Four festivals and more performances than there are days rouse this not so sleepy section of summer.
Monday, August 9
Westville’s final installment of the 2021 Beecher Park Summer Concert Series and Hi-Fi Pie Fest starts at 6:30 in Beecher Park (37 Harrison St, New Haven; free). The music this time comes courtesy of local blues guitarist Rocky Lawrence, while the pies, available for sale by the slice, are filled with apples, pears and/or quinces.
Tuesday, August 10
NHdocs, a.k.a. the 2021 New Haven Documentary Film Festival, kicks off six days and 30+ screenings with a feature-length “special sneak peek” of local documentarian and festival director Gorman Bechard’s latest effort, Where are you, Jay Bennett? at Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven). Seating starts at 7 p.m., the film at 7:30, a post-screening director Q&A at 9:15 and a live musical tribute—to Bennett’s band, Wilco, as well as his solo work, delivered by a shockingly long lineup of local talent—at 9:45. $15.
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Wednesday, August 11
Rappers G Herbo and Toosii and dancehall/trap/reggae artist HoodCelebrityy join emcees Fat Man Scoop and Huggy Bear for a free Youth and Rec Department-sponsored show at Westville Music Bowl at 6 p.m. Free; “early arrival suggested.”
Friday, August 13
Elm Shakespeare Company’s annual weeks-long presentation of professionally acted Shakespeare in Edgerton Park (75 Cliff St, New Haven) is not to be this year. In its stead is something new: the broader but also more concentrated Elm Shakespeare Youth Festival. Starting with a 2 p.m. performance today and finishing with an 8 p.m. show Sunday, the festival features “over 70 students from widely different backgrounds and communities” performing multiple professionally produced performances each of five of The Bard’s plays—Romeo & Juliet, Pericles, As You Like It and, as a double feature, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry V. Free; registration required.
Today, tomorrow and Sunday, comedian Hasan Minhaj, host of Netflix’s Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and a Daily Show alum, presents Experiment Time at Long Wharf Theatre (222 Sargent Dr, New Haven; 203-693-1486). Limited tickets remain for just two of his five performances, at 9:30 tonight and tomorrow, so get them while you can. $52.50.
Saturday, August 14
From 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Shore Line Trolley Museum’s third annual Museum in Motion Festival (17 River St, East Haven; 203-467-6927) promises live bluegrass music for the duration and brings some of its display trolleys out of retirement for a 1 p.m. parade. “Experience the golden age of transportation as trolley cars from the turn of the last century parade by. Watch the ‘work horses’ of the US streetcar era such as antique repair, emergency and snowplows rumble past. Feel the awe-inspiring power of vintage subway equipment.” $15. Food available.
Sunday, August 15
In lieu of this year’s Branford Festival on the Branford Green, which was cancelled due to COVID, organizers are putting on a fundraiser for next year’s. Held at event venue Nuzzo’s Farm (736 E Main St, Branford) from 11 a.m. to 6, it’s called Festival at the Farm and pulls together food trucks, live music, a car show, a craft fair and kid’s activities including a petting zoo. Tickets cost $20 per car and will be sold to a maximum of 125 cars, each allowed to ferry up to six people to the occasion.
Written by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
