M erry Christmas, and happy New Year’s.
Monday, December 25 – Christmas
Many will be gathered around twinkling trees and crackling fireplaces. Others may head to Madison Cinemas for a free, first-come, first-served screening of Golda, starring Helen Mirren as Israeli prime minister Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War, at 2:15 p.m.
Or they can go to Hamden’s Congregation Mishkan Israel for Nu Haven Kapelye’s 25th anniversary concert, which doubles as an album release show. Featuring “a variety of klezmer tunes and Yiddish songs” alongside communal “klezmer dancing led by Adrianne Greenbaum,” the concert will also “serve as a drop-off location for non-perishable food donations to the Jewish Family Services food pantry, serving all of those in need in the greater New Haven community.”
Tuesday, December 26
Today marks the start of special weekday visiting hours, from noon to 4 through Friday, for the Eli Whitney Museum’s annual A.C. Gilbert’s American Flyer Train Show. “Each Thanksgiving, the Eli Whitney Museum reaches deep into New Haven’s attic to unpack and display a tradition built here more than 60 years ago. Just after World War II, The A.C. Gilbert Company introduced its American Flyer Trains. Gilbert trains—with their lively movements, their carefully crafted sound, their bright lights, the cedar scent of their smoke—won an enduring place in our collective memory.”
The day after Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas screens at Best Video in Hamden at 6 p.m. “Widely regarded as one of the greatest animated films of all time,” the Tim Burton-led feature “tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, who stumbles upon Christmas Town and schemes to take over the holiday.”
Wednesday, December 27
The specificity of the holiday season yields to a general-knowledge trivia night at East Rock Brewing starting at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 28
And then it’s back, with a Christmastime Family Day at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., visitors can enjoy refreshments, activities (including tours of the Center’s annual crèche displays and a craft project for the kids), live music by pianist Craig Calistro and the right to vote for their favorite tree from among the Center’s annual Christmas Tree Festival.
Friday, December 29
Cosmic Calling convenes at The Beeracks in East Haven from 3 to 10:30 p.m. “Answer the call and come to an amazing 10-band, 12-vendor festival comprised of all artists from Connecticut,” organizers say.
“Galactic ecstasy,” meanwhile, is on the docket at Cafe Nine, where dance party series HEATSYNC, “dedicated to old-school and new techno, house, electro, and rave,” spins up at 9.
Saturday, December 30
The Barn in Madison presents a riff on a Harry Potter-style Yule Ball from 6 to 8 p.m. Alongside a trivia competition, “DJ Bry will be mixing it up with the latest hits from everyone’s favorite magic playlists, game tables will be ready for play [and] house elves will be running the MadBarn Cafe with sweets and treats for sale.”
Sunday, December 31 – New Year’s Eve
How do you want to ring in 2024?
If food and drink are your top priorities, consider hors d’oeuvres, a four-course dinner and a “six-hour top-shelf open bar” at Anthony’s Ocean View; “rare and obscure beers” at Barcade; or an “all-you-an-eat buffet” at East Haven Romanian-American restaurant Transilvania.
For a nightclub experience, you’ve got the year’s final blacklight party at Toad’s Place; a hard-partying club night at 144 Temple; a Latin/R&B/hip hop dance party at Vandome; and a joint party from next-door neighbors NOA and Secrets, promising two bars, two lounge spaces and two dance floors with 6 DJs.
Or, if themes or special activities sound just right, look into a ’90s party at Three Sheets; an art party with a “gorgeous magical art show” (and “heavily passed appetizers”) at Madeline’s Empanaderia; a gaming party at arcade lounge ThirdSpace; or a goth black-meets-Barbie pink party at Cafe Nine.
Written by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
