SOUTHBURY, CT — Southbury opens the weekend with a look at how the art world actually runs, closes it with a screening built around one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century, and fills the middle with two very different town-wide celebrations. Add a "Three's Company"-themed shopping romp down Main Street South for good measure, and there's a little of everything on offer.
- Behind the Work: The Business of Art — Thursday, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Arts professionals discuss the behind-the-scenes roles — supporting artists, running galleries and museums, working with collectors — that keep the art world moving, part of the Southbury Arts & Culture Alliance's Community Spark Exchange series. Free, registration encouraged. Southbury Public Library (Brown Room), 100 Poverty Road.
- Southbury Celebration — Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m., fireworks around 8 p.m. The town's signature fall gathering brings a food court, live music and vendor booths to the grounds overlooking Lake Stibbs, drawing roughly 5,000 people in a typical year. Free; rain date Sunday. Southbury Training School, 1461 South Britain Road.
- Apple Festival — Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 30 artisans and craft vendors, the church's famous apple pies, a country store, a kids' scavenger hunt and self-guided tours of the historic 1825 meetinghouse, with live entertainment throughout the day. South Britain Congregational Church, 693 South Britain Road.
- Screening of the Oratorio "Remember Warsaw" — Sunday, 1 p.m. A filmed performance of the oratorio, telling the story of three young adults surviving in Nazi-occupied Warsaw from 1939 to 1943; librettist Bernard Kaplan will introduce the film and take questions afterward. Free. Southbury Public Library, 100 Poverty Road.
Saturday also brings the Southbury Women's Club's "Mrs. Roper Romp," a free "Three's Company"-themed passport walk along Main Street South from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., for anyone looking to add a fifth stop to the day.
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From a candid look at how the art world works to a solemn wartime oratorio, with a fireworks-lit town celebration and an apple-pie fair in between, Southbury's weekend covers more emotional range than most.