Q. I have a question about serial commas before ampersands when it concerns dates. Which one of the below is correct? And does the fact that the ampersand connects dates have anything to do with the rule?
Friday evening, April 26, & Saturday, April 27, 2013 or
Friday evening, April 26 & Saturday, April 27, 2013
A. In Chicago style, a comma is not used before an ampersand in dates or other text. The problem is that & creates a strong visual connection between the items on either side of it (April 26 & Saturday), which is heightened in your case by the pair of commas, even though April 26 and Saturday don’t belong together. “Friday evening April 26 and Saturday April 27, 2013” is a clearer way to write this. A style that allows for ampersands is “Friday evening & Saturday, April 26 & 27, 2013.”