Heritage Day at Cheney Hall
The Pride in Manchester Committee welcomes one and all to Cheney Hall for a day of activities, exhibits and demonstrations. The June 11 event is designed to celebrate the history and heritage of Manchester. The Silk City Brass sounds out the start of the event at 10 a.m. Backstage tours, tea served in a re-creation of the Cheney Hall Tea Room, a tag sale in the Silk Room, live music and dancing in the hall, plus costumed interpreters posing as Susan B. Anthony and Isabella Beecher Hooker proclaim the news of the day.
Heritage Day runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.cheneyhall.org or call 860-647-9824. Cheney Hall is at 177 Hartford Road, Manchester.
New Voices at Bushnell
You can sit home and watch episodes of Glee, or you can head to Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts for the sights and sounds of something like the real thing. Ten years ago, the Ensign-Darling families of Simsbury established a fund that provides a vocal fellowship for promising high-school-age singers interested in classical and theatrical music. The full-scholarship program has since provided conservatory-like training for 35 students. On June 12, the Bushnell hosts Connecticut's New Voices featuring the 2011 Ensign-Darling Vocal Fellows. The program includes classical and musical theater numbers, including solos, duets, and group numbers. This year's fellows are: Nicholas Bayer of South Windsor High School; Julianne Daly of Burlington's Lewis S. Mills High School and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; Corey Gaudreau of Bristol Eastern High School; Katelyn Lewis of Litchfield High School; Jessa Sahl of Avon High School; and Bryan Wills of East Lyme's Xavier High School.
The free concert starts at 2 p.m. The Bushnell is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. For more information, visit www.bushnell.org or phone 860-987-5900.
Noah Webster Tag Sale
Hunt for treasures and support a good cause when West Hartford's Noah Webster House hosts its 6th annual tag sale. The June 11 event runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Anything you buy helps support the museum's educational mission.
The Noah Webster House is at 227 South Main St., West Hartford. For more information, visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org or call 860-521-5362.
Connecticut Comics at Playhouse
Ten comics from the Nutmeg State are featured in Connecticut Comics: Uncut, a one-night-only event at West Hartford's Playhouse on Park. The June 11 event is hosted by Linda Belt, a New Jersey native who moved to Connecticut in the late 1980s. After years as a suburban Mom, Belt put her show on the road. She is a professional stand-up comic who has performed in the U.S. and Canada. Also featured in the program are: Linda Morgan, Eve Olitski, Howie Mason, Claudia Stavola, Rick Carino, Mike Drena, Mike McKenna, Matt Jedynak, and Darren Rivera.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Show time is 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25, including complimentary beer, wine and snacks. Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. For more information, visit www.playhouseonpark.org or call 860-523-5900 x10.
Stanley-Whitman Dishes Up History
Get a taste of history when Farmington's Stanley-Whitman House hosts an authentic Colonial Tavern Dinner. The June 10 repast is served by costumed waitstaff in the ambiance of the museum's Whitman Tavern.
The dinner runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Registration is required. Cost is $35; $30 members. Register online at www.stanleywhitman.org or call 860-677-9222 ext. 305. The Stanley-Whitman House is at 37 High St., Farmington.
Canton Historical Museum Hosts Open House
On June 11, the Canton Historical Museum offers free admission. The open house, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., invites visitors to tour the three-story Collinsville axe factory where visits can explore reconstructed 19th century businesses including a general store, barbershop, post office, and blacksmith shop. Also on view are displays of vintage farming equipment, fire pumpers, medicines, saddles, ice harvesting gear, wedding gowns and an iron coffin.
The Canton Historical Museum is at 11 Front Street, Collinsville. For hours and more information, visit www.cantonmuseum.org.
Swing, Swing, Swing Into Summer
The biggest hits of the Big Band era – from In the Mood to One O'Clock Jump – will set feet to tapping when the Hartford Symphony Orchestra Pops presents a concert of Swing, Swing, Swing. Leading the orchestra for the program is Grammy-winning New Haven native Victor Vanacore. Also joining the band for the event are dancers Allison Bibicoff and Forrest Walsh, bassist Lou Shoch, trumpeter Joe Scanella, and Vanacore's son, drummer Victor Vanacore III.
Concert time is 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $30 to $62. Student tickets are $10. Some $20 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under. To reserve seats or for more information, visit www.hartfordsymphony.org or call 860-244-2999. The Bushnell is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. For more information, visit www.bushnell.org or phone 860-987-5900.
Best of Second City at Long Wharf
Comedy fans, you're headed to New Haven. From June 15 through 19, New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre presents The Best of Second City featuring members of the famed improv and sketch troupe Second City. If the name doesn't ring any bells, that's the Chicago-based comedy troupe that cradled comedians including John Belushi, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and Dan Aykroyd. Political and social satire is the group's stock in trade, and recent headlines have been serving up a lot of great material.
Tickets cost $40. To reserve seats, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282. For more information about Second City, visit www.secondcity.com. Long Wharf Theatre is at 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven.
Muster Day at Old Sturbridge Village
The contributions of "citizen soldiers" are celebrated June 11 during Muster Day at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Mass. The event is designed to re-create the training of 19th century militias. Activities include marching and drilling demonstrations, military music, and special appearances by the 1812 Marine Detachment from the U.S.S. Constitution, the Oxford Light Infantry, and the Sturbridge Militia.
The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 adults; $18 seniors; $7 children ages 3 to 17. Children under 3 are admitted free. As part of Muster Day activities, active military personnel receive 50 percent off admission, and members of their party receive 25 percent off. Old Sturbridge Village is at 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, Mass. For more information, visitwww.osv.org or call 800-SEE-1830.
