Fun, Games, Flowers & Tequila: CT Springs To Life This Weekend

CONNECTICUT — Fun, games and a whole lot of flowers are in store for Connecticut residents prepped for a little road-tripping this weekend.

In celebration of its current exhibition "Fun & Games? Leo Jensen’s Pop Art," the Florence Griswold Museum in Lyme is hosting a "Fun & Games Carnival Day." Included with museum admission will be arts and crafts in the Education Center, carnival games, animals on loan from Wounded Eagle Farm in Canterbury, face painting, fairy hair (!), and the requisite bounce house and food trucks. Festivities in full force Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There'll be more food trucks, bounce houses, games and crafts — not to mention live music and a bubble garden (!!) — at The Annual Frog Frolic Festival in Redding on Saturday. The fest is in its 27th year, and takes place outside, rain or shine, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in front of the Redding Community Center at 37 Lonetown Road. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket or a chair and stay all day, as the entertainment is free and will be ongoing throughout the festival.

The Downtown Milford Business Association is hosting an "old-fashioned spring fair," with a plant sale, used book sale, raffle, lots of vendors, and fun activities for the kids on Saturday (rain date Sunday). The fair will be held on the Town Green from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

One of the state's longest-running springtime celebrations returns to the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington on Saturday. May Market is Hill-Stead's annual home, garden and gourmet event and this year will feature over 40 premium vendors and flowers and unique plants perfect for Mother’s Day.

What's a'matter, Bunky, not enough flowers for ya? Then saunter over to Meriden where the 44th Annual Daffodil Festival will be in bloom all weekend long at historic Hubbard Park. Browse through only the best work by local craftspeople at the juried craft fair, Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Little Miss Daffodil and consort will march in the parade Saturday, beginning at 11:30 a.m., and the flowers! More than 600,000 daffodils will be on display throughout the festival.

The Tequila Train will be pulling out of the Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. Passengers will be whisked away to Bad Dog Brewing in Torrington, but not before multiple Tequila tastings (!!!) on board the train. The menu served by Salt 2.0 upon arrival will be taco- and burrito-heavy. A fudge tasting, courtesy of the Nutmeg Fudge Company, will close out the evening on the train ride back. Tickets are available online here.

You can sip and chug along in Thomaston, or chug and sail in Mystic. The schooner ARGIA returns to service this weekend, setting sail from the drawbridge in Mystic Saturday and Sunday. Pack your own picnic basket and bring your own beer or wine (no hard liquor allowed), or you may purchase snacks when booking that will be delivered to you onboard. Then sit back and feel the wind in your hair for your 2-hour cruise along Connecticut's scenic coastline. The ARGIA sets sail at 9:30 a.m. and again at noon. Tickets are available online here.

If all of that is not enough to get your mind off your annoying job in your dreary cubicle, The Greatest Show on Earth will be pitching its tents at the XL Center in Hartford all weekend long. Over 70 performers hailing from 18 countries will be performing never before seen acts such as "The Triangular Highwire" and "The Double Wheel of Destiny." Guinness World Record-holder unicyclist Wesley Williams, the "One Wheel Wonder," will be going for another record. There's jumping, diving, tumbling, BMX biking, music, and maybe a little too much clowning around. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is playing six shows in Hartford, get your tickets online here.