I f you were out and about over the weekend, you saw Halloween hijinks rise with each descent into night. That continues for one more evening, before sweets defer to substance, horror succumbs to comedy and costumes leave the street for the stage.
Monday, October 31 – Halloween
Starting at 6 p.m., have a round and play around during Elm City Games’s BYO Halloween party. Held at the Happiness Lab (756 Chapel St, New Haven), attractions include a screening of Hocus Pocus (1993), tacos, “sugar-filled treats” like caramel apples and, of course, “spooky board games,” with “costumes highly encouraged.”
Or, at 7 p.m., return to the stylized 1940s, ’50s and ’60s with An Atomic Age Halloween at Lyric Hall (827 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-389-8885), where a $10 ticket ($15 at the door) “gets you food, live music, a DJ and other surprises,” with a cash bar.
Or, at 8, join the theatrical, costumed, makeup-caked, fluid-spraying metal band GWAR as it headlines a “Halloween Spectacular” at Toad’s Place (300 York St, New Haven; 203-624-8623). In addition to three openers, all with roots in Meriden, CT—thrash metal act PUS, “straight metal”-ers Revenge Against God and pop punk trio Zombii—there’s a costume contest incentivized by “great prizes!” $25, or $22.50 in advance.
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Tuesday, November 1
The latest New Haven Restaurant Week began Sunday and ends Friday. With three-course, prix-fixe lunches and dinners for $20.16 and $34, respectively, at 28 of New Haven’s finer eateries—like 116 Crown, Harvest, Miya’s, Olea and Tarry Lodge—Tuesday’s suddenly a very good day to dine out.
Wednesday, November 2
Of a slew of films screening this week at Yale, one of the most compelling-sounding is JALANAN (2013), a.k.a. “Streetside,” which examines the lives of three buskers eking out a living in Jakarta, Indonesia. “Using the powerful soundtrack of the musicians’ original compositions,” the documentary “traces their elusive quest for identity and love in the day-to-day of a city overrun by the effects of globalization and corruption.” Attending the screening, which starts at 6:30 p.m. inside the Sterling Law Building (127 Wall St, New Haven), is the film’s director and producer—and one of Yale’s current Greenberg World Fellows—Daniel Ziv, “who will talk about the ideas and messages behind the film and its unique social and political resonance.” Free.
Thursday, November 3
On consecutive nights, College Street Music Hall (238 College St, New Haven; 203-867-2000) hosts two of the country’s top comedians. Tonight it’s former SNL standout Fred Armisen (8 p.m.; $35), who’s become a star in his own right by creating, producing, writing and acting in the hit TV show Portlandia. Tomorrow night it’s Patton Oswalt (8 p.m.; $35-55), whose career is built around standup, at least when he’s not making scene-stealing contributions to TV shows like Veep, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Archer.
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Friday, November 4
From 6 to 8 p.m., businesses in or near downtown New Haven’s 9th Square are “pairing wine and food from California, Italy, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, France and more” for Wine On9. It’s a “wine stroll” where $18 gets you a glass and a map of the participating locations, which’ll be serving up wine, “snacks” or both. Check-in, which begins at 5:30, happens at Baobab Tree Studios (71 Orange St, New Haven).
The massive voices normally kept tucked away in Yale School of Music’s opera program issue forth from the stage of Morse Recital Hall tonight and tomorrow night during the program’s annual Opera Scenes performances. Tonight’s show, happening at 7:30, draws from Handel’s Rodelinda, Massenet’s Thaïs, Gounod’s Faust, and Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. Tomorrow’s, also at 7:30, includes scenes from Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride and Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans and Eugene Onegin. Tickets start at $10, or $5 for students. 470 College Street, New Haven. (203) 432-4158.
Saturday, November 5
With a free opening reception from noon to 2, the Institute Library’s upstairs gallery welcomes Out of the Fog, a new five-artist exhibition of photographs showing you things you can’t entirely see (like Marion Belanger’s Rift #20 [Hveragerdi, Iceland], pictured above). Up through January 15, the show “challenges the expectations of veiled images, encouraging viewers to examine interpretations of what cannot be seen and what remains visible.” 847 Chapel Street, New Haven. (203) 562-4045.
Sunday, November 6
The Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven (360 Amity Rd, Woodbridge; 203-387-2424) highlights “a variety of cultural traditions” today during its family-oriented International Festival. Lasting from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., it features “arts and crafts, delicious foods… performances, games and more,” with participation from groups and vendors like “Alisa’s House of Salsa, Kahana Lula, The MILLA Project (Israeli Cuisine), Tinkle Toes Dance Academy and CT Capoeira and Dance Center.” Free and open to the public.
Written by Dan Mims. Photo, titled Rift #20 (Hveragerdi, Iceland), by Marion Belanger. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
