W ith so many opportunities, even picky, nitpicking picnickers should be able to find a good moment to go for it.
Monday, August 7
If you didn’t catch I Am Shakespeare: The Henry Green Story (2017) at the New Haven Documentary Film Festival in June, here’s your second chance. Screening at 6 p.m. at Highville Charter School (1 Science Park, New Haven) and followed by a discussion with director Stephen Dest and others, the organizer is the Elm Shakespeare Company, which has been hosting “a series of community engagement events addressing social justice” in the lead-up to the company’s forthcoming take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Free.
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Tuesday, August 8
The weekly Woodbridge Library Farmers’ Market, which runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on the town’s green, has added a new feature: features. Each week in August, a family-friendly movie starts rolling around 8, including tonight’s crowd-pleasing selection, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). Free.
Wednesday, August 9
At 4 and 5 p.m., the city’s going canoeing, and the rest of us are invited. Meeting at the Mill River Canoe Launch, located where Orange Street crosses the water, the guided tour—which includes basic instruction as well as the use of flotation devices, paddles and boats—costs $10 if you’re a New Haven resident and $15 if you’re not, with kids aged 5 to 11 getting a discount. To register, call (203) 946-6559.
Thursday, August 10
Celebrating “the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love,” the rip-roaring East Haven-formed jam band formerly known as Psychedelic Breakfast—now just called The Breakfast—is becoming the Psychedelic Beatles for a night, performing super-groovy versions of the Beatles albums Help! and Revolver at Pacific Standard Tavern (212 Crown St, New Haven). Tickets cost $10, and the show starts at 9:30.
Friday, August 11
The Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs is putting on the last show of its summer concert series. As guild members and special guests play their iconic carillon, which resides at the top of the even more iconic Harkness Tower, the public is invited to bring lawn chairs and picnics to Branford College’s idyllic courtyard (74 High St, New Haven), which lies just below. This evening’s guest performer, Jeremy Chesman, who hails all the way from Missouri, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30. Free.
Not long after that, New Haven’s location-hopping Friday Flicks series lands on Wooster Square Park. Starting at 8:30, the film this time is the classic drama Field of Dreams (1989), starring Kevin Costner as an Iowa corn farmer who decides to listen to the voices in his head. Free.
Saturday, August 12
Yesterday and today at 8 p.m. on the West Haven Green—located near the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Main Street—the West Haven Council on the Arts presents Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. “Refreshments will be available,” organizers say, but “you may want to pack a picnic to enjoy while you watch the performance.” Free to attend.
Sunday, August 13
On the day of the week Americans most associate with religious services, the Yale Humanist Community is going in a very different direction. Hosting its next “Humanist Haven” talk inside The Grove (760 Chapel St, New Haven), the speaker is Pat McCann, chair of the Constitution State’s chapter of the national Secular Coalition, who’s set to discuss “The State of Secular Connecticut: Communities, Activities and Activists” at 1 p.m. Free.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
