Make a small soft- sculpture bird based on a real bird for a community conservation art project. We’ll learn about migratory birds in CT & some perils they face while we bird craft. Our sculptures will become part of a travelling art exhibit of 10,000 birds.

There is a new Film Festival in the New Haven area, which replaces the now shuttered NHdocs Film Festival. Welcome to the inaugural Lighthouse Lens Film Festival. It runs from June 5-June 8, all in the New Haven area. Please take a moment to look at the lineup and consider attending an event…or multiple events! A lineup you do not want to miss! There may not be a cinema anymore in New Haven, but we are bringing in the films that will enlighten you and bring forth all the emotions,from laughter to tears, sometimes in the same movie. We hope to see you at the shows.

Join Directors Maya Huggins and Julia Schnarr for a Q&A afterwards!

Please join Best Video for the time-honored tradition of Saturday morning cartoons and bad cereal! Best Video will supply the bad cereal, bowls, spoons, and milk. You just bring your bad selves and the kiddos (or not). Feel free to stay in your pj’s! $5 suggested donation.

Please join filmmaker Gorman Bechard for a new monthly screening series: THE SECRET MUSIC DOCUMENTARY SOCIETY. Each month, Gorman will share an underseen or unknown music documentary on Thursday May 22 at 7pm. Tickets are $10 for tickets only, and $20 for ticket, pizza, and a drink.

Shawn Taylor presents the songs and stories, from his brand new, 5th original CD, “The Last One,” in an intimate listening room setting at best Video Film & Cultural Center in Hamden.

It’s a musical and thematical culmination of a lifetime of wandering roots, with songs that speak to the moment. He poured everything he had into it, as if it was the last one, because we never know when the last one will be.

Please join us for a musical celebration of life in the now. CD's and downloads available. This 'record' will not be released to streaming until a later date.

The Sleeping Giant Reading Series brings writers and book lovers together on the third Thursday of the month. In the long shadow of Hamden’s Sleeping Giant, writers of every kind gather to hear professional readings, raise a glass, network, and support one another’s work. All are welcome, whether you’re a scribbler who hasn’t yet dared to call yourself a “writer” or an experienced published author.

For May’s installment , we have the writers Karen E. Olson and Lloyd Schwartz.

Step right into Hamden’s very own monthly jazz club…

Please join BVFCC and host Allen Lowe for our Monthly Jazz Night with Allen Lowe & The All-Stars on Wednesday, March 12th at 7pm. There will be a coterie of musical guests assembled by our host each month in a relaxed setting with tables and chairs to truly sit back, relax, and enjoy the great vibe. Of course, the BVCoffee Bar will be open for beer, wine, and café drinks. Cover charge is $10.

Allen Lowe is a composer, saxophonist, and music historian. He was voted Artist of the Year in the 2021 Jazz Times Readers’ Poll. He has recorded as a leader with: Julius Hemphill, Gary Bartz, Marc Ribot, David Murray, Nels Cline, Matt Shipp, Roswell Rudd, Don Byron, Doc Cheatham, and others.

“This fall, the jazz composer, saxophonist, and music historian Allen Lowe released what I consider to be his magnum opus, a four-cd set  containing 69 tracks exploring almost every musical element and style that could be subsumed under the expansive rubric of "jazz." One can hear elements of blues, R&B, bop, funk, rock, punk, avant guard, and much more, all beautifully composed and magnificently played (by Lowe himself and his colleagues). I've been digesting this music slowly, gradually, and repeatedly, and it just sounds better with each listen.
It's Allen's unequaled grasp of the entire history of American music that emerges in such idiosyncratic and creatively beautiful ways throughout this collection. I can't think of anyone else who could have pulled off such a remarkably ambitious undertaking. He is a genius, without question." -Professor Jon Karp, SUNY Binghamton

Schedule your time today to receive free professional headshots at Best Video.

Please join us for Movie Trivia Night, hosted by Best Video member Michael Domangue, on Wednesday, May 7th, at 7 pm. Entry is $5/person. Teams of up to 4 members will enjoy 5 rounds of movie-themed trivia questions. The winning team will receive a $25 Best Video Gift Card!

NEW: RSVP'S ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED!!!!

A word to the wise…this event has become very popular (yay!) so you may want to get here a little early to grab a table!

The Best Video Coffee Bar is open for beer, wine, and café drinks throughout the evening.

Please join us for First Friday Lounge Night from 5:30 - 7:30 pm on Friday, April 4th, featuring Wes O’Brien’s jazz piano. There is no cover charge, and the Best Video Coffee Bar will be open throughout for all your beverage needs, with Happy Hour pricing on beer and wine.

5:30 - 7:30 pm Come on by Best Video for a nice glass of wine with a friend or a cup of tea and your book. Sit back, relax, and enjoy as Wes O’Brien delights with his great anecdotes and wonderful selection of jazz standards, show tunes, and ballads.

Tonight's all about good vibes, great music, and having a blast together. Let's make it a night to remember, everyone! 🎹