Every summer for the past 33 years, people throughout Fairfield County and beyond have come to Westport's Levitt Pavilion with picnics, blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the high-quality, free-of-charge evening's entertainment. The Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts is a non-profit, open-air summer festival where a variety of entertainment is presented virtually every night in a beautifully landscaped amphi-theater, located on the banks of the Saugatuck River. The Pavilion was the idea of the chairman of Westport Parks & Recreation. He brought the idea to the Kiwanis Club and the Westport Young Woman's League. To raise seed money, the two groups sold discount booklets with products and services donated by at least 40 local businesses, mostly members of the Downtown Merchants Association.

Meanwhile, architect Bruce Campbell Graham donated his services in designing and, later, supervising construction of the Pavilion. The Westport Weston Arts Council, joined with the Kiwanis and Westport Young Woman's League, solicited $25,000 of the funds needed for construction from Mortimer and Mimi Levitt.

The town donated the landfill site and the expensive site preparation. Glendinning companies donated thousands of cubic yards of bank run gravel. The Westport News was generous with its coverage. The Pavilion was finished largely with donated construction supplies and volunteer labor, mainly from Kiwanis, Rotary and Lions Club members (their out of pocket expenses were approximately $56,000).

In 1973, the first year of operation, the Pavilion produced 36 free events. Through the generosity of corporate, organization, and individual Friends of the Levitt Pavilion, 50 to 60 nights of free entertainment are presented every season. Over the past 33 years, the Pavilion has grown to be a major cultural force in the region, playing host to such stellar performers as Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, The Gipsy Kings, Tony Bennett, the Chieftains and Judy Collins, while still providing a stage for emerging talent.   More >

Lake Compounce Family Theme Park in Bristol, Connecticut opened their doors on May 13, 2006 for their 160th season, making it the oldest continuously operating amusement park in the country. What a Connecticut treasure!

The story of Lake Compounce began in 1846 when scientists who were in search of a body of water for use in an "experiment in electricity" approached Mr. Gad Norton to use his 28-acre lake. The well-publicized event drew thousands of spectators to Mr. Norton's beautiful 300+ acres of property amidst woods and water. Though the scientific experiment was a dud, visitors were so enamored with Mr. Norton's property that he decided to open it to the public as a picnicking and swimming area.

From that day forward, the property grew as a family amusement park to include rides and a concert ballroom. In 1914, the Green Dragon, Lake Compounce's first electric powered roller coaster was opened. The genuine open-air trolley and carousel, both dating back to 1911, remain favorites of park visitors to this day.   More >

What's Happening

Jul 14th	River City Slim & the Zydeco Hogs Bring Musical Gumbo to Levitt River City Slim & the Zydeco Hogs, though from Connecticut, bring their exuberant Louisiana dance music to the Levitt in a rocking performance. The show begins at 8 PM. More >
Jul 21st	The Guess Who with Guest Doug Wahlberg at Ives Ives Concert Park presents The Guess who, the band that brought the world "These Eyes," "American Woman," "No Sugar Tonight" among other classic rock songs, will perform for one show at 7:30 PM with special guest Doug Wahlberg. Tickets range from $10 to $45. More >
Jun 22nd - Aug 3rd	Headliners on Tap for Stamford's Alive @ 5 Concerts -- Including Hootie & The Blowfish Stamford Downtown brings music's top headliners to Columbus Park for 7 Thursday evening free concerts from June 22nd through August 3rd. The line-up features: The Bacon Brothers on June 22nd, Antigone Rising on June 29th, Average White Band on July 6th, The Radiators on July 13, Tito Puente, Jr., and his orchestra on July 20, The Nerds on July 27 and Hootie and the Blowfish on August 3rd. The concerts begin at 5 PM. More >
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