Community Calendar

Course description:

College is a crucial institution in which our society works through its expectations for young people. This course explores the purposes of college education through the first great book on the philosophy of education, Plato’s Republic. We read The Republic in conversation with other thinkers including Aristotle, Confucius, John Stuart Mill, Virginia Woolf, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. For the 325th anniversary of Yale’s founding, we also explore the changing conception of college education at Yale over the centuries and read some of the college’s and the university’s key founding documents. Themes include the development of personal character, participation in a community, preparation for citizenship, and conversation with others on intellectual matters. We also explore some of the social and economic functions of college education.

The 2026 DeVane Lecture series will be led by Pericles Lewis, Dean of Yale College and Douglas Tracy Smith Professor of Comparative Literature

The class is free and open to the public and will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m., from September 2 to December 9, 2026.

The 77th annual Berlin Lions fair features exciting midway rides for the whole family, live music, Sea Lion Splash show, Royal Legacy Circus, motorsports, The Amazing Bubble Factory, Central K9 Performance Dogs, interactive Jurassic Kingdom LIVE show, livestock events, Antique Tractor Museum, exhibits, contests, vendors, a cocktail lounge, bourbon bar, beer & wine and favorite fair food.

Daily highlights:
• Thursday - Double Figure 8 Racing & Demo Derby (7 pm)
• Friday - Zac N' Fried - Zac Brown Tribute Band (8 pm)
• Saturday - Kart Racing Championship (5:30 pm); Stock Truck Pulls (6 pm); Voices of Rock tribute (7:30 pm)
• Sunday - Horse Draw (noon); The Amish Outlaws band (3:30 pm)

Admission: $21 ($18 cash); $11 ($10 cash) ages 62+; $10 veterans; free for kids 11 & younger and active military; free for ages up to 17 on Friday till 2 pm

Unlimited ride wristbands (for riders 36" & taller) are $37 ($35 cash) Thursday-Friday, $42 ($40 cash) Saturday-Sunday and $34.25 online at DreamlandAmusements.com before 4 pm Sept. 17. Ride tickets are also available on site and discounted online pre-sale.

Fair hours: 4-10 pm Thursday, 11 am-10 pm Friday, 9 am-10 pm Saturday, 9 am-7 pm Sunday. See the website for details on parking and free shuttle bus service.

More information: 860-828-0063 or CTBerlinFair.com

The public is invited to attend an opening reception for the Bruce S. Kershner Art Gallery's latest exhibit at Fairfield Public Library, "Material Matters." The show features the work of Carla Goldberg, Lucy Krupenye, and Marc Zaref, each using unusual materials to create their art. The artists will speak at the reception at 6:00pm, and light refreshments will be served.

"Material Matters" can be viewed from Sept. 12 through Oct. 31 during regular Main Library hours.

Join us for the Opening Night Event: Exhibition Curator Megan Paqua in conversation with Curator of Education Michelle DiMarzo.
Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt explores the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art from the early 19th century to the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture.
Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as their beliefs and customs became exoticized in popular memory. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture.
Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar) and will be on view from September 18 - December 12, 2026 in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries.
**Transportation Note: Shuttle service to the reception in Bellarmine Hall will be available after the opening event.

Sponsored by Michael T. Vigario, ‘08, M & T Bank, Wealthspire Trust, Aquarion Water Company, and the Delamar Southport.
Charles-Théodore Frère, Along the Nile, ca. 1870, oil on panel. Fairfield University Art Museum, Gift of Michael T. Vigario’08, 2023, 2023.11.01

Join us for the Livestream Opening Night Event: Exhibition Curator Megan Paqua in conversation with Curator of Education Michelle DiMarzo.
Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt explores the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art from the early 19th century to the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture.
Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as their beliefs and customs became exoticized in popular memory. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture.
Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar) and will be on view from September 18 - December 12, 2026 in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries.
To register for the in-person event at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, click here. To register for the reception that will follow the lecture in Bellarmine Hall, click here. Shuttles will be available between the Quick Center and Bellarmine Hall.
Sponsored by Michael T. Vigario, ‘08, M & T Bank, Wealthspire Trust, Aquarion Water Company, and the Delamar Southport.
Charles-Théodore Frère, Along the Nile, ca. 1870, oil on panel. Fairfield University Art Museum, Gift of Michael T. Vigario’08, 2023, 2023.11.01

Exhibition Curator Megan Paqua in conversation with Curator of Education Michelle DiMarzo

Join us for the Opening Night Event: Exhibition Curator Megan Paqua in conversation with Curator of Education Michelle DiMarzo.

Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt explores the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art from the early 19th century to the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture.

Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as popular memory exoticized their beliefs and customs. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture.

Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar) and will be on view from September 18 - December 12, 2026 in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries.

**Transportation Note: Shuttle service to the reception in Bellarmine Hall will be available after the opening event.

Sponsored by Michael T. Vigario, ‘08, M & T Bank, Wealthspire Trust, Aquarion Water Company, and the Delamar Southport.

Experience the vital storytelling of 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize recipients Christina Anderson and S. Shakthidharan during an evening of staged readings. Students from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale produce and host this event, presenting selected scenes from the acclaimed work of both playwrights. This unique collaboration offers an opportunity to witness powerful new work brought to life by the next generation of theatrical talent. Offered in conjunction with the Donald Windham–Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Join us for the Opening Night Reception for Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt!

Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt. This exhibition will explore the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art ranging from the early 19th century through the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture.

Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as popular memory exoticized their beliefs and customs. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture.

Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar) and will be on view in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries from September 17 - December 12, 2026.

Sponsored by Michael T. Vigario, ‘08, M & T Bank, Wealthspire Trust, Aquarion Water Company, and the Delamar Southport.

Five years in the writing, In the Time of Sonic Booms from Ridgefield Poet Laureate Emerita Barb Fulton Jennes is a collection of poems evoking an upbringing in "a podunk town east of Albany" in the Fifties and Sixties. Books on the Common will have copies available for sale and signing. Visit the Events Calendar at ridgefieldlibrary.org for more information and to register.

“No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.” The third James Bond film Goldfinger (1964) with Sean Connery as 007 remains the most beloved entry in the Bond franchise. This is a classic of post-war British cinema and is the first offering in this fall’s Bond and Beatles: British Film Icons of the 1960s series, with discussion notes informed by the BFI’s scholarship. This film screening is part of a new educational partnership between Fairfield University and the British Film Institute.

In partnership with the British Film Institute, Fairfield University will host a series of four films showing how two British legends that emerged in the 1960s—James Bond and The Beatles—transformed Britain's image around the world.

The first film Goldfinger (1964) features Sean Connery as Bond on Sept. 17, followed by A Hard Day’s Night (1964) on Oct. 7, Thunderball (1965) on Nov. 23, and Help! (1965) on Dec. 15.

Each screening will be preceded by short introductory videos from BFI scholars, followed by a Q&A session with Fairfield University’s Jay Rozgonyi, instructor in the Film, Television, and Media Arts program. Join us for a journey through the sights, sounds, and contradictions of 1960s Britain.