Zebra Herd by Penrhyn and Rod Cook

This Week in New Haven (February 18 - 24)

Itโ€™s a many-splendored thing, to say the least.

Monday, February 18
Following the first of two phases of renovation, the Ralph Walker Ice Rink (1080 State St, New Haven) is hosting two-hour open skate sessions for a limited time, reportedly through mid-March. Today through Friday, at least, those sessions begin at 2 and 6 p.m. Discounted a dollar for youth up to age 18, admission costs $5 with proof of city residency or $7 without. Skate rentals are available, for $5 a pair.

sponsored by

Renee Rosnes Quartet at Yale School of Music

Tuesday, February 19
โ€œArtist, choreographer, dancer, theater director and writerโ€ Bill T. Jones is a winner of Tony Awards, an Obie Award, a MacArthur Award and many, many more. Now heโ€™s adding the James R. Brudner โ€™83 Memorial Prizeโ€”โ€œawarded annually to an accomplished scholar, artist or activist whose work has made significant contributions to LGBT studies and LGBT communitiesโ€โ€”to his mantle, marking the honor with a lecture intriguingly titled โ€œInsanity/Sense: Thinking and Making Now.โ€ The talk begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St, New Haven). Free.

Wednesday, February 20
The phrase โ€œfake newsโ€ has become such a popular line of attack because its ambiguity makes it malleable to any political agenda. Indeed, though Democrats injected the phrase into the public dialogue in late 2016, today itโ€™s more often used by Republicans. But the press release detailing โ€œFake News: Citizensโ€”Arm Yourselves!โ€, a 5:30 presentation by University of New Haven journalism lecturer and Hartford Courant columnist Susan Campbell at the New Haven Museum (114 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-562-4183), suggests a more nuanced treatment, in which alternative media and communications arenโ€™t assumed compromised and establishment ones arenโ€™t assumed ethical. Free.

Thursday, February 21
A 6 p.m. โ€œLevel-Upโ€ event at Ives Squared inside the Ives Main Library (133 Elm St, New Haven; 203-946-8130) offers a pitch to fledgling entrepreneurs: โ€œWorking on an idea for a business or organization and ready to take it to the next level? Curious about fundraising and how to make progress as a new venture? Hear from 3 ventures who have been where you areโ€”very recently.โ€ The panel includes Keerome Paulie Lawrence, founder of Extra Yard, a test prep service for inner city youth; Hojung Kim, cofounder and CEO of Homecooked, an app that facilitates dinner parties among strangers; and Lori Martin, founder of Havenโ€™s Harvest, which โ€œrescuesโ€ good food from being wasted.

sponsored by

Tiny Beautiful Things at Long Wharf Theatre

Friday, February 22
On 2/22 at 222 Sargent Drive, Long Wharf Theatreโ€™s Stage II hosts the first of two performances of โ€œTwo for the Road: A Musical Evening with Mimi Lines & Frank Mitchell.โ€ Lines, โ€œa commercial real estate lawyer by day and cabaret singer by night,โ€ and Mitchell, the executive director of The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, are offering โ€œa delightful excursion through the music of the Great American Songbookโ€ฆ and beyond.โ€ Todayโ€™s showtime is 8 p.m., as is tomorrowโ€™s. $35.50-50.50. (203) 787-4282.

Saturday, February 23
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in conjunction with Instruction and Delight, an exhibition of 18th- and 19th-century childrenโ€™s board games, the Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-432-2800) invites visitors to โ€œexplore artworks in the Centerโ€™s collections through the unique lens of games, puzzles and play.โ€ Partnering with Elm City Games, the Center promises โ€œfun and games for children and adults alike.โ€ Free.

Put even more English on your Saturday by taking in a 2 p.m. or 8 p.m. performance of Spamalot at the Shubert (247 College St, New Haven; 203-562-5666). An โ€œoutrageous musical comedyโ€ฆ lovingly ripped off from the film classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail,โ€ the show features โ€œflying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchmen and show-stopping musical numbers,โ€ for starters. $39-126.

Sunday, February 24
Kehler Liddell Gallery (873 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-389-9555) hosts a 3 p.m. artist talk and 4 p.m. reception prompted by a new exhibition of wildlife photos by Penrhyn and Rod Cook (including Zebra Herd, pictured above). In Vanishing Volume Two, a followup to 2017โ€™s Vanishing, the married couple return to Kenya and the subject of African animals besieged by threats such as climate change, simultaneously rendering both a sorrowful meditation and a โ€œcelebration of โ€˜the magnificent animals still to be found in Africa.โ€™โ€ The reception, which lasts until 6, is followed by a 6:30 indoor picnic concert by Thabisa, a local singer who was born and raised in South Africa.

Written by Dan Mims. Image, photographed by Penrhyn and Rod Cook and cropped to fit, provided courtesy of Kehler Liddell Gallery. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.

More Stories