Ski-Jumping, Drum Thumping & A Giant Bridal Expo: This Weekend In CT

CONNECTICUT — Hot chocolate, hotter drums, ski jumping championships, a massive wedding expo and a really, really cool model train layout are available this weekend in Connecticut if you know where to look.

The 98th Annual Jumpfest and Annual U.S. Eastern National Ski Jumping Championships will be held Jan. 2-5 on Satre Hill in Salisbury. In addition to jumpers zipping up to 200 feet through the air at speeds up to 50 miles an hour, there'll also be a human dogsled race. You're not exactly certain what that is, but you know you want to see it.

The competitions are hosted by the Salisbury Winter Sports Association, a local 501(c)(3), whose mission is to acquaint Connecticut residents — "especially the children" — with Nordic ski-jumping, cross-country and Alpine skiing.

Although you'll find plenty of hot chocolate to swig at the Jumpfest, none of it is likely to be up to the level available this weekend at White Silo Farm & Winery in Sherman. It's there you'll find the Hot Chocolate Festival, pouring out Feb. 3-4, noon to 4 p.m.

The family-operated small-batch winery will be serving up four hot chocolates — white, milk, dark and Mexican. You can top them off with homemade marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and other fancy fixins'. This year, the winemakers are adding s'mores into the mix, and there will be live music from 1-4 p.m. both days.

You'll have your hands full: The $25 per person admission includes one glass of wine or nonalcoholic beverage to sip with your hot chocolate(s).

The 38th Annual 2024 Connecticut Wedding & Bridal Expo is the largest exhibition of products and services for The Big Day on the East Coast (and quite possibly in the country), and it will be walking down the aisle this weekend. Everything you need to get hitched will be there under one roof at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

From the mainstay veils, dresses and photographers to the less obvious but equally essential, The Wedding & Bridal Expo is the one-stop showcase for nuptials needs.

There's just a few more weeks left to hop on board the Connecticut River Museum's 30th Annual Train Show. The exhibit will pull out of the station on Feb. 18 and not return until Thanksgiving.

You may have had a locomotive spread for your model trains as a kid (or you may have one now), but we can pretty much guarantee it doesn't hold a railroad lantern to train artist Steve Cryan's massive, and fully operational, 30-foot train layout.

The unusual Japanese drum known as Wadaiko will be showcased in Fairfield on Sunday by one of its most renown practitioners. The thrilling and colorful performance combines music, dance, martial arts, and culture with power, speed, and synchronicity, resulting in dynamic group drumming. Drum Tao, based in Oita, Japan, has been captivating over nine million spectators in over 26 countries for 30 years and their current long-run production "Mangekyo" started in Tokyo in 2017. The group currently has three teams touring the globe, and one lands at the Quick Center for the Arts, located at Fairfield University, for a show Sunday at 4 p.m. Tickets are available online here.