Five Senses Festival | July 27 – August 11

This eclectic group of musicians, thinkers, teachers, artists and performers are all in your backyard in Washington, CT this summer! Many events at the Five Senses Festival are free, and the Festival Field is open to the public all day during the festival. Please register for the free events to reserve your space. Tent Talks and Headliner Performances have an entry fee; buy your tickets now so you don’t miss out!

Welcoming everyone in the community to the Festival Field is the brand new farm-meets-renaissance-piazza in Washington, CT. Here you’ll find a newly built wine cave, a carved stone amphitheater, an airstream trailer serving food and drink, a towering silo, and a magnificent tent for performances and talks. Through sunrise meditations, stimulating talks and glorious concerts under the stars, you’ll come to your senses.

• A converted grain silo serves as a box office.
• A refreshed vintage airstream trailer serves as a bar.
• A 1929 boxcar on rails has been recast as a bathroom.
• A fire-pit serves as a gathering spot in the field after dark.
• A 60-ft tall grain silo serves as the hub of an outdoor piazza, with shade sails draping off it to provide sun cover during the day.
• Video art installations by notable artists William Kentridge and Marilyn Minter are projected on the silo at night.
• Neon sculptures by artist Lauren Booth glow throughout the surrounding woods.
• Beloved local chef Cassandra Purdy serves farm-to-table food and drink throughout the day and evening.
• Decorated guest chefs, Joel Viehland (Swyft and Ore Hill) and Michelin starred Gabe McMackin (The Finch) design special experiential eating events.
• Spring Hill Farm, in addition to being a cultural space, is also a fully operational vineyard, and a stone cave cut into the hill will offer wine tastings.

3 weekends of events

Weekend 1 – Events from dawn until late night include sunrise meditation, field exercises, yoga, kids’ art studio, late night DJ dancing, community dinner, outdoor cafe, local wines, and an evening speakeasy. Tent Talks: Pseudonymous Bosch, children’s author – Dani Shapiro & Sylvia Boorstein on Time & Mindfulness – Abigail Pogrebin and, Tom Kitt – Tony Award-Winning Broadway composer – Alexandra Styron on Youth & Courage. Performances: Julian Fleisher & Lady Rizo, East Village Cabaret – Tom Kitt, Broadway – Joshua Campbell & Friends, Late Night Soul – Pilobolus’s Summer Workshop Showing; David Poe & C.C. White, Indie and Soul Music – Sumire Hirotsuru, violinist.

Weekend 2 – Events from dawn until late night include sunrise meditation, field exercises, yoga, kids’ programming, late night DJ dancing, community dinner, family brunch, brick oven pizza, outdoor cafe, local wines and food, and an evening speakeasy. Symposium: Tech & Nature. Performances: Bela Fleck, Folk – A Lua Alicia, Bossanova – curated by Jacob Maren, Young Voices Coffeehouse – Jeremy Denk, Classical Piano – Ben Sollee, Cello – and Grammy-Winning Kiwi Pop Singer KIMBRA!

Weekend 3 – Events from dawn until late night include sunrise meditation, field exercises, yoga, kids’ art studio, community dinner, brick oven pizza, outdoor cafe, local wines and food, and an evening speakeasy. Tent Talk: Laurie Santos on Happiness. Performances: Pilobolus’s Kids’ Show, Pilobolus is a Fungus – a sneak preview of Pilobolus’s new touring show, Come to Your Senses – and special a Festival Closing Ceremony.

Website

292 Bee Brook Road, Washington, CT