Tom Sawyer Day on Saturday, June 12 is part of Hartford’s Magical History Tour, which also involves the Mark Twain House, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.
A free shuttle offers connections between the Hartford sites all day.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center will celebrate the writer’s 199th birthday at the annual birthday party for author.
“Harriet’s Garden Party” will include tours of Stowe’s home, which is part of Nook Farm. Enjoy the gardens or watch the costumed interpreters portray Stowe and her twin daughters. There will be horse and carriage rides, and lawn games with the costumed Elizabeth Park Croquet Players. All activities are free.
The day of family fun will coincide with Hartford Public Library and the NEA’s Big Read.
Guest artists, including HartBeat Ensemble, Hartford Opera Theater, Hartford City Ballet, Hartford Children’s Theater, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and musicians, magicians, and buccaneers. One of the day’s highlights will be a “Stretchers” lying contest hosted by the Hartford Public Library and Sea Tea Improv as one of the culminating events of the NEA’s Big Read.
The free activities are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours of the Twain House will be available for a fee.
The Amistad Center for Arts & Culture located within the Wadsworth Atheneum will host its annual “Juneteenth Family Day,” a day of arts, crafts, fun, and free admission. (Juneteenth is the oldest known commemoration of the end of slavery.)
Participants in Tom Sawyer Day at The Mark Twain House & Museum include: Sharon Family Farm Petting Zoo; LEGO; Joe Barney, magician; Connecticut Children’s Museum; Hartford Opera Theater; Hartford Children’s Theater; Hartford City Ballet; Hartford Symphony Orchestra; Anne Cubberly, puppeteer; Hartford Public Library Stretchers Contest; HartBeat Ensemble; Danny Tieger, musician; Sea Tea Improv; Woody’s Hotdogs; The Cupcake Brake; Aetna Health Booth; Anna Kirwan, author.