This Week in New Haven (September 10 – 16)

L ike the carousel at its end, this week goes round in a glittering swirl of color and contour. 

Monday, September 10
Headlining this week’s Manic Mondays show at Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven; 203-789-8281), Sugar Candy Mountain sounds delicious, its airy, psychedelic altitudes caramelized by retro warmth. Young opener Sean Henry, a New Yorker formerly known as Boy Crush, brings a youthful and affected sort of grunge, while other opener Jake Shaker, a local appearing under the name Skating, plays it straighter but also wider, fusing “soul, doo wop and emo music.” Free with RSVP or $5 at the door.

Tuesday, September 11
The “Listen Here” series, in which New Haven Theater Company actors read short stories selected by New Haven Review editors, continues at 7 p.m. at the Institute Library (847 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-562-4045). Tonight’s stories are Dave Eggers’s After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned and David Sedaris’s You Can’t Kill the Rooster, with fresh cookies to eat, tea to drink and a moderated talkback to follow. $10 suggested donation.

sponsored by

The Knights of Columbus Museum

Wednesday, September 12
The Windham-Campbell Prizes Literary Festival, an annual affair honoring and featuring a handful of authors, playwrights and poets through a series of free and public engagements, begins this evening with a 5 p.m. ceremony and keynote address by poet Elizabeth Alexander in Sprague Hall (470 College St, New Haven). Tomorrow and Friday, 17 events—like a talk inspired by the influential works of philosophy that emerged from the cafes-cum-salons of pre-war Europe, a “shop” talk with “two of America’s finest playwrights” and a discussion about “Memories, Secrets and Lies: Writing on Family”—span several Yale venues and, as you can see, a rich variety of topics.

Thursday, September 13
Pacific Standard Tavern (212 Crown St, New Haven) hosts a tribute to a band from the other side of the Atlantic: the Beatles. But it’s a psychedelia-forward take delivered by local whizzes including singer/guitarist Tim Palmieri, with tickets costing $10 for two sets of “later-era Beatle[s] songs” starting at 9:30 p.m.

Friday, September 14
Yale Cabaret (217 Park St, New Haven; 203-432-1566), a black box special in part for its commitment to experimental theater—and for its ability to fulfill the age-old combination of dinner and a show—presents a production of Marita Bonner’s The Purple Flower. “Credited as the first known experimental work written by a black American woman,” Flower “combines both biblical imagery and political allegory in order to inspire revolution and disrupt what she calls ‘the thin-skin-of-civilization.’” Performances happen today and tomorrow at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., with tickets going for $25 or $15 for Yale faculty/staff and $12 for students.

Saturday, September 15
With events from last Sunday to this—including a Monday opening reception for Rupture, an art exhibit at the New Haven Pride Center (84 Orange St, New Haven; 203-387-2252); two Thursday dance-and-drag performances of Escapade: An Unusual Experience at Lyric Hall (827 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-389-8885); and the crowning of Mr. and Miss Gay New Haven last night at Partners Cafe (365 Crown St, New Haven; 203-776-1014)—PRIDE New Haven peaks with a 2:30 p.m. march leaving from the Pride Center and 3:30 block party downtown on Center Street, which goes until 10 and features “food vendors, shopping and information booths, a large outdoor stage with performances throughout the day” and a DJ spinning in-between.

Sunday, September 16
Sunday in the Park, a yearly festival in Edgerton Park (75 Cliff St, New Haven), promises “a fun day for the whole family,” with “fresh flowers and veggies for sale, [a] white elephant tag sale, [a] silent auction, pony rides, birds of prey, children’s games, [a] bungee jump, baked goods, music and more!” 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free to attend.

From 4 to 7 p.m., the historic carousel at Lighthouse Point Park (2 Lighthouse Rd, New Haven) is the centerpiece of Beer & Oysters on the Sound, a benefit for the New Haven Land Trust. “Come ready to savor Copps Island Oysters, … sample beer from 16 local breweries and welcome a talented host of homebrewers,” organizers say. Regular tickets cost $35 in advance or $40 at the door, with discounts for teens and kids.

Written and photographed by Dan Mims. 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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