INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS AND IDEAS: ACROSS BORDERS BEYOND TIME

You may not be able to travel around the world for your summer entertainment, but what if the world came to you.  New Haven’s exciting International Festival of Arts and Ideas is slated to arrive at your doorstep from Saturday, June 11 until Saturday, June 25.

Hop on the adventure train for dance, music, theater, bike and canoe tours, children’s film festivals, creativity workshops, experiences with food, farm tours, city tours, a State Street stroll, lectures on everything from pleasure to politics and much, much more.

For example, imagine yourself on a blanket on the New Haven Green, as stars sprinkle the night sky, rhapsodizing to world famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his legendary Silk Road Ensemble on the festival’s opening day, at 7 p.m. and it’s free listening pleasure.  Believe it!

Perhaps you’d like to visit Ireland for a taste of the blarney courtesy of playwright Martin McDonagh and the Druid and Atlantic Theater Company in “The Cripple of Inishmaan” Wednesday, June 15 – Friday, June 17 at 8 p.m., Saturday, June 18 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 19 at 3 p.m. at the Yale Rep’s University Theatre, 222 York Street, New Haven ($40).  When a Hollywood film director comes to a remote island off the Irish coast, Cripple Bill puts all his efforts into becoming a coveted chosen local for the movie with comic results.

The spirit of Spain is alive and well with !Con Fuego! On Wednesday, June 22 at noon and 3 p.m. on the New Haven Green with guitar music firing up flamenco dancers in this free one hour Spanish musical hour.  If down home hillbilly tunes are more your ticket, plan to mosey over to the New Haven Green for a free double header on Sunday, June 19 at 6 p.m. with The Deedle Deedle Dees and at 7 p.m. with The Ebony Hillbillies.

Pick a theme and aim your compass to any fascinating corner of the globe that lights your passions.  Visit www.artidea.org to view all your varied selections and plan your cultural vacation.  Buy your tickets online, view preview videos online or call the Shubert Theatre box office at 203-562-5666 or 888-736-2663.  For more information, call 888-ART-IDEA.

Immerse yourself and your family in New Haven’s guidebook to a cultural journey of the world that requires no passports or immunizations, just enthusiasm and a spirit of adventure.