Here’s your curated Hartford event calendar for October 2024.

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. 

Note: This is going to look a little different in November — you’ve been warned!  

ADD TO CALENDAR

  • TREE TOUR:  Arborist John Kehoe will be leading this free tree tour in Elizabeth Park on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 from 10 AM until noon. Meet by the flagpole in front of the green building inside of Hartford’s Elizabeth Park. 
  • WHAT’S QUEER IN HARTFORD?: Queer? Trans? Show up at this gathering to talk about community building in your city. There will be snacks. This is Thursday, October 3, 2024 from 6-8 PM at 12 Charter Oak Place.  
  • BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: Admission to this film is free at the Wadsworth Atheneum on October 3, 2024 at 8 PM. 
  • PRATT STREET SALSA: Last salsa social on Pratt Street for the season! Friday, October 4, 2024 from 5-8 PM. Free. 
  • STARS HOLLOW SATURDAY: Can you imagine being in a town that misses the opportunity to host delightful events like this because they stubbornly grasp onto a dying car-centric in the name of retaining its “character”? I mean, really?! Thanks to Hartford for having the vision that makes it possible to have Stars Hollow Saturday, and if you need that explained, you haven’t been watching your Gilmore Girls. For shame! Events will include Miss Patty’s Dance Class, a barbershop quartet, and trivia. 12-4 PM on October 5, 2024. Have fun until Taylor Doose shuts it down. P.S. If you’re asking where the best place is to park, are you even a Gilmore Girls fan? Everyone knows that Rory rides the bus to Hartford.  
  • NIGHT FALL COMMUNITY JAM: It seems that the Night Fall production we have all known and loved is transitioning to be something else, hopefully just as lovable but with an infusion of new energy. Whatever is next happens on October 5, 2024 with “grounds” opening at 2 PM. This will be in Keney Park by the Ridgefield entrance. Expect dancing, workshops, and food trucks. What else? Mystery. When does it end? Mystery. This is a free event. 
  •  FOOTLOOSE: Watch Footloose at Cinestudio to celebrate the movie’s 40th birthday. October 5, 2024 at 7 PM — $5.  
  • CLIMATE ANXIETY PANEL: A virtual panel discussion with Jill Vaughn and Rebecca Weston, moderated by Nancy Wynn, about “how climate anxiety is impacting all of us and how creativity is a path through to daily management.” This is a free online session on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 from 7-8 PM. Register for sign-in information.  
  • DRAG BINGO: Free to play! This is in The Local at Parkville Market on October 11, 2024 from 7-10 PM. 
  • FEVER DREAMS: There are two Pay What You Want ($1 minimum) performances at Theaterworks: October 9 and October 16, 2024 at 7:30 PM. They describe the play this way: “A steamy, decades-long affair. A remote cabin. An unexpected visitor. This is only the beginning. Full of surprising twists, dark secrets, and one very stubborn, broken cabinet.” 
  •  THE WITCH’S DOOR:  An author conversation at the Twain House with the founders of Oddities Flea Market. It’s $5 admission to this event on Friday, October 11, 2024 at 7 PM. 
  •  30 ASH OPEN HOUSE: Come by to see the space that can be used for community meetings, co-working, projects, and more at 30 Ashley Street. This is Sunday, October 13, 2024 from 1-5 PM.  

 

 

  •  SPOOKY SALSA: Salsa, outdoors at Parkville Market, in Halloween costumes. October 18, 2024 from 6-10 PM. Free. 

 

  •  FALL FOLIAGE TOUR: Arborist John Kehoe leads this tour at Cedar Hill Cemetery on October 19, 2024 from 10 AM to noon.  $10 tickets. 

 

  • THE SPACE BETWEEN: Jill Vaughn’s gallery exhibit has been up since September and your last chance to view it is on October 20, 2024. Drop by the Clare Gallery before it’s gone! 

 

  •  LANTERN TOUR: I say this every year and people don’t believe me until they learn for themselves: if you’re even thinking of going, get your tickets early! (As I write this, one of the time slots is fully sold out and it’s not even October yet.) This is a rare chance to be legitimately hanging out in a cemetery after dark. Character actors scattered in Cedar Hill Cemetery tell stories of those underfoot. Tickets are $20 apiece. The tour lasts an hour to 90 minutes, with start times every 15 minutes in the evening of October 25, 2024. Seriously, though, don’t procrastinate on buying your tickets if you think this might be a thing. Also — dress for the season and the activity. You will be outside at night in late October in New England. Don’t come crying about cold toes. 

 

  •  IMPROV HORROR MOVIE: Improvers will act out a horror movie based on audience suggestions. Friday, October 25, 2024 at 9 PM. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater box office.  

 

  • TRICK OR TREAT ON PRATT: Friends don’t let friends take their little ducklings to car-centric trunk-or-treat nonsense! Instead, bring them to a car-free space where they can run amok among members of the community. The trick-or-treating is from 12-4:30 PM and at 4:30 there will be a free screening of Hocus Pocus. (Even better: take them actual trick-or-treating so they get to know their neighbors!) 

 

  •  CAMPFIRE IMPROV: You didn’t think they’d only do one spooky season-themed improv show, did you? On Saturday, October 26, 2024  true stories (true or “true” . . . that’s unclear) will be told at Sea Tea Comedy Theater. Tickets are $15. 

 

  •  HAUNTED HALLOWS MARKET: Book fair + tarot readings + flash tattoos + crafts. Come to Thomas Hooker Brewery at Colt on Sunday, October 27, 2024 from 12-4 PM. Free admission. 

 

REPEATS!

FREE YOGA IN OUR CITY through October 13, 2024 (just as the weather is getting good for outdoor yoga, they shut it down!) 

 

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 September 2024