Greek Food, Irish Parades, And An Urban Circus: This Weekend In CT

CONNECTICUT — This weekend, we hit Connecticut's spring sweet spot, with maple sugar season winding down and St. Patrick's Day festivities gearing up.

There'll be no Bozos allowed in at the 360 ALLSTARS circus at the Garde Arts Center on Friday, March 8. After sold-out performances on Broadway, in Edinburgh and at the Sydney Opera House, the "urban circus" is smashing its way into New London. A boisterous bouillabaisse of BMX, basketball, breakdancing, drumming and gymnastics, all set before a "visually astounding" backdrop and scored with a "stunning" live soundtrack, it's nothing short of a circus reinvention. Tickets are available online here.

If you're looking for a more traditional family entertainment — and want to get a jump on St. Patrick's Day festivities — look no further than Capitol Avenue in Hartford on Saturday.

The Central Connecticut Celtic Cultural Committee will be hosting the 2024 Greater Hartford Street Patrick's Day Parade for its 52nd Anniversary. The marchers will step off from the Capitol building at 11 a.m., and end at the Memorial Arch.

Same day, same saint, but there'll be a different vibe in North Haven for the 12 Percent Beer Project's Irish Fest 2024. It's an all-day affair at the brewery that begins at 9 a.m. In addition to a tap room full of a wide selection of suds, look for a full roster of craft vendors and an eclectic mix of music from Bobby Wheeler, the Jolly Beggars, and the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Band. Tickets are available online here.

It may be March, but why should the Irish have all the fun — or get all the credit? The Greeks at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Orange will be rolling out the souvlaki and spanakopita for a 2-day Greek food festival, beginning at noon on both Saturday and Sunday. From soup to nuts, and avgolemono to koulourakia, "A Taste of Greece" promises authentic homemade Greek delicacies, served up in the Social Hall of a magnificent beautiful Byzantine-style church. Admission and parking are free. Stin ygeiá mas!

…and let's not forget: We're still sugarin', for a couple of weekends more, at least. The Plymouth Maple Festival is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Families can watch maple syrup boiling on an outdoor fire, help tap the trees, collect the sap, go on a scavenger hunt, and enjoy maple-infused goodies while listening to the fiddling of Down Home Frolic. At 11:30, there will be a tour of the secret passageways of the Underground Railroad at the Henry Terry House, and if that's not creepy enough for you, be sure to check out the nearby ancient burial ground.

If your idea of a good time is less a meander through forests bursting with syrup and more a white-knuckled race down a mountain atop a bicycle, bursting with adrenaline, head to Middlefield on Sunday. Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort will be the site of its annual Downhill Grip & Slip Mountain Bike Competition.

Check-in is at 9 a.m., with practice runs starting at 10 a.m. Timed heats start at 11:00 a.m. The course is gated, and all runs will be timed. Bikers will have two timed runs, and all bikes are required to have brakes (!). Prizes will be awarded, but they'll be nothing compared to the stories you'll be telling about your escapade for the next ten years. Tickets are available online here.