The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is in its final week. So is its upstart local-rooted counterculture counterpart Ideat Village. Bike rides and food also figure prominently in this June-ending week in the life of New Haven.
Monday, June 25
The Yale Institute of Sacred Music holds its annual Hymn Festival today, heavy on the church organ. Featured organists are James Abbington, John Ferguson and Martin Jean, and the featured organ is not, as you might expect, the famed one in Woolsey Hall but the one in the Yale Divinity School’s Marquand Chapel (409 Prospect St., New Haven). 7:30 p.m. Free.
Tuesday, June 26
The Festival of Arts & Ideas has renamed its perennially weather-plagued series Music at Dusk and has shifted the three 90 minute performances indoors to Yale’s Morse Recital Hall, 470 College St. (8 p.m., $35-$45). The Hector Del Curto Tango Quintet replaces the 34 Punaladas Argentinian tango ensemble on June 26 followed by a special collaboration between poet Robert Pinsky and New Haven-raised jazz bassist Ben Allison June 27. June 28’s The Yuval Ron Ensemble performance is sold out. There’s a second chance to experience the group at noon on Friday, June 29, at the Elm Street Stage on New Haven Green.
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In preparation for Pinsky’s visit on Wednesday, you might want to partake of an Arts & Ideas foodie event this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. at Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro (93 Whitney Ave., New Haven). It’s a “Poetry, Wine and Cheese Pairing”—not a full meal, and probably not a full epic poem either, but a neat way to relax and soak up culture. $35.
Wednesday, June 27
The Arts & Ideas-sponsored New Haven Picnic Basket is a bike tour of local food places—markets as well as commercial kitchens. You can see local culinary treats made and displayed, then bring some to a city park for the picnic part of the afternoon. The three-hour tour begins at 5:30 p.m. on New Haven Green and is co-sponsored by Elm City Cycling. Free; no reservation needed.
Thursday, June 28
The Sadies are a sensational Canadian band that can work in myriad styles—from raw surf rock to smooth soul-stirring to alt-country jangles—without ever seeming insincere. They’ve been the backing band for Neil Young, Garth Hudson, Neko Case, soul singer Andre Williams, Jon Langford of The Mekons and punk bluesman Jon Spencer. Tonight at Café Nine The Sadies (featuring brothers Travis and Dallas Good, both of whom sing and play guitar) are front and center. Elison Jackson opens the 9 p.m. show. 250 State St., New Haven. (203) 789-8281. $10.
Friday, June 29
Les Julian writes songs for kids, empowering and highly entertaining tunes about being yourself, accepting cultural and racial differences and being inspired by great historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Walt Disney and Jackie Williams (the teen-aged female baseball pitcher who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig). “We All Laugh in the Same Language” is one of Les Julian’s signature songs, and it’s also the title of his Arts & Ideas-sponsored concert today at 1:15 p.m. on New Haven Green.
Saturday, June 30
The Arts & Ideas festival ends tonight with Roseanne Cash (pictured above) for free on New Haven Green. “The List,” her concert tribute to her father Johnny Cash, starts at 7 p.m.
And there’s another mid-to-late June arts festival that’s also wrapping up today. It’s Ideat Village, a supremely local, decidedly alternative fest dedicated to loud music and other creative provocations, from painting to film to fashion. Ideat Village 2012 (which has touted an end-of-the-world Aztec calendar theme in its publicity) concludes with an eight-hour free-for-all in Pitkin Plaza (on Orange Street between Chapel and Court streets). Over a dozen bands will play, including pre-teen punk-poppers The Foresters, the well-established Defcon Five, Pools Are Nice, Lou Burch, 10,000 Blades, Doc Baker’s Traveling Musicological Extravaganza and many others. 2-10 p.m.
This concert is the culmination of numerous Ideat Village events held over the last couple of weeks, including a 48-hour filmmaking contest. If you see chaotic camera-work happening around town today, it’s because the teams formed last night (June 29 at the Ideat Village Short Film Festival at Orbit Gallery, 118 Court Street) and are in the midst of a frenzied burst of cinematic creation. The results are screened for free (again at the Orbit Gallery) Sunday, July 1 at 9 p.m.
Sunday, July 1
Every year, the activist bicycling group Elm City Cycling gears up for its Century Ride, so named because it’s a 100-mile jaunt. Shorter rides (of 28, 40 or 62 miles) are offered as well. All are scenic and communal. The rides are clearly marked and there’s a “sag vehicle” to assist those too pooped to finish the trip. Registration is required, online or from 7-9 a.m. July 1 at the place where the rides begin and end (with a barbeque party): Devil’s Gear Bike Shop (151 Orange St., New Haven, in the back end of the 360 State St. building). “Century riders should plan to be on course by 8 a.m.” $35.
If you’re feeling more pedestrian today, but still want to experience a blend of natural and urban images, there’s a closing event for sculptor Meg Bloom’s exhibit Wabi-Sabi at City Gallery, 994 State St., New Haven. (203) 782-2489.
Written by Christopher Arnott.
