Tavern Night

In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette, the last living General of the Continental Army from the Revolutionary War, embarked on a triumphant return to the United States on a whirlwind trip, and on August 20, 1824, he visited Fairfield, Connecticut, where he was lavishly entertained by the Town’s citizens.

The Fairfield Museum is hosting an extraordinary evening of food, drink, and song at the historic Sun Tavern, Fairfield’s only remaining tavern from the 1700s. Join us for light bites from Martel Bistro, beer on tap from Elicit Brewing Company, and tavern songs with Cliff Haslam and Joseph Morneault. Raise a glass to commemorate Lafayette’s visit to Connecticut in the summer of 1824!

$75 per person

About the Performers

Cliff Haslam is a native of Warrington, Chesire, England but currently a resident of Madison, CT. While Cliff has long been a well-known performer in the New England folk tradition—a fixture at some pubs long since passed to history and on myriad recordings—his longest gig has been playing in the Griswold Inn of Essex since 1972. Eventually, Cliff saw the value of putting together a regular band of fellow musicians to back him up during this and other performances, and so officially formed his regular side-players as The Jovial Crew in 1986.

Joseph Morneault is one of the original members of the band The Jovial Crew, playing alongside of Cliff since the formation. Joseph is a social historian and performer, bringing to life early American songs relating to the everyday person. He is the owner, operator, and performer at MusiqueMorneaux, a workshop that handcrafts woodwinds for traditional Celtic music, early American, fife & drum corps and more. His involvement with traditional and historical fife and drum goes back to his earliest grammar school days and has grown to include the crafting of instruments.