Greater Morristown weekend preview: Crafts, Coz and Cool homes

Radio Raconteur
Radio Raconteur
1

Compiled by Katrina Langer and Kevin Coughlin

Greater Morristown has some big doings this weekend.

Like exquisite items? The 38th annual Morristown CraftMarket has you covered.

You can time-travel through eight homes in Morristown’s historic district.

Timeless comedy will be served by Bill Cosby.

Take a Hunger Walk to help the hungry.

Music?  Pop, rock, folk, opera, Broadway, cabaret– you name it, it’s here.

Visit a graveyard, parade your pooch.

Re-create War of the Worlds, just in time for Halloween.

Scroll down for details. And don’t forget to check our handy calendar for even more entertainment options.


THURSDAY, OCT. 16, 2014:

What made your great-grandparents blush?  Try Sophie Tucker: Last of the Red Hot MamasMeet America’s Queen of the double entendre, at the Morris Museum at 2 pm. Admission: $10,  at 6 Normandy Heights Road in Morris Township. Call 973-971-3700 for more.


FRIDAY, OCT. 17:

Lee Ecker with one of his lovingly hand-crafted saddles. He's making his vendor debut at the Morristown CraftMarket from Oct. 17-19, 2014.
Lee Ecker with one of his lovingly hand-crafted saddles. He’s making his vendor debut at the Morristown CraftMarket from Oct. 17-19, 2014. Photo courtesy of Lee Ecker.

Grow It Green Morristown has big plans for the Early Street Community Garden; hear all about them any time from 1 pm to 9 pm, in a parklet at the corner of DeHart and South streets.  (Please note that this event was rescheduled due to weather). Grow It Green aims to raise $200,000 for a host of improvements  designed to transform the garden into a hub for the entire town.

The 38th annual Morristown CraftMarket kicks off at 5 pm. Artists will display and sell original creations in jewelry, ceramics, glass, leather, wood, metal, wearable fiber and more. A Fall Plant Sale also will offer elegant and unusual plants from horticulturist Ken Selody. Admission is $10 at the door; a weekend pass is $12. Children under 12 with an adult are free. A $2 discount coupon  is available online. The Morristown National Guard Armory is at 430 Western Ave. in Morris Township.

AMELODYGREEN, 2013, oil on canvas on panel, by Don Harger.
AMELODYGREEN, 2013, oil on canvas on panel, by Don Harger.

At 6 pm, the Simon Gallery in Morristown is hosting a reception for artist Don Harger, whose works are on display through Nov. 15, 2014. The gallery is at 48 Bank St., and the reception lasts until 8 pm.

Morristown High School’s football varsity (2-3) will try to return to its winning ways on the road against West Morris Central at 7 pm.

Radio Raconteur
Radio Raconteur

In 1938 Orson Welles caused a Halloween panic with his radio “newscast” of a Martian invasion. Re-live that War of the Worlds broadcast with a staged radio play at the Morristown & Township Library. The production by Raconteur Radio starts at 7 pm. Admission is free, except for Martians, who must pay two bits of asteroid gold. The library is at One Miller Road in Morristown.

Woody Mann.
Woody Mann.

The Minstrel hosts Woody Mann, master of finger-style guitar. He will play ragtimes and blues, American Songbook classics, and jazz favorites, starting at 8 pm at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Opening for Woody is the precocious Matt Arons, a 16-year-old future star. Admission is $9 for adults; children 12 and under are free. At 21 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township.

 

Chazz Palminteri
Chazz Palminteri

Chazz Palminteri (The Usual Suspects)  stars in A Bronx Tale, his 1989 one-man play about a killing he saw in the Bronx when he was nine years old. This play made Chazz a star. Showtime is 8 pm at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $49-$69.  At 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008.

 

 

 


SATURDAY, OCT. 18:

The 38th annual Morristown CraftMarket runs from 10 am to 6 pm, at the Morristown National Guard Armory. Please see Friday’s entry for details.

Bike & Walk Morristown has rescheduled this for Oct. 25. Learning to ride a bike is as easy as … riding a bike!  If your childhood missed this crucial learning experience, make up for lost time with coaches from TransOptions. This how-to session runs from 10 am to noon, at the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey at 175 South St. in Morristown. Sponsored by Bike & Walk Morristown and TransOptions. The $20 registration fee includes a new helmet. Bring your own bike.

Screen Shot 2014-10-12 at 7.20.40 PMWhen Vincent Aguanno passed away last month at 91, Morristown fondly remembered his antics — from his bike riding to his dancing to his tips and tricks for tomato growing. Bike & Walk Morristown and his family are hosting a tribute ride at 2 pm. It will start at Vincent’s home at 33 Walker Ave. and tour the town (including stops at the Green, Town Hall, and Library) for an hour. Vince would ride no matter what the weather–so this ride is rain or shine.

The Presbyterian Church in Morristown was established in 1738 — giving it plenty of time to build a canon of ghostly tales. Especially considering that its Revolutionary War-era burying ground is the resting place of 135 soldiers. Poke around for some pre-Halloween stories at Bones and Stones: Who’s Buried in the Presbyterian Graveyard, a tour led by the Morris County Tourism Bureau. Hour-long tours start at 3 pm and 4:15 pm, and include a walk through the historic church. Tickets are $15. The church is at 57 Park Place.

Gary Wright, the Dream Weaver himself, comes to the Sanctuary concert series in Chatham at 8 pm to share his greatest hits (Dream Weaver, Love Is Alive) and reminisce about his travels with George Harrison.  Tickets to the show are $25. (If you have a spare winter coat, please bring it for a coat drive to help the needy.) The Sanctuary is in the Presbyterian Church at 240 Southern Boulevard. Call 973.376.4946.  To whet your appetite for the concert, here is a podcast we did in 2011 with Gary, a Jersey native:

 

The Midtown Men.
The Midtown Men.

The Midtown Men–four stars from the original cast of Jersey Boys–celebrate the defining music of the 60s at the Mayo Performing Arts Center   at 8 pm. Tickets: $49-$79. At 100 South St., Morristown. Call 973-539-8008.

Cabaret comes to Randolph with Cydney Halpin’s The Key of Me show, at 8 pm at the Randolph Performing Arts Center. It’s an hour of musical theater, accompanied by piano favorite Rio Clemente. Tickets: $20. At the Music Den, 1030 Route 10 West. Call 973-927-5800.


SUNDAY, OCT. 19:

The Morristown Farmers Market still has a few more weeks in its 24th season, courtesy of the Morristown Partnership and its sponsors. From 8:30 am to 2 pm, you can find produce from North Jersey farms, baked goods, and more, in municipal parking lot 10, behind the post office. Lots of entertainment and wellness events will be sprinkled throughout the year. The Farmers Market is open on Sundays through the end of November.

The 38th annual Morristown CraftMarket, concludes from 10 am to 5 pm, Morristown National Guard Armory. Please see Friday’s entry for details.

Discover George Gershwin: The Man and His Musicat 10 am at the Morristown Jewish Center, at 177 Speedwell Ave. This free two-hour show is presented by Rick Busciglio, a retired radio disk jockey and international cruise entertainer.

Take a “Walk Through Time” at the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum Historic District House Tour.  Stop by Macculloch Hall between 11 am and 5 pm to begin a walking tour of eight properties in Morristown’s charming historic district. All homes are within easy walking distance. Peek inside Macculloch Hall, and Judge Mahlon Pitney’s 1886 Queen Anne Style house, and “Valetop,” the summer home built by the Maccullochs’ grandson. Tickets are available in advance for $40 online, or $45 at the museum on Sunday. The museum is at 45 Macculloch Ave. Please call 973-538-2404 for more information.

Experience the elegance of a bygone era, on a tour of Morristown's historic homes. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Experience the elegance of a bygone era, on a tour of Morristown’s historic homes. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Dress up your kid and your canine for the Halloween Parade at the Morristown Deli.  From 11:30 am until 2 pm events include costume contests, dog grooming and sketching, lectures and best of all, dog adoptions. This festival is free; donations benefit the Home for Good Dog Rescue. At 7 Elm St.

Participants turned out in record numbers for the 2013 Hunger Walk in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Participants turned out in record numbers for the 2013 Hunger Walk in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center’s annual Hunger Walk kicks off at 1 pm at Morristown’s Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 36 South St.  All proceeds raised by the event benefit programs at the soup kitchen.   Register here as a participant or volunteer, or call 973-267-0709.

 

Opera at Florham presents Harvest of Arias, two hours of opera arias and Broadway tunes, performed by soprano Risa Renae Harman, baritone Adelomo Guidarelli and tenor Joe Dennis, and conducted by David Wroe,  at 3 pm in Lenfell Hall at Fairleigh Dickinson University, 285 Madison Ave. in Madison. Tickets are $35; $30 for seniors and $10 for students under 22. Refreshments will be served afterwards. Call 973-443-8620.

Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby has been making people laugh almost since the invention of laughter. Find out why at 3 pm or 7 pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. Tickets: $59-$109. At 100 South St., Morristown. Call 973-539-8008.

 

1 COMMENT

  1. Our Adult Learn to Ride Class has been moved to next Saturday, so there is still time to sign up and make this dream come true if that’s what your dream is!

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