MEDIA RELEASE: Hartford Bonanza Festival Announces Expanded Programming for the Fourth of July with a Headlining Concert Featuring WimBash and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hartford Bonanza 2026 will feature live music and other performances across two outdoor stages and unique activities and zones around Bushnell Park as the festival and its collaborators prepare to host Connecticut’s cornerstone America 250 celebration.

Hartford, CT — June 23, 2026 — Hartford Bonanza, produced by First Night Hartford, Inc., is proud to announce full programming for its sixth annual free Independence Day community festival to be held on Saturday, July 4, in Bushnell Park. Highlights include a music curatorial collaboration with legendary bassist Doug Wimbish and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra to co-present a spectacular America 250 Connecticut Commemorative Concert preceding the region’s largest Independence Day fireworks display.

The commemorative concert on the Hartford Bonanza Mainstage, featuring WimBash artists performing with the full Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Hartford Chorale, will honor the nation’s 250th anniversary as part of a full day of arts, culture, food, community, civics, history, recreation, and commemoration on July 4, 2026, in Bushnell Park from 12-10 pm. The rain date is July 5.

The 7:30 pm headlining concert will be performed in three sets: a symphonic set by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, a WimBash band set led by Doug Wimbish featuring artists across generations from his groundbreaking career, and a collaborative set featuring HSO and WimBash artists together playing an iconic song selection before the 9:30 pm fireworks over the Capitol. Featured artists are Doug Wimbish, Bernard Fowler, The Powell Brothers with Zyyayre Williams, Briana Maia, Jme Strchild, Dave Koltai, Corey Glover, Khaiim the RapOet, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra with the Hartford Chorale. 

Additional Mainstage artists performing from 12-6:30 pm include DJ Dana Game, the Nat Reeves Quartet with Joshua Bruneau, the Hartt Salsa All-Stars, and Dom McLennon with special guests. 

The Trinity Street Stage, a second stage added for this year’s festival as part of expanded programming for the America 250 Connecticut celebration, will feature live music, poetry, improv, history talks, and a live DJ from 12-7 pm. Connecticut State Troubadour Charlie Widmer kicks off the festival at noon, followed by Ava Grom, Poetry Hour featuring Laugh, Versatile Poetiq, and Nzima Hutchings, Sea Tea Improv, Mixashawn, and DJ Ch'Varda. Historian John Mills will give an engaging talk on Stories of Connecticut’s Black Patriots, and historian Beverly Gage will highlight her new book This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History. 

Featuring art, live music, history, civics, food, and recreation for everyone of all ages!

Returning and new activation zones offered around Bushnell Park for this year’s Hartford Bonanza festival include a Civic Marketplace, the America 250 Connecticut Assembly, a Make It Here Zone sponsored by the Connecticut Office of Manufacturing, the Home in Hartford Expo, The Hartford’s Small Business Marketplace, a Veterans & Military Families Welcome Tent with hospitality sponsored by Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union, a Connecticut Arts, Culture & History Walk featuring pop-up exhibitions, the Hartford Bonanza Beer Garden, and dozens of food trucks & vendors.

Other activities offering something for everyone include a Roller Skating Jam by Skateport, Recreation for All in partnership with the City of Hartford Sports & Recreation Department, and Free Carousel Rides from 10 am to 5 pm sponsored by the Bushnell Park Conservancy. 

The daylong festival program concludes with the region’s largest fireworks display, planned for 9:30 pm over the State Capitol building, in commemoration and celebration of our collective experience through beloved community tradition.

These performances and festival activities are the result of a series of innovative partnerships and initiatives as Hartford Bonanza and the capital city prepare to host the statewide America 250 commemoration, bringing together civics and history organizations, artists, local businesses, visitors, and residents from across the state to reflect on the nation’s past while imagining its future on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence.

“The 250th anniversary, like the Bicentennial before it, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” said Jeff Devereux, Executive Director of First Night Hartford, Inc. “We want to celebrate it in a way that feels true to Connecticut–creative, collaborative, and community-centered. Partnering with iconic, diverse Connecticut cultural forces such as Doug Wimbish, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Skateport, the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, Connecticut Humanities, and many others to bring this incredible talent and tradition to Bonanza’s stages and activity zones for a statewide gathering for residents and visitors of all ages is the perfect way to meet the moment.” 

Hartford Bonanza, now in its sixth year, is a large-scale, free summer celebration independently produced by First Night Hartford, Inc., that last year brought more than 20,000 visitors to Downtown Hartford for live music, food, local vendors, cultural and civic programming, and the region’s biggest and best fireworks display. The addition of the WimBash + Hartford Symphony Orchestra concert is one of a number of distinctive partnerships Hartford Bonanza is launching to ensure Connecticut’s capital city meets the America 250 moment for the entire state with relevant, culturally diverse, and artistically excellent programming that will engage everyone. More announcements about this festival’s partnerships, performances, interactive experiences, and statewide collaborations tied to the America 250 Connecticut Commission’s goals and themes will be shared in the coming days.

About Hartford Bonanza

Produced by First Night Hartford, Inc., Hartford Bonanza is a free summer celebration in Bushnell Park that brings together live performances, local food and businesses, family programming, and the Hartford region’s creative community. In close collaboration with the America 250 Connecticut Commission administered by CT Humanities, Hartford Bonanza will serve as a hub for statewide events honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States during Independence Day Weekend in particular, along with auxiliary America 250 programming leading up to the festival. www.hartfordbonanza.org

About First Night Hartford, Inc.

First Night Hartford, Inc., a community-centric 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, produces two beloved annual community celebrations in Bushnell Park with art, music, food & fireworks--First Night Hartford (New Year's Eve tradition) & Hartford Bonanza (Independence Day Weekend festival)--that showcase our capital city's arts and cultural ecosystem and promote civic joy, social cohesion, and community pride.

Hartford Bonanza Media Contact:
Jeffrey Devereux
Executive Director, First Night Hartford, Inc.
firstnight.hartford@gmail.com