T he coupling starts on Valentine’s Day and continues all week.
Monday, February 13
The famous intellectual and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois “had many New Haven connections: his grandparents lived and were buried here, his wife Shirley Graham is a Yale Drama graduate, his close confidants included New Haven’s George Crawford, he published a book with the Knights of Columbus, and in the 1940s he donated a significant set of papers to Yale.” During the next virtual Mondays at Beinecke talk at 4 p.m., Michael Morand, Beinecke Library’s director of community engagement, “will highlight these New Haven connections and the Du Bois collection on campus.”
Tuesday, February 14 – Valentine’s Day
From 6 to 10 p.m., “a Powerpoint matchmaking social” with “a semi-strict semi-formal dress code” at Gather promises “time to mingle, chat, party, and dance” punctuated by (hopefully) humorous and self-aware presentations by singles looking to jumpstart their own love stories. “Bottomless drinks! Hors d’oeuvres! Dress nice. Have fun. Keep it light.”
A twisted, suspenseful and thankfully fictional kind of love story plays out at Best Video when, starting at 7, the nonprofit film rental store in Hamden screens Misery (1990). “Free freshly popped popcorn will be available and the café will be open for beer, wine, and café drinks.”
If Bach sets your heart aflutter, then you may be attracted to “an evening of historically informed performance” with the centuries-old Handel and Haydn Society, whose program of five Bach concertos starts at 7:30 in Morse Recital Hall.
Very different love songs, starting at 9, power the next Sanctuary goth/industrial/darkwave dance party, which promises “An Intimate Evening for Lovers and Haters” at The State House.
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Wednesday, February 15
At 6 p.m. at MakeHaven, makers who sell via Amazon, Etsy, Shopify and in-person markets come together for a registration-required “panel discussion focused on sharing best practices and… experiences using different tools and techniques to sell what they made.”
Also at 6 is Artsy Bingo, which is just what it sounds like. At Artspace, “enjoy food and refreshments while playing themed bingo focused on art. For our first Artsy Bingo night, the theme will focus on Black History Month, celebrating the life, work, and legacies of Black artists.”
At 8, the duo Cardiel’s heart-pounding skaterock/fuzz punk/psychedelic dub riffs and grooves come to Cafe Nine, preceded by the “old school rock & roll” of “New Haven’s favorite skate/rock band” The Vültüres.
Thursday, February 16
An offbeat, but also hopefully onbeat, duet of documentaries screens in Yale’s Humanities Quadrangle: London Songs (1973) and Street Music (1979). Joining for the occasion are the films’ director, Nick Doob, and the singing, bowing, Yale-graduated subject of London Songs, David Sewall.
Friday, February 17
Two exhibitions open today at the Yale University Art Gallery. Crafting Worldviews: Arts and Science in Europe, 1500-1800 goes big, “examin[ing] the inseparable relationship among art, science, and European colonialism from the 16th through the 18th century—an era of voyage, trade, and Europe’s territorial dominance on a global scale.” “Drawn from across the University’s campus and crafted from both locally and globally obtained materials,” the exhibition’s contents “cross the modern-day boundaries of art and science and range from the everyday, such as books, maps, globes, drafting tools, microscopes, playing cards, and sundials, to the more unusual, such as a hand-cranked model of the solar system, an automaton clock, and anatomical figures.”
The other goes tiny. Thinking Small: Dutch Art to Scale “explores an intriguing selection of objects from the 17th-century Netherlands,” such as detailed botanical books, literally fine paintings and commemorative medals. And for those who want a head start on examining them, a “collector’s roundtable” the day before the public opening features a moderated discussion with two of the collectors who’ve lent items to the show.
Saturday, February 18
At 3 p.m. at Bregamos Community Theater, Elm Shakespeare Company and violence prevention group Ice the Beef present “a hybrid of Shakespearean performance and interactive social justice theatre” in the form of Hamlet, followed by “a trio of contemporary scenes inspired by real-life experiences that offer community healing and useful tactics for violence de-escalation.”
At 3 and 7:30 in the Commons area of the Yale Schwarzman Center, the Yale Dance Lab and Yale Symphony Orchestra present Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) with “a special ensemble of dancers gathered from across the university” and former New Haven Symphony Orchestra director William Boughton conducting.
At 9, the next installment of Art in the Back…Music in the Front at Three Sheets features work by visual artists Alecia Massaro, Kellie Vibes and Dave Estes and live music by The Imposers and Bobcat.
Written by Dan Mims. Image 1 features Cardiel drummer Samantha Ambrosio and guitarist/vocalist Miguel Fraíno. Image 2, by the Yale University of Art Gallery, features Automaton Clock in the Shape of Diana on Her Chariot (c. 1600-1625), part of Crafting Worldviews. Image 3, provided courtesy of Elm Shakespeare Company, features students rehearsing for Hamlet. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
