Here’s your curated Hartford event calendar for May 2023

What makes this list? Events that I would either attend or recommend to a good friend

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  • NOOK FARM:  The Stowe Center recently relaunched its Nook Farm tours, and it’s always a good idea to learn at least something about the place where one lives. There are two ways to go about this. For a standard, guided group tour, make a reservation; these run at 3 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Tours need four people registered to run, so peer pressure friends and neighbors into joining you. The other option: buy/obtain access to the self-guided audio tour by stopping off at the visitor center. Prices vary, but tours are free for Hartford residents. // Take any of the 60-66 Farmington Avenue buses; closest stop (Gillett St) is right in front of the Stowe and Twain properties; it’s a 10-minute walk from the Sigourney Street CTfastrak station. Bicycle parking is to the right of the Stowe Center’s visitor center
  • OTHELLO: Watch a National Theater Live (filmed live theater) production of Othello, which Cinestudio describes as: “She’s a bright, headstrong daughter of a senator; elevated by her status but stifled by its expectations. He’s refugee of slavery; having risen to the top of a white world, he finds love across racial lines has a cost.” Sunday May 7, 2023 at noon is your one chance to see it at Cinestudio. Tickets: $20. // There are bike racks near the Cinestudio entrance. Take the 37, 39, or 41 bus.
  •  SLOW STREETS: Speed kills, y’all. On May 9, 2023, you have a chance to show your support for streets that are designed with people in mind. The City of Hartford’s Department of Development Services is holding a Vision Zero design workshop at the Keney Park Pond House (323 Edgewood Street) at 5:30 PM. Streets to be improved include Garden Street, Greenfield Street, Mahl and F.D. Oates Ave, and Pavillion Street. Look for project updates on the City of Hartford website and if you can’t (or absolutely refuse to sit through yet another meeting) attend, send your thoughts to: safestreets@hartford.gov // Take the 46 bus to Vine & Mansfield and walk a block and a half, or take 50, 52, 54, 56, or 58 and get off at Albany and Woodland — it’s one block to Keney Park and about 10 minutes from the stop to the Pond House. Bike parking is located between the Pond House, picnic area, and pond.
  • TREE TOUR: Arborist John Kehoe will lead a walking tour through Hartford’s Elizabeth Park on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 from 10 AM until noon. Meet by the green cottage’s flagpole. Free. // There is bicycle parking next to the greenhouse and the Pond House. Use the 72 bus Monday-Friday to access Elizabeth Park.
  • LITTLE RICHARD: There is one chance to see Little Richard: I Am Everything at Cinestudio, and that is on May 11, 2023 at 7 PM. They describe the film as one that “tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself. Throughout his life, Richard careened like a shiny cracked pinball between God, sex and rock n’ roll. The world tried to put him in a box, but Richard was an omni being who contained multitudes – he was unabashedly everything.” How do you not want to see this after that description? Tickets are $10. // There are bike racks near the Cinestudio entrance. Take the 37, 39, 41, or 61 bus.
  • BIRD WALK: You don’t need a special invite to show up at Cedar Hill Cemetery (on Cedar Mountain) to watch birds, but you should reserve your spot if you’d like to do so with a guide. On May 13, 2023 from 6:30-8:30 AM (morning!) Jay Kaplan from Roaring Brook Nature Center will be leading a bird walk. This is free, but register. //  Unfortunately, CTtransit thinks people got nowhere to be on Saturday morning, so bus service won’t get you there, but you can return using the 61 bus, with the closest stop on Maple Avenue near Fairfield Avenue. Other options include the 63 Hillside Avenue buses and 43 Campfield Avenue buses, which are a 10-minute and 20-minute (but through Goodwin Park) walk respectively. (The 144 stop on Jordan Lane looks like it’s not far, but there is inadequate pedestrian infrastructure, so I do not recommend it)
  • CRAFTED: Local arts and crafts fair inside of Hartford Flavor Company (30 Arbor Street #107). There will be a food truck. No fee to browse. 11 AM until 4 PM on May 13, 2023. // The closest bike parking appears to be at neighboring 56 Arbor Street. Take the 31, 33, 69, 101, 102, 121 or 128 buses (all less than a 5-minute walk)
  • REDISCOVERY OF AMERICA: Ned Blackhawk, author of The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History will be giving a talk at the Mark Twain House, and you can go in-person or watch the livestream. This is on May 16, 2023 at 6 PM. Tickets are $10 in-person or $5 virtual. // There is a bike rack to the right of the Stowe Center’s Visitor Center. Take any of the 60-66 Farmington Avenue buses; closest stop (Gillett St) is right in front of the Stowe and Twain properties; it’s a 10-minute walk from the Sigourney Street CTfastrak station.
  • HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES: Hello fellow tree huggers! Stop by Real Art Ways to listen to Dr. Masino of Trinity College talk about the connection between brain health and forests, and then stay for a screening of The Hidden Life of Trees. This is May 17, 2023 at 6:30 PM. Regular admission: $12. // Bike parking is located by the entrance. Take the 31, 33, 69, 101, 102, 121 or 128 buses (all less than a 5-minute walk from venue)
  • PARK HISTORY TOUR: At a loss for what to do on a Thursday morning? Go learn about Elizabeth Park’s history. Meet by the green cottage’s flagpole at 10 AM on May 18, 2023. The tour is free and no registration is needed. // There is bicycle parking next to the greenhouse and the Pond House. Use the 72 bus Monday-Friday to access Elizabeth Park.
  •  BIKE TO BREAKFAST: The annual National Bike To Work Day event (but really, nobody is asking for your employee badge or proof of being on a work commute) is on May 19, 2023 from 7-9 AM outside of the Old State House. CT DEEP’s current commissioner will be speaking at the event, and I’m not here to tell you what to do (except bring Tupperware so you can snag extra bagels) but this may be a chance to ask where those e-bike rebates are at, if there is no notable progress before then. Various organizations will be present. This is free. I never promised bagels. . . only reporting what I have observed as being consistently provided every year I’ve attended. // This is convenient to almost every bus route in Hartford. There are bike racks on the Main Street side of the building. If it turns out no bagels or carbs of your preference are present, there is G Bakery across the street and Bloom Bake Shop a very short walk/roll away on Pratt Street.
  • MEADOWS WALKING TOUR: If you take the dirt path north of the boat house in Riverside Park, you can walk to Windsor. Eventually, you find yourself kind of wedged between fenced off property, train tracks, and a stream. You could cross the stream and enter a giant meadow, and then connect to a bike path in Windsor, but it was not easy and it was never clear which property was private or public. Now, that giant parcel is being renovated by Riverfront Recapture so that there’s no more “should I ford the river or dodge a train” question, nevermind one about whether or not you should even be there in the first place. The new park is still in process, but there are occasionally walking tours of the area. The next one is on May 20, 2023 from 9-10:30 AM. It’s free. Just show up. //  Take the 34, 40, or 92 to Windsor Ave and Meadow Road (across from Keney Park), and walk for three minutes down Meadow Road.
  • CHARIOTS OF FAILURE: First, watch this video or this one if you are not already acquainted, and then see about getting yourself a ticket for this live Dina Martina performance at the Mark Twain House on May 24, 2023 at 6 PM. Ticket ($45)  includes cocktail tastings before the show. // There is a bike rack to the right of the Stowe Center’s Visitor Center. Take any of the 60-66 Farmington Avenue buses; closest stop (Gillett St) is right in front of the Stowe and Twain properties; it’s a 10-minute walk from the Sigourney Street CTfastrak station.
  • SALSA SOCIAL: Go to Pratt Street. Dance in the street. This is 5-8 PM on May 26, 2023. Free. Just show up.

Including only information about bicycle parking and bus access is intentional and I hope jarring to those used to only thinking about where they can store their cars.

Venues/event organizers/marketers: tell people where your bike parking is and what public transit is easily accessible. If you can find the resources to explain parking, you can provide similar info for those using greener transportation.

CULTURAL ASSETS
For ongoing free education, entertainment, public art, and resources — like 24/7 food pantries and libraries — check out this map. Zoom in and click on the icons for more information. This was last updated in February 2023: