Here’s your curated Hartford event calendar for December 2023.
What makes this list? Events that I would either attend or recommend to a good friend. Review events with the host/venue to confirm details have not changed since publication.

ADD TO CALENDAR

  •  WINTERFEST: Free ice skating most days in December in Bushnell Park. There are a few special dates of note:
    • December 4, 2023 from 5-8 PM: Skate to R&B
    • December 11, 2023 from 5-8 PM: Skate to Rock Music
    • December 17, 2023 from 1-3 PM: Giant Puppets (puppets near but not on the ice)
    • December 18, 2023 from 5-8 PM: Disco Night
  • OTHER PEOPLE’S POEMS: Read a poem someone else wrote or listen to someone else read a poem that someone else wrote. This is December 1, 2023 at 6:30-ish PM at Hartford Flavor Company.
  • WINTER SITE WALK: Have yourself a late autumn walk in the Riverfront Recapture park that’s under construction. The property is in Hartford, but guided walk begins at 100 Meadow Road in Windsor; starts at 11 AM on December 2, 2023. Dress like you know you’ll be walking in New England in December. (That tip is from me, not from them. They’d say it more kindly.)
  • TOKYO GODFATHERS: This animated Christmas film screens at Wadsworth Atheneum on December 2, 2023 at 7 PM. They say the movie “follows the lives of three unlikely heroes through the streets of Tokyo—an alcoholic, a runaway teenager, and a transgender woman—whose paths cross on Christmas Eve when they discover an abandoned baby. With a blend of humor, compassion, and breathtaking visuals, Tokyo Godfathers delves into themes of redemption, forgiveness, and the power of found family.” $10 adults or $7 with Wadsworth Welcome.
  •  BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN: One chance to see this free on the big screen at Cinestudio — 2 PM on December 3, 2023.
  • IMPROV CHRISTMAS CAROL: Literally cried laughing last time I saw this at Sea Tea Comedy Theater. There are shows December 7-17, 2023. Note that some are family shows, so plan accordingly if you want or don’t want grown ass themes and language. Adult tickets are $18.
  •  WINTER VILLAGE: Pedestrianized Pratt Street becomes an outdoor holiday market on four days in December. Fridays 12/8 and 12/15 from 2 to 7 PM, and Saturdays 12/9 and 12/16 from 1 to 6 PM.
  • LESSONS AND CAROLS: Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols at Trinity College is exactly what it sounds like. Find it in the Trinity College Chapel on December 10, 2023 at 4 PM and 7 PM. This is its 64th year.
  •  BOTTOMS: Calling all Rachel Sennott fans! My words can’t do this justice, so go watch the trailer. This screens at 7 PM on December 14, 2023 at Cinestudio. Tickets are $10.
  •  ST. LUCIA FESTIVAL: The Emanuel Lutheran Church (Capitol and Hungerford) is hosting its 110th annual St. Lucia Festival at 7 PM on December 15, 2023. Tickets are $8 online, $10 door.
  • CHRISTMAS MAGIC: Movie Dub is Sea Tea Comedy’s version of MST3K. They play the movie on mute while providing the sounds and commentary live. This begins at 10 PM on December 15, 2023. Tickets are $10.

  •  IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: This film becomes 10,000% more enjoyable when you realize that it’s waving a finger at greedy villains. That finger is not the thumb. There are many chances to see it at Cinestudio from December 16 to 24, 2023. Tickets are $10.
  •  CONNECTICUT BOOK CLUB: The ConnectiCUT Book Club will gather on December 17, 2023 at 3 PM to continue conversation about Let This Radicalize You. Venue information and RSVP form is here.  Event moved to January.
  •  SECRET HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS BAKING: The Twain House is hosting a virtual talk with the author of The Secret History of Christmas Baking, and their copy says the book explores how “marzipan was once considered a pharmaceutical.” This explains, to me, marzipan’s existence at all, and definitely sounds like a talk worth attending. This streams at 7 PM on December 19, 2023.
  •  HARK! THE HAROLD ANGELS SING: Get your improv Christmas musical fix at Sea Tea Comedy Theater on December 20, 2023 at 8 PM. Tickets are $10. As they put it: “Sea Tea Improv & accompanist Kevin Scott are giving you exactly what you want this holiday season: the complete & total absence of planning.” Just what I always wanted!
  •  FOOD SUSTAINABILITY: This installment of Salons at Stowe will explore “our relationship with food, those who grow it, and the little understood Farm Bill.” This is a free event from 6-7 PM on December 27, 2023 at the Katharine S. Day House. Register for the program.
  •  IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD: The 1963 film will be shown at the Wadsworth Atheneum on December 31, 2023 at 2 PM. This is being shown as part of First Night Hartford, so you’ll have to figure out the pricing system through them. If your resolution for 2023 was something to do with solving puzzles, figuring out tickets might let you check this one off your list just under the wire — as of publication I clicked through four pages and ended up with a dead link. But I’m told the movie is worth the effort.

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 November 2023:

GETTING TO EVENTS
Hartford’s a city. Let’s act like it.
See CTtransit for bus schedule.
If you would like better bus service, contact CTtransit.
If you would like bicycle parking at a venue, contact that venue directly.
Ask for the kind of world you want to live in.