SAVE THE DATE
15th ANNUAL
CONNECTICUT OPEN HOUSE DAY
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2019
WHAT: Connecticut Open House Day
WHEN: Saturday, June 8, 2019 (times may vary by location)
WHERE: Statewide (150+ locations)
DETAILS: Save the date for this ever popular one-day event where destinations across Connecticut offer free or discounted admission or special offers to Connecticut residents.
Organized by the Connecticut Office of Tourism, Connecticut Open House Day is designed to showcase Connecticut’s diverse mix of history, art, culture and tourism, and encourage residents to discover or rediscover the wealth of treasures in their own backyard.
The list of participants and special offers is available at: www.ctvisit.com/connecticut-open-house-day-june-8-2019
Follow the official Connecticut Tourism account @CTvisit on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for regular updates.
Participating Towns as of 4-23-19
Ashford
- Ashford House Studio, 10 Mansfield Rd.
Open studio from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., offering 10% off all matted prints.
Part of the Art & Garden Tour. - Willow Tree Pottery
Open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Featuring guests Barbara Katz, Gretchen Geromin and Laure Merlo who will be showing their work in the gardens. Suzy Stauback makes pottery for the kitchen, table and garden inspired by pots of ancient China and Korea and country pottery of England and early America. All visitors will receive a homemade amulet.
Part of the Arts & Garden Tour.
Barkhamsted
- Squire’s Tavern
Free admission from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. In addition, there will be a whimsical program at 1:30 p.m. by George Papp, Sr. on the history of outhouses. Following the program will be an ice cream social.
Bloomfield
- Old Farm School
Free tours from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. of the 1796 schoolhouse which was used until 1922, and the History Center.
Bridgeport
- Barnum Museum
Free admission from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Guest can enjoy free guided tours through the gallery and all visitors will receive a red nose and Barnum bookmarks.
Bristol
- American Clock & Watch Museum
Free admission from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. - Bristol Historical Society
- Free admission from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., with special hands-on activity for children and new displays for the adults to view.
- Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center
Free admission for the first 200 visitors from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., sponsored by the Thomaston Savings Band Foundation and the Barnes Foundation. - Witch’s Dungeon Classic Movie Museum
Open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., with free movie viewing and photo opportunities with the Dungeon characters. Animation drawings will be available.
Brooklyn
- Creamery Brook Bison
Open from noon until 6 p.m. during their Summer Festival featuring food and craft vendors, activities for children including butter making; ice cream, and wagon rides to see the bison.
Burlington
- Elton Tavern & Center Schoolhouse
Open for tours from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Visit with costumed interpreters in the Federal-style tavern or try your hand at school lessons and games in the one-room schoolhouse.
Canterbury
- Green District Schoolhouse
Open from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Visit the restored 19th century one-room schoolhouse and experience first-hand how different school was in the not-so-distant past. - Prudence Crandal Museum
Free admission from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Canton
- Collinsville Canoe & Kayak
From 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., visitors receive half off rentals.
Chaplin
- Jane Collins Studio
Open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., offering guests a free herb or flower plant.
Part of the Arts & Garden Tour.
Cheshire
- Cheshire Historical Society
Open from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The Cheshire Historical Society has been researching the history of the Hitchcock family and with the information they have found, staff will tell the stories about the family through skits. Guests are invited to dress in period costumes and read from the prepared scripts.
Chester
- Chakana Sky Alpacas
Open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., offering guests 10% off total farm store purchases.
Clinton
- Adam Stanton House
Free admission from noon until 4 p.m., with guided tours throughout the 18th century house and general store. - Captain Elisha White House
Free house tours from noon until 4 p.m. of the oldest brick building on the Boston Post Road, also known as “Old Brick.” Enjoy the perennial gardens containing heirloom plants, view a diorama of Main Street, Clinton as it looked in 1915, and visit the Buell Tool Museum, a treasure trove of antique tools.
Colchester
- Colchester Historical Society
Free admission from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., offering tours of the history museum in addition to three other historic sites including Hayward Fire Museum, School of Colored Children, and the Nathaniel Foote House.
Collinsville
- Canton Historical Museum
Free admission from noon until 4 p.m., with guided or self-guided tours.
Danbury
- Danbury Museum & Historical Society
Free admission from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., which includes tours and a special exhibition. - Gallery at Still River Editions
Open from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., featuring the exhibition of photographs by Robert Jacobsen and photoencaustics by Marcy Juran. Enjoy art, conversation and light refreshments.
Derby
- Osborne Homestead Museum
- Museum open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. with a special architecture tour of the homestead, exploring its transformation from a modest 1800s farmhouse into an elegant 20th century Colonial Revival home.
East Granby
- Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine
Free admission from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
East Haddam
- East Haddam Historical Society & Museum
Free admission and tours from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., along with tours and complimentary gifts. - Goodspeed Opera House
From 9 a.m. until noon, enjoy free tours of the historic Victorian theater built in 1876.
East Hartford
- Futtner’s Family Farm LLC
Free prize drawing every half hour from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Prizes valued at $15 to $20 each, include flats of plants and vegetables, potted herbs, hanging baskets, and more. Must be present for drawing and limited one prize per customer. - Huguenot House Museum
Open from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., take the opportunity to visit this site which is rarely open to the public and offering a complimentary brochure on historic sites. Merchandise available at half price.
East Haven
- Shore Line Trolley Museum
Offering half off trolley ride admissions and also museum store items from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
East Windsor
- Connecticut Trolley Museum
From 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., purchase one admission and receive the second admission free (higher price prevails) and one free admission per party for Connecticut residents only.
Ellington
- Nellie McKnight Museum
Free admission from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Essex
- Connecticut River Museum
Everyone is a “kid” on June 8. Open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., offering morning programs, tours, crafts and stories in the museum and aboard the ship “Onrust.” Programs are free with admission.
Fairfield
- Fairfield University Art Museum
Open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., offering guests a free notecard. - Walsh Gallery at the Regina Quick Center for the Arts
Open from noon until 4 p.m. All visitors receive a complimentary museum notecard.
Farmington
- Stanley-Whitman House
Open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Free admission from 8 a.m.-noon; half price admission from noon-4 p.m.; along with a 20% off family memberships. Farmington Farm Truck on-site from noon-3 p.m.
Franklin
- Ashbel Woodward House Museum
Free admission from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. A lecture from a Franklin notable at 2 p.m., followed by a tour to a nearby cemetery (weather permitting). - Blue Slope Country Museum
Reduced admission from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. of $1. Have fun with interactive activities including solving historical farming questions.
