Summer isn’t the only season on the Shoreline. Here’s our round-up of things we’re looking forward to this fall!

Harvest Food & Wine Festival at Stonington Vineyards, 9/17 & 9/18: Enjoy live bands, delicious food trucks, local artisans, and WINE, of course!

Garlic Festival at Old Mistick Village, 9/17 & 9/18, featuring 40 vendors and 16 bands.

Next Door Pizza Making Class, New Haven: 9/16 & 10/18

“Worth Tasting” Downtown New Haven Culinary Tour – 9/17: Come see why New Haven gets noticed for their culinary scene! Hosted by Stephen Fries, Food Columnist

Thimble Island Brewing Company Oktoberfest, 9/23 – 9/25: Food, beer, live music, vendors, and more.

CT Audobon Society Presents Fall Whale Watch, 9/17: Head out on a four-hour whale watch that originates in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Trip includes transportation from Connecticut and boat fees.

Autumn Teas at the Old Lyme Inn starting 9/24.

Niantic Bay Oyster Festival, 9/24: Enjoy local oyster vendors, a variety of food vendors, and beer from local breweries, live music and a kids corner! Admission to the festival is FREE.

White Gate Farm in East Lyme, 9/25. Indian Feast and Concert.

Octoberfest at Surfridge Brewing Company, 9/22. A 5-course food and beer pairing.

Brewfest at the Beach, New London, 9/30 from 6 – 9pm. Under the stars on the Boardwalk at Ocean Beach with live music, beer-friendly food to benefit New London Rotary.

Center Yoga & Wellness, Guilford presents Yoga for Anxiety Workshop on September 30th.

Family Day at Project Oceanology, Groton, 10/1: Food trucks, a scavenger hunt, raffle prizes, marine science fun, and more. Project Oceanology provides students and adults with opportunities to learn about the ocean through firsthand exploration and experiences.

Old Saybrook Arts & Crafts Festival, 10/1 & 10/2 on the Old Saybrook Town Green: This juried festival showcases outstanding art and crafts in 15 categories: Fine Art, Acrylics, Ceramics/Pottery, Graphics, Fiber, Mixed Media, Glass, Oils, Jewelry, Pastels, Leather, Photography, Metal, Sculpture and Wood.

Fieldhouse Farm Field-to-Table Dinner, Madison on 10/1: These evening gatherings are celebrations of food, wine, and conversation.

First Fridays in Chester: happenings, music and openings all over town, 10/7, 11/4, 12/2.

Corn Maze and Apple Picking at Bishop’s Orchards, Guilford:10 AM – 5 PM, weekends through 11/7

Scotts Yankee Farmer, East Lyme, Pick Your Own Apples & Corn Maze: 9/3 – 10/30

Goodspeed Opera House presents 42nd Street, 9/16 – 11/6.

Ivoryton Playhouse presents The Great Gatsby, 9/29 – 10/23.

The Katharine Hepburn Theater: Get tickets for Sophie B. Hawkins, Peter Yarrow, Shawn Colvin and more, this fall.

Garde Arts Center, New London presents Old Crow Medicine Show on 9/24, Speed Dating Live, Eastern CT Symphony Orchestra and more live music and events this fall.

Autumn Arts Festival on the Madison Green, 10/8 and 10/9.

Vista’s 14th annual Tour de Shore, 10/9: Vista’s annual cycling event and fundraiser features a variety of route lengths for cyclists of all abilities, traveling along Connecticut’s scenic shoreline at the peak of fall foliage.

Musical Masterworks Concert Series begins 10/22. Musical Masterworks brings world-class chamber music performances to the Old Lyme Congregational church.

Fairs:

Guilford Fair, 9/16 – 9/18.

102nd Annual Durham Fair, 9/22 – 9/25.

Museums:

Dreams & Memories at the Florence Griswold Museum: 10/1 through 5/14: This exhibition will combine historic and contemporary art from the Florence Griswold Museum’s permanent collection to explore the themes of dreams and memories as multidimensional drivers of artistic creativity and expressions of powerful forces in American society.

Wee Faerie Village at the Florence Griswold Museum, 10/1 – 10/30, An Amusement Park for the Wee Faerie Folk, this annual event on the grounds of the museum captivates adults and children alike!

Catherine Christiano: Album of Flowers/Interesting Times at the Lyman Allyn: Opening Reception Friday, 9/9, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Sol Lewitt: Artist and Collector at Play through October 16: Gallery Talk, 9/21, 5:30 – 7pm: Join Lyman Allyn Art Museum curator Tanya Pohrt and LeWitt Collection curator Janet Passehl for an exploration of the exhibit.

New Britain Museum of Art: 30 Americans, through 10/30.  Drawn from the acclaimed Rubell Museum in Miami, Florida, 30 Americans showcases works by some of the most significant artists of the last four decades, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley.

Riverfest at the Mystic Seaport Museum, 10/8 – 10/10, Create lasting fall memories amongst the changing leaves, and venture onto the river in a rowboat, sailboat, pedalboat, or captained boat. Kick back with some tasty brews and delicious food at our Riverfest Beer Garden at Spouter Tavern and enjoy live music all three days.

Hill-Stead Museum: Sunken Garden Poetry Festival through 10/7: Modern Muses. This year’s festival has a series of events including panels, workshops, and social events along with annual reading events.

Hill-Stead Museum: Knitting in the Company of Sheep,  9/18, 12 – 2pm, Join Clatter Ridge Farm outdoors at the sheep pasture at Hill-Stead to break their own record for “The Most People Knitting in the Company of Sheep.” 2021 welcomed 230 knitters!

Classes: 

Lyme Academy of Fine Arts offers workshops and classes in fine arts, open drawing, print-making after-school classes, and more.

Guilford Art Center offers art classes and workshops for adults and children in beading, blacksmithing, ceramics, collage, drawing, fiber arts, glass, leather, metalsmithing, painting, paper, photography, sculpture, and weaving.

Earth and Fire Ceramics Studio, Old Saybrook offers open studio and fall classes beginning 9/6, for adults and children.

Madison Wool offers classes in knitting, crocheting, spinning, felting, and more.

Aux Trois Pommes in Guilford and New Haven offer language lessons in French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, German, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Russian for adults and children.

Cate’s Sew Modern in Guilford offers classes in sewing and quilting.

Weekend Kitchen in Essex offers a variety of cooking classes this fall.

SOMA, Deep River, a creative collective, offers a variety of classes through three studios in residence: River Valley Dance Project offers adult ballet, capoeira, modern dance, yoga, and more. Shell & Bee Studio offers toddler to adult crafting and art classes and workshops. River Fire offers glass-making projects.