Lobster, Beer, Wine, Cheese, Music, and More: 9 Must Attend Connecticut Festivals in September

If you’re one of those people who say there is nothing going on in Connecticut at all in September, then you must be loco en la cabeza.  There is an amazing variety of food focused festivals happening, especially in September.  We’ve been keeping track of some of the most exciting events that will make your taste buds tingle and we’ve arranged them here for you.  Now, your only problem might be trying to figure out how you’ll hit up 3 festivals in the same day.  Trust us…it can be done.  If you know of any more festivals in (or closely around) Fairfield County, please let us know.

9/15

1) Slice of Saugatuck

9/15 at multiple locations in the Saugatuck area of Westport (see our post for map)

Noon to 3 pm

$5

• Food samples from:  Bistro 88, Black Duck, Boathouse, Cake Suite, Cocoa Michelle, Collyer Catering & Market, Commuter Coffee, Cuatro Hermanos, Dunkin Donuts, Dunville’s, Embody Fitness Gourmet, Julian’s Brick Oven Pizza, Mansion Clam House, Marios Place, Pappadum, Rizzutos, Roly Poly, Tarantino, Tarry Lodge, Tutis, VFW/Gallo Group Catering, Viva Zapata, Westport Chinese Takeout
• Wine and liquor tastings
• Special events like live music, butchery demo, martial arts demo, and even take a ride in a kayak
• Get a slice of the shops, restaurants, and places in Saugatuck that make it so great

9/15-9/16

2) Live Green CT

9/15 (10-4 pm) and 9/16 (11-4) at Taylor Farms Park, 45 Calf Pasture Beach Road in Norwalk, CT

Admission is free, but parking is $5

• Food from Skinny Pines Pizza, Planet Fuel, Ripka’s Bull’s Head Market, The Stand, Island Cow, and Slow Food Shoreline
• Learn how to go green (or how to continue to go green)
• Live music
• Lots of things to check out (test drive some electric cars even) and purchase

9/16

3) Heritage India Festival (thanks Moms in Weston, CT for this find)

9/16 at Fairfield Town Hall Green, 725 Old Post Road in Fairfield, CT

11 – 5 pm

Free admission

• Lots of Indian food!
• Arts, crafts, jewelry, clothing, dancing, music, henna art, and yoga demonstrations

9/20, 9/21, 9/22, 9/23

4) Stamford Lights Festival (will link up when available)

9/20-9/23 at various locations in Stamford, CT

• (9/22) Waterside Diversity Fest 2012 from noon to 6 at John Boccuzzi Park (166 Southfield Ave.)
• (9/22) West Side Health Fair at the Yerwood Center from 10 – 3 pm
• (9/22-23 ) Arts & Crafts on Bedford (check out all the restaurants on Bedford!)
• (9/22) It’s My Park Day 11 -4 pm at Mill River Park
• (9/22) Harvest Festival from 10 – 4 pm at Fairgate Farm at 133 Stillwater Avenue
• (9/22) Harbor Point Block Party from 4-8 on Canal Street
  • Food specials from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (holy cow, yes), Harlan Social, and more…
  • Live music and a family fun zone
• (9/22) Watch the awesome lighting up ceremony at 8 pm at the North Entrance of the Transportation Center
• (9/23) Thunder on the Sound…bike to support the Brian Bill Memorial Foundation
  • Register online or from 8:30-9:30 am at the Merritt Parkway Commuter Stop, Exit 35
  • Family BBQ starting at 11 am at Ponus Yacht Club
• (9/23) East Side Food Festival from 12 – 3 pm at the Domus School on Lockwood Avenue

9/22

5) The Westport Rotary Lobster Fest

 

Looking for 2013 Info?  Click here! 

9/22 at Compo Beach in Westport

3-7 pm

• For $40, get two 1.25 lb. lobsters with corn, red potatoes, cole slaw, bread + butter, all the beer (featuring Beaver Beer) or wine you want, and peppermint patties to get rid of that lobster breath.
• Also for $40, get a 14 oz. NY Strip Steak with corn, red potatoes, cole slaw, bread + butter, all the beer (featuring Beaver Beer) or wine you want, and peppermint patties.
• Or, for $10, get a children’s meal (ages 3-12) that includes chips, water or soda, and either hot dogs or chicken fingers.

6) Milford Oktoberfest, sponsored by The Devon Rotary

9/22 at Fowler Field in Milford, CT (Behind the library)

1 – 9 pm

• $10 to enter (children under 16 are free, but can’t drink obviously)
• Get your fill of German and American food.  But, who eats American food at an Oktoberfest?
• German Bier Garden.  ‘Nuff said.  Not ’nuff said?  10 seasonal brews and brewery displays, too.
• Live German music and also the musical stylings of The Rumrunners and Hitlist.

7) Harbor Brew Fest

9/22 in the Ballpark at Harbor Yard, 500 Main Street in Bridgeport, CT.

12-5 pm

$10 for designated drivers, $35 for general admissions, $50 for VIP admission

• Over 30 different breweries represented…craft, local, international, domestic!  We’re talking Blue Point, Thomas Hooker, Beaver, Kona, Redhook, Widmer Brothers, Berkshire Brewing, City Steam, Brooklyn Brewery, Olde Burnside, and more…
• Music from The String Fingers Band, Twiddle, and more…
• Food from FIVE of CT’s favorite food trucks:  Super Duper Weenie, Fire Engine Pizza Co., LobsterCraft, Melt Mobile, and Christophe’s Crepe Truck.
• A portion of the sales will go a wonderful charity for children called The Harbor Light Foundation, after all, they are the peeps putting this together!

9/23

8) Nutmeggers Cheese & Wine Fest

9/23 at Jones Family Farms, 120 Beardsley Road in Shelton, Connecticut

Noon – 4 pm

$50 for adults, or $10 for children 6-12 in advance.  Adults pay $5 more if they purchase tickets at the event.

• Samples of some of the best Connecticut cheese, cheesemaker talks, book signings, and a few special guests who know LOTS about cheese.
• Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro, Fairfield Cheese Company, and more on hand.
• Lots of samples from Connecticut vineyards as well as a tour of the Jones Vineyard.
• Your entry helps to raise money to protect Connecticut’s farmland and to support quality childhood nutrition.

9/29

9) New Canaan Nature Center Harvest Festival, Nature on Tap

9/29 at NCNC, 144 Oenoke Ridge in New Canaan, CT

3-6 or 7-10

$50 in advance, $65 at the door

• Lots of beer, even local beer like Half Full
• Live music from The Fry Daddys and Otis and the Hurricanes
• Lots of food from Asia Hamachi, Carpe Diem, Deep River Snacks, El Rancho de Pancho, Roger Sherman Inn, The Tuscan, and more…