Chester Meeting House

The Art of the Guitar series returns to the Chester Meeting House this fall. The series kicks off with Jazz and folk legends Guy Van Duser &amp; Billy Novick on Saturday, September 19. Together as a duo for 50 years, these favorites of "A Prairie Home Companion" will swing their way through American Songbook with their dynamic blend of guitar and clarinet. The series also features jazz virtuoso Frank Vignola with Vinny Raniolo on October 17 and boundary-pushing artist Kaki King on December 5. Individual tickets are $35. Limited discounted Season Passes are available for $90. Learn more at<a href="https://acousticmusic.org/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExMnhhVlJIdXBIcGMySDFMT3NydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6edznmMbOc0ewKcI9N5g8EUmSGRXydqdcEEszKz76mF5xm7lkFFhS0z-b4uA_aem_NJ4fyK2TGdSNswcpoT3JWg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"> AcousticMusic.Org.</a>

Local Event: Art of the Guitar Concert Series: Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick

Middlesex County

Essex-Chester-Deep River

Connecticut

Art of the Guitar Concert Series: Guy Van Duser...

The Art of the Guitar series returns to the Chester Meeting House this fall. The series kicks off with Jazz and folk legends...

Art of the Guitar Concert Series: Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick

River Valley Dance School

RVDP&nbsp;has classes for children and adults.
Yoga
Dance
Fitness&nbsp;

Local Event: River Valley Dance Project- Dance, Yoga and more. Movement for Life!

River Valley Dance Project- Dance, Yoga and...

RVDP has classes for children and adults.
Yoga
Dance
Fitness 

River Valley Dance Project- Dance, Yoga and more. Movement for Life!

Essex Library Association

Program for kids ages birth-3 and their caregivers. A play-based music and movement story time for young children and their caregivers!
At Essex Library, we are committed to providing high-quality story time experiences that foster early literacy, social-emotional growth, and a lifelong love of learning.
What to expect:
Each Wiggle Worms session begins with a welcome song where children (or caregivers) are invited to introduce themselves (or their little one), helping build confidence. We sing interactive songs that encourage vocabulary development and gross motor movement, then share a story together while modeling early literacy skills by pointing to words, turning pages, and engaging with the book. After the first book, we play and sing with interactive toys such as shakers, scarves, and rhythm sticks before we wrap up with one final story and a goodbye song.
After story time, families are encouraged to stay, play, and socialize in our Children's Room. It's a wonderful opportunity for children to make friends, caregivers to connect, and our library community to grow together.
This story time will take place every Tuesday morning. Due to space, Please choose 1 session per day to attend.
Essex Library programs are free and open to the public.
No registration required.

Local Event: Wiggle Worms Story Time (Birth - Age 3)

Wiggle Worms Story Time (Birth - Age 3)

Program for kids ages birth-3 and their caregivers.  A play-based music and movement story time for young children and their...

Local Event: Wiggle Worms Story Time (Birth - Age 3) 

Wiggle Worms Story Time (Birth - Age 3) 

RiverFire Glass

Pick Your Project Glass Class
Try your hand at kiln-formed glass in this fun, hands-on class. Learn the basics of cutting and shaping glass, explore a variety of colorful glass and see what makes a design successful. Then choose your own project and create!
Your class fee includes up to 16 square inches of glass, with additional glass available if you’d like to make something larger. Beginners are welcome, and returning students can jump right into a project with guidance from Jeni as needed

Local Event: RiverFire Glass Workshop

RiverFire Glass Workshop

Pick Your Project Glass Class
Try your hand at kiln-formed glass in this fun, hands-on class. Learn the basics of cutting and...

Ivoryton Library

Join the Ivoryton Library and Ms. Jessica from the Community Music School for fun songs and jam sessions!

Local Event: Music with Ms. Jessica!

Music with Ms. Jessica!

Join the Ivoryton Library and Ms. Jessica from the Community Music School for fun songs and jam sessions!

Pick Your Project Glass Class
Try your hand at kiln-formed glass in this fun, hands-on class. Learn the basics of cutting and shaping glass, explore a variety of colorful glass and see what makes a design successful. Then choose your own project and create!
Your class fee includes up to 16 square inches of glass, with additional glass available if you’d like to make something larger. Beginners are welcome, and returning students can jump right into a project with guidance from Jeni as needed.

Register for this virtual program <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/y8Rxw9d7Q7OwgfaD2_DR4Q" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">HERE.</a>
Is&nbsp;having a trust in your estate plan the best option for you? In this&nbsp;session, estate planning and elder law attorney Erin Duques of Daly&nbsp;Perri Arnold &amp; Knierim in Madison, will demystify trusts and explain&nbsp;why a trust may – or may not - be suitable for you and why. First,&nbsp;you’ll learn about some of the most common types of trusts and the&nbsp;purpose and benefits of each, such as protecting assets, avoiding&nbsp;probate, minimizing taxes, and keeping public benefits for a loved one&nbsp;with special needs. Whether you are new to trusts or even understand&nbsp;them well, you’ll walk away understanding how and when to use these&nbsp;powerful planning tools to your advantage.This Essex Library Association program is free and open to the public.

Local Event: Trusts: Everything You Wanted to Know but Didn’t Know To Ask (Virtual)

Trusts: Everything You Wanted to Know but...

Register for this virtual program HERE.
Is having a trust in your estate plan the best option for you? In this session, estate...

Trusts: Everything You Wanted to Know but Didn’t Know To Ask (Virtual)

Online

<a href="https://libraryc.org/essexlib/197735/register" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Register and ask questions of the author here</a>
Grab a pocketful of change and get ready to dance down the street! Join us for an energetic conversation as we celebrate the joy of community and summer fun with Latin GRAMMY-winning musician Lucky Diaz, author of the sensational bilingual picture book, Paletero Man.
What’s the best way to cool off on a hot summer day? Run quick and find Paletero José!
Follow along with our narrator as he passes through his busy neighborhood in search of the Paletero Man. But when he finally catches up with him, our narrator’s pockets are empty. Oh no! What happened to his dinero? It will take the help of the entire community to get the tasty treat now.
Inspired by the vibrant rhythms of Los Angeles and Diaz’s own hit song, this beautiful story invites readers into a sun-drenched neighborhood where the ring of a bell means the best treat of the day is just around the corner.
Register today and discover how we can all bring a little more sweetness and community spirit into our daily lives!
Essex Library programs are free and open to the public.
Registration is required, see above link.

Local Event: Where the Paletero Man Goes: A Journey of Neighborhood, Music, and Art with Lucky Diaz (VIRTUAL)

Where the Paletero Man Goes: A Journey of...

Register and ask questions of the author here
Grab a pocketful of change and get ready to dance down the street! Join us for an...

Where the Paletero Man Goes: A Journey of Neighborhood, Music, and Art with Lucky Diaz (VIRTUAL)

Henry Carter Hull Library

IRIS Director Will Give Update on Help for Refugees, Families
Connecticut experienced more than 100 ICE arrests in August alone. They included a father who took his son to a school bus stop, only to have the boy and the rest of the bus full of children watch as masked men zip tied him and took him away in a car.
ICE swarmed Danbury. The videos were shocking and devastating.
“The headlines just scratch the surface of the inhumanity and racism of federal immigration policies and enforcement actions. This is devastating families and communities across the country including here,” notes Connecticut’s Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS) via LinkedIn. 
But this community is not one to stand by and do nothing. IRIS and other local groups were immediately on the ground putting families together with legal help, organizing meals, walking children to school, helping families to be prepared for a violent disruption of life.
Some of the people now under threat have been here for decades; they have lives, jobs, 401Ks, IRIS’ Executive Director Maggie Mitchell Salem noted on a recent episode of CT Public Radio’s “Where We Live.” 
Salem will be the featured guest speaker September 24 at 7 PM, at a Democracy Women in Action gathering at the Henry Carter Hull Library in Clinton. Use the registration link to attend.
It’s important for people to know, she says, that the number of undocumented immigrants has actually increased under the current administration due to the lifting of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from Haiti and a dozen other countries.
Meanwhile, what is happening in immigration courts is alarming – with “mega master” judges having “a hundred cases brought before them at a time…the negative outcomes are skyrocketing.”
On top of that, some families have fallen prey to scam artists who pretend to be able to offer legal help, take thousands of dollars, and do nothing. 
“It is a multi-front battle,” she says. Whether in court, in food pantries (IRIS has been operating food pantries for decades), on the streets or elsewhere. Sometimes the most important thing is simply holding someone’s hand and listening. 
Speaking alongside several other community leaders, Salem said, the vital thing underpinning all the efforts, “for all of us, is that sense of being there, of caring, of showing this not being the norm.”

Local Event: IRIS Update

IRIS Update

IRIS Director Will Give Update on Help for Refugees, Families
Connecticut experienced more than 100 ICE arrests in August...

Join Democracy Women in Action to hear Maggie Mitchell Salem, Executive Director of IRIS. Learn about the current challenges facing refugee communities, the impact of federal administration policies, and discover meaningful ways to get involved and make an impact. Registration is required for this community event.

Local Event: IRIS Speaker

IRIS Speaker

Join Democracy Women in Action to hear Maggie Mitchell Salem, Executive Director of IRIS. Learn about the current challenges...

Want to reduce the waste you create?
 Join Karen Evans, environmental educator and member of Sustainable Essex, for a hands on workshop focusing on reducing, reusing, recycling, and rethinking!

Local Event: Become a Green Superhero! (with Sustainable Essex)

Become a Green Superhero! (with Sustainable Essex)

Want to reduce the waste you create?
 Join Karen Evans, environmental educator and member of Sustainable Essex, for a hands on...

Local Event: Become a Green Superhero! (w/ Sustainable Essex) 

Become a Green Superhero! (w/ Sustainable Essex) 

Join us for retro gaming glory and level up with vintage games on the big screen. Snacks will be provided. Registration is encouraged as space is limited. Ages 12 - 18.<a href="https://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=1314&amp;EventID=597160&amp;PK=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"> engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=1314&amp;EventID=597160&amp;PK=</a>

Local Event: Retro Game Day

Retro Game Day

Join us for retro gaming glory and level up with vintage games on the big screen. Snacks will be provided. Registration is...

Kids and families are invited to join the Ivoryton Library in celebrating National Fall Foliage Week by crafting with the beautiful nature all around us!

Local Event: Crafty Leaves

Crafty Leaves

Kids and families are invited to join the Ivoryton Library in celebrating National Fall Foliage Week by crafting with the...

Program designed for caregivers and their child, age birth – 2.
Sharing in playtime is an excellent way to help children build social skills, promote learning, and discover that the library is a destination for fun! Children will have the opportunity to practice skills such as: following directions, socializing with others, using language, and using small and large muscles. Come meet new friends, bond with your little one, and explore the many resources your neighborhood library has to offer!
What to Expect:
The Essex Library children’s room already has amazing toys for all ages, such as our train table, our sensory book collection, and our many puzzles! During baby playtime, caregivers are encouraged to explore the library’s existing toy collection, and extra items will be set up around the room that support fine and gross motor play – specifically for our youngest little ones!
Essex Library programs are free and open to the public.
No registration is required. Drop in!

Local Event: Baby Playtime (Birth - Age 2)

Baby Playtime (Birth - Age 2)

Program designed for caregivers and their child, age birth – 2.
Sharing in playtime is an excellent way to help children build...

Do you have questions about Medicare coverage or are you enrolling in Medicare?&nbsp;Register for a one-hour session (3 p.m. or 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. time slots) with a CHOICES counselor at Essex Library Association. CHOICES (Connecticut's program for Health insurance assistance, Outreach, Information and referral, Counseling, and Eligibility Screening) helps Connecticut's older adults and persons with disabilities understand their Medicare coverage and healthcare options.&nbsp;This program is free and open to the public. Registration is required.&nbsp;

Local Event: CHOICES Medicare Counseling at Essex Library Association

CHOICES Medicare Counseling at Essex Library...

Do you have questions about Medicare coverage or are you enrolling in Medicare? Register for a one-hour session (3 p.m. or 4...

CHOICES Medicare Counseling at Essex Library Association

Discover the wonders of nature through stories, crafts, and activities!&nbsp;

Local Event: Nature Storytime (with Rockfall Foundation) 

Nature Storytime (with Rockfall Foundation) 

Discover the wonders of nature through stories, crafts, and activities! 

Hartford Metropolitan Area

Clinton

The Haddams-Killingworth

New Haven County

Alfred Branch

Madison

New London County

The Lymes

Richard Kaufman

Guilford

Durham-Middlefield

North Branford

East Hampton-Portland

Chris Dehnel

Middletown

Ellyn Santiago

Branford

A professional artist's glass studio for creative expression

RiverFire Glass, LLC

RiverFire Glass, LLC is a kiln glass studio and teaching space located at 500 Main Street in Deep River, Connecticut. Established in 2015, the studio serves as a creative hub within the SoMA (South of Main Art) collective, offering both a gallery for original works and a public teaching facility for glass art enthusiasts. Specializing in kiln-formed glass, the studio provides hands-on workshops and classes that guide students through the process of transforming glass shards into finished pieces. Beyond education, RiverFire Glass features an online shop and gallery showcasing handcrafted home decor, jewelry, and fine art inspired by the natural beauty of the Connecticut River Valley. Founded by artist Jeni GrayRoberts, the studio is built on a philosophy of sustainability and thoughtful craftsmanship, often incorporating reclaimed materials into its designs. Customers can expect a welcoming, professional environment where individual creative expression is encouraged, making it an ideal destination for unique gifts or personal artistic development.

RiverFire Glass, LLC is a kiln glass studio and teaching space located at 500 Main Street in Deep River, Connecticut. Established in 2015, the...

Connecticut’s only nonprofit, fully integrated senior care

Masonicare

Headquartered in Connecticut and founded in 1898, Masonicare is the state’s only not-for-profit, fully integrated senior care continuum, guided by a longstanding, mission-driven commitment to enhancing quality of life for older adults. Masonicare offers vibrant residential communities and a comprehensive range of health and wellness services designed to promote independence, longevity, and purposeful living. Its statewide continuum includes independent living, assisted living services, skilled nursing, medical and non-medical home health, hospice, adaptive memory care, acute inpatient and outpatient senior behavioral health, outpatient rehabilitation, and audiology services, redefining how aging is experienced by advancing proactive wellness, integrated care, and meaningful connection at every stage of life.

Vincent Salzo

Wallingford

Headquartered in Connecticut and founded in 1898, Masonicare is the state’s only not-for-profit, fully integrated senior care continuum, guided by...

Custom Storage Solutions for the Whole Home

California Closets

From walk-in closets and Murphy beds to kitchen pantries, entertainment centers, and home offices, our professional closet designers are experts in the art of home organization. California Closets is distinguished by a legacy of innovation, organizational expertise, quality craftsmanship, and design authority. Our teams of professional design consultants and installers are dedicated to providing an exceptional experience throughout the entire process of creating and installing organizational systems for the whole home. Serving Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties. We are excited to share that our Greenwich showroom is now open. This vibrant space merges creativity and innovation, showcasing a carefully curated environment that emphasizes our latest products and offers an immersive experience for our customers.

Fairfield County

Hayleigh Evans

Monroe

From walk-in closets and Murphy beds to kitchen pantries, entertainment centers, and home offices, our professional closet designers are experts in...

Kaleidoscope Strategic Arts Collective in Downtown Chester

Kaleidoscope LLC

Kaleidoscope stands as Connecticut's premier art gallery and curated gift shop, dedicated to showcasing the extraordinary talents of regional artists and artisans. Strategically located in the historic downtown Chester, Connecticut, our gallery serves as a cultural cornerstone for art enthusiasts, collectors, and visitors seeking authentic, handcrafted treasures. Unparalleled Artisan Collection Our carefully curated collection features works from over 60 distinguished Connecticut artists and authors, representing the finest in regional creativity and craftsmanship. Kaleidoscope offers an ever-evolving selection of quality paintings, hand-thrown ceramics, artisan glasswork, textile arts, fine woodworking, designer jewelry, and locally-authored literature. Each piece tells a story, reflecting the rich artistic heritage and innovative spirit that defines Connecticut's creative community. Dynamic Cultural Programming Beyond our gallery walls, Kaleidoscope functions as a vibrant community hub, hosting signature events including exclusive book signings with local authors, live artist demonstrations, hands-on creative workshops, and engaging community gatherings. Our programming calendar ensures continuous opportunities for artistic discovery, skill development, and cultural enrichment. Integrated Culinary Experience Complementing your artistic journey, KaraBella's Kitchen—our in-house restaurant—provides a sophisticated dining experience, allowing guests to savor exceptional cuisine while surrounded by inspiring artwork. This unique integration of culinary and visual arts creates an immersive destination experience unmatched in the region. Visit &amp; Engage We invite art collectors, gift seekers, and culture enthusiasts to experience Kaleidoscope firsthand. Visit our downtown Chester location to explore our rotating exhibitions and discover one-of-a-kind pieces. For information about upcoming workshops, classes, and events visit our website or stop by our gallery.

Kaleidoscope stands as Connecticut's premier art gallery and curated gift shop, dedicated to showcasing the extraordinary talents of regional...

Nearby Communities

State Edition

National Edition

Events and Things to Do in Essex-Chester-Deep River, CT

Also around town...

Please confirm event details with the organizers before attending

Saturday, September 19

Monday, September 21

Tuesday, September 22

Wednesday, September 23

Thursday, September 24

Saturday, September 26

Monday, September 28

Tuesday, September 29

Wednesday, September 30

RiverFire Glass, LLC

Masonicare

California Closets

Kaleidoscope LLC