People pool at bars, fields and, naturally, a pool, among other places.
Monday, June 10
Cafe Nine’s latest Manic Monday, when admission is free with RSVP or $5 at the door, features headliner Moon King, purveyor of understated feel-good synth pop to which you can dance or just vibe. Opening the show is local artist Falconeer, who combines “over the top synth pop and retro game influences” with visual fireworks. 250 State Street, New Haven; (203) 789-8281.
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Tuesday, June 11
The 2019 International Festival of Arts & Ideas proceeds with characteristic variety today (and the rest of the week). At noon, Brooklyn-based quintet The Rad Trads brings “punk rock energy, horn drenched soul, and jazz precision” to the New Haven Green. At 1:30, New Haven Preservation Trust board member Channing Harris helms a tour of beautiful and historic Hillhouse Avenue, meeting first at Hillhouse and Sachem Street. At 3 o’clock inside a building that was once “the city’s first bus depot” (424 Grand Ave, New Haven), local artist and champion of New Haven history Robert Greenberg leads “An Adventure into the Elm City’s Cabinet of Curiosities”—a.k.a. a tour through some of the fabulous historic objects he’s collected. Then there’s a wine walk at 5; “a conversation on how healing, dignity and understanding of seemingly different cultures is possible” at 5:30; a show featuring “Alaska’s Fiddling Poet” and guests; and a modern tap dance performance inspired by “the fascinating electricity of impulses in the brain created through the process of cellular development.”
Wednesday, June 12
From 4 to 5 p.m., Mitchell Library (37 Harrison St, New Haven; 203-946-8117) is putting on a free Father’s Day crafts session for kids 4 and up, helping them celebrate Dad come Sunday.
And if Dad (or any adult over 21) wants to celebrate a little early, he can head to Ordinary (990 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-907-0238), where Joe Capobianco, owner and tattoo artist at Hope Gallery, is offering samples of Backbone Bourbon, with which Capobianco apparently has a partnership involving his art. From 5 to 7 p.m., Capobianco will be “pouring tastes of his whiskey, signing bottles [and] selling prints of the amazing artwork that is on the bottle”—with bottles for sale as well. Free to attend.
Thursday, June 13
From 7 to 10 p.m. on Broadway Triangle, the Yale Tango Club hosts its first summertime Moonlight Broadway Tango, a weekly freewheeling session of just what it sounds like. Organizers advise attendees to bring “shoes suitable for outdoor dancing, maybe a water bottle, a big smile and exciting stories to share.” Free.
Friday, June 14
From 5 to 11 tonight, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. tomorrow and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Branford celebrates its 375th year with its 35th annual Branford Festival. Centered around the Branford Town Green, the itinerary includes live music, copious kinds and amounts of food, a craft and business fair, kids’ activities, a car show, a baking contest and even a road race. Free to attend.
At the natatorium—the swimming pool—in the Beckerman Athletic Center (225 Skiff St, Hamden), the Hamden Heronettes synchronized swimming squad presents “Splash and All That Jazz,” a presumably jazz-accompanied display of coordinated water dancing. Admission costs $15, with kids 5 and under getting in free.
Saturday, June 15
The annual Strawberry Festival at Hindinger Farm (835 Dunbar Hill Rd, Hamden; 203-288-0700), “held every June as the strawberries ripen,” ripens from 11 a.m. to 5, with hayrides, animals, ice cream, balloon figures, live music, “lots of food” and, “of course, beautiful, delicious red juicy strawberries.” $3 admission.
At the Pardee-Morris House (325 Lighthouse Rd, New Haven)—built circa 1780 to replace a home burned by the British during the Revolutionary War—the opening reception for Domestic Buildup lasts from noon to 4 p.m., featuring artist Richard Killeaney’s “contemporary quilt design collages… inspired by the daily lives of the past occupants of the Pardee-Morris House.” Free.
At 6 p.m., Creative Arts Workshop (80 Audubon St, New Haven; 203-562-4927) hosts an opening reception of its own, for Freed Formats: the book reconsidered. Containing “137 works by 53 artists representing 17 states and 2 foreign countries,” according to co-curator Chris Perry, the traveling exhibition highlights “book art”—wherein “the artist takes this thing we call a book, and turns it on its head, or turns it inside out, or turns it into something that is unrecognizable as ever having been a book.” Free.
Sunday, June 16 – Father’s Day
From 1 to 7 p.m., Scantlebury Park (139 Ashmun St, New Haven) is the setting for the Fathers and Families Festival, “a full day of fun, food and laughter” offering “free food and music” to go with a slate of classic summer activities: kickball, basketball, a double dutch contest, a moon bounce, face painting and more. Free.
Meanwhile, a recording artist who’s surely significant to some local fathers headlines a 6:30 show at mActivity (285 Nicoll St, New Haven): Spin Doctors lead singer Chris Barron, appearing here as a solo act. Opening the show, which costs $15 in advance or $20 at the door, are prolific tourer and noted musicians’ rights activist Blake Morgan as well as Connecticut artist John Ingrassia.
Written by Dan Mims. Photographed by Sorrel Westbrook. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
