First Night Hartford; Disney on Ice; "Sea Rex" at Science Center; Little Feat at Infinity Hall

If you don't already have your New Year's plans lined up, First Night Hartford is putting on a swell soiree for all ages. The 22nd annual event is a tradition for lots of families and revelers in the region. Two fireworks shows in Bushnell Park bookend an evening that features performances by more than 30 musicians, artists, and performance groups along with exhibits. Among the highlights are a Kid's Fest, Artist Anne Cubberly and Friends, 48 Hours of Art, live music from choirs and percussion ensembles, rides on the Bushnell Park Carousel and in horse-drawn wagons, an American Bandstand, a food court, and discount admission at the Connecticut Science Museum.

The multi-cultural, family-friendly, alcohol-free event runs from 6 p.m. to midnight at close to 20 venues downtown including the Hartford Public Library, City Hall, the Old State House, State House Square, Wadsworth Atheneum, Center Church, Charter Oak Cultural Center, and the Bushnell Park Carousel. For complete information, visit www.firstnighthartford.org.

Sea Rex 3D Film at Connecticut Science Center 

Ever wondered what aquatic life looked like during prehistoric times? Immerse yourself in a universe of wonders at the Connecticut Science Center where the new 41-minute film Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World is on view through spring. Paddle back to the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Come face-to-face with the powerful Liopleurodon, the long-necked Elasmosaurus, and the fearsome Prognathodon or "Sea Rex." Explore the ways in which scientists continue to learn from the fossils of these marine-life creatures. The film's budget was an estimated $5 million, a sum that buys state-of-the-art effects. 

For more information, visit www.ctsciencecenter.org or call 860-SCIENCE (or 860-724-3623). The Connecticut Science Center is at 250 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford.

Bestselling Connecticut Authors at JCC

We're offering early notice on this one because of the likelihood of a sell-out: Three Connecticut-based authors, Cathleen Shine, Dani Shapiro, and Mark Oppenheimer, appear Jan. 20 at the Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford. The evening of book chat, moderated by Hartford Courant book reviewer Carole Goldberg, is billed as Connecticut Bestsellers and offered as part of the Jewish Book Festival. Schine's most recent book is the acclaimed Austen-inspired comedy-of-manners The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Shapiro's latest is Devotion. Oppenheimer, a former staff writer at The Hartford Courant, is the author of the non-fiction title Wis-en-heim-er.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $30. For tickets, call 860-231-6316. For more information about the JCC, visit www.mandelljcc.org. The Mandell Jewish Community Center is at 335 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford. 

Upstairs/Downstairs Life at Hill-Stead

Take advantage of a rare opportunity to glimpse the upstairs/downstairs life at Farmington's Hill-Stead Museum. The former residence of the Pope-Riddle family is the site of a Jan. 2 gallery talk entitled The Servants' Wing. See where the Hill-Stead's original kitchen, pantry, scullery, butler's and maids' rooms were, and discover how the household staff lived and worked. 

The lecture is Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. It is free to museum members or museum admission. The Hill-Stead is at 35 Mountain Road, Farmington. For more information, visit www.hillstead.org or call 860-677-4787.

Hey Mickey, You're on Ice

Those little people hanging around the house during holiday vacation have a colorful diversion in store when Disney on Ice: Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey comes to Hartford's XL Center. The family entertainment follows Mickey and Minnie into the worlds of Disney's Little Mermaid, Lion King, Peter Pan, and Lilo & Stitch. 

The show runs Jan. 5 through Jan. 9. Tickets start at $15. They are available atwww.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

Violin Prodigy Guests With Her "Local Band"

Violin prodigy Sirena Huang, who was age 5 when she attended her first concert at the Bushnell, returns to the hall as guest performer in a series of concerts with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Huang, who has won numerous prestigious music competitions, lives in South Windsor and is a student at the Loomis Chaffee School. She joins the orchestra Jan. 6 through Jan. 9, 2011, under the direction of Edward Cumming. She will play Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor. Also featured in the program are Bartok's Divertimento for Strings, and Joseph Hayden's "Surprise" Symphony.

Tickets range in price from $30 to $62; student tickets cost $10. For concert times and tickets, visit www.hartfordsymphony.org or call 860-244-2999. Cumming leads a pre-concert chat one hour before each performance. The concerts take place at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts' Belding Theater, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. For directions, visit www.bushnell.org.

Redgrave at Long Wharf

Acclaimed actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave appears Jan. 16 at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre. Redgrave is in town for a reading of Philippe Sands' book Torture Team. Sands, an international lawyer and acclaimed author, investigated Donald Rumsfeld's 2002 memo authorizing the new interrogation techniques that led to torture at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. Long Wharf artistic director Gordon Edelstein combines excerpts from Sands' book with video clips from Judgment at Nuremberg, TV's 24, and material from Murat Kumaz's Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo, to create a one-of-a-kind theater piece. Sands and Redgrave will hold a conversation with the audience following the performance.

The one-night-only event will be held on Long Wharf's Stage II. Tickets cost $75. Long Wharf Theatre is at 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven. For tickets or more information, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

Be My Dixie Chicken

What better way to warm up January than to take in a concert by Little Feat at Norfolk's Infinity Hall? The venerable band, which approaches its 40th year together, showcases its fusion of California rock, funk, folk, country and rockabilly into its own foot-tapping gumbo.

The show is Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $75 or $90. For reservations or more information, visit www.infinityhall.com or call 866-666-6306. Infinity Hall is at 20 Greenwoods Road West, Norfolk.

Conservatory Teacher Featured at Windsor Art Center

Multi-instrumentalist and Hartford Conservatory teacher Susan Lowenkron, performs Jan. 6 at the Windsor Art Center. Lowenkron, who holds degrees from the Eastman Music School of Music and the Hartt School of Music, plays flute, recorder, drumhorn, whistle and harp.

Concert time is 6:30 p.m.  Suggested donation is $10 at the door. The Windsor Art Center is at the corner of Central and Mechanic streets in Windsor. For more information, visit www.windsorartcenter.org or emailinfo@windsorartcenter.org.