Valentine’s Day is Tuesday, but it’s not the only attraction. Nature and man’s best friend get some love; familial bonds, human and otherwise, are forged; and a “peep show” and “sexy” opera spring up.
Monday, February 13
“Drawing on her life as an indigenous plant scientist, a teacher, a writer and a mother,” Robin Kimmerer, professor and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at SUNY-ESF, comes to the Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St, New Haven; 203-432-0670) today to discuss “The Teachings of Plants: Finding Common Ground Between Traditional and Scientific Knowledge.” 4 p.m. Free.
Tuesday, February 14 - Valentine’s Day
Even with “Valentine’s Day weekend” in the rear-view mirror, several bars are planning fun diversions for the actual holiday tonight. From 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Ordinary (990 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-907-0238; free to attend) hosts its annual anti-Valentine’s party. Called “Venus on Mars”—and lining up with the bar’s weekly Tuesday special (half-priced bottles of wine, including the sparkling stuff)—organizers are appealing to those with a “love life on the rocks” and/or a “need to blow off some steam,” among others.
At 8:30, Anna Liffey’s (17 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-773-1776) is tweaking its popular weekly trivia night to give it a Valentine’s Day theme, while Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven; 203-789-8281; $10) is converting its regular “Saloon Serenade with The Saint James Trio” into a “Jazz for Valentine’s Day” event featuring romantic jazz standards.
Then, at 9 p.m., Three Sheets (372 Elm St, New Haven; 475-202-6909) is putting on “our version of the classic game show” The Dating Game, “with local bachelorettes and bachelors evaluating suitors with absurd and silly questions.” The prize awaiting any matches? “A romantic candlelight dinner at Three Sheets.” 9 p.m. Free to attend.
Wednesday, February 15
It’s back to the Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St, New Haven; 203-432-0670) today for a lecture that should have dog-owners panting. “What Is It Like to Be a Dog?” canine cognition scholar Alexandra Horowitz asks, then answers, starting at 5 p.m.
Thursday, February 16
Opening for previews tonight at 8 p.m., Long Wharf Theatre’s latest world premiere takes us back to 1960. In Napoli, Brooklyn, written by Meghan Kennedy and directed by Gordon Edelstein, “the women of the Muscolino family are desperate to find a life beyond their four walls, hiding dreams, loves and longings” in “a poetic and beautiful play about sisterhood, freedom and forgiveness.” $59.50-69.50. 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven. (203) 787-4282.
Friday, February 17
The Institute Library (203-562-4045) is offering “gently used (and gently priced)” bound paper, pressed vinyl and “various ephemera” during its Books & More Sale. Open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, tomorrow and Monday, organizers invite shoppers to “peruse and purchase recent deaccessions from the Institute Library in our ground floor space at 845 Chapel,” with advance registration saving you a dollar at checkout.
For the fifth time since December, Monique Atherton is turning Artspace’s project room “into a live peep show booth, inviting viewers to communicate with her through the window of a soundproof booth by picking up a telephone and paying a small fee.” At a rate of $1 per minute, “the conversation can last as long as a viewer is willing and able to pay,” though it’ll have to happen between the hours of 6 and 7 p.m. 50 Orange Street, New Haven. (203) 772-2709.
Saturday, February 18
Yesterday and today at 8 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m., Yale Opera performs Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte on the operatic stage of the Shubert Theater (247 College St, New Haven; 800-745-3000). A “talented young cast brings this sexy and silly comedy to life,” organizers say, as the Yale Philharmonia plays “some of Mozart’s most glorious melodies.” $19-54.
Sunday, February 19
EcoWorks (262 State St, New Haven; 203-498-0710) invites pet-owners to “learn to build toys and beds for your furry and feathered friends out of recycled and reusable materials.” Lasting from 1 to 3 p.m., special topics include “developing, sewing and knitting beds out of old T-shirts” and other old articles of clothing, plus “stringing corks, beads and other fun objects together” to make bird toys. Other items on the agenda include “cat toys, dog toys [and] rabbit ragdoll toys.” $25.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image features vinyl records at the Institute Library. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
