Image: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, New York
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is set to host 'Happy Hour Friday with The Plan' on Friday, July 17, from 5 to 7 pm, continuing its summer run of late openings and public programming. The event is free with museum admission and is co-hosted with Kayla Kaplowitz’s The Plan, a family events newsletter and calendar cited by the museum as the collaborator for the evening.
According to the museum’s event listing, the program is designed as an art-filled weekend kickoff that combines access to the galleries with informal social time. Visitors will be able to join an all-ages tour of the current exhibition, make art in The Studio, and spend time in the Sculpture Garden, where newly installed outdoor artworks are on view. The Aldrich also notes that wine and beer will be available for purchase, including beer selections from Nod Hill Brewery, and that Bridge Street Ice Cream will be on site with refreshments available to buy.
The event is part of a larger summer series, 'Happy Hour Fridays at The Aldrich!', which runs from June 12 through September 4, 2026. The museum describes these Friday programs as an opportunity to explore its galleries after hours while participating in hands-on activities and spending time in outdoor spaces across the campus. The July 17 edition is the first of the Friday events highlighted in the museum’s current communications.
The evening is centered on 'The Aldrich Decennial: I am what is around me', the museum’s exhibition featuring works by 40 Connecticut-based artists. The event page says the 6 pm tour will focus on that exhibition, which is installed in the galleries and the Sculpture Garden and runs from June 7, 2026, to January 10, 2027. The museum’s broader email also points to family-oriented programming tied to the exhibition and to the museum’s public-access schedule, including the next day’s free-admission Third Saturdays program.
The Aldrich’s listing positions The Plan as a collaborator for the event rather than a venue. On the museum’s website, The Plan is described as a member-supported resource for local parents, offering a weekly newsletter, a real-time events calendar and recommendations for families in towns including Ridgefield, Wilton, Redding, Lewisboro, Katonah, Bedford, Pound Ridge and New Canaan. The museum says the collaboration is intended to help shape a family-friendly museum visit around the evening’s art activities.
Happy Hour Friday with The Plan is scheduled for Friday, July 17, 2026, from 5 to 7 pm at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, Connecticut.
