150+ events, one Festival. It all happens in New Haven, Connecticut.

Schedule of Events:

11:00am: Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery - New Haven Museum
Guided Tour / Free Reservations

A guided tour of "Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery" with curator Michael Morand. The exhibition complements the publication of Yale and Slavery: A History and draws from the Yale and Slavery Research Project’s key findings in areas such as the economy and trade, Black churches and schools, the 1831 Black college proposal, and memory and memorialization in the 20th century and today. The exhibition has a special focus on stories of Black New Haven, including early Black students and alumni of Yale, from the 1830s to 1940. Curated by Michael J. Morand with Charles E. Warner, Jr., designed by David Jon Walker, and presented by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University Library.

Morand is director of community engagement at Beinecke Library. He authored a chapter in “Yale and Slavery: A History” and has been a leader in the research project’s research and work. A New Havener for four decades, he chairs the Friends of the Grove Street Cemetery and is on the boards for the Dixwell Q House and the Community Foundation.

12:00pm: Tempests of the Mind: Exploring Climate Change, Shakespeare, and the Human Experience - Festival Center on the New Haven Green
Ideas Unleashed
1 hr / Free Reservations

Step into the tempestuous world of Shakespeare's King Lear and explore its profound relevance to our modern climate challenges!  No work of English literature speaks more directly to human vulnerability in the face of climate disruption than Shakespeare's King Lear. The old king, thrust into the storm, feels his environmental weakness to his skin. This round-table conversation is led by renowned Shakespearean scholar Steve Mentz. Speakers will include David Sterling Brown, a CT native who currently teaches at Trinity College in Hartford, and actor, writer, and teacher Tara Bradway.

3:00pm: ThaumCATrope: A Metaphorical Quantum Search in New Haven - Sterling Memorial Library
Guided Tour / 30 min / Free Reservations

The Yale Quantum Institute and the Yale Library Digital Humanities Lab have partnered to create an educational application, at the intersection of art and science, where you would need to explore New Haven and the Yale Campus to find your (Schrödinger) cat, and learn about quantum science along the way! We invite you to be one of our very first app testers (we will have computers and tablets or you can bring your own laptop or phone) in the beautiful space of the DHLab.

3:00pm: NHSO Family Concert - Festival Center on the New Haven Green
1 hr / Free

This season’s June Family Concert program features the story of “Anansi the Spider”, a folk tale from the Akan people of Ghana that promotes an understanding of the importance of fairness and sharing. Family Concerts will feature NHSO musicians, guest musical artist and curator Paul Bryant Hudson, and visual artist Isaac Bloodworth. In addition to creating visual components of the program, Isaac Bloodworth will perform using a traditional “Crankie Box” during the concert. The Crankie Box was first developed in India and utilizes an illustrated moving scroll controlled by a crank. As the story is told and the music is played, the scroll moves along with the action bringing the story to life.

4:30pm: Empanada Making (Madeline's Empanada) - Madeline’s Empanaderia
1 hr 30 min

Join us for a culinary celebration honoring the delicious diversity of empanadas! Chef Hazel invites you to an interactive class where you'll learn to craft authentic empanada dough and fillings inspired by Central American, Caribbean, and Spanish traditions. Get ready to stuff, fold, and bake your way to empanada perfection! Plus, we'll spice things up with cocktail making to complement these savory delights. Don't miss this fun-filled evening of flavor exploration and cocktail creativity!

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6:00pm: PechaKucha: The Best We Could Do - Festival Center on the New Haven Green
2 hrs / Free Reservations

How much can you share in 20 slides, 20 seconds each? PechaKucha, originating in Tokyo in 2003, offers a platform for storytellers to share their tales in a distinctive format. This innovative approach has intrigued both storytellers and audiences globally. Show up and learn several new things very quickly! Want you tell your own story?

7:30pm: A Slice (of What’s to Come) - Next Door

New Haven is a pizza town. Or, more appropriately, apizza town. But what does this iconic American food - with roots in New Haven’s immigrant and labor communities past - say about our present moment, for our city and our culture? Join A Broken Umbrella Theatre (last seen at the Festival in 2013 with the award-winning Freewheelers), as they present A Slice, a preview of a larger work that will debut at Arts & Ideas 2025. A Slice includes a pizza tasting, a walk-through of New Haven pizza history with Taste of New Haven’s Colin Caplan, and a discussion with Broken Umbrella’s creative team about devising new work and why we love New Haven apizza!

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7:30pm: Amy Tan: Backyard Bird Chronicles - Yale Peabody Museum
1 hr 30 min / Free Reservations

Explore the world of birds like you never have before with bestselling author Amy Tan at the newly remodeled Yale Peabody Museum! Join us for a celebration of all things avian as Amy shares insights from her recent book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Discover the beauty of nature through Amy’s witty anecdotes, observations, and stunning illustrations. Don’t miss this enchanting journey with a multihyphenate wonder, moderated by WTNH’s Ann Nyberg, as we dive into the hidden wonders of our feathered friends!