If you’ve been planning a Connecticut daycation, you might want to head out on Saturday, June 11, when the state holds its annual Open House Day.
Sponsored by the Office of Tourism, the event includes special activities at more than 150 historical sites, museums, theatres, galleries and tourist destinations — and most of them are free with identification showing that at least one person in your party is a state resident.
Here are some highlights:
RiverQuest in Haddam offers a special reduced admission of $5 per person (all ages) for a 45-minute cruise on the Connecticut River. First cruise departs at 9 a.m.
Take a free tour of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford and you’ll get refreshments and a complimentary ticket to come back for a 2016 summer performance. You can also take free backstage tours at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam and the Ivoryton Playhouse in Essex.
Get literary for free at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford and Monte Cristo Cottage (Eugene O’Neill’s boyhood home) in New London.
Explore the past, no charge, at the Connecticut Historical Society and the Old State House in Hartford; the Hitchcock-Phillips House in Cheshire is offering free admission, craft classes and a complimentary gift; and at the East Haddam Historical Society Museum you can take a free tour and take home a free cookbook.
Stop by the New England Ballet Company in Bridgeport for free classes and performances. The Barnes Nature Center in Bristol has free admission, crafts, animals and nature walks. New visitors get two free climbs, (with a staff member), at the Central Rock Gym in Glastonbury.
Wesleyan Potters in Middletown will have free tours, demonstrations and kids’ activities. Build a bird house on the house at the Eleanor Buck Wolf Nature Center in Wethersfield, or be one of the first 100 cars at the Southington Drive-In and you will see “Frozen” for free.
Hours and a complete schedule are at ctvisit.com. Find more deals at courant.com/savvyshopper.
