There’s a lot to be thankful for.
Tuesday, November 25
“Holiday movies, music, traditions and pop culture moments” are fair game during a trivia night at venue-within-a-venue Elm City’s Cabaret (located inside the Shubert) starting at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, November 26
Starting at 7, a Thanksgiving Eve karaoke night at The Cellar on Treadwell in Hamden might be a fun way to get together with friends and family back in town for the holiday.
So might a 7 p.m. all-classes, all-schools reunion dance party at Club Vandome.
Or a 7:30 show at Toad’s Place featuring locally rooted nationally and internationally touring jam band Eggy.
Or the 29th Vomitorium, an irreverent and “unhinged” 9 p.m. concert led by top local scenester Dean Falcone, who this year, together with a long list of musical friends, promises to “serve[] up a buffet of 80s hits… performed with the precision of a microwaved leftovers reheat!”
That energy spreads to Billie Martin’s pub in West Haven, where party band “Category 5 ruins Thanksgiving,” also starting at 9.
Thursday, November 27 - Thanksgiving
To work off last night’s festivities or earn today’s, you could run West Haven’s Shoreline Turkey Trot 5k, starting at 8 a.m. on the beach next to what used to be the Savin Rock Conference Center.
Friday, November 28
Communal tree lightings begin today, and we’ll get to those later this week. For now, let’s talk about your tree, which you can acquire during a series of Downtown NHV Tree Farm Pop-ups. The first, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Orange and Center Streets, offers trees of all sizes plus tree stands, wreaths and a “snowy NHV ornament.” And it literally pays to shop early: “While supplies last, tree customers receive a random $35 gift card to a downtown small business.”
At 8, previews open for Yale Repertory Theatre’s Hedda Gabler. “Freshly arrived from her honeymoon to her elegant, newly purchased villa, Hedda Tesman (née Gabler) wasn’t born and raised for a life of contented domesticity. When a former lover returns to town, her husband’s academic career and finances suddenly hang in the balance, along with her social standing.”
Back at Toad’s Place, nationally touring rapper Chris Webby’s Annual Black Friday Show brings the Connecticut native’s “versatile flow, creative punchlines, pop culture references and love for cartoons” home starting at 9.
Also at 9, “dance off that feast” with DJ Apez at Stella Blues. “Expect deep cuts, funky beats, and a high-energy dance floor to keep your spirits lifted. Plus—it’s all for a good cause! Bring a canned food donation to support the community while you party.”
Saturday, November 29
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the North Haven Fairgrounds, Winterfest promises “over 30 local craft vendors, face painting, free kids’ crafts and games, story time, food trucks, hayrides, decorat[ing] trees, basket raffles, and touch-a-truck. Plus meet Santa and take photos!”
Winterfair, an extended popup market featuring more than 30 vendors at any one time (out of more than 100 total participants), opens from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first day of a four-weekend stand on the second level overlooking the main hall of Union Station.
Also starting at 11, Twelve Percent Beer Project, a collaborative brewing and hospitality space in North Haven, hosts a Holiday Flea promising “30+ local vendors offering ceramics, vintage treasures, handmade jewelry, and so much more.”
The Shops at Yale’s Small Business Saturday celebration along Chapel Street downtown crests from noon to 3. “Strolling Connecticut Yuletide Carolers will bring a festive spirit,” while revelers can “enjoy complimentary kettle corn, holiday crafts, and an ice carving demonstration in front of Union League Patisserie & Uni Life.” Meanwhile, from 1 to 3 at BNatural Kitchen, “Santa & Mrs. Claus will greet families… for storytelling, selfies, and treats.”
At 1 p.m., a musical version of Miracle on 34th Street opens a two-day three-show stand at the Shubert. “Single mother, Doris Walker, doesn’t want her six-year-old Susan’s head filled with romantic notions. Their neighbor, Fred Gailey, tries to woo Doris by charming Susan and taking her to see Santa Claus at Macy’s, where Doris works. Doris is not impressed, but when it turns out that Macy’s Santa may, in fact, be the real Kris Kringle, a wave of love spreads across New York City that melts even the most cynical hearts.”
Bigger Beast Records, a Connecticut-based indie label-slash-“collective of artists and music lovers working together and taking creative risks to make and support music with depth, purpose and emotion,” presents its first annual Holiday Concert and Toy Drive at 3 p.m. at Lyric Hall, with a second first annual concert at 6:15. The first show features 13 acts, while the second boasts 15.
At 7, New England Brewing’s Woodbridge location holds a comedy night in five acts: William Leonard, Gioncarlo Bondino, Katy Coughlin, Ben Kirsch and Keedolla.
At 7:30, The Cellar on Treadwell holds Skanksgiving, a ska-forward show headlined by New York-based Pilfers, whose “raggacore” sound “blends pop, reggae, hardcore, dub, punk, and ska.”
Starting at 8 inside United Church on the Green, Orchestra New England “revisit[s] Ye Olde Tymes with Colonial Concert XLVI,” “featur[ing] music that could have been presented in a concert in New Haven in 1786.” With “our esteemed conductor, musicians, and soloists decked out in period finery, we will have performances of the latest pieces brought over from across the Atlantic to be performed by our orchestra from new star Mozart and old masters JS Bach, Telemann, and Handel. A festive pre-concert dinner will take place at 6 p.m. [at] The Elm City Club, just across Elm Street.”
Written by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
