Kim's Hartford Blog

Why leave your leaf peeping to chance? Start your foliage season planning early this year by perusing this list of the eight top places to view autumn colors, selected by Connecticut's Bureau of Parks and Forests.

Photo Gallery:
Fall Foliage on the Farmington River

_{Heublein Tower photo © 2000 Kim Knox Beckius.}

There's still time to plan one last summer camping outing. The Connecticut State Parks Division provides more than 1,400 campsites statewide for residents and visitors to enjoy. Here's what you need to know to plan your Connecticut camping trip.

Connecticut State Park Camping Reviews:

• Rocky Neck State Park
• Housatonic Meadows State Park
• Lake Waramaug State Park

Plainville, Connecticut's most colorful annual event, the Plainville Hot Air Balloon Festival, is scheduled for this weekend, August 22-24, 2008. Here's your guide to attending this free event, which features three hot air balloon launches, a Balloon Glow, fireworks and more. For a glimpse of what the festival is like, click through my Plainville Hot Air Balloon Festival Photo Gallery.

Also This Weekend:

• Connecticut Ballet Makes Its Riverfront Debut Saturday Night
• Old-Fashioned Family Fun at the Brooklyn Fair
• John Mayer Plays the New England Dodge Music Center
• See Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Free Outdoors in Canton
• Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament Finals are Saturday

_{Balloon Festival photo © 2001 Kim Knox Beckius.}

The 9 p.m. emergency curfew that went into effect in Hartford less than a week ago seems to be doing little to stem the epidemic of violence in the capital city. WFSB Channel 3 and the Hartford Courant are reporting that three separate shootings took place in the city before 9 p.m. this evening on Sterling Street, Cornwall Street and Laurel Street. Although details are still coming in, no fatalities have been reported, fortunately. Initial reports indicate the individuals involved were over the age of 18, and thus not affected by the curfew.

Where are all of these people getting guns?

If a curfew is not the solution to violent crime in Hartford, what is?

Click "Comments" below to share your thoughts.

Have information about a Hartford crime? Call the Hartford Police Department's Tips Line at 860-722-8477.

Long before my little one said "Ma-Ma" or "Da-Da," she looked me right in the eyes and uttered... you guessed it... "Elmo." We've taken her to see three Sesame Street Live shows at the XL Center, and they've all been really entertaining and fun.

Elmo and his pals will be back in Hartford October 16-19, 2008 with a new show: Elmo's Green Thumb. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday, August 22, at the XL Center Box Office, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 860-525-4500. Through Thursday, August 21, you can take advantage of a ticket pre-sale opportunity by entering the password SMVP when you reserve your seats online at ticketmaster.com. Opening night seats are just $11. Tickets for all other performances are priced at $12, $16, $22 or $30 plus service charges for audience members ages 1 and older.

_{Elmo media photo TM/© 2006 Sesame Workshop. All rights reserved.}

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals is sponsoring a Worldwide Photo Walk on Saturday, August 23, and Hartford is one of more than 100 cities across America and around the globe that will be participating. The event is free and open to all photography enthusiasts, but you must be one of the first 50 people to pre-register online for the Hartford Photo Walk, which will be led by Scarlet Riley. Participating photographers will meet up at 9:30 a.m. at the Old State House at 800 Main Street in Hartford, and the Photo Walk will end at 11:30 a.m. at City Steam Brewery at 942 Main Street. A Photo Walk is also taking place in New Haven, Connecticut, on Saturday. A prize will be awarded for the best photo of the day in each city, and a grand prize package will also be bestowed upon the photographer who shoots the day's best photo from all the Photo Walks taking place around the world.

Like Photography? Join a Connecticut Camera Club.

Hartford Photo Galleries:

• Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk at Riverfront
• Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground
• The Bushnell: Hartford's Premier Performing Arts Center

_{Old State House photo © 2007 Kim Knox Beckius.}

If you need a new suit, gown or designer pair of kicky fall boots, this is the time to splurge. Connecticut's annual sales tax holiday week is scheduled for August 17 to 23. Shoppers will get a reprieve from sales tax on items of clothing and footwear priced under $300--just in time for back-to-school, fall wardrobe and early holiday shopping.

More Local Shopping Tips:

• Connecticut's Stress-Free Shopping Sites
• Connecticut Outlet Shopping Guide
• Going, Going, Gone! Auction Houses in Greater Hartford
• Made in Connecticut

Ease the kids into school mode by planning an educational field trip to Dinosaur State Park, located just about 20 minutes south of Hartford in the town of Rocky Hill. The park is the site of one of North America's largest collections of dinosaur tracks. Saturday, August 16, is Dinosaur State Park Day, a free outdoor event celebrating the 42nd anniversary of this discovery.

More Weekend Happenings in Hartford

• Tickets Are Still Available for Friday night's Maroon 5 concert at the New England Dodge Music Center in Hartford. Sara Bareilles and Counting Crows open.
• Hartford Hosts the Nation's Largest Stamp Show: The American Philatelic Society StampShow runs Thursday through Sunday at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

_{Dinosaur State Park photo © 1999 Kim Knox Beckius}

The 28th annual Lobsterfest is August 15-17 in Canton, and as usual, I can hardly wait. This is one of my favorite Hartford-area events and a huge fundraiser for the Canton Volunteer Fire Company. For just $18, you'll enjoy a whole lobster, clam chowder, corn and a beverage. Hours are Friday from 6 until 9:30 p.m., Saturday from 2 until 9:30 p.m. and Sunday from noon until the lobsters are sold out or 4 p.m. There's musical entertainment on Friday and Saturday, too, and a classic car show Friday night. Lobsterfest takes place at the Fire Station on Canton Springs Road in Canton. You'll see signs from Route 44. For more information, call 860-693-8120.

Intimidated by Lobster? Learn how to eat a lobster with this visual guide.

_{Lobsterfest photo © Kim Knox Beckius.}

One weekend, 11 shot, one dead. It's tough for many residents to feel safe in the city these days, and this morning, in reaction to this weekend's three separate shooting incidents, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez and Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts announced several new strategies for combatting rampant violence in Hartford. The action that impacts Hartford residents most is the imposition of a 30-day emergency curfew that requires all individuals under the age of 18 to be off the streets by 9 p.m. each evening starting this Thursday, August 14, unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. Minors who violate curfew will be escorted home by police. Other measures announced today include:

• Formation of a new "Shooting Team" focused on solving gun crimes and prosecuting shooters to the full extent of the law;
• Creation of a "Most Watched List" of wanted and suspected criminals, which the Hartford Police Department will share with the State's Attorney's Office; and
• Coordination of urban crime-fighting efforts with the cities of Bridgeport and New Haven.

Mayor Perez will also formally request that the governor and chief justice step up efforts to supervise individuals on probation or out on bond.

Poll: Is a curfew the solution to violent crime in Hartford?

• No, it's just a Band-Aid and will be impossible to enforce.
• Only if it is expanded to include people over 18, as well.
• Maybe, but the city still needs to do more.
• Yes, it should make a big difference.

View Results