Summer Concerts at the Farmer’s Market
Connecticut Old State House
Hartford
June 21, 2024
Friday was the kickoff of the Summer Concert series at the Old State House, which features live music combined with a farmer’s market and other vendors.
This series was one of the first events I covered when I was still brand new to writing about live events.
On Friday, the mariachi band Fiesta Del Norte entertained the gathered crowd as the sun overhead baked the bricktop on the first full day of summer. Despite the blazing heat, the band performed in full mariachi gear and filled downtown Hartford with the sounds of trumpets and violins. One of their songs they played was an ode to wet crows.
The band showed their singing chops as well, serenading the shoppers with a song called “De Colores”.
There was important information being shared at the event. Farmer’s markets are not only ideal for food because they come fresh from local growers, but they also offer important savings to consumers. One of the open secrets of farmer’s markets is that participating markets offer double SNAP benefits. Every food stamp dollar spent at participating markets counts as two, doubling the purchasing power of SNAP benefits. Many markets also accept local food support programs as well, such as Urban Alliance Coupons in Hartford and Bridgeport Bucks.
Food production wasn’t the only DIY skill on display at the event. I ran into Tony Baker, who owns Crafts Unleashed. He was selling some of the 3‑D printed goods that he makes in his own home. Tony primarily designs dragons with his printers, but also makes other animals and even intricate paintings with his machines. The paintings are made with thin layers of plastic laid across each other, and don’t chip or fade like traditional paintings.
“I’ve always loved technology,” he said, “and I teach high school math, so making stuff seemed like a natural progression.”
His smaller projects are done in an hour, but the larger figures, like an elaborate purple dragon on his table, can take a day each. He has five printers going around the clock.
“Stuff like this shows that anyone can be creative,” Tony said. He’s doing a dragon scavenger hunt, where 150 dragons will be hidden around the Greater Hartford area. His website has more information.
It was a great experience to return to the beginning of my career as a review writer, and hopefully the start of an annual tradition that will endure for a long time.
And now dear reader, if you’ll permit me a moment of self-reflection after filing my first 100 reviews for the Independent Review Crew.
I was in Puerto Rico last October, sitting at a bar in a hotel when the legendary Rita Moreno sat next to me and my friend. We talked about her famous career and all the barriers she broke. When she asked me what I do, I told her that I write reviews for a newspaper back home. I told her that I try to be positive in my reviews, because I know how hard it is to create and how easy it is to tear something down.
“That’s great,” she said. “But you still have to be a critic. That’s your job.”
I’ve tried to carry out her instructions ever since. I try to tell readers what I see, smell, taste, hear and feel. I make no pretensions to telling “the truth,” because I think such a thing is difficult if not impossible to ascertain in art. I try to capture my experience in words, and then make a judgment about what I think.
This job has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had. I’ve been to new places, tried new food, and made new friends. I’ve experienced artistic creation across the spectrum of human ability and interest. I get to write, which I love. I’ve been living an incredible dream for the last year.
It’s all thanks to you, dear reader. Without you, I’m just a guy talking to himself. Your comments, clicks and shares let me know that someone is interested in what I have to say. This opportunity simply wouldn’t exist without your support.
I try to do my job, and a year into it I still have so much more to learn. So thank you for bearing with me, and here’s to another year of getting to know the city I grew up in.
NEXT
Summer Concerts at the Farmers Market continues on June 28 with Mass-Conn Fusion.
Jamil is taking the weekend off. See you next week!
