Let The Hartford Weekend Begin!

How many days till spring? Too many as far as this writer is concerned. But cheer up. It’s the weekend and spring is but weeks away!

Get a sense of that season  at the 32nd annual Connecticut Flower & Garden Show Feb. 21 to Feb. 24 at the Connecticut Convention Center.

The show features hundreds of displays, activities and vendors showcasing the best the season has to offer including landscaping, garden decor, bulbs, seeds , lawn care and arts and crafts as well as 20 gardens  and a design and horticulture competition all with a wedding theme.

Celebrities at this year’s show include Roger Swain, former host of PBS’  “The Victory Garden” and HGTV’s “People, Places & Plants.”  And there is a couple from Glastonbury who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows in the midst of the flower-filled hall Thursday as part of the opening.

Information: ctflowershow.com or 860-844-8461.

Information: www.ctflowershow.com

The Arch Street Tavern will be the place for Happy Hour Feb. 21. Camp Courant will host a “Send a Kid To Camp”  fundraiser  there from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The get-together includes cocktails and appetizers with special guests Congressman John Larson and Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra. Tickets are $50 a person.

Great food and NPR’s award-winning Food Schmoozer Faith Middleton are synonymous so it’s no surprise that her annual “Heart to Heart Champagne and Romance Dinner Dance” is always a hit.

The food and love soiree is Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Farmington Gardens in Farmington. As part of her “Food Schmooze Signature Event Series,” the celebration features foods prepared by  a long list of celebrated chefs including Jordan Stein of the Pond House Grille, Albert Clugston of the Litchfield Saltwater Grille, Yale Woodson of Plan B Burger Bar in Glastonbury and Stefan Drago of Avon Belle Terrace.

Music is provided by Alex Nakhimovsky and his band. Information: cpbn.org.

Nothing like a 50th anniversary and the Goodspeed is kicking it off with style and music on Feb. 23 at “Celebrating the Impossible Dream-50 Years of Goodspeed Musicals!”

The special collaboration with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra will feature selections from Goodspeed originals that moved to Broadway including “Annie”  and “Man of La Mancha” as well as favorites from dozens shows including “Brigadoon,” “Finian’s Rainbow” and “No No Nanette.”

Guest conductor will be Michael O’Flaherty who has been resident music director for the Goodspeed for the past 21 years. Special guest artists include Sarah Uriarte Berry, Lindsay Mendez, Quentin Earl Darrington and James Snyder.

Information:  hartfordsymphony.org.

On Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. the Central Connecticut Celtic Cultural Committee will honor the St.Patrick’s Day Parade 2013 honorees at a recpetion at the Irish American Home Society in Glastonbury.

Named Parade Grand Marshal  is James Mulcahy. Person of the Year is FoxCt/Courant head Rich Graziano.  The two will also be feted at a cocktail reception on March 1.

It’s Oscar night Sunday, a night of awards, stars, great clothes and lots of partying.

Dreamed of walking the red carpet?   Java makes your dream come true at the AIDS CT  Oscar Experience Party at the Mark Twain House & Museum Sunday.

Join Java and WTNH traffic reporter Teresa LaBarbera on the red carpet  in your best finery and then head into the official Oscar party and fundraiser that includes  food, drinks (including the new Lamarre-tini named after, well, you know who!)  auctions, fashion show,  a VIP pre-party party and of course, big-screen viewing of the actual Oscar awards program.

Come dressed in your best cocktail wear or dress as one of characters from one of the award nominated films.

Information: aidsprojecthartford.org

There is also an Oscar Night Party at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Center beginning at 7 p.m. benefiting the center. Information: katharinehepburntheater.org

And there is yet a third Oscar party this year at Belle Terrace in Avon sponsored by the Farmington Valley Film Commission. That party starts at 7 p.m. Information: www.farmingtonvalleyfilm.org. e