Capitol Groove Festival, Mystic Boat Show, Art In Ashford Highlight Busy Weekend Across Connecticut

CONNECTICUT — From psychedelic rock in Hartford to handcrafted schooners in Mystic, Connecticut is brimming with weekend events offering music, art, nature, and history. Whether you're drawn to fireflies, flowers, or flags, there’s something for everyone statewide.

There's a pretty big music festival this weekend in Hartford's Bushnell Park. The Capitol Groove looks to serve up two days of eclectic sounds running the full spectrum, from trippy to tribal. Headliners include pychedelic rock trio Khruangbin, alt-rockers CAKE and indie-pop band Bleachers. The full lineup and lineup-by-day can be found here, and you can grab hold of tickets online here. Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29, from noon to 10 p.m. both days.

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Westford Hill Distillers will bring together art, live music, flowers, food trucks and cocktails on Saturday for "A Summer's Palette," sprawled across their 200 hundred acre property in Ashford. More than 30 artists will be exhibiting, selling and creating their work in the open air. Painters, woodturners, woodcarvers, potters, and weavers will be creating fairy houses, hand-made soaps, musical instruments and more on Saturday, June 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The rain date in June 29.

More flowers, different flavors, over in Wethersfield at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum, Sunday, June 29, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The museum's head horticulturist will lead a tour of the Colonial revival gardens, followed by "high tea" among the hydrangea. Grab your tickets here, but keep those pinkies high.

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We've heard it argued there are just two types of people: Those smitten by wooden boats, and, well, those who lubb the land. If you can be counted among the former, then shove off in the direction of Mystic this weekend where the WoodenBoat Show will be docked at the Mystic Seaport Museum from Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days. More than 100 traditional and classic wooden boats of every type will be on display, from handcrafted kayaks to mahogany runabouts, and classic daysailers to schooners. If you are arriving by land, parking is free. Tickets are available online here.

If you just can't get enough of the salt and foam, while you're in Mystic book yourself a two-hour tour family outing or romantic getaway aboard ARGIA, the last commercial sailing ship left in the seaport town. Tickets for weekday and weekend cruises into October are available online here.

After hoisting the mainsail in Mystic, float on down to West Hartford for the Flags of the Republic Exhibit at the Noah Webster House. All 27 official versions of the American Flag will be on display, including the unique 15-star, 15-stripe design nicknamed, "Stars and Stripes," and other designs rarely seen in Connecticut. This special exhibit will be open Monday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through Independence Day.

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Upstream of the local July 4 fireworks displays, The Greenwich Audubon Center will be helping visitors collect a few of their own, courtesy of Mother Nature. The Center will be hosting Firefly Nights Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. The evening will start with a slide show introduction about the amazing lives of fireflies and how we can help protect them. Then as darkness falls, guests will have a chance to walk through the meadow and catch a glimpse of the bugs' bedazzling bioluminescence. Make sure you bring your own plastic hole-punched jars if you plan on bringing some back home. Tickets are available online here.