Academic and personal histories texture a week in which Jazz Age meets Jazz Week and indulgence meets endurance.
Monday, August 13
“During the long, hot summers of the late 1960s and 1970s, one man began a campaign to open some of America’s most exclusive beaches”—Connecticut’s—“to minorities and the urban poor.” At 7 p.m., RJ Julia (768 Boston Post Rd, Madison; 203-245-3959) hosts a well-researched teller of that story: University of Virginia professor Andrew Kahrl, who’s set to discuss and sign copies of his maddening and inspiring book Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America’s Most Exclusive Shoreline (2018). Free to attend.
Tuesday, August 14
At The Hop Knot (196 Crown St, New Haven), a just-opened shrine to pretzels and beer, 8 p.m. marks the start of Comedy Craft Beer Night, a monthly affair that aims to attract strong New England comedic talent and serve rotating local craft beer specials. The comics this time are Ryan Brauth, Kathryn Gironimi and Darren Rivera. $15, or $12 in advance.
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Wednesday, August 15
At 7:30 p.m., all-ages venue The Cave (221 Bull Hill La, West Haven) hosts a four-act bill featuring Suntitle, a New Jersey act youthfully echoing great alternative rock moments of the ’90s and early 2000s; polished “emotive post-hardcore” band Mocklove, kind of like Paramore with a sharper edge; Wore, a grungy, maybe sludgy, definitely original act whose members span Connecticut and Massachusetts; and Lesser Men, a post-hardcore band that certainly isn’t lesser if you’re measuring by volume, talent or sheer commitment. $12, or $10 in advance.
Thursday, August 16
“Set at the dawn of Jazz with live music before and throughout the performance,” and “chock full of witty wordplay, … dance and riotous mishaps,” Elm Shakespeare Company’s 23rd summer production in Edgerton Park (75 Cliff St, New Haven) opens tonight, with the music starting at 7:30 and the play at 8. That play is Love’s Labour’s Lost, one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works, and organizers suggest the issues it raises will feel contemporary, “posing questions about consent, class and a woman’s role in the political arena.” Free, with performances every Tuesdays through Sundays, weather permitting, until September 2.
Friday, August 17
Speaking of jazz, a show featuring the quartet of “trumpeter extraordinaire” Dr. Eddie Henderson—who’s played with a who’s-who of jazz history including Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey, Max Roach and McCoy Tyner—marks the beginning of Jazz Week 2018. The action happens at Lyric Hall (827 Whalley Ave, New Haven) starting at 8 p.m., with tickets going for $25.
Starting earlier, at 6:30 p.m., is “Local Market, Global Table,” an “elegant, multicultural dinner” to benefit CitySeed and its Sanctuary Kitchen program, which in turn “promote and celebrate the culinary traditions, cultures and stories of refugees resettled in Connecticut” while enhancing economic opportunity for those refugee chefs. They’re the ones cooking tonight’s meal, by the way, and they’ll be telling their stories, too, which start in places including “Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Sudan.” The dinner location is Common Ground High School (358 Springside Ave, New Haven), and regular tickets cost $75, with cocktails available for purchase.
Saturday, August 18
Taking over downtown Milford where it meets the top of the Milford Harbor, the 44th annual Milford Oyster Festival boasts 40,000 oysters in 21 varieties, over 200 arts and crafts vendors, several live musical acts including headliner Eddie Money, a kids’ stage, a beer and wine garden, a classic car show, schooner cruises, canoe and kayak races and, of course, oyster-shucking and -eating contests. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, August 19
Friday and yesterday at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale (45 Yale Ave, New Haven; 203-776-7331), the 2018 Connecticut Open pro women’s tennis tournament held its customary two qualifying days, when players who haven’t yet secured a spot get a chance to fight their way into the main draw. Today at 11 a.m., the main draw officially commences, with adult tickets starting at $25. Among the competitors this year are three of the world’s top 10 players, including current top-ranked woman Simona Halep and perennial crowd-favorite Petra Kvitova.
Written by Dan Mims. Image, included in Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America’s Most Exclusive Shoreline (2018) by Andrew Kahrl, photographed by Bob Adelman and provided courtesy of Yale University Press. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
