Is there shade at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater?

Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater: a shaded pavilion and a sunny lawn

Bridgeport, Connecticut puts on long summer evenings, and at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater the difference between a cool seat and a warm one comes down mostly to pavilion versus lawn. This is a mapped venue, so the shade figures here are pulled directly from our model.

The pavilion holds shade; the lawn does not

Over a full evening event the amphitheater averages about 78 percent shade, one of the better overall numbers you will find at an open-air venue. The distribution is what matters:

• The covered pavilion is where shade concentrates. Section 201 runs about 96 percent shaded, 101 around 95 percent, and 202, 102 and 203 all sit in the low 90s.
• Section 103 is still strong near 89 percent.
• The lawn is the sunny end. Lawn 8 tops out around 67 percent shaded, with Lawn 5, 6 and 7 near 63 percent.

Even the sunniest lawn spots here keep a fair amount of shade by the standards of open seating, but if you want the most reliable cover, the numbered pavilion sections are the place to be.

How the evening plays out

In high summer, sunset in Bridgeport falls around 8:24 PM. A 7 PM show therefore begins with the sun still low in the sky, about 14 degrees up and off to the west-northwest near a bearing of 287 degrees. From 6 PM the venue averages roughly 54 percent shade, which is the exposed early window before the sun sinks and shade takes over the whole place.

So an early lawn arrival means sun for the opening stretch, while the pavilion is comfortable from the start. As the sun drops toward that mid-evening sunset, the answer flips and nearly everything falls into shade.

For the shade at your specific seat and show time, check the interactive shade map at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater. Keep water and sunscreen handy for the first hour on the lawn, and the Connecticut evening does the rest.