CT Summer at the Museum 2022

A Special Summer Celebration

Members' Garden Party

Thursday, August 4, 2022 | 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

An evening featuring great food, drink, music, and cheer in LAAM's beautiful garden setting. Visit with other members as a thank you for being part of the Lyman Allyn family and to recognize your generous support!

City of Groton Day

Celebration & Showcase

Friday, August 5, 2022 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Washington Park

Displays, games and giveaways | laser tag, obstacle course, race track, photo booth and axe throwing Game (inflatable) | affordable hot dogs, burgers and cold beverages and more!

Happy Hour Cruise benefiting

Avery-Copp House Museum

Friday, August 5, 2022 | 5:30 PM

Thames River Heritage Park

Discover the hidden gems on the Thames during the Happy Hour Cruise benefiting Avery-Copp House Museum. You bring the cooler (alcohol permitted), gather your friends, and enjoy a delightful start to your weekend cruising past many historic sites and take in the shoreline views from our navy utility boat.

100% of the profit from your ticket purchase benefits the Avery-Copp House Museum.

Missoula Children's Theater

Summer on Stage: Red Riding Hood

Friday, August 5, 2022 | 7:00 PM

Saturday, August 6, 2022 | 11:00 AM

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house she goes. Red Riding Hood, not so little anymore, and her pre-teen pals try to stay on the straight and narrow in the latest adventure from the Missoula Children’s Theater, RED RIDING HOOD. Life is no picnic when you stray from the trail!

First Free Saturday

Playful Postcards

Saturday, August 6, 2022 | 11:00 AM

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

Come ready for fun artful learning (be sure to dress for mess!). Free First Saturdays are made possible by Peoples United Bank and the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA).

MORE INFO.

Old Town Mill

Open House

Saturday, August 6, 2022 | 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

The Old Town Mill was originally built in 1650 by John Winthrop Jr., the founder of New London and later the Governor of Connecticut. Listed on the National Historic Register, the Mill is one of the oldest industrial sites in Connecticut.

Admission - FREE

Boat Tour: Discover the Thames

One River. A Thousand Stories.

Saturday, August 6, 2022 | 12:30 PM

City Pier, New London

Discover the hidden gems that tell the stories of colonial life, Revolutionary War, Nathan Hale’s last school house, the 2nd largest whaling port and submarine capital of the world, 19th-century Irish domestics, Nobel-prizing winning playwright Eugene O’Neill, the Gilded Age, and more. Includes a complimentary water taxi ticket for the day of the tour.

Boat Tour: Water, Wampum, Medicine Wheels

Mohegan Life on the Thames.

Saturday, August 6, 2022 | 1:30 PM

City Pier, New London

The first inhabitants along the western side of the Massapequatuck (Thames), the Mohegan tribe, settled here the area, roughly between present day Norwich and New London, was and continues to be the vital heart of Mohegan country.

Led by Tribal members, this fascinating tour includes stories demonstrating how crucial the Thames River was for food, wildlife, transportation, and trade as well as their relationship with the colonists.

Boat Tour: Submarines, Battlefields, Betrayers

Military on the Thames

Saturday, August 6, 2022 | 3:15 PM

City Pier, New London

For centuries our harbor has guarded the Thames with Navy and Coast Guard installations, the ship building industries that support them, and 2 forts that have seen battles, defeats and the birthplace of the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine. From the vantage point of the river you‘ll understand the strategic value of this storied waterway and region.

Sunday Service

Rev. Danny Hammons

Saint Luke Lutheran Church

Sunday, August 7, 2022 | 11:00 AM

Historic Pequot Chapel

A Charming Victorian-era, non-sectarian chapel with two Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, Pequot Chapel welcomes all who wish to attend Sunday services, weddings and other special events during the summer.

Boat Tour: Discover the Thames

One River. A Thousand Stories.

Sunday, August 7, 2022 | 12:30 PM

City Pier, New London

Boat Tour: Well-Heeled and Wannabees

Gilded Age on the Thames

Sunday, August 7, 2022 | 1:30 PM

City Pier, New London

In the late 19th century New London and Groton were favorite summer vacation spots for the growing middle class - both the wealthy and the comfortably well off. Among the families summering here was that of Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose career as artist, designer, and glass maker is chronicled in a new exhibit at the Lyman Allyn Museum and Fredrick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect and designer of New York City's Central Park. Board an historic navy utility boat with a seasoned interpreter to see Eastern Point summer cottages in Groton, elegant homes of financier Morton Plant and publisher Theodore Bodenwein, and hear stories of the vacationers from around the world who enjoyed the region in the late 1800s.

Upcoming Events in the Park

Full Moon Harbor Cruise

Thursday, August 11, 2022 | 8:30 PM

City Pier, New London

The full moon harbor cruise begins with a stunning sunset as your boat journeys to the mouth of New London Harbor and Ledge Light. You are welcome to bring and enjoy snacks and beverages - including alcohol (no glass, please) - while being transported to a magical place and time on the Thames.

Tickets to the full moon harbor cruises sell out quickly. Reserve your seat today.

100% of the profit from your ticket purchase benefits Thames River Heritage Park Foundation and helps to connect, support, promote, and sustain over 20 heritage sites and institutions along the Thames. Photo Credit: New London Ledge Light Moonrise by Kevin D. Jordan Photo on Etsy.

Community Award-Sharing Ceremony

2022 Outstanding Historic Theatre in America

Thursday, August 25, 2022 | 7 PM

Garde Arts Center

The League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT), the nation’s leading historic theatre advocate, recognized outstanding achievement within the industry when it announced New London, Connecticut’s Garde Arts Center is the 2022 Outstanding Historic Theatre in America at its 46th Annual National Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival

Celebrating the Seas, Uniting our Shores

September 9, 10, and 11 2022

New London Waterfront Park | Fort Trumbull State Park

Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival honors all those who work on, under or with the sea in naval, marine and other maritime industries by celebrating Connecticut’s maritime heritage, emphasizing the State’s diverse population, and showing the ways the seas have brought people from all over the world to Connecticut.

Forever Young

Neil Young Music Tribute

Saturday, September 10, 2022 | 8 PM

Garde Arts Center

Drawing on the 40+ year career of Neil Young the show highlights many of Young’s popular songs and a few “deep cuts”. The band performs both the acoustic and electric songs that Neil Young is famous for. Their performances are reminiscent of and are heavily influenced by the “Four Way Street” live album recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. They are a high-energy band that is just as fun to watch as to listen to. Audiences are always “wowed” by a Forever Young show!

One Night of Queen will Rock You!

Gary Mullen & the Works

September 11, 2022 - 7:00 PM

Garde Arts Center

A spectacular live concert, recreating the look, sound, pomp and showmanship of arguably the greatest rock band of all time. Hailed as the World’s Premiere Queen Tribute Band with rave reviews from over 650 Performing Arts Centers, Casinos, Fairs, Festivals, and Corporate buyers in the USA since 2008, fans will delight in this note-for-note experience of Queen's mega-hits.

Ongoing Events

CT Summer at the Museum 2022

Free Admission for Kids

Through September 5, 2022

It’s time to explore! CT children age 18 and under plus one accompanying CT resident adult can visit participating museums free of charge through the CT Summer at the Museum program. Before you visit, check for specific program details.

Picturing Mystic - 1890-1950

Views of the Connecticut Shoreline

Through Sept. 4, 2022

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

Historic maps, photographs, and postcards contextualize the works on view, tracing how the village and the landscape have endured and changed over the last 130 years. Postcards and snapshotsreveal how artists were part of a broader visual culture of tourism in New England, helping to shape Mystic’s identity as an iconic seaside destination.

The Will to Change

Gathering as Praxis

Through August 12, 2022

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

Over 60 works of art in an array of 2D, 3D, digital media, performance, and other styles aim to address, build, and repair relation and community and encourages us to honestly love the self and others. Special care is taken this year to explore new relationships, specifically the roles men and boys play in dismantling patriarchy within our communities.