Tag Archive: Events and Festivals

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Focus On: The International Festival of Arts & Ideas

June 1, 2023

Each summer, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas returns to New Haven, bringing with it blossoming creativity, flourishing ideas, and blooming cultural connections. The festival transforms the city into a vibrant canvas of artistic expression, thought-provoking discussion, and tantalizing flavors of cultural exploration. There is still time to experience the festival this month, so join us and leave inspired. The International Festival of Arts and Ideas was founded on the idea that great art and big ideas can heighten our ability to understand and imagine – and they don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk. Returning for... View Article

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QRiverfest

May 31, 2023

New Haven is a city steeped in rich history, as  The New York Times highlighted earlier this year. Our history is a patchwork fabric of cultures and identities, coming together to form one collective haven. Established in 2015 by the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association, Fair Haven neighborhood, this event celebrates the historic Fair Haven waterfront and diverse community.  The festival features local vendors and creatives, live music, performers, food, tours, and more each year.

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St. Andrew’s Society: Italian Festa

May 31, 2023

New Haven is a city steeped in rich history, as  The New York Times highlighted earlier this year. Our history is a patchwork fabric of cultures and identities, coming together to form one collective haven. Established in 1900 by the St. Andrew’s Society, this Wooster Square neighborhood’s annual event is among the oldest celebrations in New England. The open-air festa honors the neighborhood’s Italian roots and celebrates cultural diversity. This time-honored event has grown to attract thousands of people from around the region, and this year’s Italian Festa will feature live music, food, dance, and more. updated May 28, 2025

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International Festival of Arts & Ideas: Rise (2023)

May 31, 2023

One of downtown’s most celebrated annual events, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Returning for the 27th year, the festival will run from June 10-25. This year’s theme? Rise. In the face of adversity, choose to rise and celebrate self-determination and the transformative power of creativity and diversity. This year’s programming features a mix of free and ticketed events and activities, including free concerts on the New Haven Green, programming for kids, and celebrations of theater, dance, drag, food, ideas, neighborhoods and more. Read on for some of our picks from this year’s line-up.

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Freddy Fixer Festival & Parade

May 31, 2023

New Haven is a city steeped in rich history, as  The New York Times highlighted earlier this year. Our history is a patchwork fabric of cultures and identities, coming together to form one collective haven. Established in 1962 by Dixwell neighborhood organizers, the parade honors the community’s shared goal of neighborhood beautification. Freddy Fixer is nationally recognized as the oldest Black American parade in the northeast. In 2023, the parade resumed after a three-year hiatus, with a celebration spanning over three days featuring a kick-off meet and greet, neighborhood festival , and official parade.

New Haven Night Market: May 2023

April 27, 2023

Snackers, minglers, and explorers alike – listen up! The New Haven Night Market returns Friday, May 12 from 5-10 PM. This neighborhood favorite event is open to all ages, free to attend and pet-friendly. Join us in exploring the northwest side of Chapel Street, tasting treats from local eateries like Menya Gumi & Tacos Los Gordos, shopping at the Strange Ways Flair Fair Pop-Up, sipping beers on Trinity’s patio in Pitkin Plaza, and listening to the sounds of The Nu Haven Kapelye (yiddish for “band”). This year, there’s even more to love. For the first time, the Night Market will expand beyond its... View Article

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Festivals In Focus: The Cherry Blossom Celebration

April 12, 2023

Spring is in full bloom. Can you feel it? Have you seen it? We’ll show you the way.  Each spring season, the landscape of New Haven softens to welcome delicate petals and sprawling forest green leaves. Nowhere in our city is this on a more magnificent display than the blooming pink Yoshino Cherry Blossom Trees that return to our greens each year. The fledgling blooms are welcomed by a time-honored New Haven tradition, The Cherry Blossom Celebration, which celebrates the local community, the mystery of nature, and the connection between the two.  In Japan, the celebration of blooming cherry blossoms... View Article

Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride 2023

March 30, 2023

From East Rock to West Rock bike riders celebrate the city’s bikeability for the 15th Annual Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride  on Saturday, April 29th. This impactful event supports local environmental organizations and brings neighbors and visitors together to bike through New Haven’s most beautiful green spaces, from our city’s two highest summits. Not an expert biker? This event has a bike route for everyone. Choose from the metric century (60 miles), 40 mile, 20-mile, 12 mile, East Rock base-to-summit ride, two mile family rides, or hike around the base of East Rock. Choose your own adventure and save the earth.

Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival 2023

March 30, 2023

New Haven’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival returns to the Wooster Square Park on Sunday, April 16. This time-honored and resident-loved festival is a celebration of a seed planted 50 years ago – many, many, seeds actually. In 1973, the NewHaven Historic Commission and the New Haven Parks Department worked together to plant 72 Yoshino Japanese Cherry Blossom trees in Wooster Square. Come out and join us this year to mingle under the Cherry Blossoms!

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Vibe Like a Local at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

March 1, 2023

New Haven, the Emerald City at the end of the rainbow. Here, holidays and festivals are embraced with fervor, and on St. Patrick’s Day, our neighbors know where to find the best party in the state. For the last 181 years, we have been putting the march in March with the annual Greater New Haven St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The largest single day spectator event in the state of Connecticut, the parade attracts more than 300,000 residents and visitors, sharing festive cheer and the luck of the Irish.  “St. Paddy’s Day” parades as we know them trace back to the... View Article