This Fourth of July, American patriotism takes center-week, with a finishing flourish too.
Monday, July 2
At 7:30 p.m., the curtain rises on a new monthly trivia series at Best Video Film & Cultural Center (1842 Whitney Ave, Hamden; 203-287-9286). Called Trivia 237—“after the infamous Hotel Stanley room in The Shining”—it’s “a team trivia event comprised of four rounds of quizzing with ten questions per round,” with questions spanning “a wide range of cinema-related (and ‘cinema-adjacent’) material,” including television. $5 suggested donation.
Tuesday, July 3
At Olives and Oil (124 Temple St, New Haven; 203-891-5870), Independence Day starts a day early with the Star-Spangled Sparkling Drag Show at 6 p.m. Featuring local performers and sparkling wine cocktail specials, the show is free to attend, with 10% of food and drink sales going to the New Haven Pride Center. Reservations recommended.
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Wednesday, July 4 – Independence Day
New Haven’s free annual fireworks display launches at 9 p.m. from the summit of East Rock Park, with Wilbur Cross High School (181 Mitchell Dr, New Haven) as the official viewing area. But you can see it from many other parts of the city, including the tops of the parking garages downtown.
Other public fireworks shows this week include West Haven’s, shot last night starting at 9:15 from Savin Rock’s Bradley Point Park, and Guilford’s, exploding Saturday between 7 and 10 p.m. at the Guilford Fairgrounds, located along Lover’s Lane.
Thursday, July 5
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (121 Wall St, New Haven; 203-432-2977) is hosting a reading of both the Declaration of Independence and Frederick Douglass’s 1852 speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Held from 4 to 6 p.m. amid a special exhibit displaying relevant historical documents—including an original copy of the Dunlap Broadside, the first printed version of the Declaration of Independence, which announced America’s founding throughout its 13 colonies—organizers estimate the readings will take 90 minutes between them, with a reception to follow.
Friday, July 6
This summer’s Friday Flicks series, screening free movies in public outdoor spaces around town, continues at 8:30 p.m., this time in Edgewood Park. Held near the ranger station at the park’s southern end, this week’s selection is Space Jam (1996), an NBA-Looney Tunes mashup of live action and animation that should especially delight nostalgic Millennials and current kids.
And if you like, you can pedal over to the screening with a convoy of costume-positive New Haven Bike Partiers, convening at 7:30 on the New Haven Green.
Saturday, July 7
A couple of dance floors a couple of blocks away from each other give party people a choice in Chapel West tonight. Starting at 9 p.m. and boasting an indoor/outdoor layout is the recurring Soul Haven party at 168 York Street Cafe (168 York St, New Haven; 203-789-1915), where tonight’s soundtrack has been “curated to bring you back to the roots of house music and the fruits it has produced”—more specifically, “disco sprinkled with dance tracks that will delight people of all ages.” Meanwhile, starting at 10 p.m., the next BKRM (“back room”) Saturday Night at Rudy’s (1227 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-865-1242; $3) features deep and danceable hip hop-heavy tracks from MC Kode Red.
Sunday, July 8
Out of a tent perched along Townsend Avenue south of Frost Street, the Friends of Fort Wooster are offering free guided tours of the “Fort Wooster historical site,” now better known as Fort Wooster Park. “See the remains of a colonial-era earthen works fort and hear about the Battle of New Haven,” organizers say, anytime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
