Where the Storrs Farmers Market Goes When It Leaves the Town Hall Lawn

The Storrs Farmers Market's Winter Market page still says the market moves into Buchanan Auditorium at Mansfield Public Library for the cold months. It also still thanks shoppers for "our 2025-26 winter market." The market's Hours & Locations listing shows something different. Of the twelve winter Saturdays it lists, eight are at UConn's Ratcliffe Hicks Arena. The library gets four, and none of them come before February.

That list doesn't print a year. Every date on it does fall on a Saturday in the 2026–27 calendar, starting with November 14, 2026 and January 2, 2027, which makes it the schedule for this winter. In practice, a winter Saturday at the market in Storrs takes place on campus, and the cultural venues near it set the shape of the afternoon.

November 7 is the last afternoon on the lawn

The outdoor season runs Saturdays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on the lawn at Mansfield Town Hall, 4 South Eagleville Road, from May 2 through November 7. The market's homepage puts it simply: "We will be outside until November 7." The market has run since 1994. Everything sold there is grown or produced in Connecticut, so what's on the tables changes with the season.

Downtown Storrs also has an opening the night before. The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at 1 Royce Circle closed October 19 to install a new exhibition and reopens Friday, November 6, with Larry Reed: Cinematic Shadows. The opening runs in three parts:

• Refreshments at 5 p.m.
• A free curator-led tour at 5:30 p.m., with no reservation needed
• The free Fall Puppet Forum at 6:30 p.m. Space is limited, so register in advance.

This is the first major museum exhibition on the life and work of Larry Reed (1944–2026) and ShadowLight Productions. His company brought Balinese wayang shadow puppetry together with contemporary theater and the visual language of film. The show includes traditional wayang kulit, production materials from The Wild Party and A (Balinese) Tempest, and an immersive shadow theater installation with three-dimensional shadow masks. Curators Farley Gwazda and Caryl Kientz lead the tour, and the tour and forum will also stream live on the Ballard's Facebook page.

That gives you Friday night at the Ballard and Saturday afternoon at the last outdoor market, both in Downtown Storrs. The market notes that Town Hall is within easy walking distance of UConn, nearby neighborhoods, and the Mansfield Community Center.

The winter calendar, venue by venue

All winter markets run Saturdays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

November has only two winter dates, and none falls on November 28, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That fits the market's description of weekly markets in November "until Thanksgiving," then twice a month through April. In March and April the venue alternates from one market to the next, so a 3 p.m. drive to the wrong building is a real risk.

The market's email newsletter goes out weekly in season and every other week in winter, with a list of which vendors will be at each market. You can sign up on the market's site.

What sits around a 3 p.m. market on campus

Moving to the arena changes what's open nearby. At Town Hall, the market sat at the edge of Downtown Storrs. From November through January it's on UConn's campus, and the campus venues keep their own weekend hours.

• William Benton Museum of Art. Posted weekend hours are Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is free, with a suggested $5 donation. The museum closes an hour after the market opens, so it works before the market. It doesn't work after. Weekday hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Benton hours and admission)
• Ballard Institute. From the Reed opening onward, it's open Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with pay-as-you-wish admission. That leaves two hours after the market's 5 p.m. close, which makes the Ballard the one indoor stop that fits after the market.
• UConn Dairy Bar. CTvisit lists November and December hours as daily, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and suggests calling ahead for winter hours. Call before you count on it.

December 5 is the fullest market Saturday

One winter market date overlaps with a Connecticut Repertory Theatre run. Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, written by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Kristen Palmer, plays the Nafe Katter Theatre. The performance list runs from a December 3 preview to a December 11 closing. The page's headline says December 4–13, but no performances are listed after the 11th.

Saturday, December 5 lines up like this:

1. 1:00 p.m. The Benton opens for its weekend hours.
2. 2:00 p.m. CRT's ASL-interpreted matinee with a talkback, for anyone who'd rather see the show than shop. It overlaps the market.
3. 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Winter market at Ratcliffe Hicks Arena.
4. 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The Ballard, open until 7 on Saturdays.
5. 8:00 p.m. The evening performance of Little Women.

Single tickets are $33 to $43 for adults, $28 to $38 for seniors and UConn faculty and staff, and $12 to $15 for students and children. Thursday, December 10 is $5 Student Night and $25 UConn Faculty & Staff Night, and it also has a talkback. The December 8 student matinee is already sold out. CRT's season page calls the play "a perfect holiday excursion for the whole family."

The show closes on Friday, December 11. That same evening, the Downtown Storrs events calendar lists a Kids' Night Out at the Mansfield Community Center, 10 South Eagleville Road, from 5 to 8 p.m.

The dates that fall outside the Saturday pattern

A few things on this season's calendar don't fit the Saturday routine, and some of them end soon.

The Jorgensen Gallery is showing A Matter of Influence: Collected Works by Students, Friends & Colleagues of William E. Parker, curated by Bob Martin, from October 26 through December 11. The opening reception is Thursday, October 29, at 6 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday through Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday 1 to 4 p.m., and Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery isn't open on weekends, so this one has to be a weekday visit.

The Mansfield Historical Society closes its exhibits for the season after Saturday, October 31. Two shows are up until then: "Mansfield's First Century" at Old Town Hall and "Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Mansfield, 1945–1975" at the Old Town Office. Hours are 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., and admission is $5 for adults and free for members. October 31 is the last chance until next season.

On the morning after the last outdoor market, the Husky Run & Ruck starts at the UConn Student Recreation Center, 2060 Hillside Road, on Sunday, November 8, from 8 to 10:30 a.m.

February brings the market back to the library

The library's turn comes on February 6 and 20, March 6, and April 3. The Winter Market page places library markets in Buchanan Auditorium at Mansfield Public Library, from 3 to 5 p.m. Those four Saturdays bring the market back into Downtown Storrs. On the other winter dates, from November 14 through January 16 and again on March 20 and April 17, it's at Ratcliffe Hicks Arena.

Market seasons and venue changes like this are the kind of local detail I follow closely, along with the rest of what makes a town work week to week. If you're thinking about what your own corner of Mansfield, Storrs or the surrounding towns looks like for the year ahead, I'd be glad to hear about it. Let's talk about your goals. Cheri Trudon, Era Blanchard & Rossetto