St. Patrick's Day Parade, Prize Inside, Rousing Sounds

Among the latest events on New London Main Street’s calendar is a chance to show your Irish spirit. The New London St. Patrick’s Day parade kicks off at 1 p.m. on Sunday, staging on South Water Street before marching along State Street and Bank Street and finishing on Washington Street. The theme is “Everyone Is Irish For a Day.”

Art is once again a big theme, especially on Saturday. An opening reception for an exhibit by photographer Alex Matthiessen and painter Elisabeth McGinn, runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Gallery at Firehouse Square. Another opening, “Prize Inside,” a look at past American social, political, and cultural issues, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Provenance Center. Art workshops for fourth and fifth graders continue at 11:15 a.m. at the Winthrop School. Saturday is also your last chance to see Alonsa Guevara’s “Fugitivas” at Expressiones as well as Traci Cremeans’ “Ego’s Last Bask: I Found My Answer in Your Ecstatic Substance” at Spirit Gallery. The Provenance Center continues its art discussions at 6:30 p.m. tonight, with a discussion of minimalism and assemblage, and admission is $15.

In music, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra leads a concert of “Rousing Sounds” including pieces by Barber, Rouse, Shostakovich, and flute soloist Nancy Chaput. The music starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Garde Arts Center, and tickets are $27 to $60 with $12 rush tickets available on the night of the show for students and active military personnel. The ECSO also holds its 54th Annual ECSO Instrumental Competition Finals on Sunday, offering cash prizes to top musicians; the performances start at 1 p.m. at Evans Hall at Connecticut College.

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