Past is prologue, especially this week.
Monday, June 10
Experts, newbies and everyone between are welcome at a “low-key evening of bridge” (the card game) from 7 to 8:30 at the Institute Library.
Wednesday, June 12
Sea shanty performer Seán Dagher, whose voice should ring a loud bell for those who’ve played the blockbuster video game Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, headlines an old-timey 8 p.m. shanty night at Cafe Nine. Opening the show are New London’s own My Druthers.
Thursday, June 13
“Have old family documents you want to keep safe for the future? Worried about losing your digital photos? Have boxes of stuff and aren’t sure where to start?” At 6 p.m. at Fair Haven Library, “join archivist Jennifer Coggins from Yale’s Beinecke Library for an introduction to preserving the records and stories you want to pass on to future generations. Learn strategies for deciding what to keep, preserving materials in different formats, and applying ‘archival thinking’ in our day-to-day lives.”
Friday, June 14 - Flag Day
This year’s debut Happy Hour in the Plaza event offers “summer music, food, drink[s] and game[s]” from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in Temple Plaza, with the food and drink this time from Anchor Spa and the music led by trumpeter Nick Di Maria.
Saturday, June 15
The first full day of this year’s Branford Festival is actually extra full, lasting from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. with nearly 20 food vendors, an artisan market, family-friendly activities (including amusement rides) and live music culminating tonight in a tribute to Paul McCartney (one night after a tribute to Prince).
At 6:30 p.m. at Firehouse 12, “legendary composer Wadada Leo Smith will join organizer Carl Testa in a conversation focused on the history of creative music in New Haven, with a particular focus on the organization that Smith co-founded in the mid-’70s: the Creative Musicians Improvisers Forum (CMIF). This conversation will feature rarely heard recordings of music recorded in and around New Haven in the mid-’70s by percussionist/composer Gerry Hemingway that have been housed at and digitized by Firehouse 12.”
Haley Heynderickx brings her ASMR-friendly voice, “soft acoustic guitar picking and deftly accented trombone sighs” to Hamden’s Space Ballroom for an 8 p.m. bill opened by Lily Breshears.
At 9, 168 York Street Cafe hosts “one hell of a Pride celebration,” where proceeds benefit Bikers Against Animal Cruelty.
Also at 9, Three Sheets hosts another installment of Art in the Back… Music in the Front, a monthly “evening of live music and local art.”
Sunday, June 16 - Father’s Day
I’m saving most Father’s Day doings for another article this week (hopefully). Meantime there’s a “Drone Improvisation Workshop” to consider, starting at 1 p.m. at Never Ending Books. “Bring your instrument and join us for an afternoon in the DRONEZONE. No experience necessary. Experienced droneniks from the New London Drone Orchestra will be on hand to guide us through the life affirming art of playing very few notes for a very long time.”
Written by Dan Mims. Image, featuring Wadada Leo Smith, photographed by Michael Jackson. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
