Numerous outdoor concerts… A seaside soiree… The longest day of the year… Summer in New Haven both officially and empirically arrives.
Monday, June 17
Just in time for summer, RJ Julia (768 Boston Post Rd, Madison; 203-245-3959) is hosting a local author night focused on “beach reads.” There’s Dana Buckmir and her memoir Plenty of Laughs (2018), about “her online dating adventures” after moving from New England to the uncharted territory of South Florida. There’s LM Pampuro and Maximum Trouble (2018), a “tropical island adventure” and the third novel to feature main characters Zach Brady and Maxi Malone. And there’s JR McCabe and Here I Am (2018), a novel about a newscaster who turns a romantic rebound into an existential turnaround. 7 p.m. Free.
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Tuesday, June 18
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas enters the home stretch without slowing down. Today, meeting at Hamilton and Chapel Streets at 11 a.m., Yale School of Architecture students lead a walking tour of “buildings and landscapes that reflect New Haven’s history as an industrial city—a city of factories, coal-fired power plants, railroads, and trolleys.” On the Green, the Raquel de Souza Band presents the paradox of country rock honed in New York City starting at noon, while, at 1:15, “professional hula dancer and teaching artist Tiare Kahana teaches participants the dances and chants of the South Pacific.” And that really is just for starters.
Wednesday, June 19
Stage II at Long Wharf Theatre (222 Sargent Dr, New Haven; 203-787-4282) hosts a five-day run of Spinning. Written by and starring Dr. Mary Ann Frank, “a highly respected clinical psychologist and accomplished singer, actress, and storyteller,” with musical accompaniment by Andrew Levine, the autobiographical show tells the story “of a spirited marriage cut heart-breakingly short just as it was poised to renew itself,” as well as Frank’s transformation in response to the loss of her husband. Showtimes are 7 p.m. today, 8 p.m. tomorrow through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. $38.50-58.50.
Thursday, June 20
Creative Arts Workshop’s annual Benefit Gala is going coastal at the Canal Dock Boathouse (475 Long Wharf Dr, New Haven), where, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., the aim is to “celebrate creativity, our great city, bold visions for the future, and the role the arts play in making this region a cultural and creative hub.” With “a live auction, a silent auction, and a few surprises,” tickets to the fundraiser start at $150.
Friday, June 21
The second annual Make Music New Haven festival, in which live music sprouts up in likely and unlikely places around the city and beyond, features more than 60 performers at more than 20 venues, from Artspace to United Church on the Green to DaSilva Gallery to Best Video in Hamden and the Connecticut Hospice in Branford. Shows start as early as 11 a.m., like an hourlong set by Peter Doheny on Joyce the Voice’s porch (117 Cedar St Apt 2, New Haven). They also start as late as a 9 p.m., like a set by indie rock outfit Passing Strange. Meanwhile there are “special events” where attendees can actively engage, including an 8 a.m. drum circle in East Rock Park (41 Cold Spring St, New Haven), a 10 a.m. participatory sonic meditation at The Well for Women (495 Blake St, New Haven), a noontime harmonica lesson and jam session at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art (51 Trumbull St, New Haven) and a New Haven Symphony Orchestra chamber concert at 2 in Temple Plaza. Free.
Over at Toad’s Place (300 York St, New Haven; 203-624-8623), you can see Queen and Elton John… tributes. Headliner Almost Queen claims to be “THE most authentic QUEEN live show since the days of QUEEN themselves,” while Philadelphia Freedom, opening things up at 9 p.m., conjures Mr. John. $30.
Saturday, June 22
The very last show of the 2019 International Festival of Arts & Ideas starts at 7 p.m. on the Green. First up is a concert with a “Classical-Caribbean twist” courtesy of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (replete with new music director Alasdair Neale’s conducting debut) and Trinity Steel Band (whose members hail from three steel pan groups including St. Luke’s Steel Band). Together, they’ll “perform invigorating music from Marvin Gaye to an original concerto by Connecticut composer Deborah Fischer Teason.” Finishing the night is “sensual, summery and sophisticated Afro-Caribbean music group” Tiempo Libre, whose members have combined “their origins with their adopted American experience” to create “the first all-Cuban timba group in America.” Free.
Sunday, June 23
The 119th Italian Festa, held as always on the grounds of the organizer, the St. Andrew Apostle Society (515 Chapel St, New Haven), began Thursday at 5 p.m. and ends tonight sometime after 7. Along the way, there’s an opening parade 6 p.m. Thursday and an “old-world traditional Italian procession” today at 10 a.m.; live entertainment from a wandering accordionist to a funk band on stage; face-painting for kids and raffle tickets for adults; and, naturally, abundant Italian food. Free to attend.
Written by Dan Mims. Image, featuring atmosphere during a past Italian Festa, photographed by Victoria Verderame and provided courtesy of the St. Andrew Apostle Society. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
