With a picnic, an aircraft show and official ceremonies, Memorial Day Weekend feels like it used to.
Tuesday, May 25
As New Haven (also National) Bike Month draws to a close, a 6:30 p.m. reception in Pitkin Plaza on behalf of Rock to Rock and New Haven Climate Movement cycles into an 8:30 film screening organized by the Safe Streets Coalition and the Bradley Street Bicycle Co-Op. The reception offers “light snacks and drinks,” and the screening offers Bikes vs Cars (2015), a documentary that follows “activists and thinkers who are fighting for better cities” by way of the bike.
Thursday, May 27
“Rethink[ing] what ‘traditional’ New England cuisine means,” Rachel Sayet—a Mohegan nation member with a degree in restaurant management and an advanced degree in anthropology—offers a free, virtual indigenous cooking demo at 7 p.m. featuring yokeag (“a dish of dried Indian corn, finely ground and mixed with sugar, accompanied by strawberries”) and a “cultural conversation” surrounding food traditions “that stretch back over 10,000 years into the history of what is now New England.” Be sure to register and pick up the ingredient list in advance.
Friday, May 28
To go with its Movies in the Plaza and Ping Pong in the Plaza event series, the Town Green District is adding Picnic in the Plaza. Starting today from 5 to 7 p.m. and recurring on the last Friday of each month through September, “enjoy one-of-a-kind picnic boxes curated by your favorite New Haven restaurants, while you lounge with friends or family enjoying live music, games and [a] cocktail demonstration al fresco in downtown New Haven’s Temple Plaza!” The food this time comes from Te Amo Tequila, the cocktails (two per ticketholder) come from Ordinary and the live music comes courtesy of Ricardo Reyes. $45 per person; vegetarian option available.
Saturday, May 29
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Connecticut Air and Space Center is holding a “vintage aircraft and vehicles” show to launch a new phase in the historic life of the Curtiss Hangar (225 B Main St, Stratford), “considered by many aviation experts [to be] one of the first cradles of aviation”: as a “mini-museum,” which seems an understated description for an institution with at least eight full-size planes in its arsenal. The grand opening show, which costs $10 for adults (or $7 for veterans) and $5 for kids ages 6 and up, will include vintage helicopters alongside planes and, if I’m not reading too far between the lines, classic cars.
Sunday, May 30
“Commemorating the men and women who died while in American military service,” the first of two official wreath-laying ceremonies starts at 1 p.m. at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, located at the base of Long Wharf Drive, and features words from State Library project director and US Navy veteran Christine Pittsley. The second begins at 3 at the World War Memorial Flagpole on the Green and features remarks from Pittsley again as well as Mayor Justin Elicker.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image features a monument in Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
