Festivals are a big thing this weekend, and two of the best are in Niantic and Guilford. Today and tomorrow one of the premier arts and crafts festivals is happening in Guilfoird. Craft Expo 2010 takes over the The Guilford Green. With over 170 artisans from across the country, it s one of the largest in the state, and there is something here for every one. Main Street Niantic is the place on Saturday as all of downtown Main Street is shut down, and over 150 vendors of food, fun and everything else invade downtown for Celebrate East Lyme. At 9 Pm the fireworks light up the sky.

Speaking of fireworks, Portland is setting it off tonight at the fairgounds, and playing for you while you wait, is one of my favorites, The Michael Cleary Band. So load up the mini van with everything you need to tailgate, and head on out and enjoy some family time.

Very few things are more New England than a Fife and Drum Corps. Saturday,  the Deep River Ancient Muster holds it’s 57th annual parade and muster. Corps from throughout the state and beyond will be on the march, and to me, it’s not just a sense of nostalgia, and a little bit of history, but also a sense pf patriotism that peaks my interest.

Think you can smash a golf ball a country mile? Want a chance to win some cool prizes?  Golfers and Gardeners giving back will be hosting The Remax Long Drive Qualifiers at The Fairway Driving range in Branford. Bragging rights and fund raising is the name of the game.

And for those of you wanting to hear some music, here’s a small sampling of what’s going on.

Sue Menhart at Sneekers, 4 Play at Jroos, Branded at Legends, the Total Hacks with Chewy Chua at Hard Hat, and The Funk Brokers are at Downtown Cafe on Friday. Saturday brings us Prime time at Jroos, Zoom at the Pavillion, Lauren Agnelli at Cafe Grounded, The Kathy Thompson Band at The Frog Pond, Fast Lane at Blue Moon, Samurai Cab Company at Z’s, and what kind of night would it be without the monsters of metal, Pyramis ?

So, where ever yo are, enjoy the weekend. Be safe, be smart, and be around next weekend for VetsFest 2010.

New London Is going to be busy. Probably a major understatement. The weather may affect this, but it’s the weekend of Sailfest. Typically over three hundred thousand people crowd the streets of New London each year to enjoy three stages  of live entertainment, a midway, and food vendors galore.  The big attraction, is the fireworks. This is one of the biggest shows in the country and is done each year by the Grucci family out of New York. At this time, they are still on, but check the website after 4 PM for up to the date fireworks information.

Hartford’s Riverfront will be celebrating Riverfest again this year. Except it has been moved to SUNDAY. Our good friends Eight to the Bar will playing, and Riverfest will also be lighting up the sky with fireworks.

In Milford, The 24th annual New England Arts and Crafts Festival will be on the Milford Green. This one is pretty much going on, so it’s going to be a run between the rain drops type of thing.

That’s all for now. I will have an update for you Saturday afternoon on the bands that are playing out, and the various fireworks shows that have not released any information.

R

So, needless to say, when Branford shoots .their fireworks the last Saturday in June, I’m getting ready. When I hit my first concert on any green, I am chomping at the bit. It is now the first Friday in July. let the fun really begin.

First and foremost. It’s all about fireworks over the next few weeks. And I do mean few weeks. A majority of the shows are this weekend. West Haven is always a great show, but generally speaking, you can’t go wrong with any of the shows.  The weekend of the 10th Guilford shoots, and of course, Sailfest has one of the largest shows (Grucci Productions) in New England, and the following week, Portland has their display. FYI, I went to the Portland display a few years ago, and it was awesome. But instead of listing them all out, here is the link to out friends at WTNH’s website.

If you want something during the day, Niantic is having their 50th annual outdoor Arts and Crafts Festival, 32nd annual Lobsterfest and Chicken BBQ ,and the East Lyme Historical Society will be holding their annual Flea Market and Collectibles show. Basically, you can spend the whole day in East Lyme/Niantic. By the way, still can’t figure that one out. Then you throw in Flanders? Damn, I am confused. What I do know is this is a great place to be this weekend. Here’s a great site for you, as it has the complete schedule for the summer.

Also out east is Subfest.  Each year, Sub Base Groton opens their gates to the public for this really cool festival. Bands, rides and fair food abound. They do have a wristband day. While you are in the neighborhood, check out the USS Nautilus, and the SubForce Museum. See what life is like for the Submariners of past and present, and the incredible sacrifices that they have made for our country. You can also find them on Facebook. The town of Madison is also having their fireworks, and on Sunday, they,like many New England towns will be having their 4th of July Parade.

I do have some music on the site, but a majority of the action is at the various fireworks shows, and family picnics. Now as always I will tell you to be safe, and to be smart. But on this long weekend, be especially so. I know that all of you are very careful, but unfortunately, there are thise few who just don’t know there limits, so please, be very aware, as i want you all back next week.

CIRQUE

edwinbartlett@hotmail.com

Next up, fundraisers. Pet project of mine. Actually a passion, and for very good reason. I have a personal connection to every fundraiser I am involved in. I have friends who have had, are fighting, or have passed away due to cancer. I found out just this week, that a friend has Cystic Fibrosis. And to me, friends are the most important thing, and only family comes before them. So when the opportunity to help presents itself, I am all in. This weekend at Cenicola’s Deli in Clinton their will be a good old fashioned pig roast to help raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This is a truly amazing foundation, and is a testament to how we can make a differance, and how, through research and caring, we can improve both the quality and length of life of those affected by this disease.

Right now, I can honestly say that I have so many events listed on the calender (over 1100 and climbing every day) that is getting harder and harder to chose. Bands like The Kathy Thompson Band, who is gigging out every day this weekend, to Exit 6 rocking The Kate.  Both The Bernadettes and .Free Play will also be having a very busy weekend I am pretty sure that I have at least 80% of the Farmers Markets listed, but will not stop til I have them all.

Some really weird things have been reported at The Mark Twain House up in Hartford. And tonight you can go on the Graveyard Shift Ghost Tour, and maybe see some paranormal activity. Recently, I had the pleasure of joining Veils Edge Paranormal Investigations as they did an investigation of the Bee and Thistle in Old Lyme. I have a story ready to go, just waiting on the rather interesting video. There are some rather interesting events that you will have to see. Made me rethink a few things….

And finally, we have the Wooden Boat Show at Mystic everything from R/C boat races to Skua races can be seen this weekend at Mystic, in addition to Mystic Village. So come on out to Mystic and enjoy the rich tradition of new England.

A couple of fund raisers going on this weekend. Sydney Rocks at Daniels Street on Sunday, and The Festival of Fun on Saturday at the Jerome Harrison School in North Branford.  These are two fun and easy ways for all of us to help out worthy causes.

If you want to be indoors then there are a ton of options here. Cirque du Soleil’s “OVO” is in Hartford from now until mid July, and as I mentioned, it iss so worth the trip. If comedy is the mood for the weekend, then The Kate has 3 showings of the Comedy Zone.  On the music end, you can head out to Margaritaville and check out Wicked Peach. The Kathy Thompson Band is at C.J. Sparrows in Cheshire, D.W.Ditty has an acoustic thing going on at Whitfield’s in Guilford,The Mojo Boys are throwing it down at The Old School Salon in New Haven,  and my choice for the night is The Taxmen at Donahue’s in Madison.

Although both of these festivals are going on all weekend, I can’t think of a better way to spend a lazy Saturday. New Haven has Arts and Ideas, and this is going on for the next 2 weeks.  The whole of downtown Branford will be turned into one big festival. Literally. All the merchants on Main Street, the town green, and up and down Montowese Street will be hosting the Branford Festival. Food,vendors, music, road race, and just about anything else you can think of will be going on, so come on out and enjoy all that Branford has to offer.

Saturday night the music scene is pretty amazing, so I am just going to list a few. The complete list can be found on the site. Stephan Hartman is acoustic and at Augur’s , Roxy Perry is at Cherry Street in Wallingford, Borrowed Toys is at Uncle Kranky’s in Jewett City, The Total Hacks are at Blue Point Bar and Grill, and The Buzz Monkey’s are at Hot Tamales in Seymour. My pick for The Rock and Roll Caravans sto.p? Well anyone who knows me can call this one. Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez at The Country Tavern. All bets are off, and the party is on.  This is where the party will be.

And don’t forget to support your local. Farmer’s markets everywhere. So get some of the freshest products anywhere, and help keep our state farmers. As always, be safe, be smart, and if you see me Out and About, make sure you come up and say hi.

First off, there are Farmer’s Markets in Lyme, Guilford, New Haven, Georgetown, Greenwich,  and West Hartford just to name a few.  And it’s not only fresh produce. Item’s such as fresh seafood, farm fresh meats and cheeses, and many of these markets also have the wares from local artisans. So check them out, and support your local.

Theater 4 is a new and dynamic group out of New Haven. They are presenting their first production at The Kate. Check out this inaugural production in one of the Shoreline finest venues.

The Mark Twain House in West Hartford is having it’s annual Tom Sawyer Day. Later on this month they will also be starting their “Haunted Graveyard Shift Tours”. these are just some of the many events the The Twain House presents throughout the year.

This is another great weekend for music in the state. Pyramis is at Mad Murphy’s on Friday, and The Zen Den on Saturday. Branded is at the Bulkely House on Friday, and is helping bring music back to Oliver’s in Essex on Saturday. The Ivory in Deep River has a two of the best female leads hitting the floor. The Tune Chic on Friday, and Exit 6 featuring Joell Jacob.  Michael Cleary is at Harbor Park on Saturday, and Free Play does Jake’s on Friday, and the Back Porch on Saturday.

If you have not heard of The Black Sheep Ranch in Clinton, well maybe it’s time that you heard of them. The ranch is actually the home of Andrew and Suzanne Wallach. Throughout the year, they open up their backyard (or home, if it is raining) and invite some of the best local musicians to come play. This is a devotion to music that is pretty much unmatched. So, if you want some great music in a very laid back venue, check them out.

So, this should keep you all occupied. Next onto the list will be all the arts and crafts fairs that I can find, and then more fairs and festivals. Stand by, it’s going to be a great summer.

Friday night at Aqua in Clinton, The Taxmen are giving you the best of music from the past 4 decades. Harbor Park up in Middletown is going to be rocking with Tainted Cherry, and out at Legends in Gales Ferry, they are hitting you with a triple bill featuring Mathias Steele, Shotgun Trust, and Hang’em High. Think we got a bit of a theme going on here. Our good friend Sue Menhart is going solo and listening on conversations out at The Riverwalk in Mystic, Cover Story is getting you dancing at The Chowder Pot in Branford.

Here is a bit of trip for you all. Remember Richard Marx? He is at The Kate Saturday night, and The Garde has a double shot for you on Saturday. In the afternoon is “Seussical, the Musical” so get the kids there, and the night bill is The Antonio Sanchez Trio.

Now I am going to go off topic a little bit here. As many of you know, I feel very strongly about building the community, and helping whenever, and however I can. This Saturday night, at Auger’s Irish Pub, I will be hosting the Tip-A-Babe fundraiser for the Relay For Life. I am honored to be doing this for the third year, and am even more honored working with these awesome ladies. Many are cancer survivors, or have lost ones that they loved to this disease. All are great people, and I am so very proud of all that they do. John Moniello, and friends will be providing musical entertainment, and yes, the same John who writes our CineTalk post. Yup, he sings, he writes, but does he dance on bars? Seriously, there will also be a 50/50 raffle, and a raffle with some very cool prizes. So come down, have some fun, and hel[p us as we raise money to fund cancer research.

Photo courtesy of Pam Landry

Starting Friday night, you can catch 3 time Connecticut Blues Challenge winners, Ryan Hartt and The Blue Hearts at The Ivory Pub in Deep River. If you have not seen these guys yet, do not miss them. Well worth the trip from anywhere, and that’s a guaranty. Freeplay is at Jake’s Martini Bar in Wallingford. They have a great dance floor there, and, trust me on this one, the guys will get you up and using every square inch of it. Tim Palmieri will be letting it loose at Cherry Street also in Wallingford. I have seen Tim play a couple of times, and he is a very gifted musician, so give him a shot if you are in neighborhood.

Saturday night brings one of my favorites back to town. Simple math on this one. 2 + 2 = 4. The Mojo Kings + The Country Tavern in Guilford = more fun than anyone should be allowed to have in public. No BS here folks, just a rocking good time. Mickey, Rick, and Chris bring it every time. Now if you are in the Eastern part of the state, well you got two choices here. Borrowed Toys at the Brown Derby, or Wicked Peach at Legends. Sorry, hate to say it, but it sucks to be all of you and this decision. Wait, here’s a thought, since one is pretty much 15 minutes from the other, do what I do, go see BOTH bands..

In the central region, you have a double shot of my VetsFest closers, Crosseyed Cat. Friday Night at the Cambridge House following the Vince Gill show, and again at The Groggy Frog in Southington. Very cool place and a very cool name. Anyone ever actually see a groggy frog?  Just askin.  Next of Ken is at Spectators in West Haven, and for those of you who are in the mood for something on the Jazz side, George Lesiw is at the Lanza Restaurant in Ansonia. Now I have not heard him play yet, but he comes very highly recommended by A Lot of my musician friends. When you want info on something you go to the experts. For me and jazz, I talk to my friends, but I listen to Annie Taylor and Jazz Stew.

Finally, here’s the big one. The Meriden Daffodil Festival. That’s right 600,001 daffodils and more original local music than you can shake a stick at. All day Saturday and Sunday Meriden comes alive with the best family entertainment in the state. Food, fun, and music. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Just to START, you can see,The Bernadettes, Forrest Harlow, Seth Adam, James Velvet and the Lonesome Sparrow, Jazz and the Rippers featuring Sideways Jaye, and my favorite, none other than the Beehive Queen, Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez. Follow the link for more details.

So, that’s it from me, for now. Enjoy your time, and as always, be safe, be smart, cuz I want you around for my next Weekend Update.

Next up, I want to welcome Ernie and Rocky’s Aqua restaurant back for the season. This is a very cool place in Clinton with some really good food. And, every Friday and Saturday night during the season, they give us some damn good bands, like Free Play tonight, which FYI, is the only night you will catch them here. Now,usually, I only give this type of additional marketting to those who have hired me to do so. In this case, it’s a freebie,and here’s why.

This past New Years, I get a call from Jules, and as you know, me and my best friend, we don’t like to sit around. EVER. So, Jules calls up and tells me how the Aqua is closing for the year, and are just cooking EVERYTHING, and doing a buffet for 5 bucks, two dollar bottles, and three dollar drinks and drafts! Now, I drink drink Guinness, and I drink very nice bourbons. I do this because quality is always better than quantity, so this sounds pretty cool to me. So, we meet her brother and one of his friends and we head down there. The only part that they got wrong, was, we didn’t pay a cent for the food. So, I find Rocky, and I thanked him, and he said to me, “No, Thank You”. And I knew why he did. There are those businesses out there who get it. They know that without happy customers, they got nothing, so they give back. So Rocky and Ernie, Thank You for caring about us.

Next up, is two new bands to my VetsFest 2010 line up. Steve Spurrell knows that I love doing fundraisers, and asked me to help build a new VFW,and being a Marine, and Semper Fi are words that I always live by, I am all in. So we started the Rock the Vets fundraiser, and it is growing into VetsFest. I always kept the bands local, because we have great local bands, but this year I wanted to spread out a bit, so when you do that, you might as go for the best you can, and these guys were the first to pop up. The Michael Cleary Band, who will be launching the music scene at Donahue’s  in Madison Saturday Night, and Crosseyed Cat at Crossroads Cantina.  Oh, and by the way, it’s Tommy’s 50th Birthday party, so you know the place is going to be off the hook tomorrow. Now, both these bands can play. They have been doing it their whole lives, but just in case you want proof, just watch this.

And finally, check out my post from this morning. High School student doing her community service to graduate, but for a great cause that helps the disabled, wounded Vets, and in the process helps rehab people who have made a mistake in their lives, but are not ready to be tossed in the dump. Gotta love it!

For the a complete list, check out the events section. So no mattewr where you are, no matter what you do, be safe, be smart, cuz we love havng you all around. Peace out.

So, after all that I have been working on, I think that this weekend is a weekend to totally unwind in a major way. I do have to be somewhat under control tonight, as I am back on WTNH in the morning. I know that Ted and Matt are extremely good at what they do, but don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression about me. I just like having fun whenever possible. To that end, let’s support our local musicians this weekend, and here is where you can do it.

Tonight, we have Lee-Ann Lovelace and the rest of Plastica roll out the hit’s of the 80′s at Central Cafe in Plainfield. If you have not heard Lee-Ann in any of ninety seven bands that she performs with, then you are truly missing out. If you are in the New London area, catch Sue Menhart with special guest John Fries at The Exchange. Backwoods Zydeco is at The Ivory in Deep River, Samurai Cab Company is at Z’s in West Haven, Fourplay is at Cherry Street in Wallingford. Oh, and what would one of my updates be without telling you that The Bernadettes are at Johnny Ray’s in Milford tonight, and back at it at Bear and Grill in Orange.

Saturday night is going to be a blast for me. For the first time in months I get to catch my good friends Tom Knapp, and Steve Plaziak and the rest of the guys from The Downshift Band. The only thing better than this, is that they are at one of my favorite hangs, The Country Tavern in Guilford. Erick and Rick really know how to have a great time, and it is never just another nite at the CT. So come down and join me there, as I promise, we will show you what a good time really is. For those of you in the rest of the state may I recommend these other great bands. Stephan Hartman returns to Augur’s in Guilford. When I say returns, I am not kidding. Stephan is making the trek up from Jersey, so the least we can do is stop in and say hello. And have a pint of Guinness. Mr Council is at that awesome pizza (and more! ) joint in Bridgeport called Two Boots, Curious George is shakin it up at JRoos in North Haven, 2Catzoo is just kicking ass again at Niantic’s coolest hang out, The Black Sheep,and one of the best Guitar slingers in the state, Johnny Vibrato is going to blow the roof off at The Ivory in Deep River. And wrapping it up is The Michael Cleary Band at Fishbone’s in Middletown.

One last thing. This weekend, and next, The Submarine Force Museum in Groton will be celebrating the USS Triton’s 50th anniversary of the first SUBMERGED circumnavigation of the world. My brother was a submariner for most of his 22 year career in the Navy. And although being a Marine myself, I feel that it is my duty to call him a “bubblehead”. But reality is this. I have the utmost respect for what he, and his fellow submariners did. Many of you do not realize the dedication of these guys, but here is a tremendous opportunity for the whole family to experience what we who have served often ask. “At what price, freedom?”.  The answer to us, was always, and will always be, at any cost.

Thanks for your support, and catch you all on the flip side.