Virtual bookends frame a week that otherwise does it live, including the first local theater of 2022.
Monday, January 17 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
The Peabody Museum’s 26th Annual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy of Social and Environmental Justice culminates today across three virtual sessions. The first, co-presented with the New Haven Museum at 10 a.m., offers “fables, anecdotes, and stories that honor King’s work”; “an interactive dance performance and lesson”; and “a kid-friendly painting activity.” The second, at 12:30, promises “a fascinating and candid panel discussion… on the issues plaguing Black youth in our community.” The third, at 2:30, gathers “representatives from a few of the many social and environmental justice organizations here in New Haven and from across Connecticut” to discuss the work they do and ways to get involved.
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Wednesday, January 19
Starting with a one-night preview tonight at 7, Long Wharf Theatre (222 Sargent Dr, New Haven; 203-693-1486) presents a two-and-a-half-week run of Fires in the Mirror, an award-winning one-person play that draws from more than 50 interviews with “residents, politicians, activists, religious leaders, gangs, street dwellers, victims, and perpetrators alike” to examine the Crown Heights race riot of 1991. Tickets cost $59, or $49 if you buy tickets to the theater’s three remaining shows this season, or $39 for members.
Promising an “international menu,” “unique cocktails” and “750,000+ songs,” Jazzy’s Cabaret (4 Orange St, New Haven) holds its weekly Wednesday karaoke night hosted by KDJ Tom beginning at 8 p.m.
Friday, January 21
The next Back Room Party with DJ Dooley-O, billed as “New Haven’s longest-running party for fine music connoisseurs and dancers alike,” proceeds at 9 p.m. at Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven; 203-789-8281).
Saturday, January 22
At 3 p.m., learn how to “beat the winter blues, improve indoor air and… green up your space” with a Winter Gardening Workshop at Wilson Library (303 Washington Ave, New Haven; 203-946-2228). “We’ll give pointers for healthy indoor plants, growing sprouts and herbs indoors and prepping your garden for spring. Baby houseplants are available on a first come/first serve basis.”
Baila Con Gusto (57 Olive St, New Haven, below St. Paul & St. James) throws an all-levels Cha Cha Workshop & Latin Dance Social, with the workshop starting at 7 and the dance social starting at 9. Do the workshop alone for $25, the social alone for $15 or both for $30.
A farewell show for New Havener-turned-Brooklynite and soon-to-be Los Angeleno Jose Oyola, stage name JOATA, kicks off at 7:30 at Space Ballroom (295 Treadwell St, Hamden; $15). Joining JOATA and his “Puerto Rican indie pop” are “rich and diverse afro-indigenous” fusion artist Alea, Hartford-based rapper/songwriter Klokwize and local indie “super group” Shame Penguin.
Sunday, January 23
No Worries Brewing Company (2520 State St, Hamden) has revived its Winter Disc Golf Putting League, meeting each Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. A $10 cash entry fee gets you one comped beverage and a chance to win prizes.
Meanwhile, at 4, “New Haven, a Great Manufacturing City,” a lecture organized by the New Haven Preservation Trust, explores our “educational, financial, and transportation” center’s past as an “industrial powerhouse.” The lecturer is Bruce Clouette, who holds a PhD in History and “has been researching and writing about Connecticut history and historic sites since 1975.”
Written by Dan Mims. Photographed by Roman Samborskyi. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
