Summer is now—or at least it will be, on Thursday.
Monday, June 17
At 7 p.m. at Yale’s Beinecke Library, as part of the ongoing International Festival of Arts & Ideas, “internationally acclaimed jazz pianist” Kevin Harris (pictured above) presents “contemporary wind octet expedition” Roots, Water, and Sunlight, “interweave[ing] traditional and contemporary music styles, visual arts, electronic media, science, and language” in order to “honor what James Baldwin described as ‘the collision between one’s image of oneself and what one actually is.’”
Wednesday, June 19 - Juneteenth
“Bring out the entire family and don’t forget those coolers, lawn chairs, and blankets” for a “Beloved Juneteenth Celebration” at 11 a.m. in Edgerton Park.
East Rock Brewing tests ’90s music knowledge during a trivia night starting at 6:30.
A 7 p.m. CULT NIGHT! screening at Best Video in Hamden asks attendees to trust their leader for the evening: Best Video staffer and series organizer Anthony Capasso. “The title will be a surprise each month but know that it will be pulled from the Cult section and is sure to horrify, befuddle, and delight fans of the wacky world of cult movies.”
The Movies in the Plaza series in Pitkin Plaza marks the holiday with a screening of Selma (2014), which dramatizes historic voting rights protests in Alabama in 1965.
Thursday, June 20
Just east of Wooster Square Park, the Saint Andrews Society’s 124th Annual Italian Festa starts at 4 p.m. and promises “4 nights of musical entertainment and delicious Italian American food.”
A monthly “Riding Through the Decades” series at East Haven’s Shore Line Trolley Museum begins at 5:30 p.m. with a return to the 1930s and ’40s. “With door prizes, best costume competitions, happy hour refreshments, and trolley rides, this event promises an unforgettable evening filled with nostalgia, camaraderie, and period music”—and a costume contest.
Friday, June 21
Starting at 6 p.m. (according to the website) or 6:30 (according to the event link), Massaro Community Farm in Woodbridge marks the summer solstice with a Festival of Fireflies. “Spend the solstice on the farm as we enjoy the longest night of the year. The event will offer crafts, stories, and a firefly viewing at dusk. You may also take a self- guided walk through our 1-mile nature trail. There will be a special visit from the ice cream truck…”
At The Beeracks in East Haven, New Jersey shoegaze bands All Under Heaven and High present their evolved takes on a genre of rock that emerged during rock’s last and greatest heyday—the ’90s—starting at 6.
From 7 to 8, the opener of the Yale Guild of Carillonneurs’s Summer Carillon Concert Series serenades guests in Branford College’s courtyard (and nearby pedestrians downtown) with an “East Meets West”-themed program performed by Zoe Lei.
Saturday, June 22
An inaugural Alpha Dog Fair, in conjunction with a Madison Lions Day Flea Market, aims to attract dogs, not fleas, to the Madison Town Green from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A “FunRun Corral” will have dogs chasing lures alongside “music, food and craft vendors” as well as “dog-related vendors” including a pet portrait photographer.
Centered on Milford’s Walnut Beach, the Charles Island SUP Cup boasts stand-up paddleboard (SUP) races starting around 9:45 a.m. plus “all-day live music, food trucks, activities, [a] kids’ tent, free kayaking and paddleboard[ing] (after the race), freebies, contests and more.”
A CT Irish Festival & Field Day Weekend from 11 to 8 today and noon to 6 at East Haven’s Irish American Community Center offers “live music, children's activities, competitions (Irish baking and raffle), Gaelic sports, and more.”
At noon, a Juneteenth celebration at the CT Violence Intervention Center in New Haven promises “a free, fun, family event with African American history artifacts, arts and crafts, college essay/college preparation support, DJ Tripple Threat, employment information, fire safety, health information, line dancing, local performers, vendors and more,” including “free hot dogs and soda” for children while supplies last.
From 3 to 7, a Bollywood by the Beach event back at Milford’s Walnut Beach, under the Devon Rotary Pavilion, promises “a vibrant evening filled with Bollywood music, dance, and entertainment.”
A Paranormal Night Market from 5 to 10 at Armada Brewing gathers “haunt actors, side-shows, alternative drag, fire breathing, tarot, psychic healing, ghost hunters, paranormal educators, tattooing, food trucks, craft brews, fascinating creatures, and showcases of human curiosities”—plus “vintage goods, antiques, oddities, taxidermy, wet specimens, horrific prints, provocative art, VHS tapes, religious icons, alternative clothing, nostalgic collectibles, leather goods, occult literature, XXX, paranormal zines, and outlandish creations from local fringe artists.”
A Soundwave Saturday at Stella Blues offers “open decks” from 8:15 to 9, three announced DJs after that and, at some point, one “secret guest headliner.”
Branford gets ahead of the Fourth of July frenzy with a fireworks celebration at 9:45 near Branford Point.
Sunday, June 23
From 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., an annual Mac & Cheese Fest returns to Stony Creek Brewery in Branford. Convening local vendors, live bands (from noon to 6) and “lots of cheesy goodness,” the festival promises “savory sensations, cool vibes, and great beer.”
At 2 p.m. at the Pardee-Morris House, historian and archaeologist Jim Powers, “who was instrumental in establishing the Quinnipiac Dawnland Museum at Dudley Farm, in Guilford, will illustrate the story of the Quinnipiac People and their ancestors from the end of the Ice Age through the arrival of the Dutch and then English Colonists in the early 17th century.”
Powered by live music from Nu Haven Kapelye, a Klezmer Dance Fest from 3 to 5 at Hamden’s Congregation Mishkan Israel offers an “immersion experience” learning “a variety of Yiddish [dances]: freylekhs, bulgars, zhoks, and much more!”
Written by Dan Mims. Image, featuring Kevin Harris, sourced from the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
