Bats, rituals, bones and, because this is New Haven, pizza mark a week that ends in Halloween, which this year has inspired so many ways to celebrate that we’re putting together a separate to-do list focused on those. Keep an eye of newt out for that in the next day or two.
Monday, October 25
At Mitchell Library (37 Harrison St, New Haven; 203-946-8117) at 6 p.m., conservationist and wildlife rehabilitator Maureen Heidtmann discusses “Bats: Our Backyard Buddies,” covering “the persisting myths and misconceptions about these fascinating creatures, the many roles bats play to ensure a healthy planet, and the perils bats face in their struggle for survival.”
Curious Goods New Age Shop (417 Campbell Ave, West Haven; 203-932-1193) hosts its 30th Annual Halloween & Samhain Celebration from 7 to 9 p.m., promising “an Open Circle, a Wiccan Ritual, a Celtic Ritual, Craft, Meditation, Reiki Aura Cleansing, Gifts and a Feast.” The feast appears to be a potluck one, with guests encouraged to bring a shareable dish or drink along with $10 for admission—and to wear a costume.
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Tuesday, October 26
At 6 p.m., Wilson Library (303 Washington Ave, New Haven; 203-946-2228) screens one of the most acclaimed horror films in recent memory, Get Out (2017), which melds primal terror with social critique.
A less harrowing escape happens in Westville, where the last Tuesday Night Salsa of 2021, led by Alisa’s House of Salsa, lasts from 6:30 to 9:30 on Central Avenue between Fountain and Whalley.
Wednesday, October 27
Much like their recently released book, titled The Legendary Toad’s Place: Stories from New Haven’s Famed Music Venue, longtime local reporter and columnist Randall Beach and current Toad’s owner Brian Phelps will “recall the legendary shows and behind-the-scenes stories” during a 5:30 p.m. talk at the Institute Library (847 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-562-4045).
At 8 p.m. in Pitkin Plaza downtown, the outdoor Movies in the Plaza series finishes its eighth and final month of screenings this year with Hocus Pocus (1993), a family-friendly romp through a bewitched modern-day Salem, MA, on All Hallow’s Eve.
Thursday, October 28
Muscles are the focus of “Legs that Walk and Wings that Fly: The Evolution of Limb Musculature,” a 4 p.m. virtual talk by Yale researcher Daniel Smith Paredes for the Peabody Museum.
Bones, meanwhile, get top billing during a New Haven Museum-sponsored presentation of “Forensic Analysis of the Lincoln Oak Skeletal Remains” at 6 p.m. Delivered by former state archaeologist Nick Bellantoni and Gary Aronsen, director of Yale’s University Biological Anthropology Laboratories, the report details findings on the human bones that famously emerged onto the New Haven Green with the roots of the Lincoln Oak, which was toppled by Superstorm Sandy just before Halloween 2012.
Friday, October 29
A “Pizza Night” in Temple Plaza downtown features “a variety of New Haven-style apizza made on site by Big Green Truck Pizza; beer, wine and hard seltzer poured from The Bev Truck; the Hawkins Jazz Collective playing live; art by Amy McNamara; and an intimate screening of New Haven’s own documentary, Pizza, A Love Story. A talkback with the movie’s creators, Gorman Bechard, Dean Falcone and Colin M. Caplan, will follow immediately after the screening.” $25 tickets get you four slices and two beverages of your choice, with a percentage of proceeds benefiting Integrated Refugee & Immigration Services.
Saturday, October 30
The new Q House (197 Dixwell Ave, New Haven)—“a multi-use community center offering multi-generational, seamless services” with a mission to “ensure that Black youth and their families, not to the exclusion of other youth and their families, have an opportunity to live in and benefit from society by instilling the values and knowledge which will enhance the quality of individual, family and community life”—enjoys a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 11 a.m. to 1. Register here.
A “Pizza Wars” battle at 11:30 sees a panel of judges and attendees choosing their favorites from among nine of the city’s pizzerias, who will have convened at the West Haven Italian American Club (85 Chase Ln, West Haven) to dish out slices. “$5 minimum donation.”
Sunday, October 31 – Halloween
Trick or treat? Take your pick when we publish that aforementioned Halloween event roundup later this week.
Written by Dan Mims. Image by shutter_o/Shutterstock. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
