This is a beautiful park to walk through. They have different flowers planted for different…read moreseasons. Parking can be difficult to find when it is busy but it is not too bad. Great place to take pictures of flowers and a cute little photo shoot with friends and family.

I absolutely love love love it here!! I was surprised how good it was even in o river!! Just…read moresplendid!!

Lunch reservation today at 1:30. Table for 3 in the glassed in area leading out to patio. Our…read moreorders included Eggplant Rollatini, Caprese Sandwich & BBQ Burger. Food was delicious. Service was great. Would definitely dine again at the Pond House Cafe. Don't miss the Beautiful gardens & decorations on perimeter of Cafe.

I had a lovely late mothers day brunch at pond house. The outdoor atmosphere is perfect. I loved my…read morefood, sangria, and time with family. There was something for everyone, even picky eaters. They were very busy although not many folks seated outside. Reservations highly advised and they were turning away large parties.

Hidden West End gem. Best private club food I've ever had. Mothers day brunch was served buffet…read morestyle. Selections included eggs benedict, cinnamon raisin challah bread french toast, herbed baked tomatoes, ginger rhubarb crumble, and bacon. There's also a lovely gallery on the second floor which features visiting local artists. The staff are impeccably trained and attentive to a point that the average e person will likely never encounter.

We went to my niece's baby shower at this venue and it was fabulous. From the food to the decor and…read moreservice. Everything was perfect!

I attended an event where Paint the Town lead a painting class. The class was about 90 people of…read moreall ages. All materials were provided. The instructors moved at a reasonable pace. They offered painting tricks and tips as needed, and they were very friendly and supportive of all dofferent skill levels. While there was a general instruction, painters were encouraged to use their own creativity as well. It was a great experience, and I would definitely do it again!

I have done two events with Paint the Town and both have been well received…read more These were with my business clients. Each time the instructor was excellent, patient and talented. To add to the experience, I brought a blue-tooth speaker to play music and supplied wine to sip and a charcuterie board to snack while painting, I would highly recommend Paint the Town.

From start to finish, working with Joan was great! She had been responsive and helpful through the…read moreentire process. Not only that, but she hooked us up to work with Mitch Rossitto who was AMAZING!! Great team. I highly recommend!!!

I recently attended and was a part of my friends wedding. Joan was the officiant, MC, and DJ for…read morethe event. Not only was Joan professional, fun, played all of my friends music selections, and organized; without her the event would have simply not have run smoothly. In addition to her roles that day, Joan had unexpectedly had to take on the task of event coordinator. She saw there was a void in the days planning by the venue and took it upon herself to fill that void and help make my friends day run smoothly and effortlessly. She went above and beyond her job duties and I would reccommend her to anyone! Please consider Joan Dylan Productions for your next event because she definitely has your best interests in mind and will go above and beyond to make your event special!

To say that Natalie is a rockstar is an understatement. I have been working with/alongside her for…read morethe last two summers straight. She contacted me asking if she could represent as a face painter at the Farmers Market that I run in Downtown Milford, CT. to raise awareness for another worthy cause called NOPlays, an organization for artists like herself that is steadily in need of operating funds. I agreed, hands down. Since then she has shown at literally every market she is available and is a HUGE source of sunshine, empowerment, beauty, and joy. She moves the market from functional to fun just by showing up. Her face painting skills are unmatched, she's terrific with kids, and she's never not smiling! She has show herself an irreplaceable resource. I cannot thank her enough, and I hope she stays with us as long as she is able. The Downtown Milford Farmers Market LOVES us some Natalie!

While most people on insta and Yelp just hear about the foodie side of me, they don't know about my…read moreacademic & professional life where I'm the biggest history nerd out there who literally travels the world to see historic places & objects. I was super excited to visit the CT historical society a few weeks ago and check out the bicycle game, an interactive exhibit where you can compete with friends of family to solve clues and rack up points, all while learning about CT's role in bicycle history. It's a great way to spend an afternoon or evening, and I want to bring my husband back with me to show him the exhibit. Fun for kids of all ages, I guarantee you're in for an amazing and educational experience.

My mom and I spent a couple hours on a Saturday exploring out the Connecticut museum of culture and…read morehistory, which we had both never been to before! The architecture of the building was pretty cool, as it used to be an old mansion. It took us about 2 hours to get through everything. Their permanent exhibit on the inn and tavern signs was cool to look at, and we enjoyed their current exhibit on coffee. There's interactive experiences for all ages, and I'm so glad we visited. Highly recommend going to learn more about CT's history!

We just saw the play " Kiss me Kate" Amazing cast of UHART…read morestudents in this performance!! Their dancing and voices were SPECTACULAR! Their performances are fantastic throughout the academic year!

I am writing solely about the instrumental music program, including private lessons, Suzuki group…read moreclasses, orchestra ensembles, and chamber music. Both of my kids participate in lessons, classes, and concerts through the Hartt Community Division, and they are one of the best-organized youth music programs of this type in the country. Having observed numerous Suzuki schools in the US, Asia, and Europe, I am always impressed at the quality of the organization and the consistently high level of music making of the students at the concerts. The cello studio, in particular, is always a joy to hear, with strong performances at every level, from "Twinkle" to Tchaikovsky. The instructors are highly engaged with the students, and I am always enthused at the depth and breadth of material covered in their private lessons--and parents are encouraged to attend and take notes until the students are old enough and don't want us there anymore. :)

Booked the Living History Tour which lasted ~70 minutes and was led by a costumed actor. Even…read morethough it was raining, we enjoyed this experience. Our actor/tour guide portrayed Katie, one of the servants in the house. She told interesting stories and facts about Mark Twain, his family and the house. Pictures were not allowed during the tour except at the last part/basement and outside the house. Parking was not a problem as there was a lot before entering the museum which can lead to Mark Twain's house. There's a 20+ minute introductory video (separate from the tour) that you can see in the museum. The gift shop has magnets, t-shirts, other clothes, books, toys, pins, snacks, etc. There's also a cafe in the museum. This house/museum is about 20 minutes away from Bradley International (Hartford) airport. Would recommend this tour!

Visited the adult home of this famous child of the Mississippi River, during the final days of our…read moretrip to Connecticut. It was a very enjoyable experience. My wife and I were flying out of the Hartford airport (Bradley International) to go back home, so decided to spend the day before in the area. A popular tourist attraction is the Mark Twain (two fathoms or 12 feet deep) House & Museum, so decided to center our day around that. Maps will take you right to it, passing by large and beautiful homes from the turn of the (19th) century. The end destination was a large parking with plenty of spaces on a Friday afternoon. Daily hours are 9:30 - 5:30, with seeing the house only available through guided tours, so it was recommended to pre-reserve slots online. There are two versions of the tour, both guided but with the less frequent Living History Tour being led by a cosplay actor. We arrived at 11:20 and was able to get tickets for the 11:30 normal tour (on this day, the normal tour had hours at 9:45, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, and 4:15). Because the tour lasts about an hour, there were multiple groups in the house at the same time, but it is big enough to absorb the three concurrent groups, all seeing different parts of the home. The entire home is maintained only by ticket admission ($28 adult, $26 senior, $15 children). This was the home where he spent the most productive 17 years of his life, raising his three daughters with his wife, and writing his classics, including Huckleberry Finn. The house tour included all four stories of his home, with complete restoration being just completed in 2016. Rules: no photos or videos inside the house; don't touch anything, stay in same room as guide at all times, and no food/drink. The house was built with forced air vents, and the AC was working well within the house this day. Upstairs on the second floor was the living area, and the 3rd story attic was where Twain had his offices. The basement were the servant quarters. The entire house was fully furnished with either originals or faithful reproductions. We later learned that much of it had been given away initially, but the restoration brought much of it back. There are no elevators in the Twain home. In the visitor center, anybody could enjoy a 20 minute version of Mark Twain documentary by Ken Burns. The most celebrated Mark Twain actor was Hal Holbrook (he played a mean Lincoln too), and his very familiar voice could be heard quite a bit throughout. The souvenir shop in the visitor center had a variety of things related to his life, but to the hobby of reading for pleasure in general. There were distinctive wallpaper patterns inside the house (our favorite was that of a honeybee colony), and the same patterns could be purchased as paper in the gift shop. Because the main house is on elevated ground, one story above the visitor center, there are two parking areas. The main one near the visitor center is what Maps will guide you to, whereas the much smaller one south of the house at the same elevation is meant for handicapped spots and being much smaller, will fill up. We did see if we could walk from this parking area via local roads, but found it was much easier to just go back from where we came. We spent about 2 hours here, and saw what we wanted to see. We both felt it's well worth visiting.