No holds barred! Fun for all is the watchword in Norfolk, Conn., this coming August 4, 5, and 6 during the town’s three-day, town-wide festival, A Weekend in Norfolk. Everyone’s invited to come with family and friends to enjoy the more than 75 events—mostly free—listed on its website, weekendinnorfolk.org.

On Friday, boat builder Schuyler Thomson will be demonstrating the art of the wooden canoe, two churches will be offering afternoon tours of their magnificent stained glass windows and the town’s first selectman will be performing weddings and vow renewals on the village green (by appointment). Then there are artisan demos, a guided wildflower walk and a show by Sandglass Puppet Theater, opening receptions for three weekend-long art events and a quilt show, plus concerts at Infinity Hall and the Yale Music Shed.

The pace picks up on Saturday, with continuing art events and more concerts, including an open rehearsal at the Music Shed and live outdoor performances by Emily Victoria and Soul Case. The Norfolk farmers market is celebrating Kids’ Day with a variety of special events, a pie sale to benefit the Congregational church and a special surprise event starting at 11:00 a.m. Also for kids, there will be games on the green, a painting workshop, nature weaving and tie-dyeing, and water polo with fire hoses. The evening will be crowned with family games and an outdoor movie at Bottelle School, in addition to concerts at Infinity Hall and the Music Shed.

Sunday is no time to go home—there are historic house tours, garden tours, more stained glass window tours, another concert, the curling club open house, three farm tours, an art workshop for adults, more demos and art shows, fly tying and casting on the green, outdoor music by Ben Waller and others, a photo show opening, and a discussion with author Karin Roffman about her new book on poet John Ashbery. 

We didn’t mention everything—the World War I exhibition at the historical society museum, the Hike-the-Peaks challenge, all the artisan demos, the Alfredo Taylor lecture and more—or that many events are multi-day affairs. Visit the Weekend in Norfolk website, weekendinnorfolk.org, for details by special interest or by day and time, and be sure to come the first weekend in August (August 4, 5 and 6). You’ll have all the fun you imagined and more!

About:

Weekend in Norfolk (WIN) is an annual three-day, town-wide festival celebrating art, music and nature. Events run the gamut from art exhibits to nature walks, classical music to fly tying, house tours to blues guitar, a quilt show, children’s games, boat-building demonstrations, and the opportunity to get married on the village green. 

Last year’s inaugural Weekend in Norfolk was a great success. Based on a post-event survey, 1,500 individuals attended, 60 percent of them from out-of-town, and the event had an estimated economic impact of more than $90,000. Visitors to this year’s version of the annual weekend will discover an even livelier town. The Berkshire Country Store is flourishing in the old hardware store and other projects are underway, including the Foundation for Norfolk Living’s affordable housing, improvements to the town’s City Meadow and the transformation of the former Norfolk Corner store into a center for nonprofit groups. Event organizers are drawing upon the many attributes and attractions Norfolk is so well known for, bringing the entire town together to present visitors with Norfolk at its very best. 

For more information: 

Facebook: facebook.com/weekendinnorfolk/  

Website: weekendinnorfolk.org

Dates: Friday, August 4, Saturday, August 5, and Sunday, August 6, 2017

Events: See weekendinnorfolk.org for more than 75 events grouped by Music, Art, Nature, Kids and &More, or weekendinnorfolk.org/events/ for a list by date and time. 

Places to stay: See weekendinnorfolk.org/eat-sleep-shop.