2025 GreenStage Guilford Live Arts Festival

The 2025 GreenStage Guilford Live Arts Festival will present some two dozen shows in four venues. A big top/main stage tent on the historic Guilford Green will serve as the center of gravity, with a Stage 2 on the Green primarily for interactive events. Shows will also take at the Arthur Murray Dance Center at 11 Water Street and First Congregational Church at 122 Broad Street in Guilford, and at The Legacy Theatre, 128 Thimble Island Road in Branford. Nearly all events will be free, and all will take place, rain or shine. The Arthur Murray Dance Center will serve as rain venue for all Stage 2 events on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday. Most shows will run 45 minutes to an hour in length (see your program booklet or view our online schedule).

There will be no tickets or admission charges for any event except for the Nebulous Quartet show at The Legacy Theatre on August 13, but we strongly encourage you to make generous free-will donations at every performance. Your support is what make it possible for us to offer so many events for free. When you arrive, stop in at the welcome table in the main tent on the Guilford Green, where you can pick up a festival program, say hello to our fantastic volunteers, learn about any last-minute changes as well as the lay of the land. You can, of course, go directly to one of the venues, but we’d love to see your smiling face!

Guilford, halfway between Boston and New York City (approximately 3 hours by car from each) is easily accessible by automobile from the west, north and south via Interstates 95 and 91; by train via Metro North, Amtrak and the Shoreline East; and by bus via Connecticut Transit. You could also come from the south by boat and pick up a slip or mooring at one of our local marinas or yacht clubs! Car: From the west, take I-95 Northbound to Exit 58 (CT-77/Church Street). Right on CT-77/Church Street, straight through stoplight at Route 1/Boston Post Road to the Guilford Green. From the east, take I-95 Southbound to Exit 58 (CT-77/Church Street). Left on CT-77/Church Street, under highway overpass and straight through two stoplights to the Guilford Green. From the north, take I-91 Southbound to I-95 Northbound and follow the directions from the west above. Train: The Shore Line East railroad connects New Haven with New London, with stops at the Guilford station, about a half-mile south of the Green. Amtrak can connect to the Shore Line East at New Haven and New London. The Metro North Railroad from New York City; Westchester County, N.Y., and Fairfield County, Conn., connects with the Shore Line East at New Haven. Bus: Connecticut Transit provides passenger bus service between New Haven and Madison, with stops at the Guilford Green, via its 201 Madison route.

Parking is in short supply in Guilford, especially around the Green. We suggest you arrive well before the event you wish to attend, find a place to park and stroll around town, grab a bite to eat and visit some of our locally owned shops and boutiques. On-street parking is available in marked spaces on all four sides of the Green, and public parking lots are located at Town Hall (31 Park Street), at the Nathanael B. Greene Community Center (32 Church Street) and behind the shops on Whitfield Street (entrance is between 15 and 23 Water Street).

A limited number of portable toilets will be set up on the Green. The Arthur Murray Dance Center, First Congregational Church and Legacy Theatre all have restrooms, and there are public facilities at the Nathanael B. Greene Community Center (32 Church Street), Town Hall (31 Park Street) and the Guilford Free Library (67 Park Street).

Guilford is a picturesque small town with a deep agricultural, maritime and commercial history. It’s a great place to visit for walking, hiking and boating, and downtown offers lively cafes and markets, locally owned clothing and gift shops, an independent bookstore and excellent restaurants. It’s a town with a warm and genuine community spirit drawing from a farm-to-table ethos, waterfront adventurism, down-to-earth sensibility, urbane sophistication and intellectual curiosity—all set against a Colonial-era historical backdrop. To learn more about Guilford, and to find places to stay, shop, eat and visit, click here.