Singing Bowls & A Trek Through The Governor's Digs: This Weekend In CT

CONNECTICUT — Usually when a head of state has a big throw-down at his mansion, it's a very exclusive ticket for a highly restricted guest list. In the case of the big get-together this weekend at the Connecticut Governor’s Residence, they're letting anybody in, including you.

Gov. Ned Lamont and First Lady Annie Lamont are inviting Connecticut residents to attend the 33rd annual holiday open house at the Residence, which will be decorated for the season and open to the public for tours.

The open house will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, and Saturday, Dec. 9. It is located at 990 Prospect Avenue in Hartford. There is no admittance fee and tickets are not needed, however monetary donations will be accepted on behalf of Operation E.L.F., an annual fundraising campaign of the Connecticut National Guard Foundation.

Live music entertainment will be provided on both days. On Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Saturday from noon to 1:15 p.m., that entertainment will be provided by vocal performers from VP Vocal Studio, led by vocal coach Vanessa Pare. On Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., singers from Conard High School’s Be S#arp acapella group will perform.

Scan the Patch Event Listings enough and it becomes clear there aren't as many festivals in Connecticut during the cold midwinter as there are in midsummer. It all balances out, however: Blame, perhaps, the sugar rush from all that hot chocolate, but the December fests always seems a bit more magical than their June-July counterparts.

Case in point: The Festival of Lights in Mystic's Olde Mistick Village on Friday, Dec. 8 from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. The district borders on the supernatural most of the time, but sprinkle the walkways with brilliantly lit luminaries, add live entertainment and complimentary treats in the Meeting House, and it's a night the family will remember the rest of their lives. (Or at least until next summer's three-day River Jam Festival at Mystic Shipyard…)

If it's a bit too cold for you on the water in Connecticut in December, there may still be a festival in your forecast this weekend. The annual Festival of Trees at The Mill Museum in Willimantic opens with a reception on Friday, Dec. 8 from 6-7:30 p.m. Now in its second year, the Festival features holiday trees decorated by groups, businesses and others from throughout the region. The trees will stay up during the holiday season, Fridays through Sundays, until December 31 with viewing a part of normal museum admission charge.

You will find no trees at The Barnes Museum in Southington, but you will discover one of the best Christmas services anywhere: gift wrapping. On Friday, Dec. 8, Saturday, Dec 9, and Friday Dec. 15, from 1-4 p.m., Barnes staff will wrap your treasures to a theme inspired by The Gilded Age. It'll cost you a few bucks, but nothing impresses the new girlfriend (or her mother) like a gift wrapped like a vintage Hollywood movie prop. It's a popular seasonal pit stop in the area, and registration is required.

If you prefer singing bowls to singing choirs of angels this Christmas season, Coventry's got you covered. The Conduit Sound is a team of musicians who practice the art of "performance-sound-meditation," and they now take their Sound Meditation Concert to The Lodge at Patriots Park every second Friday, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available online here.

The Lodge offers lovely views of Coventry Lake, a cozy fireplace, an outdoor deck overlooking the beach, and plenty of parking. Attendees will enjoy live gongs, singing bowls, and soothing vibrations in "the perfect setting to release any negative energy, and connect with your calm and balance within." Sort of like SantaCon's opposite number, and that sounds glorious.