prepare to be wowed by Mother Nature while you discover beautiful vistas, historic towns, interesting locales and delicious eateries along the way. Page 7
Full steam ahead B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill. Fall marks more than just the changing colors of the foliage, it marks the season opening of an eastern Connecticut tradition – B. F. Clyde's Cider Mill, the nation's oldest steam-powered cider mill. Delectable donuts, piled-high pies and, of course, that warm wonderful apple cider. Stop in on the weekends for a cider making demonstration and see the mill in action. bfclydescidermill.com
Come get lost Corn mazes. Autumn adventure awaits around every corner in these Mystic Country labyrinths. You’ll enjoy trying to navigate your way to a victorious finish. This season’s corn maze crop includes odes to Sleepy Hollow (Preston Farm), turkeys (Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm) and the Milky Way (Fort Hill Farms). Page 5
Farm fresh Pick-your-own. Take the ones you love more than a bushel and a peck on a pick-your-own journey. Currently in season in Mystic Country: apples, pumpkins, raspberries and mums. mystic.org
Romp through royal realms Wee Faerie Village Whimsical Kingdoms. October 1 to November 1. Come explore castles, towers and places of fiction's greatest princes and princesses (and perhaps a few sorcerers and witches) when the Florence Griswold Museum's 11 acres magically transforms into a faerie village. Imagine fanciful edifices detailed
with mini moats, pinecone pinnacles, fungus fortresses, acorn-topped timbered towers, bark-covered buttresses, fluttering feather flags, driftwood drawbridges…the list goes on and on. florencegriswoldmuseum.org
Wander the wineries Vineyards & wineries. Stop in and experience one of the most exciting and fastest growing wine regions in the United States, with wines as flavorful as the scenery is picturesque. Walk the vineyards, enjoy the scenery and chat with the winemakers who not only harvest the grapes but also infuse them with their passion. mystic.org
A little bit of country Hayrides. A fun and family-friendly way to enjoy the fall. Hayrides are available at Creamery Brook Bison Farm, Brooklyn; R-Farm, Lebanon; Buttonwood Farms, Griswold; and Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm, Sterling. mystic.org
The great outdoors 25th Anniversary of Walktober. Explore over 200 free walks, hikes, paddles, bike rides, tours and events in Connecticut’s Quiet Corner when The Last Green Valley takes the month of October and transforms it into Walktober. Each excursion is labeled easy, moderate or difficult to prep you for your journey. Great for family, children and pets! Page 5
Autumn Adventures Fall and Halloween festivities. Events filled with things that go bump in the night, plus some great fall festivals for those who prefer to explore during the day. Pages 3-4
Haunted History Haunted locales. The autumn air isn’t the only thing that’s chilling in the region. Take a journey around eastern Connecticut to learn about Connecticut history's people and places that still haunt us today. mystic.org/haunted-history
Top going clockwise: Route 1, Stonington; Blue Slope Country Museum, North Franklin; B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill, Old Mystic; Holmberg Orchards & Winery, Gales Ferry
Mystic Country Fall Events 2
October
1) Scotland Highland Festival 2) Fall Festival Tyme, North Franklin 3) Harvest Festival, Pomfret Center Fine Arts & Crafts Festival, Woodstock 7) Mystic Pirate Invasion 8) A Hempstead Halloween, New London
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Weekends in October Dark Manor Haunted House, Norwich, darkmanorproductions.com October 1-November 1 Wee Faerie Village Whimsical Kingdoms, Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, florencegriswoldmuseum.org October 1-31 25th Anniversary WALKTOBER, Northeast Connecticut, thelastgreenvalley.org October 2 First Friday, Downtown Putnam, discoverputnam.com October 3-4 Harvest Festival, Jonathan Edwards Winery, North Stonington, jedwardswinery.com
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October 3-4 continued Mystic Pirate Invasion, mysticdowntown.org
October 11 Connecticut Cheese Festival, Coventry, coventryfarmersmarket.com
Fall Festival Tyme, cancelled Blue Slope Country Museum, North Franklin, blueslope.com
Scotland Highland Festival, scotlandgames.org
October 4 Cornucopia Fest, UConn, Storrs, cornucopia.uconn.edu October 10 Groton Fall Festival, mysticchamber.org Storrs Center Stroll, storrscenter.com October 10-12 Monty’s Fall Festival, The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art Village, Oakdale, naturesartvillage.com Chowder Days, Mystic Seaport, mysticseaport.org Harvest Festival, Lapsley Orchard, Pomfret Center
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October 14 Fall Food Stroll, New London, newlondonmainstreet.org October 16 & 17 Paranormal Investigation Weekend, Leffingwell House Museum, Norwich, seasideshadows.com Reservations required. Spooky Nights, Brooklyn Fair Grounds, Brooklyn, brooklynct.org October 16-17, 23-24 Evenings at Hale: Things that Go Bump in the Night, Nathan Hale Homestead, Coventry, ctlandmarks.org
4) Wee Faerie Village Whimsical Kingdoms, Old Lyme 9) Great Pumpkin Festival & Fall Foliage Ride, Putnam
5) CT Cheese Festival, Coventry - Photo courtesy of Winter Caplanson/Connecticut Food & Farm 6) Roseland Cottage 10) Trick-or-Treating, Mystic Seaport, Mystic 11) Niantic Halloween Parade 12) Dark Manor Haunted House, Norwich
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October 16-18 World Series of Speedway Racing, Thompson International Speedway, thompsonspeedway.com
October 23 New London Halloween Town, Downtown New London, newlondonhalloweentown.com
October 16-17, 23-24 & 30 Nautical Nightmares, Mystic Seaport mysticseaport.org
Ghost Stories on Groton Bank Avery-Copp House, Groton, averycopphouse.org
October 17 Scarecrows and Cocoa Day, Leffingwell House, Norwich leffingwellhousemuseum.org
October 23 & 24 Spooky Nature Trail Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Mystic, dpnc.org
October 17-18 Roseland Cottage Fine Arts and Crafts Festival, Woodstock, historicnewengland.org
October 23-25 Nightmare on Main, Windham Textile & History Museum, Willimantic, millmuseum.org
October 17-18 & 24-25 Pumpkin Tours of Bison Farm, Creamery Brook Bison Farm, Brooklyn, creamerybrookbison.net
October 24 Great Pumpkin Festival & Foliage Train Ride, Putnam, discoverputnam.com
October 22-24 & 29-30 Sea Scare, Mystic Aquarium, mysticaquarium.org
A Hempsted Halloween Hempsted Houses, New London, ctlandmarks.org
October 24 continued Downtown Storrs Trick-or-Treating, Storrs Center, storrscenter.com October 25 Niantic Halloween Parade, discovereastlyme.com October 30 Downtown Putnam Trick-or-Treat Night, discoverputnam.com October 31 Halloween Trick-or-Treats Olde Mistick Village, oldemistickvillage.com Mystic Seaport, mysticseaport.org Main Street, Willimantic, willimanticdowntown.org Scarecrow Kingdom, Davis Park, Danielson, killingly.org
Mystic Country Fall Events 4
Photo courtesy of The Farmer's Cow
Corn mazes Themed mazes
Now that’s a corn maze. But if Fort Hill Farm’s ‘Best Milk in the Milky Way’ Corn Maze Adventure is too daunting, they have a smaller ‘Little Dipper Labyrinth’ for you to explore.
Scott’s Yankee Farmer 436 Boston Post Road East Lyme Maze Theme: Rainforest Adventure scottsyankeefarmer.net Fort Hill Farms 260 Quaddick Road, Thompson Maze Theme: Milky Way forthillfarms.com
Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm 227 Ekonk Hill Rd, Sterling Maze Theme: Turkeys getlostinthemaze.com Preston Farm 92 Connecticut Route 2, Preston Maze Theme: Sleepy Hollow prestonfarmscornmaze.com
Non-themed mazes Holmberg Orchards & Winery 12 Orchard Lane, Gales Ferry holmbergorchards.com Some mazes can take one to two hours to complete. Comfortable shoes are a must. Please contact farms for dates and times. Pictured above, Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm.
Buttonwood Farm 471 Shetucket Turnpike, Griswold buttonwoodfarmicecream.com
R-Farm 353 Tobacco Street, Lebanon r-farmct.com
Walktober Celebrating the great outdoors This year marks the 25th anniversary of Walktober, an event designed to explore the beauty and treasures of the National Heritage Corridor known as The Last Green Valley, a region that remains more than 78% forests and farmland. More than 200 free walks, hikes, paddles, bike rides, tours and events are scheduled throughout the month in the northeast corner of the state. Download the guide at tlgv.org. 5 Mystic Country Fall Events
NOvmeber 1-7 Mystic Restaurant Week, mysticchamber.org
November 27 Holiday Santa Parade & Tree Lighting, Willimantic, willimanticdowntown.org November 27-29 Artists’ Open Studios Tour, Northeast Connecticut, aosct.org November 27 - 28 Field Days, Mystic Seaport, mysticseaport.org November 28-December 20 Lantern Light Tours, Mystic Seaport mysticseaport.org
November 28 Santa Arrives by Tugboat, Mystic, mysticchamber.org Tree Lighting & Lighted Boat Parade, Mystic, mysticchamber.org Niantic Holiday Stroll, nianticmainstreet.org Celebration of Lights and Song, New London, newlondonmainstreet.org Norwich Winterfest Parade, norwichct.org November 29 Holiday Dazzle Light Parade, Putnam discoverputnam.com
December DECEMBER 1 Mystic Holiday Stroll, Downtown Mystic, mysticdowntown.org December 3 - January 3 The Magic of Christmas, Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme florencegriswoldmuseum.org December 4 Stonington Village Holiday Tree Lighting & Stroll, stoningtonboroughct.com Frosty's Big Night Out, Danielson, killingly.org December 5 Groton Lights Parade, mysticchamber.org Holiday Carnival, Olde Mistick Village, Mystic, oldemistickvillage.com Winter Welcome, Storrs Center, storrscenter.com December 5-6 Artists’ Open Studios Tour continues, Northeast Connecticut, aosct.org
December 11 Festival of Lights, Olde Mistick Village with Mystic Aquarium, oldemistickvillage.com December 11-13 The Holly & Ivy, New London newlondonlandmarks.org December 12 Niantic Light Parade, discovereastlyme.com December 13 Killingly’s New England Christmas, killingly.org December 20 Community Carol Sing, Mystic Seaport, mysticseaport.org Downtown Mystic Winter Solstice Luminary, mysticdowntown.org December 26- January 1 Holiday Magic, Mystic Seaport mysticseaport.org
Top to Bottom: Artists' Open Studios Tour, Northeast Connecticut / Lighted Boat Parade, Mystic / Lantern Light Tours, Mystic Seaport - Photo courtesy Mystic Seaport / The Magic of Christmas, Old Lyme - Photo courtesy Sean Flynn
November
Scenic Fall Drive:
National Scenic Byway Route 169 Traverse one of the last unspoiled areas in the northeastern U.S.
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ife’s simple pleasures beckon along Connecticut’s Route 169. The 32-mile drive is a designated National Scenic Byway that winds through Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, countryside so rich in New England character you won’t believe you are only two hours from New York City. Start your adventure in Lisbon at Exit 19 off Connecticut’s I-395. Lush pastures, lichen covered stonewalls, farm stands, orchards and historic homes await. In Canterbury, look for the home of Connecticut’s State Heroine, the Prudence Crandall Museum, a National Historic Landmark and State Archaeological Preserve. It was on this site in 1833 that Crandall founded the first New England academy for African-American girls. In Brooklyn you’ll see a monument to Israel Putnam nestled amidst colonial era architecture. A Revolutionary War hero, Putnam is known for one of the American Revolution’s most memorable quotes, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes,” at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Heading into Pomfret watch for boutiques selling regionally made crafts and fine arts. Tiffany windows in the local Episcopal Church are symbolic of the quality of the art found in this bucolic town. Continue north to Woodstock, home of Roseland Cottage. Built in 1846 in the fashionable Gothic Revival style of the era, this distinctively pink house was home to the Bowen’s, a wealthy New York City family who summered on the estate. Of note are the orderly parterre gardens and the nation’s oldest surviving indoor bowling alley. The drive can also be done in reverse starting just south of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
For more scenic drives, visit mystic.org/scenicdrives.
Eastern Regional Tourism District / 27 Greenmanville Avenue / Mystic, CT 06355 mystic.org / 860.536.8822
Produced by the Eastern Regional Tourism District (ERTD). The ERTD has made every effort to maintain the accuracy of information presented in this guide, but assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions. Dates are subject to change without notice. Please call in advance to verify information. Copyright © 2015 Eastern Regional Tourism District. All Rights Reserved.