Good morning, Quiet Corner Swarm!

Today is October 13, National Train Your Brain Day 🧠. Perfect timing, because we've got a fresh BUZZWORD, BUZZEYE, and today's BUZZLE waiting for you at hive.connecticutbuzz.com. Three free games, a little friendly competition, and a chance to put your town on the leaderboard. Think you know Connecticut better than your neighbors? Here's your chance to prove it.

We've got plenty happening around the Quiet Corner this week, so let's get into it!

-Tyler DiGiovanni

SUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | PARTNER

I recently took a stroll along the Air Line Trail in Willimantic with my lovely wife, and watching the leaves start to change got me thinking: we really need a Quiet Corner Fall Foliage Guide. 🍁 Of course, predicting peak color isn't an exact science, and Mother Nature doesn't exactly follow a schedule, but I've rounded up some of the best spots to catch the show while it lasts. Check out our new Fall Foliage Field Guide and find your next fall adventure!

October's flying by, but there's still plenty of fall fun left around the Quiet Corner! 🍁 If you're looking for an excuse to get out of the house, I've got a few handy guides worth bookmarking.

🎪 Fall Festivals – Still plenty of harvest celebrations, local food, and fall festivities to enjoy before the season wraps up.

🥾 Walktober – Explore hidden gems, historic sites, and scenic trails with guided walks and outdoor adventures throughout October.

🎃 Halloween Field Guide – Haunted houses, spooky trails, hayrides, and plenty of ways to get your Halloween fix!

A water stain on the ceiling doesn't automatically mean you need a whole new roof. Sometimes it's one bad shingle or loose flashing around the chimney, and a repair does the trick.

But if you're seeing curling shingles across multiple sections, heavy granules in the gutters, recurring leaks, or sagging, that’s a different conversation. Asphalt roofs around 20–25 years old deserve a closer look, too.

Here in Connecticut, fall is the time to catch trouble before snow, ice dams, and freeze-thaw cycles make a small problem a big one. Clear those gutters and check for missing shingles from the ground.

One wrinkle: Connecticut insurers consider roof age and condition when deciding whether to renew coverage.

McClintock Roofing, a family-owned Eastern CT company serving locals since 1993, handles both repairs and replacements. Ask them which one makes sense for your roof. No guesswork.

Strong Family Farm in Vernon is throwing its Annual Harvest Festival this Sunday, October 18, from 10 AM–3 PM, and yes, there's an actual chicken parade! 🐔 This historic farm is bringing out 40+ local vendors, food trucks, live music, a scarecrow contest, barnyard animals, and plenty of family fun. It's a great excuse to get outside and support a local treasure that's been around since 1878. Admission is free, parking is $5. Check out the festivities!

Last week’s trivia took us to Mansfield, and 25% of you got it right! Established in 1693, Mansfield Center Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Tolland County. Its oldest surviving gravestone belongs to Exercise Conant, who died in 1722. Here's the interesting part: the stone you see today is actually a replica! The original, carved by renowned stonecutter Obadiah Wheeler, is preserved at the Mansfield Historical Society. The cemetery is also filled with intricate colonial-era carvings, including winged cherubs and geometric designs. You can find this little piece of history at the corner of Storrs and Cemetery Roads.

🐶Adopt-a-pal: Meet Maui, a sweet, gentle young Shepherd who gets along with kids and other dogs, and just needs a little patience before showing off her playful side and stealing your heart!

🏡House of the week: This fully renovated lakefront cottage packs 3 bedrooms (including a loft), 2 bathrooms, and 1,372 sq. ft. into one pretty sweet waterfront retreat. With soaring ceilings, a huge kitchen island, and a spacious deck overlooking Lake Chaffee. Check it out!

🔭Sky report: Sunday, October 18 brings a First Quarter Moon, perfect for spotting lunar craters with binoculars, while bright Saturn puts on a show in the evening sky. ☄️ And if you're up before dawn, watch for early Orionid meteors, tiny bits of Halley's Comet burning up in our atmosphere ahead of the shower's October 21–22 peak!

Putnam | Woody’s Time Machine Tuesday | 7 PM - A throwback music night at The Stomping Ground. Rewind!

Stafford | Outhouses and the American Revolution | 7PM - Learn about the roll of outhouses at the Stafford Community Center.

Willimantic | Open Mic #14 | 7 PM - Musicians, poets and comics take the stage at The River Room. Perform!

Hebron | Paint Night with The Firestone | 6 PM $ - Sip and paint on Main Street. Paint!

Putnam | Trivia Night with the Sound Guys | 7 PM - Weekly trivia at The Stomping Ground. Play!

Woodstock | Psychic Medium Rebecca LoCicero | 6:30 PM $ - An evening of readings at Taylor Brooke. Connect!

Coventry | Hurricane Candle Workshop | 6 PM $ - Make a hurricane candle at Cassidy Hill Vineyard. Glow!

Dayville | Destination Trivia | 7 PM - Weekly brainteasers over house brews at Black Pond Brews. Play!

Putnam | Discover Putnam’s 17th Scarecrow Contest | 12 PM - Scarecrows take over Rotary Park ahead of Pumpkin Fest. Vote!

Stafford | Plant Bingo | 6 PM - Bingo where the prizes are houseplants, on Main Street in Stafford Springs. Grow!

Storrs | Twelfth Night (Preview) | 7:30 PM $ - Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Shakespeare comedy previews at UConn. Tickets!

Willimantic | Hispanic Heritage in Windham | 6 PM - The story of Windham’s Hispanic community at the Jillson House Museum. Learn!

Bolton | Pumpkin Floral Class | 6 PM $ - Arrange flowers in a pumpkin with Rooted Dreams at Cropley’s. Arrange!

Coventry | Gene Donaldson and the Stingrays | 7:30 PM - Blues and roots rock at the Bidwell Tavern. Rock!

Coventry | Things That Go Bump / Nightmare on Main | 7 PM $ - Candlelit ghost tours at the Nathan Hale Homestead plus the volunteer-run haunted history walk. Shiver!

Dayville | Halloween Pottery Workshop | 6 PM $ - Make spooky pottery at Black Pond Brews. Sculpt!

Putnam | The Mousetrap | 7:30 PM $ - Agatha Christie’s whodunit at The Bradley Playhouse. Tickets!

Somers | Bart, Steel N’ Eazy | 6:30 PM - Live dance music in the main hall at Joanna’s. Dance!

Storrs | Twelfth Night (Opening Night) | 8 PM $ - CRT’s Shakespeare comedy officially opens. Tickets!

Willimantic | Fall Concert Series: Low Ceilings | 5:30 PM - An evening concert at the Jillson House Museum. Listen!

Woodstock | Frequency Fridays at Mystic Pines | 6 PM - A weekly Friday night out in Woodstock Valley. Vibe!

Ashford | TLGV Night Sky: Oceans of the Moon | 7:30 PM - Telescope tour of lunar craters and “seas” at Church Farm. Stargaze!

Brooklyn | Intro to Beekeeping | 2 PM - Learn how to start your own hive! Buzz!

Brooklyn | Little Dipper Farm Harvest Festival | 10 AM-3 PM - Vendors, live music, a hammock lounge and hayfield trails. Relax!

Coventry | Nathan Hale Cemetery Walk | 10 AM - A guided walk among Coventry’s Revolutionary-era graves, starting at Patriots Park. Explore!

Plainfield | Justin & Noah | 5 PM - Live music at the Plainfield VFW. Listen!

Pomfret | Fall Extravaganza | 2 PM $ - A trick-or-treat trail to decorated cabins, s’mores and a donut-eating contest at 4-H Camp. Treat!

Pomfret | Fright Fest | All weekend - Halloween fun at BCR Kart track on Jackson Road. Scream!

Putnam | Great Pumpkin Festival | 10 AM-3 PM - The giant Official Great Pumpkin, 80+ vendors and pumpkin menus downtown, with more than 700 people interested. Gourd!

Putnam | The Mousetrap | 7:30 PM $ - Whodunit at The Bradley Playhouse. Tickets!

Somers | The Score | 6:30 PM - A live band in the main hall at Joanna’s. Dance!

Stafford | Psychic Craft Market | 12 PM - Readers and makers at Stone House Apotheca. Browse!

Storrs | Plant & Soil Health Center Open House | 11 AM - A look inside UConn’s George Leigh Minor plant and soil lab. Dig!

Storrs | The Tiny Bird Show | 11 AM - Carole D’Agostino’s puppet show at the Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry. Chirp!

Thompson | National Alpaca Farm Days Open House | All weekend - Meet the alpacas on Sand Dam Road. Pet!

Union | Haunted Library Party | 5 PM - Pizza, a magician and crafts in the Town Hall community room. RSVP by 10/14. Boo!

Vernon | Hike & Heritage Museum Tour | 1 PM - A guided hike and history tour at Valley Falls Park. Hike!

Vernon | Remember our Local Patriots | 10 AM - Join museum director Jean Luddy for a walking tour of the Old Burial Ground on Bamforth Rd.

Willimantic | Fall Concert Series: 3 O’Clock Jazz Band | 5 PM - Jazz at the Jillson House Museum. Swing!

Willimantic | Trolleys in Connecticut: A Look Back | 4 PM - A slide talk on the rise and fall of the state’s trolley lines at the Mill Museum. Ride!

Willington | Collage Workshop | 12:30 PM - Create a collage masterpiece at Willington Public Library.

Woodstock | Jon Taylor | 2 PM - A Springfield singer-songwriter at Taylor Brooke Brewery. Listen!

Woodstock | Art & Craft Fair | 10 AM - Grab a lunch and some creative crafts at First Congregational Church. Happening 10/18 as well.

Woodstock | Roseland Cottage Fine Arts & Crafts Festival | 10 AM-4 PM $ - 180 juried artisans at the Pink House. Shop!

Brooklyn | Where the Bison Roam | 10 AM $ - A pasture walk with the herd, then a free bison tasting at Creamery Brook Bison. Roam!

Coventry | Bill Dempsey | Time TBD - Live music at Cassidy Hill Vineyard. Sip!

Pomfret | Lapsley Orchard Hayrides | 12-4 PM - Free horse-drawn hayrides through the orchard. Ride!

Putnam | The Mousetrap | 2 PM $ - Sunday matinee at The Bradley Playhouse. Tickets!

Somers | Jim Blanch & Boothill | 5 PM - Sunday evening country at Joanna’s. Two-step!

Storrs | Hocus Pocus Live! | 1 PM & 4 PM $ - A Sanderson Sisters parody musical at Jorgensen. Costumes encouraged. Amok!

Woodstock | So Lucky: A Tribute to Dave Matthews | 2 PM - DMB tribute at Taylor Brooke Brewery. Crash!

That’s it for this week’s Quiet Corner Buzz. If you got something out of it, please share it with someone who loves fall colors!

See ya next week,

Tyler