Spring has sprung in time for fresh ideas, outdoor events and… Halloween?
Monday, May 8
Westville Artwalk’s six-day schedule culminates Saturday in an artist and artisan market with 50-plus vendors; an impressive array of activities including a pet parade, a rubber duck race, T-shirt printing and art exhibitions; and live entertainment spanning music, theater and circus. But it all starts today at Mitchell Library, where, from 5 to 7 p.m., local singer-songwriter Myles Tripp performs and pizza is served.
Tuesday, May 9
At 7:30 p.m. in Morse Recital Hall, the winners of the Yale School of Music’s annual Chamber Music Competition join together for a concert of both historic and more contemporary works.
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Wednesday, May 10
From 6 to 8 p.m. in the cafeteria at Hillhouse High School, a public meeting offers the chance to register your thoughts about the future of the Goffe Street Armory. (An optional RSVP form/survey may jog some ideas.)
At 6:30, Madison’s Scranton Library hosts “Festivals of India: A Classical Indian Dance Demonstration” featuring a performance by the Layavinyasa School of Dance & Music. “The presentation will showcase pieces that connect with Indian festivals and ancient Hindu scriptures,” incorporating “visuals of legends and demonstrative hand gestures to highlight the underlying narratives.”
Thursday, May 11
Ahead of next week’s Leonardo Challenge soiree at the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop, a 7 p.m. virtual panel talk highlights the party’s theme: flight. Sean Bradshaw of Pratt & Whitney and Phillip Richardson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute “will explore how Leonardo da Vinci’s observations of flight have influenced modern aviation. They will also draw connections to the importance of observation for educators and students.”
At 8, the New Haven Theater Company opens a six-show run of White Rabbit Red Rabbit. “Forbidden to leave his native Iran, Nassim Soleimanpour wrote a play which travelled the world in his place. He dissects the experience of a whole generation in a wild, utterly original play” performed by a different actor each time, reading the script for the first time.
Friday, May 12
From 5 to 10 p.m., the next New Haven Night Market fills Orange Street from George to Court with more than 75 vendors, several musical acts and various “happenings” including a dunk tank.
At 7:30 at the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra reaches into New Haven’s and the orchestra’s history. “In 1912, a New Haven resident—the first Black woman to earn a degree from Yale University—took the stage with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra to premiere her Piano Concerto. 111 years later, New Haven audiences will once again have the opportunity to experience Helen Hagan’s music live in a concert hall. This program will also include Florence Price’s stunning First Piano Concerto and Margaret Bonds’s musical depiction of the historic Civil Rights events of Montgomery, Alabama.”
Saturday, May 13
Grateful Dead tribute act Joe Russo’s Almost Dead opens the Westville Music Bowl’s 2023 season at 6 p.m.
Speaking of the dead: Not one but two Halloween themes arise today. One of them, at Gather East Rock, bends a “wildly kitschy Eurovision” theme into a “Spring Halloween party” from 2 to 7 p.m. The other happens at Fright Haven in Stratford, which opens its haunted Hotel Hex and Witching Hour attractions from 7 to 10 to mark the halfway point between last Halloween and next.
Halloween vibes lurk at The State House as well, where the monthly Sanctuary party, promising “goth, industrial and darkwave goodness,” bids farewell to its years-long “hallowed home,” which is closing at the end of the month.
Sunday, May 14 – Mother’s Day
Jazzy’s, Amarante’s, Anthony’s Ocean View and, in Madison, the Madison Beach Hotel host all-Mom-can-eat brunches.
In Northford, Rosabianca Vineyards serves up “Vino & Fiore,” a bouquet-making workshop that’ll start at 11:30 a.m. with some wine and finish at 1:30 with flowers for Mom. Meantime, order lunch from the food truck if you haven’t trucked in your own.
Finally, a reception for the New Haven Paint & Clay Club’s 122nd Annual Juried Art Exhibition, showing work by member and regional artists, runs from 1 to 3 at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art.
Written by Dan Mims. Image 1 by New Africa Studio. Images 2 and 3, taken inside the Goffe Street Armory and Westville Music Bowl, respectively, photographed by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
