Sunken Garden Poetry Festival
Hill-Stead Museum's Sunken Garden
Humans’ biological reaction summer, it seems, is to create festivals. After all, Woodstock was set in summer. And so is the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival.
Like Woodstock, Sunken Garden offers live music. Even better than Woodstock, it offers poetry, too.
Set in the backyard of the Hill-Stead Museum (in Farmington, Connecticut), Sunken Garden’s outdoor poetry festival is truly unique in that the stage is, literally, a sunken garden (imagine a belly button with a lush garden at the center). Each night of the festival, Sunken Garden features one musical act and two poetry acts. Because the festival strongly supports growing and emerging artists, most evenings highlight winners of a poetry contest, such as Fresh Voices, Hill-Stead’s own poetry contest for high school students, or a group of poets, such as the poets of Cave Canem, a non-profit organization that cultivates new voices in African American poetry. The other poet of the evening is usually an established name like, you know, Billy Collins or C. K. Williams (who open and close the festival, respectively).
I had the pleasure of attending this week’s installment of the festival (well, technically, I read in it, but that’s beside the point) featuring the Uptown Trio, Connecticut Poetry Circuit (that’s where I fit in), and Baron Wormser. Due to uncertainty over the weather, this particular night’s festivities were held inside an intimate barn-like setting next to the garden, where the artists fittingly blended in with the audience.
Although festival patrons are invited to bring their own picnic dinner, the festival does offer a catered dinner as well as, of course, red or white wine. At the culmination of each evening, the musicians and poets participate in a meet-and-greet in the festival’s store where patrons can peruse through a selection of each artist’s work and finish up their red or white wine. Now that’s a lot classier than Woodstock.
This year’s festival runs every other week from June 10 – August 5. Admission is free to the public, but bring money for parking and wine.
Category: Things To Do, Upcoming Events
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I was born to “My Girl” by The Temptations, and I eat breakfast at least twice a day. I live both on the internet and in my imagination.
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You are mistaking Robert Haas for Billy Collins, I believe. Haas opened the festival and C.K. Williams closes. Billy Collins was not and will not be there this year.
Thank you, Summer, that’s correct. Billy Collins opened the festival last year. Thanks for catching that!