This Week in New Haven (July 25 – 31)

T here’s good stuff for both kids and adults this week in New Haven, and not without some overlap. 

Monday, July 25
Eli Whitney Museum & Workshop (915 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-777-1833) is in the middle of a long summer of youth workshops starting Mondays and finishing Fridays. This week’s programs number seven total, from Micro Star Wars, in which kids (ages 6-8) are given the chance to construct things like miniature scenes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and “scale versions of Luke’s and Kylo Ren’s light sabers,” to Arduino: the Pinball Edition, in which kids (ages 12-15) “discover basic electronics using light, sound, and sensors,” then apply that knowledge to coding a control system for a pinball machine. $225 to $297.

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Mission of Faith at Knights of Columbus Museum

Tuesday, July 26
At 7 and 8 p.m., Leitner Observatory (355 Prospect St, New Haven; 203-432-3000) is showing Astronaut, a Ewan McGregor-narrated planetarium show that attempts to answer the question, “What does it take to become an astronaut?” According to the filmmakers, that means “[experiencing] a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut,” “floating around the International Space Station” and “[discovering] the perils that lurk in space.” Tickets are $5 apiece unless you’ve got a Yale ID or have been alive for fewer than 13 years, in which case they’re $0.

Wednesday, July 27
The 16th annual Blues, Berries & Jam series of lunchtime concerts on the New Haven Green stakes a spot on the eastern end of the green and features longtime BBJ veteran the Cobalt Rhythm Kings, a New Haven-based “jazzy jump blues” band that’s been jumping for 20 years. The show, taking place from noon to 1:30, is bookended by CitySeed’s weekly farmers’ market on the green, which lasts from 11 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon.

Thursday, July 28
The Wilson Branch Library’s “Read to Rabbits” event today from 1 to 3 p.m. is just what it sounds like. “Come to the library to practice your reading skills with one of our adorable rabbits,” the library says to New Haven’s kids. 303 Washington Avenue, New Haven. (203) 946-2228.

Friday, July 29
Mercy Choir and Friends: A Residency at Never Ending Books in New Haven on the Last Friday of Every Month” enjoys its very first last Friday of the month today. Starting at 8 p.m., the cello/electric guitar duo Swamp Yankee and alt-rock group Quiet Giant join Mercy Choir—a restless six-piecer that flirts, and sometimes hooks up, with alt rock, freak folk, goth, industrial rock, blues rock, rockabilly and so forth—for a $5 lineup in the helter-skelter climes of Never Ending Books (810 State St, New Haven). BYOB.

Saturday, July 30
Music on the Green returns for its second and final show of the summer on the New Haven Green. The last one featured early-’90s sensation En Vogue; this one’s got late-’80s phenom Debbie Gibson, who emerged out of the blue thanks to her hit album Out of the Blue (1987). The free concert starts at 7:30 p.m., with blankets (or chairs) and picnics highly encouraged.

Cafe Nine’s got its own flashback to the late ’80s (and beyond). Björk Night—featuring nine local acts, including host Mission Zero, performing Björk covers, plus a burlesque show and late-night dance party—starts at 9 p.m. $5. 250 State Street, New Haven. (203) 789-8281.

Sunday, July 31
In the fictional world of Harry Potter, today, July 31, is Harry’s birthday. In the real world, it’s the not-incidental release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Parts One and Two), which is not a novel but rather the script of a new play based on a story co-conceived by J.K. Rowling herself. R.J. Julia Booksellers (768 Boston Post Rd, Madison; 203-245-3959) is celebrating the release “all day” with “a variety of magical surprises” geared towards kids, including a Sorting Hat and a “Divination area”—and if you’re a fan, you know what that stuff is. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free to attend.

Written by Dan Mims. Image depicts a still from Astronaut. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.

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Dan has worked for a couple of major media companies, but he likes Daily Nutmeg best. As DN’s editor, he writes, photographs, edits and otherwise shepherds ideas into fully realized feature stories.

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