What’s up Hartford County!? Today is Tuesday September 9th as well as National CARE BEARS™ Share Your Care Day - aka the day a bunch of pastel-colored cartoon bears with belly tattoos remind you to be a decent human. It launched in 2014, which makes it a marketing holiday from the jump, but here’s the kicker: it works. Care Bears have been around since 1982 and still pull in licensing deals, NFTs (yes, that happened), and collabs with brands like Forever 21. Why? Because “sharing” sells, especially when it's dressed in nostalgia and wrapped in Gen Z-friendly kindness campaigns. Bottom line: if your brand can make people feel something and slap it on a hoodie, you’ve got a shot at evergreen revenue.
In Today’s Hart Co Buzz:
Seasonal Drink
The Berlin Fair
50+ Events & Live Music
Let’s dive in!
-Todd DiGiovanni
Big shoutout to the local artists who jumped into our inbox, your work is legit inspiring. From digital designers to painters and sculptors, you’re turning “Connecticut” into a vibe. Keep it coming.
Would you buy a small batch limited print CT Buzz collab with a local artist to help support us?
P.S. Thanks to all that sent grant leads. That’s rocket fuel. Keep ’em coming - short intros, quick links, whatever - you just helped us sprint.
DRINK
Here’s the move: fall’s rolling in, I just got back from Cape Cod, and the cranberry bogs were basically yelling at me to make this. Meet the Cranberry Bog Hot Toddy - fast, cozy, New England in a mug. I’m sober now, so I’m riding with the zero-proof version; the boozy one’s for guests. Bonus: I share a namesake with this drink, Todd(y), so I’m claiming hometown rights.
Alcoholic
Heat 4 oz cranberry-apple juice until steaming.
Mug: 1½ oz aged rum + ½ oz honey.
Add hot juice, stir.
Pinch of allspice, squeeze/drop a lemon wheel.
Zero-Proof (my pick)
Heat 4 oz cranberry-apple juice until steaming.
Mug: ½ oz spiced simple syrup (allspice/clove) + ½ oz honey.
Add hot juice, stir.
Pinch of allspice, lemon wheel on top.
Quick spiced syrup: Simmer equal parts sugar + water with a few whole cloves and a pinch of allspice for 2 minutes. Cool, strain, flex.
YOUR STORY, OUR STAGE
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HART CO TRIVIA🤔
Which Hartford County landmark features a a brownstone triumphal arch flanked by two towers commemorating Civil War service and was dedicated in 1886?
BUZZWORTHY ACTIVITY🐝
The Berlin Fair is Connecticut’s annual cheat-weekend wrapped in four days of fried dough, Ferris wheels, and farm flexes. It’s back Sept 11-14, 2025 at Berlin Fairgrounds (430 Beckley Rd), a tradition that started as a harvest festival in 1882, went statewide in the early 1900s, and was revived by the Berlin Lions Club in 1948. Translation: this isn’t a pop-up; it’s a pillar.
Inside the gates: double figure-eight racing + demo derby on opening day, tractor pulls, pig races, Nutmeg Kart Club go-karts, bubble shows, “Berlin’s Got Talent,” and enough live music and new-for-2025 food to make Monday’s salad feel like an apology. Pricing is old-school fair honest: Adults $15 cash / $17.50 credit, kids 11 & under free, active military free, with 4-day passes if you’re going full superfan. Bring cash, bring your appetite, bring the crew - gates open at 4PM on Thursday.
NEW OPENINGS
🍩 NOT A PHASE CAFE opens Friday, Sept 12 at 1100 Main St in Newington -breakfast/lunch hits plus fair-season stunts like an egg-and-cheese on a donut and a funnel cake iced coffee.
🪴 The Lil’ Plant Shop is now open at 150 Broad St, Windsor - soft opening now, grand opening soon, with lush houseplants, pots, and fun plant-night events at Founders Square.
🛍️ Berlin Kiosks, a new artisan emporium with goods from 50 Connecticut makers is open at 146 Mill St, Berlin.
TWAIN’S HARTFORD HOUSE:
WHERE HUCK & TOM WERE BORN
Following last week’s word scramble, here’s a quick spotlight on Mark Twain and his Hartford house. Twain wasn’t just a novelist, he was a tech-and-money roller coaster. In Hartford he bragged he was the first in that part of New England to install a telephone…then famously complained about it. He held three U.S. patents (including a self-pasting scrapbook and an adjustable garment strap), published U.S. Grant’s memoirs - delivering roughly $450,000 (over $14M in today’s money) to Julia Grant. Twain then poured about $300,000 into the Paige Compositor (a dazzling but finicky typesetter) only to watch Linotype win; two were ever built (one’s in Hartford), and the loss pushed him into an 1894 assignment to creditors and the lecture tour that paid everyone back by 1898.
Hartford’s Mark Twain House (351 Farmington Ave) is a 25-room, ~11,500-sq-ft Victorian Gothic/Stick-style showpiece by Edward Tuckerman Potter, with interiors by Louis C. Tiffany’s Associated Artists. For 1870s tech, it was loaded: seven bathrooms with flush toilets and running water, gas lighting, central heat, even a burglar alarm, plus a glassy conservatory with a fountain. Twain wrote in his third-floor billiard-room study during the years he produced Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, Life on the Mississippi, and A Connecticut Yankee. After daughter Susy died in the house in 1896, the family never returned; they sold it in 1903.
BEE LINE EVENTS
TUESDAY (9/09)
Manchester | Comic: Mario Adrion | 7PM $ - Model-turned-comedian brings big crowd work and bigger laughs to The Funny Bone (194 Buckland Hills Dr). Tix
LIVE MUSIC
⬢ Hartford - State House Square | The Bargain | 12-1PM
WEDNESDAY (9/10)
Berlin | Little Waddlers (Ages 2-3) | 10:30-11AM - Tiny humans, big energy. Songs, stories, and toddler yoga at Berlin-Peck. Registration required
Hartford | Riverwood Poetry Series Hosts Sean Thomas Dougherty | 7PM - Season opener at Real Art Ways. Feature reading + open mic for the first ten poets. Bring a page, bring the heat.
Hartford | USL Jägermeister Cup Semi-Final | 7:30PM $ - Win-or-go-home vibes at Trinity Health Stadium (250 Huyshope Ave): Hartford Athletic vs. Greenville Triumph. Loud scarves encouraged. Secure Entry
Manchester | Free Muay Thai Class | 5-6PM - Pads, kicks, sweat. Free intro with Wolf Den Martial Arts at Buckley Elementary (250 Vernon St). Ages 13+. BYO water and “let’s go.”
Windsor | Live Band Karaoke | 6:30PM - Be the lead singer with The Peet Trio at Dudleytown Brewing (1001 Day Hill Rd). Big catalog, zero tracks, free to jump in.
LIVE MUSIC
⬢ Hartford - State House Square Food Court | Inner Groove | 12-1PM
⬢ South Windsor - Nevers Park | Shaded Soul Band | 6-8PM
⬢ Southington - Cadillac Ranch | Country 92-5 Hometown Heroes Concert | 6:30PM $ (benefits local veterans).
⬢ Weatogue - Talcott Mountain Collective | Low Key Trio (Jazz) | 6-9PM.
THURSDAY (9/11)
Berlin | Berlin Fair (9/11-9/14) | Times vary $ - Fair season = fried dough, Ferris wheels, and farm animals. Four days of rides, concerts, tractor pulls, and all the guilty-pleasure eats at Berlin Fairgrounds (430 Beckley Rd). More Info
Bristol | Wine, Women & Watches | 6-9PM $ - Swirl, sip, and support the American Clock & Watch Museum (100 Maple St). Hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, scavenger hunt - proceeds fuel exhibits and programs.
Hartford | Tao LaBossiere: Solo Exhibition & Book Launch | 5-8PM - Celebrate the life and work of a Hartford icon at ArtSpace Gallery (555 Asylum Ave). Free reception, new book, big local love.
LIVE MUSIC
⬢ Glastonbury - Cotton Hollow Kitchen | Eddie DeRocher | 6-9PM
⬢ Hartford - Connecticut’s Old State House | Jesse Royal | Music 6-9PM
⬢ Hartford - Infinity Music Hall | Vincent Ingala | 8PM $
⬢ Hartford - The Webster | Sleepy Hallow & Sheff G | 8PM $
FRIDAY (9/12)
Hartford | RetroWorld Expo (9/12-9/14) | 1-8PM $ - Arcade heaven + vendors + cosplay at CT Convention Center (100 Columbus Blvd). Day passes + VIP
Hartford | 100 Men of Color: Black Tie Gala & Awards | 8PM $ - Honors, tuxes, big community flex at The Bushnell Belding Theater (166 Capitol Ave). Gain Entry
Hartford | The Graffiti Workshop | 4-8PM $ - Tagg Sessions takes over Heaven Skatepark (44 N Chapel St). Learn letterforms, paint walls, leave with swagger (and photos). Passes
Hartford | Falguni Pathak: Dandiya Dhoom | 7PM $ - Garba season hits hard at CT Convention Center (100 Columbus Blvd). Sticks up, feet down. Seure your spot
Manchester | Mix & Mingle Comedy Tour 2025 | 7PM $ - Sheryl Underwood + killers from TV at Hartford Funny Bone (194 Buckland Hills Dr, #1054). Date-night friendly; laughter guaranteed. Tix
LIVE MUSIC
⬢ Broad Brook - Opera House | Mauve Lloyd (Pink Floyd Tribute) | 8PM $
⬢ Hartford - The Webster | Dueling Pianos | 8PM $
⬢ Milldale - Kinsmen Brewing Co. | Number 9 (Beatles Tribute) | 8-11PM $
⬢ Vernon - Rocking Horse Bar & Grill | Nothingman (Pearl Jam Tribute) | 9PM $
⬢ West Hartford - New Park Brewing | Dumb Love (STP Tribute) | 8PM $
SATURDAY (9/13)
Bloomfield | Food Truck Festival | 4-8PM - Roll up hungry: the Town Green (800 Bloomfield Ave) turns into a curbside buffet with trucks, games, and live tunes. Free to wander, pay as you munch.
East Hartford | 3rd Annual Latin Festival | 12-7PM - Salsa in the park! Great River Park (301 East River Dr) goes full fiesta with live music, dance lessons, vendors, and family fun. Free entry, waterfront views.
Hartford | Pride Fest & Concert | 12-6PM - Pratt & Trumbull becomes rainbow-central with performers, community orgs, and an afternoon concert. Bring the flags, bring the friends. (875 Main St.)
Hartford | Bingo Loco | 7PM $ - Part bingo, part rave, all chaos. Confetti cannons + dance-offs at The Webster (31 Webster St). 21+ Passes
Hartford | Filmmaker Spotlight: Jordan Peele’s Get Out | 6PM $ - Smart scares on the big screen at Real Art Ways (56 Arbor St). Come for the social thriller, stay for the convo. More Info
Manchester | Bookfest | 10AM-2PM - “CT’s biggest author fest”: 80+ local writers lining Main. Readings, workshops, signings at Downtown SSD (903 Main St).
Southington | Crazy Brew Bash | 12-4PM $ - Mount Southington (396 Mt Vernon Rd, Plantsville) becomes a craft-beer playground. VIP sips at 11AM; games, food, and way too many sample cups. More Info & Tix
LIVE MUSIC
⬢ Bristol - Rockwell Theater | 1964: The Tribute | 7PM $
⬢ Glastonbury - Rooftop 120 | Sunset Drive | 8:30-11:30PM
⬢ Hartford - Black-Eyed Sally’s | Brandt Taylor Band | 8-11PM
⬢ Manchester - Elicit Brewing | Afterglow | 9PM
⬢ Manchester - The Hungry Tiger | Jack Hammer | 9PM
⬢ Simsbury - Old Well Tavern | Stealhead | 8PM
⬢ South Windsor - CT Valley Brewing | The Misfit Toys | 6:30-9:30PM
⬢ Southington - Blackstone Irish Pub | Mindcrime (Queensrÿche Tribute) | 9PM
⬢ Vernon - Rocking Horse Bar & Grill | Trailer Trash | 9PM
SUNDAY (9/14)
Bristol | Plantella: A Bristol Expo | 12-5PM $ - The Boys & Girls Club (255 West St) turns into a jungle of rare plants, makers, and “do I need another monstera?” moments. VIP sneaks in early(11AM); GA still scores the green. Gain Access
Hartford | West End PorchFest 2025 | 1-6PM - A whole neighborhood becomes stages - maps and kickoff at Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School (5 Cone St). Walk, listen, repeat. Free and dangerously wholesome.
Manchester | Comic: Trae Crowder | 6:30PM $ - The liberal redneck takes over Hartford Funny Bone (194 Buckland Hills Dr). Doors 5:30; bring your best laugh and a friend who “doesn’t do comedy.” Tix
LIVE MUSIC
⬢ Broad Brook - Opera House | Piano Man Meets Rocket Man (Joel/Elton Tribute) | 2PM $
⬢ Glastonbury - Hops on the Hill | Acoustic Anomaly | 2-5PM
⬢ Hartford - The Webster Underground | CT All Starz | 6PM $
⬢ Hartford - Xfinity Theatre | Falling In Reverse | 6:15PM $
⬢ Weatogue - Talcott Mountain Collective | Joshua Aciares | 4PM
MONDAY (9/15)
Hartford | Comic: Nurse Blake - But Did You Die? Tour | 7PM $ - The Bushnell’s Belding Theater (166 Capitol Ave) turns into group therapy for the overworked: savage patient stories, WebMD “Stage 8” diagnoses, and nurse-level punchlines. 18+. Tix
That’s a wrap for this week’s Hart Co Buzz. If you enjoyed Hart Co Buzz then please share with friends and family who will also benefit from staying in the loop with local happenings. See you next week!
Talk soon,
Todd
