A t a certain point, deciding what not to do may be the hard part.
Tuesday, September 13
A 6:30 presentation in the auditorium of Branford’s Blackstone Library aims to help us get more out of nature, literally. “Did you know many of the plants you see every day are edible? Join us and learn how to identify local plants that are safe to forage!”
Wednesday, September 14
At 7 p.m., host Madison Art Cinemas and neighbor RJ Julia Booksellers team up for a one-night-only screening of the documentary Hello, Bookstore. “In the shadow of the pandemic, a small town rallies to protect a beloved local bookstore in its hour of need.”
Another one-night-only occasion is sold out, though you can still join the waitlist for a performance of Requiem for an Electric Chair in Yale’s Schwarzman Center. The one-man play, whose subject is also its star, “tells the true story of Congolese playwright, actor, director and producer Toto Kisaku, who was sent to death row for his musical comedies that educated the public about disinformation and child abuse by local churches and the complicit role of the government.”
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Thursday, September 15
From 4 to 7, the University of New Haven’s Seton Gallery hosts a reception for exhibition Commit to Memory: The Precipice of Extinction, “a multi-platform, social commentary” featuring work by Cheryl Gross “that addresses the shifting and eventual disappearance of our culture using animals as metaphors.”
Meanwhile, from 5:30 to 9, a Happy Hour on the Harbor benefit for and at the Canal Dock Boathouse promises “pizza from Old World Pizza truck, beer, wine and a signature cocktail while overlooking New Haven Harbor from Canal Dock’s scenic platform.”
Friday, September 16
The Big E, a.k.a. the Eastern States Exposition, a massive and many-splendored two-week fair that draws visitors from all over the region, starts today at 8 a.m. in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
With a loop of road closures along College, Chapel, High, Elm and Temple Streets, the annual New Haven Grand Prix brings bicycle racing—plus an Apizza Feast food truck fest and beer/wine garden—into the heart of New Haven starting at 4 p.m.
The 14th annual Milford Irish Festival fills Fowler Field from 5 to 11 tonight and 11am to 10pm tomorrow with “live music, Irish culture, [a] food, wine & beer tent, raffles, [a] marketplace and family activities!”
From 6 to 7:30 in Branford, the Stony Creek Museum hosts an all-you-can-eat barbecue dinner fundraiser—the coda to “a special boating event” featuring “unique vessels… on display in the harbor” from 3 to 5.
The first concert of the Yale School of Music’s 2022-23 season, happening at 7:30 in Morse Recital Hall, features the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, whose repertoire indicates serious musicianship with a playful streak.
Saturday, September 17
“100+ tag sales located all around Middletown” mark the town’s six-hour 10th Annual Town-Wide Tag Sale starting at 8:30 a.m.
A family-oriented “Up Close with the Haven String Quartet” concert at Wilson Library runs from 11 a.m. to noon. “Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with us as we perform Luis Gustavo Prado’s Suite de Danzas y Cantas en Forma de Variaciones and other pieces, then stick around to try out a violin, viola, or cello at our Instrument Petting Zoo.”
A Community Give Back Day at the Q House from noon to 4 promises food including fresh fruits and vegetables, retail vendors, informational resources, giveaways, live entertainment, kids’ activities, three-on-three basketball games and a DJ.
PRIDE New Haven’s PRIDEfest party caps a week of activities with “a seven-hour line-up of drag and musical performances by local queer artists”; a “vendor village” featuring 50ish retailers and 40ish community organizations; nearly a dozen food trucks; and a “family fun zone” on the New Haven Green.
Long Wharf Theatre presents a weekend of “concert readings” of Jelly’s Last Jam at 2 and 8 p.m. today and 2 p.m. (with a special pre-show reception and “post-show conversation spotlighting artists and creators”) tomorrow. “The legendary Jelly Roll Morton revolutionized American music like no one before him. His life—the dizzying heights and inconceivable lows—becomes a thrilling theatrical ride… With an electrifying cast and a red-hot band, this concert reading spotlights the story of a trailblazing artist and celebrates New Haven’s love affair with jazz.”
Sunday, September 18
In Edgerton Park, the 34th annual Sunday in the Park—“an outdoor celebration under the trees with food trucks, craft beer, music, nature scavenger hunt, children’s games, dog parade, book sale, and more”—gets going at 11 a.m.
Also starting at 11 (but lasting two hours longer, ’til 5), the first annual Gather New Haven Festival celebrates “community, health, wellness and nature” from 11 to 5 on DeGale Field a.k.a. Goffe Street Park. Attractions include live and DJed music, food trucks and demonstrations, civic and informational resources and kids’ activities.
Written by Dan Mims. Image 1, featuring a moment during a past Sunday in the Park, photographed by Dan Mims. Image 2, featuring Toto Kisaku during Requiem for an Electric Chair, provided courtesy of the Yale Schwarzman Center. Image 3, featuring a moment during a past New Haven Grand Prix, photographed by Dan Mims. Image 4, featuring the Haven String Quartet, provided courtesy of Music Haven. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
