Today Calendar 2025: CT Farmington Valley and Beyond

Today Online
Aug 4
11 min read

Updated: 14 hours ago

Farmington Valley and Beyond • Connecticut • USA

• Today Online: Digital News Site • Today Magazine: 2018-2024

• Info is accurate to our knowledge, but confirm with organizers to be sure

• Repeat Honor – Today tops CT mags again in SPJ awards

SEO: Calendar 2025 CT Farmington Valley

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Summer Concert Series

Avon Town Green – West Main Street aka Route 44

• Thursday 8/14 – 6:00-8:00 pm – The Tradesmen: rock, country and blues

• Rain date – Friday 8/15

Free • Info – Avon Rec: 860-409-4332

Avon Town Green is about one-quarter mile west of historic Avon Congregational Church – host: Avon Recreation & Parks

Kala Farnham • Concert Schedule

Connecticut State Troubadour • Award-Winning Songwriter

• Info • Tickets – some shows free

• Kala has opened for Don McLean, Tony Bennett and other notables – she has performed across Connecticut and the East Coast

• Songs on YouTube > David • Connecticut Grown • A Little Ghost Story •

Music on Main • Summer Concerts

Collinsville Green – Main Street – next to LaSalle Market

• Saturdays – 6:00-9:00 pm

Free • Host – Canton Main Street

Destination event features live band – plus local dining and Farmington River hiking, biking and canoeing options – rain cancels

• Today Magazine cover story – Quick Class on Greens and Grass •

Walkie Talkies

LaSalle Market & Deli – Collinsville

• Monthly: fourth Tuesday – 1:00 pm • last summer date: 8/26

Free • usually hosted by Dr. Brian Magna • Info – Magna PT website

15-minute health-based talk followed by 45-minute walk – bad-weather venue: typically start at LaSalle, then TBD

Confident Embrace • Art Exhibit

Kalaveshi Arts Studio-Gallery – Riverdale Farms • Avon

• Friday 8/1 thru Sunday 8/31

• Gallery Open – Daily: except closed Mondays – 11:00am-4:00pm

Free • Info – Brain Injury Alliance • kalaveshiarts@gmail. com

Curated exhibition sharing the creative work of Connecticut brain injury survivors – co-hosts: Brain Injury Alliance of CT and Kalaveshi Arts

• Today news story – Inspire Arts: Offering hope to brain injury survivors •

Summer Art • Programs and Events

Paint Nights • Kids Birthday Parties • Youth Summer Art Classes • more

Kalaveshi Arts Studio-Gallery – Riverdale Farms • Avon

Free to visit gallery – program costs vary

• Register • Info > Studio drop-down menu

• Award-winning Today cover story – From War-Torn To Art Reborn

• Today news story – Kosovo genocide history sets stage for art gallery •

Life Cycle • Art Exhibit

Parkville Art Gallery – Hartford

• Exhibit open thru August

Free • Info – 860-874-5193

• Numerous artists include acclaimed painter Edith Skiba LaMonica — she has displayed work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New Britain Museum of American Art and Canton-based Gallery on the Green

• Today news story – Nature draws and beckons artist •

CT Artists • Art Exhibit • Online

Gallery For Good – Summer In New England

• Exhibit open thru August

Free to browse • Purchase art – proceeds benefit Farmington Land Trust •

• Today Magazine cover story:

Landing Place – Land trusts preserve Valley’s rural beauty •

Gallery on the Green • Art Exhibits

Canton Green Road – Canton – between Dowd Avenue and Route 44

• Gallery hours – Fridays-Saturdays-Sundays – 1:00-5:00 pm

65th Anniversary Exhibition – thru Saturday 8/9

Free • Farmington Valley artists and beyond – Gallery on the Green is run by Canton Artists’ Guild • 860-693-4102 • cantonartistsguild@gmail. com

Scholarship • Free Tuition

CT State Community College

• Info • Apply

• Thousands have received free tuition statewide

“It sounds too good to be true, but this is real" – CT State rep

National Beat Poetry Festival

Canton Town Hall Auditorium – Collinsville

• Friday 8/29 – 7:00-10:30 pm

Tyson home – 22 River Road • Barkhamsted

• Saturday 8/30 – 1:00 pm thru early evening

• Sunday 8/31 – 1:00-3:00 pm

Free • Info – email: nbpf15@gmail. com

National Beat Poetry Foundation event — state beat poet laureates recite work — open mic on Saturday — donations accepted to defray food cost

Canton Main Street • Farmers Market

Town Hall parking lot – Collinsville • next to LaSalle Market

• Sundays – 10:00am-1:00pm – thru October 12

Free to attend • Info – Main Street • Facebook

Family-friendly with nearby Farmington River hiking, biking and canoeing options plus historic Collins Company – 21 full-season vendors

Friday Night Out – Flank Steak Dinner

North Canton Community United Methodist Church

• Friday 9/19 – 5:00-7:00 pm

$22: adults – $15: children 6-12 – Free: under 6 • Info: 860-693-4589

Menu: steak with mushroom sauce, roasted potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes with balsamic vinaigrette and basil, dessert and coffee – takeout available

Pine Grove Schoolhouse

Avon – corner of Harris Road and West Avon Road: Route 167

• Sundays • 2:00-4:00 pm – May thru September

Free • Listed on National Register of Historic Places – built in 1865

• Avon Historical Society • 860-678-7621

Open Mic Nights

Free to play and listen

• Grindstone Tavern • Collinsville – Tuesdays • 7:00 pm

• Talcott Mountain Collective • Simsbury – Tuesdays • 7:00-9:30 pm

– Online sign-up: Facebook • Instagram – walk-ins if time allows

• LaSalle Market & Deli • Collinsville – Fridays • 6:00-9:00 pm

– Same-day sign-up at LaSalle – limited spots • Info: 860-693-8010

Longevity Walks

• LaSalle Market & Deli • Collinsville – Tuesdays • 3:30 pm

• Reservoir 6 rear lot • West Hartford – Thursdays • 9:30 am

Free • Register one-time: Kathleen Arky • karky64@att. net

Info – Magna Physical Therapy: 860-679-0430 • office@magnapt. com

Host: Longevity Zone – no dogs – at Reservoir 6: leader to hold red flag

Blood Pressure Clinic

Blood Sugar Clinic

Canton Senior Center – 40 Dyer Avenue

• Wednesdays – 11:30-1:00 pm

Free • Managed by Farmington Valley VNA – appointments not required

For residents of all towns, not just Canton

Concerts • Outdoor Events

Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center • SMPAC – Simsbury

• Costs vary – 2025 Season

• Today Magazine cover story:

Orchestra Back At SMPAC – Jubilant return for HSO •

Canton Café

Dine-In Lunch Program

Canton Community Center – 40 Dyer Avenue

• Wednesdays • Fridays – 12:00-1:00 pm

$5 – senior citizens • $7 – town employees

Reservations required two days in advance – call 860-693-5811

Red Cross Blood Drives

Numerous locations in Farmington Valley

• Various days and times

• Register for a Valley-based blood drive – www.redcrossblood.org •

Photo Exhibit • Wendy Rosenberg

Roaring Brook Nature Center – Canton

$7-$9 • free for members • Info – 860-693-0263

• View wildlife images by a multi-award-winning photographer

• Rosenberg-focused Today Publishing cover stories:

• Fame and the Forest Gump Effect

• Wild Wonder

• Seeing Wildlife with Wide-Eyed Wonder

Wendy has won an SPJ award for this photo in Today Magazine:

Antique Appraisals

ANTIQ’S – Farmington

• Saturdays – 11:00am-4:00pm

Free • Info – 860-676-2670 • info@antiqs.com

• Free-of-charge appraisal of your antiques

CT Freedom Trail Program • Online

Three Firsts – Pvt. Leverett Holden – Civil War veteran

Free • On-Demand Video

• Holden's gravesite is on the Connecticut Freedom Trail – a first for Avon – he was in CT's 29th Regiment Volunteer Infantry: Colored

• Presented by Avon Historical Society president Terri Wilson

Coping with Grief and Loss during the Holidays • Online

• On-Demand Video – cogent talk starts at 21:20 mark after musical intro

Speaker – Joe Colletti • author • bereavement consultant

• Hosts – Carmon Community Funeral Homes – Avon

– Mary’s Place – A Center for Grieving Children and Families – Windsor

Free • Info – visit above websites • 860-688-2200 • 860-673-8610

• Nine Carmon locations – Avon • Granby • Hartford • Rockville • South Windsor • Suffield • Vernon • Windsor • Poquonock: also in Windsor

American Parkinson Disease Association • Connecticut Chapter

CT Support Groups – CT Exercise Classes

Free • Various locations – ongoing

• Click the above links to find a group or class near you

• Today Magazine cover story – Parkinson Puzzle •

MLK in CT Memorial

Simsbury Free Library

Free • On-Demand Video – Unveiling Ceremony

Ceremony occurred on MLK Day 2021 – at Simsbury Free Library

• Award-winning Today Publishing coverage:

– Today Online feature • Unique memorial honors MLK's time in Valley

– Today Magazine cover story • Their Dream: MLK Memorial

• Award-winning documentary – produced by Simsbury High students:

Summers of Freedom: Story of Martin Luther King in Connecticut •

Unearthing History

2024 History Series • Online

• Internationally significant find in Connecticut's Farmington Valley

Discovery in Avon of 12,500-year-old Paleo-Indian Site

Free • Five Webinars

• Paleo-Indian Discoveries in America

• Use and Sources of Ohio Hopewell Fossil Shark Teeth

• Foraging in Paleo-Indian Period: Macrobotanical Analysis

• Bioarchaeology in North America: Ethics and Issues in 2024

• History of Native American Archaeology in Connecticut

– Sponsors – Avon Historical Society • Avon Library • Avon Senior Center

• Today Magazine cover story – by Dr. David Leslie:

Archaeological Dig Reveals Valley’s Paleo-Indian Secrets •

• David was senior archaeologist for the Avon site discovered in 2019

Unearthing History

2023 History Series • Online

• Internationally significant find in Connecticut's Farmington Valley

Discovery in Avon of 12,500-year-old Paleo-Indian Site

Free • Five Webinars

• LIDAR Revolution in Earth Surface Mapping

• Hunting Techniques of the Paleo-Indian

• Big Importance of Small Things:

Microscopic and Blood Residue Analysis of Ancient Stone Tools

• Paleo-Indian Sites, Site Patterns & Travel

• Update on Brian D. Jones site in Avon CT •

Unearthing History

2022 History Series • Online

• Internationally significant find in Connecticut's Farmington Valley

Discovery in Avon of 12,500-year-old Paleo-Indian Site

Free • Five Webinars

• What Genetics Teaches Us About the Peopling of North America

• Ice Age Animals of New England

• Paleo-Indian Foodways with Trade & Network Exchange

• Looking into the Past with Ancient DNA

• Update on Scientific Analysis of Brian D. Jones Site in Avon CT

• Dr. David Leslie – Part 1 • Part 2 •

Unearthing History

2021 History Series • Online

• Internationally significant find in Connecticut's Farmington Valley

Discovery in Avon of 12,500-year-old Paleo-Indian Site

Free • Five Webinars

• Digging into Deep History: Archaeology, Artifacts, Avocation

• A Rift, not the River, Made the Farmington Valley – Part 1 • Part 2

• CT Before History: Deep Story of Valley's Human Settlement

• Connecticut Native American Communities: Past and Present

• Connecticut’s Paleo-Indian Sites

• Dr. David Leslie – senior archaeologist • Avon CT site

• Dr. Zachary Singer – research archaeologist

Simsbury Public Library

Recurring Events • Programs

Free • Register • Info • 860-658-7663

Online: Poetry Group

• Monthly – third Tuesday – 6:30 pm

• Write and share poems for constructive feedback

Spanish Conversation Group

• Wednesdays – 11:00 am • Practice speaking Spanish with others

English Conversation Club

• Fridays – 10:30 am • Practice your English with others

• Today Magazine cover story – Burning Book Passion •

Autism Programs

Autism Families CONNECTicut

• Register – https://www.autismfamiliesct.org •

• Today Magazine cover story:

Cogent Focus: 20th Anniversary for Autism Center •

Gildo T. Consolini VFW Post 3272

Ongoing Meetings

• Monthly – fourth Wednesday

• Avon – Prince Thomas of Savoy Italian Club

5:30 pm • Social – 6:00 pm • $10 Dinner – 6:30 pm • Meeting

• Weekly – each Thursday

• BeanZ & Co. – Avon – 8:30-11:00 am

Free • Veterans from all towns invited for conversation and support

We Are Very Likely To Die

Incredible True Story of Sinking of Sea Surveyor

Free • On-Demand Video

Talk by survivor Walter Banzhaf, longtime Simsbury resident – presented at Simsbury Senior Center, Simsbury Library and elsewhere in CT

Canton Area Boardgamers

Christ Community Church – Collinsville

• Sunday – second and fourth of month – 1:00-5:00 pm

Free • Facebook page • Info: organizer Kevin Salch – 860-597-6894

Bring your own games or play ours – check Facebook to confirm the usual second-and-fourth Sunday meeting is on due to occasional reschedules

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Valley Town Sites – Avon • Canton • Farmington • Granby • Simsbury

Valley Libraries – Avon • Canton • Farmington • Granby • Simsbury

Valley Chambers of Commerce – Avon-Canton • Granby-Simsbury

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PAST EVENTS – events below were listed previously in Calendar above

Monument Dedication Ceremony – honoring historic black family

Peter and Esther Jackson Memorial • Simsbury Cemetery

• Juneteenth • Info – Alex Breanne website • Simsbury Historical Society

Strawberry Festival – 73rd annual

North Canton Community United Methodist Church – Route 179

La Sylphide – New England Ballet Theatre

Two Hikes – National Trails Day – Canton Land Conservation Trust

Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast 

Habitat for Humanity • North Central Connecticut

Marriott – Downtown Hartford

Connecticut Freedom Trail • Dedication

East Avon Cemetery – Avon Congregational Church

• Info: Avon Historical Society

• Dedication of memorial stone for Leverett Holden, Avon resident and Civil War veteran of 29th Connecticut Infantry Regiment: Colored

• Award-winning Today news story:

Black soldier answered Lincoln’s Civil War invite •

We Are the Sons of Freedom – Exhibit

Avon Public Library – History Corner

• Info: Avon Historical Society

PAST EVENTS – these events were listed previously in the main Calendar

Cruising the Rivers of Europe • Presented by Jean Foisie of TravelVision and AMA Waterways cruise line – 860-693-2515 • jeanfoisie@yahoo. com

Spring Concerts – Better Together – Farmington Valley Chorale

Historic Trades of the Revolution – Simsbury Historical Society

Senior Conference and Resource Fair • SCARF • New Season in Life

Bird Hike – Canton Land Trust

Memory Walk – Mary's Place: A Center for Grieving Children and Families

National Day of Prayer • All welcome – 74th annual observance – established by Continental Congress in 1775, this tradition predates founding of U.S.

PAST EVENTS – these events were listed previously in the main Calendar

Theater – Playhouse 44

• New theater venture – join email list •

Fundraiser – House of Changes

• Nonprofit for mental health, substance abuse, incarceration challenges

HarttWorks – Dance-Music Performance • Hartt School Community Division

Diabetes Plus with Dave Oliver

Magna Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine – Avon

• 860-679-0430 • Hosted by Magna PT and The Longevity Zone •

Group Art Exhibition – Inspire Arts

Free • Info – Rebecca Maloney – 860-382-3020

• Supported Living Group offers platform for artists living with disabilities