Halloween happenings start this week, but we’re saving all of those for a big preview tomorrow. Meantime, we’ve got anniversary occasions, annual occurrences and one-off wonders.
Monday, October 21
At 4, a virtual Mondays at Beinecke talk has author and professor Greg Barnhisel discussing a Yalie who “changed the story of American literature, putting modernist poetry at its center,” and a CIA operative who “helped forge the alliance between universities, foundations and professional societies and the national security state in the 1950s and 1960s.” Spoiler alert: They’re the same person.
Branford’s Blackstone Library hosts “An Evening with Edgar Allen Poe” at 6. “Learn the truth behind the life, death, and legacy of this American legend. Enjoy your favorite stories and poems performed live by actor Campbell Harmon.” And if you can’t make it tonight, Poe/Harmon will also be appearing in East Haven tomorrow and New Haven Thursday.
Tuesday, October 22
At Yale’s 53 Whitney Avenue auditorium, a 7 p.m. 50th anniversary screening of Hearts and Minds (1974), “an unflinching, Academy Award-winning examination of the Vietnam War and its vast human toll,” convenes the film’s director, cinematographer and editor for a post-screening discussion.
Wednesday, October 23
Back at 53 Wall Street at 8 p.m., yesterday’s real horrors make way for the fictional ones of Long Legs (2024), a “summer hit that many critics and fans compare to thriller-horror classic Silence of the Lambs.”
Thursday, October 24
From 5:30 to 7:30, the Yale University Art Gallery throws a Surrealist Ball to celebrate the 100th anniversary of an “art and cultural movement… encourag[ing] the expression of dreams, the unconscious, and irrationality.” The gallery promises “an eccentric evening of music, poetry, photography, refreshments, and more” with theme costumes encouraged, though “oversize costumes and objects will not be allowed in the galleries.”
A 5-show, four-day run of TINA: The Tina Turner Musical starts at 7 at the Shubert, telling “the triumphant story of the Queen of Rock n’ Roll set to the pulse-pounding soundtrack of her most beloved hits!”
An 8 o’clock bill at Hamden’s Space Ballroom features headliner Greet Death, a band whose winning alt rock formula involves confessional lyrics, patient tempos and a thick grungy distortion a crowd can really sink into. Opening the bill are Low Animal, whose “rural punk” seems like much more, and “Connecticut alt grunge” band Splitview, whose few recordings exhibit an amazingly polished sound right out of the gate.
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Friday, October 25
Halfway Home Rescue—which “saves thousands of animals a year, from rehoming cats and dogs to creating Lifer Houses for animals with terminal illnesses to providing a safe haven to livestock who have nowhere else to go”—presents its 2024 Furr Ball, “an amazing night of hors d’oerves, raffles, and a silent auction” from 6 to 10 p.m. at The VUE in Hamden.
From 6:30 to 9, the 12th annual New Haven Reads Spelling Bee hosts spellers—encouraged to embrace the Halloween timing by donning group costumes—and spectators at the Yale School of Management. “We also offer a cash bar, food, and dessert in the foyer.”
Saturday, October 26
An “All Things Pollinators” event at Urbanscapes Native Plant Nursery offers “educational booths, hands-on workshops, kids’ activities, special giveaways, and a sale of plants from the UrbanScapes nursery.”
“Historical and natural history tours at the summit of East Rock Park”—hopefully including a climb up the interior of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument—run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A month of open studios events around and outside the city finishes in Westville, with artists opening their doors at West River Arts, Lotta Studio and a few home studios; gallery shows at Da Silva Gallery and Kehler Liddell Gallery; and live entertainment (among other activities) from 11 to 5 today and 11 to 4 tomorrow.
Also starting at 11, a weekend itinerary celebrates Charles Ives, “one of the most prominent and influential modernist composers of the 20th century,” on the occasion of his slightly belated 150th birthday. First up is a curator’s talk and opening reception for 150: Charles Ives in Context, an exhibition at Yale’s Irving S. Gilmore Library (located inside Sterling Library).
An ANIMANIA fashion show at Third Space Lounge promises “an unforgettable evening of anime-inspired fashion, where the latest trends in cosplay couture and anime-themed clothing will light up the runway, blending Japanese pop culture with high fashion”—plus arcade games, prize drawings, vendors, flash tattoos and, if you’re 21 and over, a cash bar.
The Cellar on Treadwell in Hamden hosts the final of this year’s Rock Lottery, in which local musicians randomly grouped into bands then compete for lighthearted supremacy before a panel of judges.
Sunday, October 27
McGivney Fest 2024 celebrates the anniversary of the beatification of Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. It starts with an 11 a.m. mass at St. Mary Church and finishes with a 12:30 block party, centered outside on Hillhouse Avenue, featuring a “food truck, children’s activities, music, church tours, and more.”
At 1 at Guilford’s Breakwater Books, “award-winning crime fiction/contemporary suspense novelist Penny Goetjen will be in the store meeting people, signing her new book Deadly Ripples and chatting about how to get away with murder.”
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image features the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument at the summit of East Rock. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details.
