Returning this week: annual get-togethers, faux Satanists, immigrants (to their gustatory roots) and New Englanders (to theirs).
Monday, July 17
The first show of the annual Beecher Park Summer Concert Series, along with the first contest of its coincident Hi-Fi Pie Fest, commences at 6:30 p.m. in the green space behind Mitchell Library (37 Harrison St, New Haven; 203-946-8117). Tonight’s performer is the jazzy, wayward Dr. Caterwaul’s Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps, and the category for the pies—which contest entrants can submit before the show at 5:45, and which attendees can enjoy for $4/slice and $6/sampler—is stone fruit. Free to attend.
Tuesday, July 18
Makeup, masks and robes hide the identities behind Ghost (pictured above), an ostensible metal band whose single-minded commitment to satanic play-acting is heavier than its music. Rife with ominous Latin chants and churchy elements turned upside down, standout songs include “From the Pinnacle to the Pit,” referring to Satan’s fall from grace; “He Is,” proclaiming the dark lord; and “Year Zero,” which welcomes his return. College Street Music Hall (238 College St, New Haven; 203-867-2000), meanwhile, welcomes the return of the band, topping an 8 p.m. bill opened by Astronoid, which melds “black metal, shoegaze, punk and dream pop.” $35-45.
Wednesday, July 19
Opened last weekend and playing through Sunday, Mies Julie, Yale Summer Cabaret’s latest production, picks up again at 8 p.m. An adaptation of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, which repositions the original’s “incendiary battle of the sexes in post-Apartheid South Africa,” the play “depicts an erotic encounter that exposes unquenchable desires and long-standing Colonial prejudices.” Oh, and as the play’s program warns, “this show contains graphic violence, graphic sexual content
Thursday, July 20
At 5 p.m., mixed-media artists Stanwyck Cromwell and Moussa Gueye, who immigrated to Connecticut from Guyana and Mauritania, respectively, are leading a free Collage Workshop at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art (51 Trumbull St, New Haven). Helping participants “[translate] identity into expression through the special art of collecting, juxtaposing and collaging,” materials are provided, though “attendees are invited to bring images, objects or clippings that are significant or interesting to them.”
From 6 to 9:30, CitySeed’s Sanctuary Kitchen, which helps recent immigrants gain a socioeconomic foothold in this new land while sharing authentic exotic food cultures with locals, is putting on a satellite event at Atticus Cafe (1082 Chapel St, New Haven). Featuring “a five-course prix-fixe menu prepared by Afghan cook Sharifa and Syrian cooks Fatema and Afeefa”—including “Kabsa (spiced chicken and rice with fried almonds and raisins)” and “Kunafa (a baked pastry filled with sweet cheese and soaked in a light syrup)”—the aim is to “showcase the unique culinary skills of these recently resettled refugees and celebrate their contribution to the diverse and changing face of the Greater New Haven Area.” $35.
Friday, July 21
Wanna dance? Downtown at 9:30 p.m., Toad’s Place (300 York St, New Haven; 203-624-8623) is throwing an 18+ Masquerade Glow Party, where $17 tickets ($13 in advance) get you complimentary LED accessories including a glow mask and baton. Meanwhile, in Fair Haven at 10 p.m., Latin music-loving Club Vandome (108 Hamilton St, New Haven; 203-789-2066) is throwing a Colombian Independence Day Party. Helmed by DJs Studderz, Sincero and El Niño, admission costs $5 unless you’re female, in which case it’s free.
Saturday, July 22
Aiming to bring together people who “believe in the values of [justice], kindness, equality and compassion,” the third annual Compassionfest returns to Whitneyville Cultural Commons (1247 & 1253 Whitney Ave, Hamden; 203-780-8890) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Promoting a vegan lifestyle, the vendor list numbers over 50, spanning food, clothing, beauty products, fine arts, activism and more, to go with several featured presenters and musical acts.
New Haven’s free annual Music on the Green concert series returns with The Stylistics at 7:30 p.m. Super-tender soul balladeers formed in Philadelphia in 1968, they scored a series of R&B hits throughout the ’70s, like “Betcha By Golly, Wow” and “You Are Everything.” The act’s current lineup features two original members, plus two newer-comers.
Sunday, July 23
Like its subjects, Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England: From Flips & Rattle-Skulls to Switchel to Spruce Beer (2014) is a mouthful. Accordingly, author Corin Hirsch, who’s otherwise a food and drink writer for Newsday, is coming to the Pardee-Morris House (325 Lighthouse Rd, New Haven) to talk it out. Starting at 2 p.m., Hirsch is set to “share tales of tippling in days of yore” and “examine the growing interest in historic drinks,” with a book signing to follow. Free to attend.
Written by Dan Mims. Image depicts the band Ghost. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
