Hartford [1] celebrates the start of summer with Rose Weekend (Prospect Ave. and Asylum Ave., 860/231-9443, www.elizabethpark.org/rose_weekend.htm [2], 11 a.m.–4 p.m., last weekend in June), an event in Elizabeth Park that features the blooming of 15,000 roses along with music, poetry, and storytelling.
The cultural event of the year is African American Parade Day (860/524-0086, May), which includes a jazzy parade through downtown as well as a multicultural craft bazaar and lip-smacking BBQ-rib cook-off competition.
From Thanksgiving until after Christmas, Hartford [1] is brightened nightly by the Festival of Light (860/525-8629, www.letsgoarts.org [3], late Nov.–early Jan.), during which a quarter of a million points of light transform Constitution Plaza into a starry fantasia.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-england/connecticut/eastern-connecticut/connecticut-river-valley/hartford
[2] http://www.elizabethpark.org/rose_weekend.htm
[3] http://www.letsgoarts.org