• RiverFare 2025

    Connecticut River Museum 67 Main St, Essex, CT, United States

    Join the Connecticut River Museum for RiverFare 2025! Delight in an evening of delicious food, wines, cocktails, music and more while enjoying the beautiful river views from the Museum’s front lawn. Local restaurants and caterers provide delectable samples of their culinary talents. Enjoy tastings from wineries and breweries of the Connecticut River Valley. Do not miss the luxury-filled silent auction! RiverFare 2025 takes place on the front lawn of the Museum, under a tent with fabulous views of the Connecticut River. $80 Individual ticket ($95 at the door) $165 Single Patron ticket. See it. Want it. Buy it. Use your Patron level ticket to lock in great prices on select items with no bidding needed. Plus, all patron-level tickets include a choice of complimentary drink or raffle ticket. Purchase Tickets

    $80
  • Shanties & Sails: Johnson Girls

    Connecticut River Museum 67 Main St, Essex, CT, United States

    Shanties & Sails are back! Enjoy an evening of Sea Shanties. Hear talented shanty and sea-song musicians for a FREE one-hour live performance. Add to your evening to continue the fun. Book a trip on the Onrust! Shanties: Free! Onrust: $25.  Sail aboard the Onrust with the performers! This music series is generously supported by Privé Swiss Wellness. The Johnson Girls:  Internationally acclaimed, The Johnson Girls have been a force on the folk and maritime music scene for the past 28 years as the leading all-woman, a cappella maritime group in the world. Believing that sea chanteys and sea songs were the first real “World Music,” Joy Bennett, Alison Kelley, Bonnie Milner, and Deirdre Murtha each bring a special influence to their music. Whether performing chanteys with hair-raising harmonies or sharing tender ballads at intimate venues, folk clubs, or packed international folk festivals in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Europe, The Johnson Girls remain true to their mission of keeping chantey singing alive, bringing women’s voices to the fore, and sweeping their audiences along in a tidal fervor. ONRUST is a re-creation of the vessel Adriaen Block built in 1614. Built over several years in upstate New York […]

  • River Tales: The Rhythm of the Rain

    Recurring
    Connecticut River Museum 67 Main St, Essex, CT, United States

    Swing by the Connecticut River Museum for take-home craft activities that engage kids with the Connecticut River’s stunning wildlife and rich history! Crafts will take place in the Museum’s Boathouse. A program just for kids 4+ and their caregivers, River Tales includes a story and craft activity themed around nature.  Non-members: $3 per learner, Members: FREE! As rain starts to fall, Isaac empties his little jar of water into a pool. Water races the sparkling streams as they tumble over waterfalls, rush through swollen rivers and burst out into the vast open sea. In June, we’ll read The Rhythm of the Rain, a picture book from Greenaway medal-winner, Grahame Baker-Smith that celebrates the water cycle and captures the remarkable movement of water across the earth in all its majesty. Questions? Email astromberger@ctrivermuseum.org. The Connecticut River Museum may photograph this event. By participating, you agree to allow photos to be posted on the Connecticut River Museum’s website, Facebook page, Instagram feed, and other media.

    $3
  • Shanties & Sails: Rick Spencer and Dawn Indermuehle

    Connecticut River Museum 67 Main St, Essex, CT, United States

    Shanties & Sails are back! Enjoy an evening of Sea Shanties. Hear talented shanty and sea-song musicians for a FREE one-hour live performance. Add to your evening to continue the fun. Book a trip on the Onrust! Shanties: FREE, Onrust: $25 This music series is generously supported by Privé Swiss Wellness. Rick Spencer and Dawn Indermuehle develop and present theme-based music and history programs, performing songs that give cultural insight into interesting times, places, and events in American history. Rick and Dawn carefully craft their vocals and accompaniment to sound as true to a song’s era or style as possible. Their vast repertoire includes music from the Colonial era to the present day. Rick and Dawn use these songs to illustrate the evolution of our nation’s culture and history in an informative and entertaining way. Onrust is a re-creation of the vessel Adriaen Block built in 1614. Built over several years in upstate New York using traditional plans and means, the Onrust is a wholly unique ship that serves to educate and entertain visitors curious about the age of exploration, the fur trade, and our early colonial history. She is available for public cruises as well as private charters.

    Free
  • Shanties & Sails: My Druthers

    Connecticut River Museum 67 Main St, Essex, CT, United States

    Shanties & Sails are back! Enjoy an evening of Sea Shanties. Hear talented shanty and sea-song musicians for a FREE one-hour live performance. Add to your evening to continue the fun. Book a trip on the Onrust! Shanties: FREE, Onrust: $25 This music series is generously supported by Privé Swiss Wellness. My Druthers Rebel songs of Ireland & the Sea! Consisting of a rotating lineup of all-stars from the Connecticut music scene, My Druthers has had shows throughout New England, the Midwest & Southeastern US, as well as Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Renowned for their raucous & rowdy take on the age-old tradition, it’s hard not to raise a pint, stomp your feet, and sing along with these salty rebels and CT shantymen! ONRUST Onrust is a re-creation of the vessel Adriaen Block built in 1614. Built over several years in upstate New York using traditional plans and means, the Onrust is a wholly unique ship that serves to educate and entertain visitors curious about the age of exploration, the fur trade, and our early colonial history. She is available for public cruises as well as private charters.

    Free
  • Lectures Underway: The British Raid on Essex

    Connecticut River Museum 67 Main St, Essex, CT, United States

    Members: $30, Non-Members: $35 Join author and historian Jerry Roberts aboard Onrust for a trip back in time to 1814! On this special cruise, passengers will trace the path of the British Raid on Essex during the War of 1812, which saw 27 ships set aflame in the single greatest loss of American shipping of the entire war. Explore the real-world locations of this dramatic chapter in Connecticut history alongside the author of The British Raid on Essex: The Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812. Jerry Roberts has been in the history business for over 30 years. He has served as Vice President in charge of Exhibits at the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum in New York City, and as Executive Director of the National Lighthouse Museum project in NYC, the Connecticut River Museum in Essex CT, and the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT. He has designed and built over fifty exhibits, designed and project managed several major museum expansion and infrastructure projects. He has written several books and other historic publications and has co-written and appeared in a number of documentaries. The Connecticut River Museum may record this event, including all questions, comments, etc. by the audience. […]

    $35