From festivals to freemasons and soirees to cyberpunks, this Saturday’s bounty couldn’t fit in yesterday’s events preview.
Saturday, September 28
At 9 a.m. over the Hamden border, the Eli Whitney Museum hosts an “Introduction to Grasses Identification” workshop focused on “plain English vocabulary and naked-eye characteristics.” Led by Lauren Brown, co-author of Grasses, Sedges, Rushes: An Identification Guide, “the class will involve driving five minutes from the classroom to the field site. Please be prepared to carpool or to drive your own car.”
Also starting at 9, a daylong Artisan & Antique Fall Festival convenes “over 40 unique artisan and antique vendors” on the Madison Town Green, where they’ll be joined by live music, “classic hay rides,” a pumpkin patch and a “kids’ corner.”
A North Haven outpost of the Freemasons, a secret society that’s often captured the public imagination, shares some of its secrets during an open house from 10 to noon.
From 11 to 4, the 24th Annual Fall Festival at Hamden’s Brooksvale Park promises “live music, food trucks, kids’ zone, beekeeping demos, nature crafts, environmental exhibits, wall climbing, Hamden Police K9 demos, pumpkin patch, bake sale, craft vendors and more.”
Another pre-October Oktoberfest arrives, this time at Armada Brewing. From noon to 5, Armada promises “beer (obviously), brats, pretzels bigger than your head, and German rock,” plus the requisite stein-holding competition.
Milford Porchfest, where porches throughout Milford become bandstands, has attracted an astounding number of musical acts—143 by my count—to perform from noon to 6. The final map and schedule haven’t been released yet, but a “zone map” has, covering six areas of town from Walnut Beach to Forest Heights, each of which will have its own food trucks.
From 3 to 5:30 in the Edgerton Park Carriage House, a “creative dressy casual” soiree called Hunee in the Park raises funds for New Haven’s Huneebee Project, which trains and mentors young people through the art and science of beekeeping—and, of course, nurtures ecologically critical pollinators. Along with an “informative talk” about beeswax production and “an immersive beeswax candle-making workshop” furnishing knowledge and parting gifts, attendees can expect “a cocktail hour with a curated selection of fine wines by Ungrafted Selections, craft beer by Armada Brewing, artisanal honey-themed cocktails by Wildcat, and gourmet grazing boards by Caseus Provisions.”
A 4-to-7 beer tasting organized by the Guilford Keeping Society offers a chance to raise a glass in a one-of-a-kind historic tavern. Here’s the backstory: “The Medad Stone Tavern Museum was built in 1803 by Medad Stone to serve as a tavern. He had built it away from the town green because he thought the Boston Post Road would be rerouted. As it was not rerouted that way, it never opened,” until, starting in 2001, “the GKS restored the Tavern to what it was in 1803 and opened it as ‘the Tavern that opened 200 years late.’”
From 5 to 7, the next installment of the curated poetry reading series Chapter & Verse—this time with a theme of “Comfort”—percolates at cozy Koffee?.
The 3rd Annual Connecticut Bourbon and Whiskey Festival fills Hamden’s Knights of Columbus Lodge with people sampling whiskey and cigars (from 20+ “retailers, distributors, and distilleries”) as well as an all-you-can-eat buffet from 6:30 to 9.
Witch Bitch Thrift hosts a Crow Party, a.k.a. a “shiny object exchange,” from 7 to 10, inviting you to “bring your odds and ends and share with other shiny object collectors.”
At 8, a comedy show at College Street Music Hall features movie and TV star Leslie Jones, perhaps best known for her work on SNL, and opener Lenny Marcus, a stand-up specialist and Jones’s podcast co-host.
Or maybe it’s time to dance. Also at 8, Stella Blues hosts HYPNOSIS, where DJs John Lauro and Tomiie Aldo will be spinning house music, I think, with the goal of inducing “a changed state of awareness and increased relaxation.”
Finally, at 9, local goth dance party series Sanctuary puts on Neo Haven 20X4, a cyberpunk costume and theme night complete with an adult face painting table… er, cybernetic enhancement station, a.k.a. ripperdoc office, at Cafe Nine.
Written by Dan Mims. Image, featuring Armada Brewing on a calm, non-Oktoberfest day, photographed by Steven Rome. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
