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Summer Festivals and Fairs in Connecticut for Families in 2024

Get moving and shaking with live performances, good food, and family fun at the best summer festivals and fairs in Connecticut in 2024!
Get moving and shaking with live performances, good food, and family fun at the best summer festivals and fairs in Connecticut in 2024!
5/17/24 - By Jennifer Coe

Summer festivals and fairs are just around the corner! Connecticut's 2024 summer calendar is stuffed full of fun, family-oriented fairs. Start with strawberries, celebrate with fireworks and close out the season with rides and tasty food. Many of these fairs are locally based, bringing the flavors of their community out on display with thing like boat rides, oysters, animals, community projects and more. Many are FREE to enter (and rides and food are additional).

Be sure to check out our Connecticut Summer Fun Guide to keep up with new listings of summer fairs and festivals, as well as fun family events and activities. And our Guide to Free Fun for Connecticut Kids helps plan for more epic adventures at just the right price to stretch the summer budget.

Lead photo courtesy of Assembly Square

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Wrap your hands around some tasty fun at these summer fairs and festivals! Photo courtesy of Lyman Orchards
Wrap your hands around some tasty fun at these summer fairs and festivals! Photo courtesy of Lyman Orchards

Summer Festivals and Fairs in Connecticut - June 2024

Torrington Strawberry Festival

Torrington
June 1, 2024
Enjoy a day of fun and, of course, delicious fresh-made strawberry shortcake and other strawberry treats. Food trucks will provide delicious food, and entertainment for the kids includes the Strawberry Festival Express Train. READ MORE

Riverfest at Mystic Seaport

Mystic
June 1, 2024
Tour visiting fishing vessels docked at the Museum for the weekend, and absorb yourself in special historical demonstrations like sail handling aboard historic vessels, cod fishing, and open hearth cooking. Enjoy local seafood and beverages while listening to live music by the Mystic River, or shop at a variety of artisan vendor booths. READ MORE

New London County Strawberry Festival

Bozrah
June 1-June 2, 2024
Eastern Connecticut's Premier Strawberry Festival makes its way to the beautiful Maples Farm Park, Bozrah, to kick off Summer 2024. 15+ food trucks and 80+ vendors will be joining us with an amazing variety of strawberry infused foods and strawberry themed products including the ever so popular Strawberry Shortcake and the must-have strawberry lemonade in a strawberry souvenir cup. READ MORE

Cheshire Strawberry Festival

Cheshire
June 8, 2024
Enjoy mouth-watering fresh strawberry shortcake, hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, and other treats at the annual celebration of this traditional New England festival. Activities will include: vendors, food, arts and crafts, games, inflatables and more. READ MORE

South Windsor Strawberry Festival & Craft Fair

South Windsor
June 8, 2024
Nevers Park hosts one of the largest strawberry festivals in the state! Enjoy train rides, face painting, Craft Fair, the Little Miss Strawberry Pageant, food trucks, and, of course, plenty of strawberry delights. READ MORE

Mistick Strawberry Festival

Mystic
June 8, 2024
Join Olde Mistick Village for their very first Strawberry Festival. This festival will celebrate all things STRAWBERRIES! From fresh strawberries, to jams, pies and more.  All kinds of strawberry surprises, including strawberry wine, strawberry shortcake blondies, chocolate strawberries, and so much more. READ MORE

CT Localpalooza Music & Art Festival X

Bethany
June 8, 2024
CT Localpalooza Music & Art Festival is a one day celebration of CT music and art communities. We strive to influence our community to celebrate artistic and cultural diversity and inspire creative engagement. This is a completely family friendly event and will have games for kids and adults, a kids area with arts and crafts projects as well as hula hoops, bubbles, sidewalk chalk. READ MORE

Little Poland Festival in New Britain

New Britain
June 9, 2024
Experience a taste of Europe in New Britain's unique Little Poland district. Enjoy live music, mascots, kids' activities, leaping folk dancers, ethnic food, arts and crafts, and shopping. READ MORE

International Festival of Arts and Ideas

New Haven
June 14 - June 16, 2024
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is an extravaganza of performing arts, lectures, storytelling, music, and conversations that take over theaters, town green, and open spaces in New Haven. The 2024 schedule runs from June 14 through June 29, and most events are free. READ MORE

Lyman Orchards' Strawberry Fest

Middlefield
June 15, 2024
There’s no sweeter way to celebrate the start of Summer ‘24 than by joining in on all the fun at the Lyman Orchards Strawberry Festival.  It’s all happening at the Apple Barrel Farm Market and grounds on Saturday, June 15. READ MORE

Trumbull Day (& Fireworks)

Trumbull
June 29- June 29, 2024
Trumbull Day is a two-day,fun-filled family event with food, vendors, carnival rides and games, children's entertainment, a main stage featuring local bands, and fireworks.  READ MORE
These Connecticut fairs and festivals are sure to light up a smile or two! Photo courtesy of Vernon’s Annual Summer Days Carnival
These Connecticut fairs and festivals are sure to light up a smile or two! Photo courtesy of Vernon’s Annual Summer Days Carnival

Summer Festivals and Fairs in Connecticut - July 2024

The NICE Festival in Norwalk

Norwalk
July 6, 2024
Dancers, musicians, vendors, and local international restaurants are the center of a celebration that encourages the community to spend the day together and celebrate Norwalk's diversity. READ MORE

Rowayton River Ramble

Norwalk
July 13, 2024
Enjoy live music, relax at the water’s edge with amazing food & drink from the Grill Boys, Raw bar, and the famous Beer Boys and Girl. Kids will enjoy the petting zoo, pony rides, water slides, dunk tank, balloon twisters, face painting, hair braiding, kid’s games, Kona ice truck, cotton candy and the cakewalk tradition. READ MORE

Vernon’s Annual Summer Days Carnival

Vernon
July 24-26, 2024
New Location in 2024! Enjoy rides, games, and carnival food at the annual Vernon Summer Days Carnival. Wristbands are available. Admission and parking are free. READ MORE

Lebanon Country Fair

Lebanon
July 26-28, 2024
This major agricultural fair features livestock, crafts, carnival rides, continuous entertainment, children’s games, food vendors, monster trucks, and helicopter rides.  READ MORE
With food, rides, and more, these fairs and festivals have something for everyone! Photo courtesy of the Milford Oyster Festival
With food, rides, and more, these fairs and festivals have something for everyone! Photo courtesy of the Milford Oyster Festival

Summer Festivals and Fairs in Connecticut - August 2024

Taste of the Caribbean and Jerk Festival in Hartford

Hartford
August 3, 2024
Authentic Caribbean cuisine, cool island beverages, island rhythms, and spectacular costumes and dance bring a festive Caribbean atmosphere to the riverfront, during a free, day-long, family-friendly festival.  READ MORE

Stonington Village Fair

Stonington
August 3, 2024
The Stonington Village Fair is a regional time-honored tradition drawing thousands annually. Traditions of the fair include a pottery tent, artisan booths, children's activities, live music, and delicious food vendors. READ MORE

Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival in Goshen

Goshen
August 8-10, 2024
The annual bluegrass festival features local, regional, and national bluegrass, bringing together the finest in bluegrass music each year. Enjoy a day of family activities, camping, and vendors.  READ MORE

Riverfront Dragon Boat & Asian Festival in Hartford

Hartford
Aug. 17, 2024
Celebrate Asian and Pacific Island cultures through traditional music and dance, hands-on art activities, food, and martial arts. Dragon boat races are back this year. Come cheer on your favorite team! READ MORE

Milford Oyster Festival

Milford
Aug. 17, 2024
Enjoy great food and fabulous entertainment for adults and children alike. More than 30,000 oysters & clams are brought to you by East Coast Shellfish Growers Association & the Annual Milford Oyster Festival.  READ MORE

The Brooklyn Fair

Brooklyn
Aug. 22-25, 2024
Make memories at one of the oldest continuously run fairs in the United States. Fireworks, baking contests, truck pull, racing pigs, animal competitions, and an entire kids' stage all await.  READ MORE
Summer isn't over until you say it's over! Goshen Fair photo by Ally Noel
Summer isn't over until you say it's over! Goshen Fair photo by Ally Noel

Summer Festivals and Fairs in Connecticut - September 2024

Woodstock Fair

Woodstock
Aug 30- Sept 2, 2024
It's a Labor Day tradition: the Woodstock Fairgrounds! Enjoy agricultural exhibits (including a birthing center where you can view a cow birth a calf right before your eyes!), animal and farm equipment competitions, entertainment, music, food, and carnival rides. READ MORE

Haddam Neck Fair

Haddam Neck
Aug 30 - Sept 2, 2024
All weekend long, there will be rides, concessions, petting zoo, children's activities, agricultural contests, entertainment, and more. READ MORE

Goshen Fair

Goshen
Aug 31 -Sept 2, 2024
A great country fair with loads of animals, food, entertainment, and rides. Enjoy this Litchfield County Labor Day tradition that features fireworks, pie eating contests, a draft horse show, and a lumber jack contest.  READ MORE

Norwalk Seaport Association's Oyster Festival

Norwalk
Sept. 6-8, 2024
The beloved annual Oyster Festival features live music from dozens of bands on multiple stages, as well as festival entertainment and attraction for the whole family.  READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Downtown Milford, along Milford Harbor