These are just a select few of the events going on through the remainder of July:
Tonight
Beach Block Party at the Wadsworth Atheneum will feature summer fashions and the film Soul Surfer. Begins at 5pm; film at 8.
July 8th
Hot Rhymes, Spicy Flows: HartBeat Ensemble’s BBQ & Poetry Feast in the Hollander Building on Asylum (enter on High Street). There will be vegetarian bbq available from 6:30-7:30. The show starts at 8 and goes until 10pm.
July 9th
Riverfest: begins at 4pm down at the Riverfront; ends around 9:30 after the fireworks show. Free!
July 9th (and other Saturdays)
Vintage Base Ball: free and a lot of fun! Bring sunscreen, a chair or beach towel, and some spare change for Vintage Soda Pop.
July 11th and remaining Mondays in July
Jazz in the Park kicks off at 6pm in Bushnell Park. Free!
July 15-17th
Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz: Free and not to be missed. Besides the music, there are food and other vendors. Last year I was able to get deep fried Oreo cookies here.
July 16th
Mark Twain and the Civil War: A Cemetery Tour at noon in the Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Fiesta del Norte: a free, musical celebration of Mexico at the Charter Oak Cultural Center, beginning at 2pm.
Shag Frenzy: Yes, it’s back in Hartford. This goes from 9pm until 2 in the morning at the Arch Street Tavern.
July 19th
Human Trafficking: Slavery in our Day and Age begins at 6pm at the library. The Hartford Public Library’s press release says: “Matt Friedman, Regional Project Manager for the United Nations Interagency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), in Bangkok, Thailand, will talk about how this issue has relevance in the US. He will discuss: what is human trafficking, who is trafficked, what are people trafficked for, where can it be found, and what can be done to stop it.” This is a free event and refreshments will be served beginning at 5:30pm.
July 23rd
Ray Gonzalez Latin Jazz & Salsa Festival at the Riverfront begins at 5pm and is free.
July 29th
Debo Band with Fendika: a free musical event at Real Art Ways beginning at 7:30pm. The Debo Band is an eleven-member collective that plays Ethiopian music. The RAW press release states: ” Debo Band’s sound is an unlikely mix of Ethiopian pentatonic scales and vocal styles, American soul and funk, and the instrumentation of Eastern European brass bands – accordion, violins, horns, and drums.” There will be a sousaphone.
