Events with Italian, pan-African, French, Peruvian, Puerto Rican and other globetrotting dimensions fall into place this week like a foot of snow.
Tuesday, February 2
Taste of New Haven’s virtual Pizza in America series continues with an 8 p.m. class on “New Haven’s First Pizzerias,” which trace back to “waves of Italian immigrants seeking a better life.” The teacher is Taste of New Haven owner and local historian Colin Caplan, who may just be this pizza-loving city’s #1 pizza fan. $20/screen.
Wednesday, February 3
Hosted by Ives Squared Creative-in-Residence Nadine Nelson and Taste Comfort’s Tiphani Benbow, the virtual, monthlong Pan-African Kitchen Lab series—in which Nelson and Benbow will create a recipe and then the dish itself from scratch, focusing each week on a chosen segment of the African food diaspora—begins this afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m. Free; registration required.
Thursday, February 4
The next two Date Nights at KLG + Amaru, serving up visual delights at Kehler Liddell Gallery (873 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-389-9555) followed by culinary delights at nearby Amaru Peruvian Bistro (838 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 475-441-7628) for parties of two, happen today and tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. These particular Date Nights should be all the more romantic given the locale the current exhibition—French Postcards, by married photographers Penrhyn and Rod Cook—highlights: “southern France.” $30 per couple.
Friday, February 5
Want to learn how to bomba? The Afro-Puerto Rican dance style, which “dates back to the days of slavery” and is “rooted in resistance,” is the subject of a virtual 4 p.m. lesson led by Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental, Inc., “a cultural, arts, and community-based organization whose mission is to educate people across Connecticut about Puerto Rico’s rich African-based folklore, music, dance, and other art forms.” Free; registration required.
Saturday, February 6
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s Rise gala, starting at 6 p.m. and ending at 10, features a red carpet cocktail hour hosted by Broadway performer Linedy Genao, musical and dance performances, an awards presentation, a silent auction, an optional to-go dinner from Woodwinds in Branford (the site of the live broadcast) and a more “casual” afterparty—all “from the comfort of your own home.” Tickets start at $30.
Sunday, February 7
You can’t run in IRIS’s annual shoulder-to-shoulder 5K Run for Refugees this year. But you can join its first virtual Run for Refugees. “Run, walk, or bike a 5K in your neighborhood, on your treadmill, or wherever you can be socially distant,” organizers say, while raising funds that will be used to provide critical services for immigrants and refugees in the area. Registration, which is active through February 14, costs $35 (or $27 for students) and includes access to today’s noontime “international after-party” featuring local and international performers as well as “VIP speakers.”
Later in the day, you can watch other people run around during Super Bowl 55, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—the first team to play in a Super Bowl at their home stadium—take the field against the Kansas City Chiefs. The game is broadcasting via CBS, with the opening kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
