Jenny Lind Times Two At Barnum Breakfast Event

BRIDGEPORT — In a program P.T. Barnum would enthusiastically support and promote, two Jenny Linds will present a concert for children and adults on Saturday, June 24, at The Barnum Museum.

The concert will be a special event in Bridgeport Hospital’s “Breakfast at The Barnum” series of family entertainment, co-sponsored by The Connecticut Post and Take Time Café, and presented monthly at the museum.

Doors will open at 10 am for a continental breakfast, followed by the performance at 10:30 am. Breakfast and each month’s program are included with regular museum admission: $5 for adults, $4 seniors and college students, and $3 for ages 4 through 18. The museum is at 820 Main Street.

The performers will be Rachel Watkins of Yale University’s School of Music, who was recently selected as the Barnum Festival’s 2000 Jenny Lind, and her Swedish counterpart, Elin Carlsson, who will participate in several festival events.

The program will also feature a visit by the Festival’s Royal Family, led by Ringmaster David D’Addario, and his wife, Polly. The group includes King Richard Lind of Shelton High School, and Queen Kimberly Maresca of Fairfield High School.

Also, Prince Wilfred Coddington II of Fairfield College Preparatory School; Princess Elanora Dixon of Bullard-Havens Regional Vocational-Technical School; General Tom Thumb Patrick O’Boyle of St. Thomas School, Fairfield; and Lavinia Warren Sade Garvey of Longfellow School.

In addition, staff of Bridgeport Hospital’s P.T. Barnum Pediatric Center will present a child safety program.

The Jenny Lind family concert is a collaborative effort between the museum and the annual festival and an adjunct to the museum’s current exhibition, “P.T. Barnum Presents the ‘Divine Jenny Line.’” On view through August 13, the exhibition celebrates the 150th anniversary of the “Swedish Nightingale’s” 1850 American concert tour promoted by Barnum.

Admission to “Breakfast at The Barnum” also allows entrance to both the museum’s permanent and special/temporary exhibitions.