Literary Reading
Come out on Thursday, Dec. 11th at 7:00pm for an evening of warm drinks, literature, and community at Best Video. The writers who will be attending the event are : Kevin M. Kearney, KKUURRTT, Emily Costa, Terri Linn Davis, and Felicia Rosemary Urso. Come out to support both local & national writers, and your favorite Non-Profit Video Store and Coffee Bar! This event is free to the public but as always donations are appreciated.
Kevin M. Kearney is a writer living in California. He’s the author of the novels FREELANCE and HOW TO KEEP TIME and has written about music, literature, and the internet for Slate, Stereogum, The Metropolitan Review, and other fine publications.
KKUURRTT is a writer from San Diego, CA. He’s the current producer and host for the quarterly reading series Small Press Nite. His previous publications include the novel GOOD AT DRUGS (Back Patio Press) and the chapbook BLECH LIFE (Bottlecap Press). His novel POP!, co-written with Tex Gresham, is forthcoming on Rejection Letters.
Emily Costa is the author of a collection of short stories, GIRL ON GIRL (Rejection Letters), and UNTIL IT FEELS RIGHT (Autofocus), a collection of diary entries chronicling her experience with intensive CBT for obsessive-compulsive disorder. She received her MFA in fiction from Southern Connecticut State University where she teaches English. She is the Creative Nonfiction Editor for Farewell Transmission and an Assistant Flash Editor for Split Lip Magazine. You can find her online at emilylauracosta.com.
Terri Linn Davis is an American poet and writer. She is the co-founder, co-editor, and the Xena: Warrior Princess of “Spin the Bottle,” for Icebreakers Lit. She is also the host of the sporadic podcast Too Lit To Quit: the Podcast for Literary Writers. Terri is a first generation college student, and after working various odd jobs throughout her twenties, she graduated with her B.S. in English in 2018 and then with an MFA in Poetry from Southern Connecticut State University in 2021. Her poems have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize and Sundress Publications’ Best of The Net. Some of her poems, fiction, craft talks, and poetry book reviews appear in Pithead Chapel, Taco Bell Quarterly, The Penn Review, Rejection Letters, Cultural Daily, The Daily Drunk Mag, Bending Genres, Five South, and elsewhere. She is an alumna of the 2022 Kenyon Review Writers Workshop for poetry and a 2023 Artist Fellowship recipient from Connecticut Office of the Arts. Terri works from home as a Technical Writer in an 190 year old haunted farmhouse in Connecticut. She is also licensed to teach English to grades 7-12. She is a sometimes-adjunct, teaching writing composition and poetry for her alma mater. Find her on twitter @TerriLinnDavis or contact her here.
Felicia Rosemary Urso is a writer and editor from Rhode Island, living in Cincinnati, OH. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (creative nonfiction) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, with a post-baccalaureate certificate in publishing. In 2013, she received a BFA in Literary Studies with a focus in poetry from Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts.
Work of hers has appeared or is forthcoming in Black Lipstick, Rose Books Reader, Neutral Spaces, Hobart, Had, Witch Craft Magazine, and XRAY, among others. Her essay “What I’d Ask If You Weren’t Dead” was nominated for a Best of the Net award and was included in Suicide: An Anthology.
She is an editor at Triangle House Review and Rejection Letters.
Felicia’s work has been supported by Tin House and Sundress Academy for the Arts. She is an alumni of the Tyrant Books writing workshop Mors Tua Vita Mea in Sezze Romano, Italy.
She is currently seeking representation for her memoir and is working on a novel.
Find her on Instagram, Twitter, or at feliciarosemaryurso@gmail.com.
PERENNIAL/MEAN SPIRIT/TRUTHER: INDIE ROCK
Art punk dynamos Perennial share the bill with Truther and Mean Spirit at Best Video Film & Cultural Center on Fri., Dec. 12. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.
THIMBLE ISLAND SAXOPHONE QUARTET: JAZZ
Thimble Islands Saxophone Quartet plays Best Video Film & Cultural Center Sat., Dec. 13, at 7 PM. The cover is $10.
GuitarTownCT Bluegrass Jam
The Hamden Bluegrass Jam—hosted by GuitarTown CT Productions takes place Sunday, December 14th, from 3pm-5:30pm
A suggested donation of $5 is appreciated. Come on down, have a coffee, beer, or glass of wine, and enjoy the music. It’s all acoustic and mostly traditional. Any and all bluegrass players are welcome.
Bring your instrument or just bring your ears. Come to pick or just to listen.
Screening at Lyric Hall: Moonstruck(1987/PG/1h42m)
On Tuesday December 16th, 2025 at Lyric Hall, we will be showing the film “Moonstruck”, directed by Norman Jewison and starring the incredible Cher, Tickets are $10 for ticket only and $20 for a beverage and popcorn included. Doors open at 6pm and the film will start at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!
Jazz Night: Allen Lowe & The All-Stars
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, November 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
Sleeping Giant Reading Series
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.
Curated by local writers Alice Mattison, Sandi Shelton (aka Maddie Dawson), Kathy Czepiel, and Heather Jessen, the Sleeping Giant Reading Series happens every third Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Best Video Film and Cultural Center in Hamden, Connecticut. The Sleeping Giant Reading Series is free to attend. Donations at the door for our guest readers are always appreciated.
For November’s Installment, we have writers Antoinette Brim-Bell and Leslie Connor.
“I just love lots and lots of language,” Antoinette Brim-Bell said in an interview by Sandy Carlson. This charismatic writer of rich, deeply felt poetry is Connecticut’s 8th State Poet Laureate and the author of three collections, most recently These Women You Gave Me. She’s also written critical essays about literature, and is a printmaker and collage artist. Antoinette is a Cave Canem Foundation Fellow and a past President of the Creative Arts Workshop Board of Directors in New Haven. A sought-after speaker, editor, educator, and consultant, she is a Professor of English at CT State Community College, Capital.
Leslie Connor has always been a daydreamer with a headful of stories waiting to be told. (It took her a while to figure that out.) She holds a BFA in visual art from the University of Connecticut and is happily surprised to be a writer. She’s the author of (mostly) middle grade novels for young readers. Her fans include plenty of septuagenarians and octogenarians, who find her books through their grandchildren.
She’s a two-time winner of the CT Book Award, a two-time winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award for her depictions of the disability experience, and a National Book Award finalist. Leslie’s titles include Waiting for Normal, All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook (an E.B White Read Aloud finalist), The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, A Home for Goddesses and Dogs, and most recently, Anybody Her Seen Frenchie?. Leslie lives with her husband and three rescue dogs in a little house in the Connecticut woods.
THE MARK KAPLAN QUINTET: JAZZ
The Mark Kaplan Jazz Quintet plays Best Video Film & Cultural Center on Fri., Dec. 19. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.
THE ANNE MARIE MENTA TRIO: SINGER-SONGWRITER
The Anne Marie Menta Trio plays Best Video Film & Cultural Center Sat., Dec. 27, at 7 PM. The cover is $15.
Abramorama & Best Video Present: A Screening of The Last Class
On Wednesday , December 10th at 7pm, Abramorama and Best Video will be presenting a screening of the film “The Last Class”.
The Last Classis a nuanced and deeply personal portrait of master educator Robert Reich teaching his final course and reflecting on a period of immense transformation, personally and globally. It is a love letter to education. The former Secretary of Labor might be famous for hispublic service, best-selling books, and viral social media posts, but he always considered teachinghis true calling. Now, after over 40 years and an extraordinary 40,000 students, Reich ispreparing for his last class.Over the course of the film, Reich confronts the impending finality, and his own aging, withincreasing candor, introspection, and, ultimately, emotion. He displays a rawness of feeling hehas never shared publicly before. Drawing on his lifetime in politics, he uses his class, “Wealthand Poverty,” to offer us all a deeper look at why inequalities of income and wealth have widenedsignificantly since the late 1970s, and why this poses dangerous risks to our society.One thousand students fill the biggest lecture hall on the UC Berkeley campus, the last class to receive Reich’s wisdom and exhortations not to accept that the world has to stay the way it is. Hisbelief in the next generation’s ability to take on the fight is inspiring
Tickets are $10.
Screening @ East Rock Brewery: Batman Returns
On Tuesday, Dec. 9th Best Video and East Rock Brewery will be screening the film, BATMAN RETURNS at East Rock Brewery. Tickets are $5 and space is limited so be sure to grab your tickets online if possible! The film starts at 7pm, and there will be snacks available for purchase.
Screening: Teo's Pic
BVFCC Events Coordinator, Teo Hernandez , will be showing a suprise screening on Monday Dec. 8th at 7pm. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members.
An Evening with Friends of James Velvet
On Sunday, Dec 7th at 2pm, Friends of James Velvet will gather to celebrate the launch of the new home of the complete JV Catalog.
Come spend a Sunday afternoon with old friends while you eat, drink, and hear songs you haven’t heard in forever.
VAL McKEE: CHILDREN'S MUSIC
Val McKee plays music for kids at Best Video Film & Cultural Center Saturday morning, Dec. 6, at 11:30 AM.
Suggested donation is $5-10 per family but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.
First Friday Lounge Night
Please join us for First Friday Lounge Night from 5:30 - 7:30 pm on Friday, December 5th, 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! 🎹
Movie Trivia Night hosted by Michael Domangue
Please join us for Movie Trivia Night, hosted by Best Video member Michael Domangue, on Wednesday, December 3rd at 7pm. 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!
A word to the wise…this event has become very popular (yay!). RSVP’s are strongly encouraged!
The Best Video Coffee Bar is open for beer, wine, and café drinks throughout the evening.
The Secret Music Documentary Society hosted by Gorman Bechard and Dean Falcone
Please join filmmaker Gorman Bechard and musician Dean Falcone for their monthly screening series: THE SECRET MUSIC DOCUMENTARY SOCIETY on Sunday November 30. Doors open for beer/pizza at 6pm, and the film starts at 7pm. Each month, they will share an underseen or unknown music documentary. Tickets are $10 for tickets only, and $20 for a ticket, pizza, and a drink.
HAPPY ENDING: PSYCHEDELIC ROCK (FIRST SHOW IN 2 YEARS!)
UPDATE 10/6: Due to covid in the band, this show has been rescheduled to Fri., Nov. 28.
Longtime New Haven rock and psychedelic band Happy Ending plays Best Video Film & Cultural Center Fri., Nov. 28 (NOT Sat., Oct. 11 as originally scheduled), in their first live show in over two years. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.
Hamden High School's Tri-M Club Coffee House III
Please join Best Video and Hamden High in showcasing our next generation of artists at the Hamden High School's Tri-M Club Coffee House III on Monday, November 24th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Entry is free!
GuitarTownCT Bluegrass Jam
The Hamden Bluegrass Jam—hosted by GuitarTown CT Productions takes place Sunday, November 23rd, from 3 - 5:30 PM.
A suggested donation of $5 is appreciated. Come on down, have a coffee, beer, or glass of wine, and enjoy the music. It’s all acoustic and mostly traditional. Any and all bluegrass players are welcome.
Bring your instrument or just bring your ears. Come to pick or just to listen.
Sleeping Giant Reading Series
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.
Screening @ Lyric Hall: IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000/PG/1h38m)
We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Lyric Hall to help bring great cinema to New Haven!! On Tuesday, October 21st, we will be screening Wong Kar Wai's 2000 romantic drama, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE.. Ticket prices are $10 (ticket only) or $20 (for popcorn and a drink). The show starts at 6:30 pm.
Lyric Hall is located at 827 Whalley Avenue in New Haven. Worried about parking?? Don’t be! Here’s a great map with all kinds of parking for you.
VINYL & VINTAGE FAIR @ EAST ROCK BREWING CO.
In partnership with Crated Records...
Get ready for a day filled with music and nostalgia! The Vinyl and Vintage Fair will take place Sunday, November 16th in the Game Garden!
Record Vendors:
Crated Records
Yankee Records
Leadmine Records
The Musicologist
Feeding Tube Records
DJs:
Ben Lovejoy
Heavy Sound & Vision
Clothing:
Fashionista Vintage & Variety
Videos:
Best Video
DAVID COLLER & DIANE CHODKOWSKI: SINGER-SONGWRITERS
David Coller with Diane Chodkowski play a concert and CD release event at Best Video Film & Cultural Center on Sat., Nov. 15. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10. This night only the new CD will be $15.
TAURUS JUDGE/TOSSER/SALLOW FRIEND/MANA RAMP: INDIE
Join Best Video on Friday, November 14th for a night of Indie featuring Taurus Judge, Tosser, Sallow Friend, and Mana Ramp. The show starts at 7pm and tickets are $10.
SNOWPILER/STADIA/RETAIL DRUGS/HERR GOD: INDIE
Join Best Video on Thursday, November 13th for an evening of Indie with Snowpiler, Stadia, Retail Drugs, and Herr God. Doors at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $12.
Jazz Night: Allen Lowe & The All-Stars
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, November 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.
Screening at East Rock Brewery: PLANES, TRAINS, & AUTOMOBILES (1987/R/1h33m)
Please join Best Video for another fun-filled screening at East Rock Brewing Companyin New Haven on Tuesday, November 11th, at 7 pm. We’ll be showing the hilarious 1987 movie, PLANES, TRAINS, & AUTOMOBILES, starring Steve Martin and John Candy. Tickets are $5
WASHBOARD SLIM & THE BLUELIGHTS: AMERICANA/ROOTS
Washboard Slim & The Bluelights play Best Video Film & Cultural Center on Sat., Nov. 8, starting at 7 PM. The cover is $10.
Lounge Night
Please join us forFriday Lounge Night from 5:30 - 7:30 pm on Friday, November 7th, 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! 🎹
Movie Trivia Night hosted by Michael Domangue
Please join us for Movie Trivia Night, hosted by Best Video member Michael Domangue, on Wednesday, November 5th at 7pm. 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!
A word to the wise…this event has become very popular (yay!). RSVP’s are strongly encouraged!
The Best Video Coffee Bar is open for beer, wine, and café drinks throughout the evening.
Screening: Teo's Pic
Join Best Video staffer, Teo Hernández, for a special screening of his choosing! As always, the employee picks are a surprise and sure to be a great one. Tickets are $5 for Best Video members and $10 for non-members.
THE REGAL DRUG/MORE KLEMENTINES: AMBIENT IMPROVISED MUSIC
Ambient improvisational acts The Regal Drug and More Klementines share the bill Sat., Nov. 1, at Best Video Film & Cultural Center. The cover is $10 and the show starts at 7 PM.
HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-TREATING!
Join the Best Video gang out front in the parking for trick-or-treating! We’ll be handing out candy from 4 pm to 7:30 pm.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT BEST VIDEO WILL BE CLOSING AT 8 PM TONIGHT.
Queer Film Club @ Lyric Hall: I SAW THE TV GLOW
Queer Film Club: Halloween Edition will be held at Lyric Hall on Thursday Oct 30th. We will be showing the psychological horror/drama film “I Saw the TV Glow” dir. by Jane Schoenbrun. Doors open at 6:00pm with a costume contest for 6:45pm. The film will start at 7:15pm! Tickets are $7.
The Secret Music Documentary Society hosted by Gorman Bechard and Dean Falcone
Please join filmmaker Gorman Bechard and musician Dean Falcone for their monthly screening series: THE SECRET MUSIC DOCUMENTARY SOCIETY on Wednesday, October 29th. Doors open for beer/pizza at 6pm, and the film starts at 7pm. Each month, they will share an underseen or unknown music documentary. Tickets are $10 for tickets only, and $20 for a ticket, pizza, and a drink.