This Week in New Haven (September 2 – 8)

A dynamic week of duos includes two athletic contests, two comedy shows, two book talks and at least two beer nights. 

Monday, September 2 – Labor Day
Most people are resting up. Others, however, are speeding up, like the runners in today’s Faxon Law New Haven Road Race, whose half-marathon, 20K and 5K routes leave from the New Haven Green at 8:30 a.m. Half an hour later—when many of the 5Kers will have made it back to the Green—the post-race party begins, with awards ceremonies interspersed. Free to attend.

Meanwhile, at the Yale University Tennis Center (279 Derby Ave, West Haven), a much more modest but perhaps scrappier competition has arisen in the wake of the discontinued Connecticut Open: the opening tournament of the 2019-20 Oracle Challenger Series, a joint ATP/WTA event that “support[s] up-and-coming American tennis players through opportunities to secure both ranking points and prize money.” Unlike most pro tourneys, it’s free to attend, and seating is first come, first served, so you can get right up to the action without paying a penny. The two 48-player draws commence today at 10 a.m. and narrow down on the way to the finals matches on Sunday. “Food and drinks will be available for purchase…”

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World War I: Beyond the Front Lines at Knights of Columbus Museum

Tuesday, September 3
At 6 p.m., Matthew Frye Jacobson, professor of American Studies and History at Yale, heads to the Ives Main Library (133 Elm St, New Haven; 203-946-8130) to offer an answer to one of the most important questions in American and indeed global politics: “What Is Neoliberalism?” Free.

At 7 p.m., the next Bat Soup comedy night at The State House (310 State St, New Haven) features seven comics including Dave Hill, a headliner with seemingly endless credits and interests, and Aug Stone, a surrealist ranter who’s also Bat Soup’s organizer and emcee. $12.

Wednesday, September 4
Madeline Miller, author of the almost obscenely critically acclaimed #1 New York Times bestseller Circe (2018), comes to RJ Julia Booksellers (768 Boston Post Rd, Madison; 203-245-3959) for a 7 p.m. talk and book signing. Free.

At 7:30, East Rock Brewing Company (285 Nicoll St, New Haven; 475-234-6176), which specializes in German-style beer, is tapping into the inner children of its trivia night participants. The theme this time is Disney movies—i.e. “all your favorite childhood animated Disney films.” Free to participate.

Thursday, September 5
Local author Lary Bloom’s latest book, Sol LeWitt: A Life of Ideas (2019), appears to be as deeply researched as any interested reader could hope for, drawing from “LeWitt’s letters and papers,” more than 100 “original interviews with his friends and colleagues” and “personal recollections of LeWitt, whom [Bloom] knew in the last years of the artist’s life.” Indeed, the world-renowned artist’s life started and finished in Connecticut—Hartford and Chester, respectively—so it’s fitting that this is also where the story of his life is being told. Bloom is doing some of that telling tonight at the Institute Library (847 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-562-4045), where, through a presentation and a conversation with accomplished local artist Linda Lindroth, he “will bring light and clarity to the life of Sol LeWitt, whose work is so recognizable, and about whom most of us know so little.” 6 to 8 p.m. Free.

Starting at the same time is the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History’s latest melding of booze and bones. For $30 (or $25 for members and Yale students), Hops & History: Farm to Fermentation invites us to “enjoy the fruits of the field with local beers and cider curated by The Beer Collective”—as well as “delicious seasonal food for purchase from our neighbor Olmo”—from 6 to 9 p.m. 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven. (203) 432-8987.

Friday, September 6
At 7 p.m., Elm City Games (71 Orange St, New Haven) hosts its weekly BYO session of “Party Games with New Friends,” which emphasizes the “light and casual” end of the business’s vast library of tabletop games. A day pass is $10, while a recurring monthly pass is $20.

The experimental storytelling vehicle Welcome to Night Vale, a bimonthly podcast that immerses listeners in the fictional, noir-steeped “small desert town” of Night Vale, rides into College Street Music Hall (238 College St, New Haven) for an 8 p.m. live show. Unlike the podcast, whose various episodes are often interlinked, the live show’s script contains “a completely stand-alone story that will never be heard on the podcast, and can be enjoyed by both long-time fans and newcomers alike.” $30.

Saturday, September 7
The annual CT Folk Festival & Green Expo, which starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 10 p.m., returns to Edgerton Park (75 Cliff St, New Haven) for a rain-or-shine day of live “music from across the region,” “delicious food” from several food trucks, numerous “unique vendors” and Earth-conscious vibes and activities geared toward adults and kids. Admission is free, though a $10 donation is suggested.

Sunday, September 8
From 1 to 3 p.m., the West River Watershed Coalition leads a walking tour of an area “where river and harbor meet”—specifically, where the West River spills out into Winter Harbor, a bay within the larger New Haven Harbor. The tour starts in West Haven, at the parking lot of Lorenzo’s Ristorante Italiano (39 Elm St), and makes its way across the river into New Haven’s City Point neighborhood, to “see where oystermen and their families lived and worked.” For this reason and others, it’s not just a nature tour; it’s also a history one. Free.

Later, local funnyman Josh Levinson hosts an open mic comedy night at Three Sheets (372 Elm St, New Haven), where signups start at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7. As with all open mics, you don’t know what you’re going to get, but that’s part of the fun.

Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image depicts a cider and a double IPA at The Beer Collective. 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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