Spring and kites are in the air.
Monday, May 5 - Cinco de Mayo
Starting as early as lunchtime, here seven ways to celebrate.
In Yale’s Humanities Quadrangle, a 1 o’clock screening of Bong Joon Ho’s Mother (2009), which “follows a devoted mother… on a relentless quest to prove the innocence of her son with intellectual disab[ilitie]s after he is accused of a young girl’s murder,” is the prelude to a 5 p.m. “dialogue” with the director himself, in the same auditorium. Like the screening, “the talk is free and open to the public. No tickets are required. Seats will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis.”
Westville Artwalk culminates Saturday in a festival spanning activities, entertainment and installations—including a 50-vendor artists’ and artisans’ market—in and around the heart of the village. But it starts today with a kickoff party at Mitchell Branch Library, followed by other attractions and activities all week.
Tuesday, May 6
Having appeared at major festivals such as Coachella and Bonnaroo, “sister group” Joseph should have no trouble filling Hamden’s intimate, acoustically exquisite Space Ballroom with their indie-pop sound starting at 8 p.m.
Wednesday, May 7
For 36 hours starting at 8 a.m., this year’s Great Give raises funds for local nonprofits under the auspices of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
At 6:30 p.m., East Rock Brewing’s next trivia night focuses on the novel yet natural topic of alcohol.
The 2025 Movies in the Plaza series, set to show a film every weather-permitting Wednesday in Pitkin Plaza for the next six months, starts with an ending: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).
Thursday, May 8
From 6 to 11 p.m. at The Cellar on Treadwell, event producer De La Nada presents a May Day Melee, a video game party featuring free-play “classic and current fighting games” as well as DJ Parlay Droner and “color commentary by the legendary Dan Kalwhite & Bobbypigo.”
At 7, the Ely Center of Contemporary Art holds its next Weird Music Night. Expect, if you can, “immersive walls of sound from tape loops, analog drones, and decaying media”; a “fully improvised performance channel[ing] the sacred and the absurd”; “haunted lullabies for a glamorous apocalypse”; and “a mobster-masked android who raps over ‘Terminator-type beats’ while channeling the absurdity of simulation culture.”
At 7:30, Toad’s Place hosts Leprous, a metal band whose sound isn’t so dark thanks to an alto/soprano, not guttural growling, vocal register.
Friday, May 9
At 8 p.m., SCSU’s Lyman Center hosts “dynamic saxophonist and electrifying performer” Eric Darius, whose “high-energy blend of jazz, R&B, and funk” has reached Billboard’s smooth jazz airplay chart 19 times and topped it twice.
Saturday, May 10
A tag sale starting at 9 eases into Bethesda Nursery School’s 10 a.m. Spring Fair, featuring a “bounce house, live entertainment, food, games, raffle prizes and more” until 2 p.m.
From 10 to 4, the first annual Apple Blossom Festival at Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford “celebrate[s] the start of our growing season, set against the stunning backdrop of our apple orchard in full bloom.” The docket includes wagon rides, beekeeping, farm animals, live music, food trucks and a “kids’ activity area” with numerous attractions.
As of this writing, a full itinerary for this year’s Wake Up the Green festival on the New Haven Green is elusive. But it starts in the morning—10:30, maybe, though sources conflict on start time—with a Powder House Day commemoration, in which the Second Company of the Governor’s Foot Guard reenact the day Benedict Arnold and his militiamen compelled New Haven to join the Revolutionary War. And it’s joined at 2 p.m. by Cirque Kikasse, a troupe performing “a dynamic circus show with high-level acrobatics, contagious energy and breathtaking balances.” Meanwhile, until 4 p.m., the Green will host “community activities” and local food and drink vendors.
From 11 to 6, Spring Fest at Rose Vineyards and Winery in North Branford “food specials, face-painting, live music, and vendors” selling goods and services from family photo portraits to tarot readings to flash tattoos to permanent jewelry.
Back at East Rock Brewing, a Maifest party from noon to 5 “celebrates the arrival of warmer weather and the release of our seasonal favorite,” the Maibock. Live music and local vendors round things out.
Also at noon, Milford Living Magazine presents its annual Kite Fly at Milford’s Walnut Beach. “Fly your own kite or just sit back and enjoy the show!”
Sunday, May 11 - Mother’s Day
Keep an eye out for a collection of events fully dedicated to Mom later this week.
Meantime, the second day of the Milford Artisan Market, like the first one yesterday, convenes more than 150 local artisans selling “handmade items including glasswork, woodwork, jewelry, natural products, paintings and more” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Milford Green. “The event will also feature Mother’s Day photo opportunities, dance demonstrations, free yoga classes, live music, food vendors and artist demonstrations.”
At 2 p.m. at Yale’s Off Broadway Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre opens preview performances of Unbecoming Tragedy: A Ritual Journey Toward Destiny. “What does it mean to reclaim our own narrative? Stripped of everything but his own imagination, a struggling actor transforms his prison cell into an unexpected stage.”
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image features a moment from the 2023 Powder House Day commemoration. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
