This event calendar is not intended to be one-stop-shopping. Major events or those already receiving heavy promotion tend to be excluded, as do most events with large price tags, though exceptions are sometimes made, particularly if the cause is good or there are discounts offered.

If there is anything that fits that bill, happens in Hartford, but is missing from this list, leave a note in the comments and/or remind your organization to send out press releases:

September 1

  • Free admission to museum galleries at the Connecticut Historical Society from 9-5 today.
  • Pliny Street Block Party: The Clay Arsenal Neighborhood Revitalization Zone and various community organizations will be on hand from 12-4pm. There will be face painting, food, entertainment, and of course, a moon bounce.

September 2

Today is your last chance to see Dinosaurs Unearthed at the Connecticut Science Center.

September 3

Funny Girl will be shown at Real Art Ways at 1:30pm; discussion to follow.

September 4

Hartford artist Anne Cubberly is not someone who stays locked in her studio, emerging only to sip cocktails at her own receptions. She shares her talents by frequently working with members of the community. Tonight, she’ll be helping people of all ages make lanterns from repurposed plastic bottles. This is free; participants do not need to bring any materials or skills, but children should bring their adults with them. This runs from 6-8pm at 57 Pratt Street, 2nd floor.

September 5

  • Full Moon Tour at Elizabeth Park: meet in front of the Pond House at 7:15 pm with your comfortable walking shoes and flashlight. This is a free experience everyone should have at least once. If it rains, the walk will be rescheduled for September 6th.
  • Ed Fast and Conga Bop will play in the Tavern at the Firebox Restaurant. The show starts at 8:30pm; there is no cover charge.

September 6

  • This month’s Art After Hours at the Wadsworth Atheneum will include the opening of MATRIX 165 and a talk by artist Ahmed Alsoudani. $5 (it gets you admission to the entire museum too) or free for members and college students with ID. 5-8pm.
  • The opening reception for “LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES,” the jazz-inspired paintings of Andres Chaparro, will run from 5-8pm at the Conrad Mallett Gallery, 960 Main Street. His vibrant work will be on display through September 28th.
  • Mijo de la Palma will perform what is described as  a “blend of Puerto Rican jíbaro music and contemporary acoustic sounds” at The Studio at Billings Forge at 8pm. This Center Without Walls event is free, but there is a suggested $10 donation.

September 7

  • Alona Wilson, the Assistant Director and Curator for The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, will lead a gallery talk about post-Reconstruction Era African American caricatures and stereotypes. This runs from noon until 1; the Amistad Center for Art & Culture is part of the Wadsworth Atheneum. Meet in the main lobby for the talk.
  • GAZE: from 5:30-8:30 enjoy light refreshments at Real Art Ways’ gay happy hour.
  • The screening of Rising Star will be the final one in the Hartford Parks Free Movies After Dark series. KLOCKWIZE will perform at 7; there will be free yoga at 8pm. The film will follow at sunset. Bushnell Park.

September 8

  • Women of Color Conference in the Center for Contemporary Culture in the Hartford Public Library. Topics to be covered: debt, self-worth, and goal setting. This is free and will run from 10-5.
  • Architectural Historian Lucas Karmazinas will be leading a Hartford Preservation Alliance walking tour of the Sisson-South Whitney area, starting at 10a.m. from the parking lot at the northwest corner of Girard and Farmington. $15.
  • The Wadsworth Atheneum has free admission on the second Saturday of each month. Guess what today is?
  • If the Mary Poppins bit was the highlight of the Olympics for you, then mark your calendar: from 11-3 there will be a free Bushnell Block Party. Free kites, singing, dance lessons, chalk drawings, and a sing-along film screening of the 1964 Mary Poppins. Events will be in and around The Bushnell.
  • Guitarist Daniel Salazar, Jr. will be accompanied by the — wait for it — Hartford Symphony Orchestra in a free outdoor performance at the Riverfront. Flamenco guitarist Val Ramos and vocalist Jose Paulo will also join him. Before that promising performance, there will be music by Kaleidos Duo and Frank Varela. The musical event is scheduled to kick off at 4:30pm. Raindate: September 9th.
  • There will be a reception for Variations from 5-7pm at City Arts on Pearl. These works by eleven artists will be displayed through September 24th.
  • The Many Colors of a W*O*M*A*N jazz festival is schedule to begin at the Liberty Christian Center (23 Vine St.) at 8pm. Musicians will include the Nicki Mathis Afrikan Amerikan Jazz New Millennium All Stars, Fiery String Sistas Duo, Umoja, and more. Free.

September 9

  • Opening reception of Hartford: Then  & Now at the Mark Twain House & Museum. Five local artists — Rozanne Hauser, Lou Mazzotta, Jo McGinnis, Flora Parisky and Sandy Parisky — have created images of Hartford inspired by the Gilded Age. 2-4pm; free. Artwork will be on display through October 9, 2012.
  • Enjoy a free show by Sea Tea Improv at the comedy club in City Steam Brewery from 7-9pm. Doors to this area open at 6pm; those under 21 must be accompanied by an adult.

September 10

Duo Barrenechea — Brazilian flute and piano — will give a free performance at the Fuller Music Center on the University of Hartford campus. Seating is limited. 8-9:30pm.

September 11

  • From 5-8pm in the Center for Contemporary Culture at the Hartford Public Library there will be another iQuilt program. Interestingly, this meeting is now being listed as “private” for “stakeholders.” Stakeholders must not be the public.
  • The Triplets of Belleville will be shown at La Paloma Sabanera (405 Capitol Avenue) as part of its Bicycle Film Series. Helder Mira will introduce the film. Free movie, free popcorn, free bicycle parking out front. 7:30pm.

September 12

At a loss for something to do? The Hooker Day Parade is just over one month away! Start working on your costume. Disclaimer: Writers for Real Hartford were part of one of last year’s winning groups and we’re pretty determined to rock it even harder this year. To be part of the Frog Hollow parade group, inquire within.

  • 5:30-8pm at the Old State House, there will be a public meeting to give an update on the iQuilt and to discuss the Hartford Intermodal Project (conveniently after an item on it came up before City Council this week).

September 13

An exhibition of Beena Azeem‘s work will open at the Charter Oak Cultural Center, with the reception from 5:30-7:30pm. The Charter Oak Cultural Center describes The Reason for Reason:

large scale figurative paintings in which the artist presents her subjects in staged, theatrical settings that suggest ambiguous narratives. The paintings explore symbolic references of social and political significance and examine the tensions of race and sexuality, ritual and religion, submission and domination and explore the cultural and traditional roles of women in various societies.

Azeem’s art will be on display through October 12, 2012.

September 14

  • Liquid Lounge: Prom– The Do-Over. The sporadic 21+ party at the Connecticut Science Center, this time, with prom attire. 6-10pm. It’s not free, but you get admission to the museum with the bonus of it being child-free.
  • Is there anything better than watching Katharine Hepburn in Adam’s Rib? How about watching this film outdoors? In the cemetery where the actor is buried? Yes, you can. Bring a picnic dinner and blanket. Admission is $8 and the film begins at 8pm. The rain date is September 15th.

September 15

The Anthem Reggae Band will give a free performance in the atrium of the Hartford Public Library from  3-4pm.

September 17

The Hartford Jazz Orchestra will perform at 8pm at the Arch Street Tavern; doors open at 7 for this free show.

September 18

The Old State House hosts a farmers’ market every Tuesday, in season, from 11a.m.-2p.m.

September 19

  • La Orquesta Espada will perform at the North End Farmers’ Market (80 Coventry St.) from 11am-12:30.
  • The third round of Other People’s Stories will be hosted again at La Paloma Sabanera. You can simply sit and listen, or you can participate. The catch? The stories you tell on stage have to be told to you by someone else and you can not use any notes. They ask for submissions to be made in advance, but if time remains after all those signed up have performed, “walk in” participants are welcomed. This is free and begins at 7:30pm.

September 20

Daniel Sterner is an historic interpreter at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center and will be giving a free talk there about his new book, A Guide to Historic Hartford. 5-6:30pm.

September 21

Jazz saxophonist Mike Casey will perform at the Firebox Restaurant at 9pm. No cover charge.

September 21-23

Think about going on a retreat to focus on your ideas. For a few days you get to bond with others and work toward a common goal that you create. This is basically what Startup Weekend Hartford
involves. This meets at the Hartford Public Library. Not free, not even close. But if you’re seriously trying to get something going as an entrepreneur, this might be a worthwhile experience for you.

September 22

  • You really do not need to be fit to take part in the Real Rides. No, really. The blood doping and spandex-wearing is all totally unnecessary.

Starting at 5pm, riders can gather at Real Art Ways to begin decorating their bikes. These decorations might range from a couple of hastily-attached glowsticks to an entire bike made into a fish or a dragon. The ride begins at dark. People of all ages are encouraged to participate in this free event.

This ride is being called “Biking Around a Tree.” Real Art Ways says that, “highlighting this ride: Adam Niklewicz ‘s “Walking Around a Tree” projection will make its debut on Saturday, September 22 on the facade of the AT&T building downtown. ‘Walking Around A Tree,’ along with the sculpture/installation ‘The Charter Oak’ on 215 Pearl Street, is a collaborative effort between the artist, the City of Hartford, The Wadsworth Atheneum and Real Art Ways. Hartford was one of seven cities in CT awarded a grant by the DECD for their City Canvas Initiative to bring art to public spaces.”

  • The Hartford Preservation Alliance‘s Mary Falvey will be leading a walking tour in the “Hartford Hospital District.” The tour will leave from the southwest corner of Washington and Jefferson, checking out the architecture of houses that once belonged to some of the city’s wealthiest residents. 10a.m. and $15.
  • If you want a less participatory way to welcome autumn, visit the Riverfront for the annual visit by Pilobolus, a modern performance dance company based in Connecticut. The free event begins at 7:30pm. Arrive early to get an unobstructed view.
  • The Artists’ Collective (1200 Albany Ave.) will be hosting a free performance by guitarist Stanley Jordan at 8pm.
  • An Evening of Tibetan Music with Dadon, another free concert, will be held at Austin Arts Center on the Trinity College campus. This will be in the Goodwin Theater, 8:30p.m.

September 23

  • The Homestead Avenue Farmers’ Market happens every Sunday (in season) at the Chrysalis Center from 3-6pm.

September 24

  • Autumn arts & crafts for youth at the Camp Field Branch of the Hartford Public Library from 3:30-4:30pm
  • Steve Davis will be performing at Black-eyed Sally’s from 8-11pm. This is free and open to those under 21.

September 27

  • Rev. Dr. John Endler, Homa Naficy, and Judith Gough will take part in a free discussion at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center about how the community can embrace refugees. Refreshments at 5pm; discussion begins at 5:30.
  • Cinestudio will screen Windhorse for one night only, starting at 7:30. Cinestudio describes this picture as:

Windhorses are the prayer flags and scraps of papers hung in remote mountain passes, on whose backs Tibetans send prayers to the spirits who look after them. This amazing film (set to traditional Tibetan music) was shot secretly under the eyes of the Chinese authorities. A young Tibetan woman assimilates by speaking Mandarin and dancing in a local disco, while her brother lives out his bitterness in bars. But when Buddhist monasteries come under siege and images of the Dalai Lama burned, both brother and sister are challenged to respond with resistance.

This screening is sponsored by Mandala: The Sacred Art Of Sand project.

September 28

  • Hartford Critical Mass rides the last Friday of every month, leaving from the carousel in Bushnell Park around 6pm. The route changes each time, often without any plan. This is free. Bring Your Own Bike.
  • From 6-9pm there will be a discussion of the roles of white, black and gray in art work. This free chat will take place at Tea Haunt Canvas on Trumbull Street.

September 29

  • The Discover Hartford Parks Tour has a more brisk cycling pace than the Real Ride, but most people can manage without more than some light stretching in the morning. Bike Walk CT calls it a leisurely pace, which it might be for those who ride regularly, but I generally disagree with this adjective, as you will break a sweat.

Riders can choose a 10, 25, or 40 mile route that takes them through the city’s parks and neighborhoods.

The registration fee for this event starts at $25 for adults and $10 for children, but there are some discounts you can ask about. The ride leaves Bushnell Park at 9am.

  • The Connecticut Science Center is offering free admission all day from 10-5. Today is the grand opening of the Strange Matter exhibit.
  • If you’d rather drink and listen to bagpipes than exert yourself, the Pipes in the Valley Celtic Music Festival will be running for most of the day — 11-10. There will be caber tossing. No coolers or outside alcohol will be permitted at this Riverfront event.
  • Want to be in The Nutcracker? Auditions for adults will be held from 6-8:30pm at the Hartford Arts Center.
  • The Hartford Symphony Orchestra will be giving a free performance in Bushnell Park beginning at 7pm.
  • Winterpills will be playing a free show at the Wadsworth Atheneum at 8pm.

September 30

While we’re more partial to the dragon boat races because, well, dragons, we can get a kick out of the annual Head of the Riverfront Rowing Regatta. Boats will launch from Riverside Park. 9am-3pm, free to watch.