This Week in New Haven (October 10 – 16)

T hose with active imaginations won’t have to imagine staying active this week. There’s medieval roleplaying and modern calamity-averting to do. An uncanny “alternative” and a library-sized book sale to explore. A lantern-lit cemetery and a problem-solving marathon to conquer.

Imagine that!

Monday, October 10 – Columbus Day
That we still devote a day to the mythology surrounding Christopher Columbus—who didn’t really discover America and did lead a horrific genocide—owes more to inertia than merit. Better to spend the day off from school or work indulging in more playful, self-aware myths: of chivalrous knights and cerebral wizards, powerful queens and sly fairies, roguish archers and saucy wenches. It’s the costume- and family-friendly Connecticut Renaissance Faire—“New England’s Old England”—and, open every Saturday and Sunday in October at the North Haven Fairgrounds (290 Washington Ave, North Haven), with special holiday hours today from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., it’s got themed shows, shops and vittles aplenty, not to forget themed weekends. This one’s? “Pirate Invasion.” Regular tickets cost $15, with youth discounts available.

sponsored by

Joyful Learning at Cold Spring School

Tuesday, October 11
At 6 p.m. in Kroon Hall (195 Prospect St, New Haven), the public-welcoming Yale chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby—a “grassroots advocacy organization” that aims to build “political will for a livable world”—surges into existence with dinner and a movie. The film to be screened is Facing the Surge, a 25-minute documentary digging into the impact of rising sea levels on the coastal city of Norfolk, VA, which segues into a panel discussion about “climate change impacts and solutions in Connecticut.” Surge’s director, Diogo Freire, will be on hand, as will enough food for everyone who RSVPs—either via Facebook or by emailing [email protected]. Free.

Wednesday, October 12
“French choreographic duo” Projet in Situ and its new collaborative work La Ronde—a hyper-reflective, go-at-your-own-pace audio walking tour of the Goffe Street Armory (290 Goffe St, New Haven), with much of the accompaniment voiced by local “accomplices”—proceeds today with start times between 4 and 6 p.m. “Using a smartphone,” organizers say, “individual audience members are led by audio and text prompts on a choreographed journey… designed to encourage each participant to investigate the [Armory’s] spaces with a unique perspective.” Co-presented by the International Festival of Ideas and Artspace as part of this year’s City-Wide Open Studios, tickets cost $15, or $10 for IFAI members.

Thursday October 13
Beginning with a “preview sale” this evening from 5 to 8, when a $15 admission fee gives you first crack at an otherwise free-to-attend affair, the Blackstone Library’s annual Book Sale on the Branford Green fills the town’s central grassy expanse with over 70,000 books through Sunday. “Sorted into categories for easy shopping,” the shopping is easy on wallets, too, with paperbacks costing $2, hardcovers $3 and coffee table books $5, while children’s books, of which there are more than 10,000, start at $0.50. Likely to please people who like to keep their books awhile, most of what’s on sale—85%—is reportedly hardcover.

sponsored by

Meteor Shower at Long Wharf Theatre

Friday, October 14
From 5:30 to 7:30, the New Haven Museum takes a field trip to Evergreen Cemetery (769 Ella T. Grasso Blvd, New Haven), where it’s giving a seasonally appropriate lantern tour visiting the graves of “some of New Haven’s and Connecticut’s historic game-changers.” Subject to availability, reservations for the tour cost $10 and can be made by emailing [email protected] or calling (203) 562-4183 x11.

Saturday, October 15
Today and tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m., City-Wide Open Studios fills a vast and winding ex-military installation with works by nearly 140 artists and sets the public loose to find them. It’s Alternative Space Weekend at the Goffe Street Armory (290 Goffe St, New Haven, with a scene from last year’s event pictured above), and unlike CWOS’s other weekends, it “[offers] artists from across Connecticut, and those who are interested in creating site-specific works, a unique backdrop to showcase their talents.” Free.

Sunday, October 16
6:30 p.m. Friday through 5:30 p.m. today, MakeHaven (266 State St, New Haven) is hosting the New Haven Hackathon, “where innovative people get together and fuse software and hardware to make amazing inventions.” Organizers say those people can be “anyone”—including “programmers, electrical engineers, businesspeople, artists and enthusiasts”—willing to join a team and tackle a challenge: “building and using sensors in a public space” to “leverage data… that can be used to improve our city and quality of life.” Registration costs $15, or $5 for students.

Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image depicts work by Mariah Isely. 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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