Music | Arts & Culture | Trinity Bar & Restaurant
Top: Shane Carty with Dan Soto and Teo Hernandez. Bottom: Members of the musical group Fáilte. Grayce Howe Photos.
Nestled in the heart of the Hamden's Spring Glen neighborhood sits Best Video Film & Cultural Center, a nonprofit that builds community through the arts, and particularly film and music. Inside, the space is warm and festive, with unique decor, aisles on aisles of DVDs, various video rentals, and a perennial, faint aroma of coffee. The space is a central part of not only the neighborhood, but also greater New Haven.
So when Trinity Bar owner Shane Carty heard the organization was in financial trouble earlier this year, he reached out to former director Hank Hoffman to figure out how to help. As Best Video launched an emergency appeal, Carty gathered musicians, reconfigured his downtown space, secured raffle prizes, and booked a date—with no idea that the organization would be on more stable footing by the time it rolled around.
That was the spark behind Trinity’s recent “Irish Music Benefit for Best Video,” an afternoon of animated conversation, film geekery, and spirited music making with the instrumental ensemble Fáilte and solo performer Chris Kiley. Held at the bar earlier this month, the event raised a few hundred dollars for the organization, which has an operating budget just over $450,000.
Best Video ultimately made its appeal target: it raised $54,801 in just weeks, with a total of 643 donors.
“I love Best Video,” said Trinity owner Shane Carty. “I buy my coffee at Best Video. I go there most mornings for my coffee and they’ve been a part of the community for as long as I can remember.”
For Carty, organizing an event on behalf of the nonprofit was a no-brainer. As a Hamden resident working in New Haven, he passes by Best Video multiple times a day. He loves the cozy storefront, and has watched it withstand the transition to DVD, Blu-ray and streaming services, brave the pandemic pivot, and reinvent itself as a multimedia community hub several times over.
In recent years, he’s also watched it undergo multiple leadership transitions, from Hoffman’s retirement in 2022 to the recent appointment of Raizine Bruton, a longtime employee and film buff, to lead the space.
Hoffman, who now sits on the board, suggested using Trinity’s Orange Street space and offered to help plan the event. In honor of Trinity’s Irish theme, the event featured Irish music, from traditional acoustic and folk melodies to more contemporary ballads. In addition to a “donate what you can” raffle, Carty instituted a cover at the door and a cash bar to raise additional money. For him, he said, it was about community.
“We have every walk of life come into Trinity,” Carty said, “We have construction workers, we have lawyers, we have students, we have professors and everybody gets along.”
Trinity regulars Emma Colonnese and her father.
For the benefit, New Haven Brewing Company (NEBCO) supplied merch and additional raffle prizes. Trinity, meanwhile, donated a keg of Sam Adams beer, where every $5 out of the $6 spent would be donated to Best Video. The keg stayed on at the bar for the remainder of that week.
“Without the support of the community at Best Video we wouldn’t be there because we are a non-profit,” said BVFCC Board Member Dan Soto.
Soto added that the fundraiser was a helpful reminder of how beloved Best Video is in the community.
As he walked by the table to leave Trinity, Jason Katz turned back quickly, nodding his head and preparing to donate $10 to the fundraiser. He said that he enjoys screenings at the organization, and has taken advantage of its popcorn and wine options during movie showings.
Just like Trinity, he added, every walk of life comes through Best Video—whether it be musicians, students, film lovers, coffee drinkers, or more. The institution is adored by its wide community.
“Best Video is a great institution,” Katz said. “It’s a cool place to go and do work or go see a show.”
Following the event, Best Video Director Rai Bruton said she is grateful for events like the fundraiser—and thinking about longer-term collaborations, like an Irish film festival.
"It's pretty incredible, and we're hoping it will be the beginning of something," she said. "It just it makes a difference when we're working together."
Grayce Howe was the Arts Paper's 2024 New Haven Academy spring intern and is now in her senior year. The New Haven Academy internship is a program for NHA juniors that pairs them with a professional in a field that is interesting to them. Grayce plans to continue writing for the Arts Paper throughout her senior year, so keep an eye out for her byline in these pages!