10 events to visit in Connecticut this March

Connecticut offers a dynamic blend of things to see and do throughout the year – including a glut of great events to visit this coming March.

From beautiful beaches and scenic green trails to challenging adventure parks and stimulating museum, Connecticut is packed full of fantastic landmarks and attractions that help make it a truly all-year-round destination. If you’re visiting the New England state this March, there’s no shortage of top-class events and exhibitions to look out for. Here are ten that you should consider adding to your itinerary.

‘Adger Cowans: Sense and Sensibility’ exhibition

Adger Cowans is a celebrated photographer whose work includes the civil rights movement, jazz musicians, landscape, and artistic studies of the human form, water, and light. He is also one of the founding members of Kamoinge, a Black photographers collective whose mission is to ‘Honour, document, preserve and represent the history and culture of the African Diaspora with integrity and respect for humanity through the lens of Black Photographers.’ This exhibition, curated by Halima Taha, presents more than fifty images from his illustrious career.

Fairfield University Art Museum, Fairfield / Through 18 June 2022

‘The Poetry of Nature’ exhibition

Featuring a stunning array of over 40 paintings, this exhibition illustrates America’s scenic splendor as seen through the eyes of over 25 leading artists from the Hudson River School –  a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. Drawn from the New-York Historical Society’s vast collection, the exhibition explores the artistic influence and current legacy of the movement. Visitors are invited to come and explore the nation’s oldest museum dedicated to presenting American art and amplifying the voices of all Americans.

New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain / Through 22 May 2022

‘Metamorphosis: Caterpillars to Butterflies’ exhibition

Welcoming children aged 7–10 for four separate dates in March, this special four-week spring-time learning programme has been designed to allow kids to raise their very own butterfly and learn about its various life stages. Each week when you come to the museum you’ll check on your butterfly’s progress and participate in a fun activity. After the final session, children will get to release their butterfly and go home with everything they need to raise more butterflies by themselves.

Lutz Children’s Museum, Manchester / 8, 15, 21 & 28 March 2022 March 

Eagle Cruises on the Connecticut River

Since its total disappearance in the state during the 1950’s, the Bald Eagle’s recovery in Connecticut is considered a major environmental victory. Each winter as the temperature dips below freezing, Bald Eagles from as far north as Canada make their way to the open waters of the Connecticut River for easy fishing and nesting. This March, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the Connecticut River Museum will host enthralling cruises, during which an on-board naturalist will help guests spot eagles from a variety of locations on the river, and discuss the bird’s natural history and habitat. Ticket purchase for the cruise includes complementary museum admission.

Connecticut River Museum, 67 Main Street, Essex / Friday, Saturdays & Sundays through March 2022

Connecticut Home & Remodeling Show

The largest and longest-running event of its kind anywhere in Connecticut, this hugely popular expo gives existing and prospective home owners the chance to gain inspiration from a wide variety of exhibitors on how to make their dream home even dreamier. Home improvement, building, and remodelling exhibits from local and national vendors featuring thousands of ideas for your property and garden will send you away fully pumped for setting to work.

Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford / 4-6 March 2022

‘Our Baskets’ exhibition

Nunootayunonash, which translates to “our baskets” in the Pequot language, features 40+ Southern New England ash splint baskets from the 19th and 20th-century. The exhibition highlights how natural resources are harvested, including tools, techniques and design aesthetics used during and after construction, as well as economic changes that have taken place within the local indigenous basket-making community over time.

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, Ledyard / Through 7 August 2022

‘Unbeatable Women: Power and Innovation in the Work of Women Photographers’ exhibition’

Examining women’s contributions to modern and contemporary photography, this exhibition presents compelling photographs that address female innovation, power, and identity. It showcases the Lyman Allyn Museum’s growing photography collection, augmented by select loans. The title “Unbeatable Women” derives from photojournalist Donna Ferrato and her powerful work fighting domestic abuse. In addition to Ferrato’s imagery, the exhibition includes photographs by artists such as Cindy Sherman, Carrie Mae Weems, and Shirin Neshat, plus other photographers in the region.

Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London / 26 February – 19 June 2022

‘Milton Avery’ exhibition

The celebrated modernist American painter Milton Avery, who grew up outside Hartford, expressed his vision of the world through harmonious colour and simplified forms. His career spanned the movements of American Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism, yet in light of these major artistic traditions, he forged a staunchly independent path as an artist. Throughout his work, Avery’s colour sensibility and balance of form remained apparent. The first retrospective exhibition of his work in the US in 30 years brings together a selection of 60 artworks representative of his signature themes, including scenes of daily life, portraits of loved ones, serene landscapes, and large-scale abstractions.

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford / 5 March-5 June 2022

Monster Jam

Combining the adrenaline-fuelled excitement of dirt-track racing with the jaw-dropping fun of trick competitions, the Monster Jam is the most exciting event in American motorsports. Spectators can witness heated rivalries, high-flying stunts, and fierce head-to-head battles between 12,000-pound engineered-to-perfection monster trucks. Highlights include the Monster Jam Pit Party which kicks off the event, where you can see the massive trucks up close, meet the drivers and crews, take pictures and enjoy many other family-friendly activities.

XL Center, Hartford / 19-20 March 2022

‘New London County Quilts & Bed Covers, 1750-1825’ exhibition

The domestic textiles produced in New London County from the mid-18th to early 19th-century are widely considered masterpieces of American needlecraft. This exhibition examines the artistic excellence of these pieces within the context of design inspiration drawn from an array of transatlantic sources and explores the question of how the county fostered such exceptional work. Quilted petticoats with maritime motifs, bold geometric patterns on bed rugs, and sophisticated feathers and fruit stitched on elegant whitework quilts reveal the range and accomplishment of New London County women, whose textiles survive as evidence of the network of connections between teachers, students, and family members.

Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme / Through 1 May 2022

By Paul Joseph