Things to Do in Hamden

Located amid Mashantucket's rolling hills in the middle of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Comix treats laugh-seeking audiences to shows by the country's top touring performers. The club hosts national headliners, up-and-comers, and musical acts; its shows in the 1,400-seat Fox Theater give jokesters the chance to share their act with a larger but still intimate audience; and its shows in the 4,000-person MGM Grand Theater host such hilarity-generating superstars as Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan, and Margaret Cho. Before shows, guests can take advantage of happy hour, perusing a menu of tasty appetizers and thirst-quenching drinks.

Before IMAX movies and online social networks, roller skating reigned supreme as the favorite pastime of American youth. Ron-A-Roll smacks of this blissful era, with its colorful retro murals, classic beach-wood floors, firm prohibition of halter-tops and baggy pants, and the gratuitous use of the word "hogwash." The beeps and whistles of arcade games jingle across the 14,000-square-foot facility, faintly audible beneath the boom of '60s and '70s hits. Spotlighted by strings of hanging lights, skaters of all ages soar across the rink during open skate, skate lessons, and fitness-skating classes held throughout the week. The rink even boasts its own speed-skating team—the Ron-A-Roll Chargers—whose orange and yellow jumpsuits can be spotted at local competitions.

Off the skate floor, a team of technicians staffs a pro shop, peddling inline skates and gear for rental or purchase while extending mechanical expertise toward repair work, wheel rotations, and cleanings. Meanwhile, in the concession stand, servers dole out boxes of popcorn and pitchers of soft drinks to fuel laps around the rink and inspire skaters to experiment with their popcorn-float recipe.

East Fishkill Golf Center's 26-acre, multisport facility awakens the sportsmanship of every visitor regardless of age or athletic prowess. The grounds cater to ball-strikers of all stripes, whether protecting the strike zone in 1 of the 11 batting-cage stalls, avoiding the waterfalls and elevation changes on the 19-hole miniature-golf course, or aiming for displaced UFOs on the 35-stall lighted driving range. A 12,000-square-foot indoor facility carpeted with astroturf houses a regulation softball infield complete with pitching mounds and a spectator viewing area.

At Village Center for the Arts, director Sharon Kaufman and co-owner Jayson Roberts lead art classes that span the creative spectrum, layering in lessons that detail their respective specializations. Kaufman, a teacher for 19 years, uses the pottery wheel to shape most of her work, and Roberts excels in the art of wood building. To help maintain positive energy, the duo carefully selects teachers and staff members who can communicate artistic concepts in fun, engaging ways that don't require actual engagements or wedding DJ contracts.

The center's art classes, camps, and open studio hours put students in the same space as the painting and sculpting experts. And the studio itself—a large colonial house capped with a classical pediment—provides guests with the comforts of working in a home-like setting without home-like limitations of owning only one Bob Ross DVD or having plenty of face paint but only one grandmother.

The inflatable playground at Kid Escape USA provides a safe environment where kids can romp to their hearts’ content. Five air-filled playthings in primary colors offer cushy surfaces for kids aged 2–12 to climb on, slide across, and use as springboards to the moon. Elsewhere in the 9,000-square-foot enclave, young ones can also partake in arcade games such as skee-ball, racing, and air hockey. Parents keep an eye on the action while seated at nearby tables, sharing snacks from the cafe or using the WiFi access to search the real-estate listings for bouncy castles.

In every production, TheaterWorks aims to create a safe space for voices of all kinds in the midst of bustling downtown Hartford. Banners outside its newly restored Pearl Street home base playfully symbolize this mission with a lion bearing a live mouse within its jaws as tenderly as a child carrying a frog that’s probably magic. The company specializes in high-stakes dramas with social implications from playwrights such as Moises Kaufman, Richard Greenberg, and David Mamet.