Dinosaur State Park, the historic river ferry, Academy Hall, live lounge music at Casa Mia and brunch at Tavern on 3 in Rocky Hill. (Rick Uldricks)
ROCKY HILL, CT — Rocky Hill doesn't need a festival to fill a fall weekend. It has more than 750 dinosaur footprints preserved under a geodesic dome, and a river crossing that has been running since 1655. The town's old sea-captain school is open on Saturday afternoon. Once the sun goes down, the lounge at Casa Mia and the stage at Tavern on 3 take over. Here's the lineup from Thursday through Sunday.
This Weekend's Arts & Entertainment
Dinosaur State Park Exhibit Center and Track Casting — Thursday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; track casting 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The exhibit center is built around one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America. Outdoors, visitors can make their own plaster cast of a real track through Oct. 31; casting is free, but you bring your own materials. Admission is $6 for ages 13 and up, $2 for ages 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and under. Dinosaur State Park, 400 West St..
Academy Hall Museum — Saturday, Sept. 26, 12:30 to 3 p.m. The Rocky Hill Historical Society has been housed since 1967 in the town's 1803 Academy Hall. It displays objects, photographs and archives from Rocky Hill's history, including its years as a maritime center on the Connecticut River, when sea captains learned navigation in the building. Rocky Hill Historical Society, 785 Old Main St..
Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry — Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. The state calls it the oldest continuously operating ferry in the United States; service across the Connecticut River dates to 1655. The crossing is $6 per car on weekends ($5 on weekdays) and $2 for walk-ons and cyclists. Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry, Route 160.
This Weekend's Restaurants & Bars
Live Entertainment in the Lounge — Thursday, Sept. 24, 6 to 9 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. The family-owned Italian restaurant, open since 1985, has live entertainment in its lounge three nights a week. The dining room is open until 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Casa Mia on the Green, 600 Cold Spring Road.
Friday Live Entertainment, Saturday Karaoke and Weekend Brunch — Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 to 10 p.m.; brunch Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Cromwell Avenue bar and grill has live entertainment Friday night and karaoke Saturday. Its dine-in weekend brunch runs from chicken and waffles and pancake tacos to an "Ultimate Mary" garnished with a burger slider and a Cajun wing. Tavern on 3 Bar & Grill, 950 Cromwell Ave..
Rocky Hill's weekend comes together from the ground up. Start with a plaster cast of a 200-million-year-old footprint on West Street, ride the ferry across the river on Saturday afternoon and stop at Academy Hall on the way back. Spend the evening in Casa Mia's lounge or with Saturday karaoke at Tavern on 3, and finish Sunday with brunch on Cromwell Avenue.