This Week in New Haven (September 9 - 15)

See the future (cutting-edge whiskey, the city’s next mayor, burgeoning international leaders) and enjoy the moment (performances, receptions, a pizza festival in the middle of a race track).

Monday, September 9
The Yale Glee Club and host Trinity Church on the Green (230 Temple St, New Haven) welcome to New Haven another Trinity: the “world-renowned” Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, performing “works by Byrd, Tallis, Purcell, Howells, Pärt, Tavener, Lauridsen and Ešenvalds” starting at 7:30 p.m. Free.

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Tuesday, September 10
From 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Democratic voters can head to their polling places (look yours up here) and cast their primary votes. In New Haven, that means choosing between incumbent mayor Toni Harp or challenger Justin Elicker—with the winner all but assured victory in the general given local Democratic dominance—as well as candidates for alder seats in Wards 3, 5, 13 and 21.

Elm City Social (266 College St, New Haven; 475-441-7436) is pouring Glyph, “the world’s first molecular whiskey,” from 6 to 9 p.m. during a “launch party” for the product, which is made “overnight” with “no aging or barreling.” It might be a taste of the future, and it you can be among the first to try it, apparently for free. RSVP here.

Wednesday, September 11
Coincidentally, Eli Winter, who comes to Never Ending Books (810 State St, New Haven) for a free 8 p.m. show, plays instrumental guitar music fit for winter: meditative enough to honor the season’s austerity but also resplendent enough to temper it. Of course, those qualities are nice the rest of the year as well. Also on the bill are two intriguing and experimental local singer/songwriter acts: Nailbiter and Evelyn Gray. $5-10 donation requested.

Thursday, September 12
Each year, Yale’s Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program gathers exceptional up-and-comers from around the world for a four-month residency right here in New Haven. You can meet this year’s class—which includes a popular political satirist from Iraq, a congressional majority leader from Argentina and an Olympian and advocate from Nigeria, among many others—during the program’s open house tonight. That house is Horchow Hall (55 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven), and its doors open at 5 p.m. Free.

Friday, September 13
The New Haven Grand Prix, which turns a circuit of four downtown blocks—Chapel to High to Elm to Temple—into a fast-paced bike race, and the concurrent Apizza Feast, which brings six pizza slingers and eight other food vendors (plus beer tents from New England Brewing Company) right into the middle of the action, are back. The racing, which spans different demographic groups and several hours, starts at 4 p.m., as does the feasting, which carries a $5 ticket price.

Not far away, from 6 to 8 p.m., is the opening reception for Matter, currently on display at Creative Arts Workshop (80 Audubon St, New Haven; 203-562-4927). The exhibition features work by Olivia Bonilla, Howard el-Yasin, Joseph Fucigna, Alan Neider and Thomas Stavovy—work that’s “tactile, often rich in narrative, and emblematic of a desire to recover a sense of physical connectivity in a digitally virtual world.”

Saturday, September 14
River Street Gallery, which displays artwork among the already treasure-filled showroom at Fairhaven Furniture (72 Blatchley Ave, New Haven; 203-776-3099), hosts an opening reception for The Spice of Life, featuring compelling work by four local artists: painters Robert Dietz and Linda McCarthy; mixed media artist Regina Thomas; and photographer Robert Thomas. 5 to 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, from 6 to 8, DaSilva Gallery (897-899 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-387-2539) is highlighting Kraig Binkowski’s unusually clean and precise woodblock prints with an opening reception for the rather cleanly and precisely titled exhibition Wood and Ink. Binkowski says he “create[s] imagery that explores the play of light across figures and surfaces,” exploring themes like “isolation in the urban environment, sadness and tranquility, and nature’s interaction with modern life.” Binkowski—who, by the way, has served as the Yale Center for British Art’s chief librarian for 14 years—adds, “I make still, quiet scenes—a greyness pervades, but hopeful notes of light and shadow penetrate the solitude.”

Sunday, September 15
Site Projects, which champions and commissions public art in New Haven, is throwing a 15th anniversary celebration: a “15th on the 15th” party at Canal Dock Boathouse (475 Long Wharf Dr, New Haven), where the itinerary, from 1 to 6 p.m., includes film screenings, live and DJed music, dancing, food and, of course, birthday cake. Tickets are free, but “please arrive early,” as “space will be limited.”

Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.