H istory, holiday, hilarity and harmony happen this week in New Haven.
Monday, January 31
In a virtual 5 p.m. talk hosted by the New Haven Free Public Library, the British raconteur of history Lord Charles Spencer, who happens to be a brother of Princess Diana, discusses his 2020 bestseller The White Ship, which sails into the 12th-century story of “how the sinking of one ship affected the course of European history.”
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Tuesday, February 1
The Lunar New Year today marks the beginning-in-earnest of Yale-China’s annual Lunarfest celebration. This year’s itinerary, enlisting the New Haven Museum and the pubic library system as major partners, offers an extended mix of virtual and in-person programming—from demonstrations to interactive activities to entertainment to a Brilliant Boba exhibit at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art—through February 24.
Wednesday, February 2
Hosted by Ives Main Library, a virtual Black History Month edition of “Jeopardy!-style” trivia invites students from grades 7 through 12 to test their knowledge at 5 p.m.
A 7 p.m. “Downtown Jazz Sanctuary” concert in the banquet room at The Trinity Bar & Restaurant (157 Orange St, New Haven; 203-495-7736; $10 cash) stars the Saint James Jazz Band with guest guitarist Michael Coppola. Together they’ll “rework” and “relive” “ageless favorites from Cole Porter, Fats Waller, George Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Billy Strayhorn, Jerome Kern and many others.”
Thursday, February 3
At Counter Weight Brewing (23 Raccio Park Rd, Hamden), the first of three rounds of “mixtape match”—like bingo, but you have to match the songs that are played with the song titles on your card—starts at 6 p.m., with card sales ($2 for one, $10 for six) beginning 15 minutes ahead and all of that money going into the pot.
Friday, February 4
At 8 p.m., “writer/actor/stand-up comic” Brian Posehn, who—thanks to 100+ TV credits, often on major shows—belongs to that rarefied class of guest-role actors you actually recognize, pops off the screen and onto the stage for a comedy set at Space Ballroom (295 Treadwell St, Hamden; $25 plus fees in advance, or $30 at the door).
Also at 8, the Shubert Theatre (247 College St, New Haven; 203-562-5666; $42-$88 including fees) presents a one-night-only performance of pop/rock/folk/Broadway/pub musical The Choir of Man, wherein “a multi-talented cast of nine handsome guys combines hair-raising harmonies, foot-stomping singalongs, world-class tap dance and poetic meditations on the power of community in this riotously enjoyable homage to that gathering place we’ve all missed so much over the last year: your local pub.”
Also at 8, Elm City Social (266 College St, New Haven; 475-441-7436) hosts its next “Indoor Ski Lodge” upstairs on the second floor. As if to help it feel more like the real thing, the forecast currently says there might be some wintery precipitation earlier in the evening.
Sunday, February 6
With “dealers from all over New England and beyond” hawking “over 40 tables of LPs, CDs, 45s & more,” the next New Haven Record Riot promises “over 25,000 LPs in one room.” That room is the big one at the Annex Y.M.A. Club (554 Woodward Ave, New Haven; $3) in Morris Cove, where the sale lasts from 9:30 to 3:30 unless you spring for the $10 early admission starting at 8.
Written by Dan Mims. Image photographed by Steve Schuff and provided courtesy of the Shubert Theatre. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
