Compiled by Kevin Coughlin
Greater Morristown has become Festival Central, and this weekend boasts a big one: The Second Annual Morristown Festival of Books.
If you love books, there is no other place to be! Scroll down for details.
And if music is your passion, plenty of adventures beckon: Stuart Fuchs, Melissa Etheridge, Queen of Hearts and the Kinnara Ensemble.
Arts? The Atrium and 70 South galleries both have openings.
Just keep a rain slicker handy, and you should be fine. And check our handy calendar for even more activities.
THURSDAY, OCT. 1, 2015:
Best-selling children’s author Trudy Ludwig is offering a free workshop on “relational aggression” — emotional bullying– at the Peck School, from 8:15 – 9:45 am. All local parents are welcome. RSVP to school psychologist Dr. Zan Struebing, 973-539-6894. The Peck School is at 247 South St.
Two Morristown restaurants are donating one-third of their proceeds today to Morristown-based New Jersey AIDS Services: Hibiscus American & Caribbean at 270 South St. and Veronica’s Restaurant at 36 Speedwell Ave.
Celebrate 50 years of Dune, the novel that inspired a sci-fi empire, with discussion and theme-related food and beverages, at 7 pm in the Morristown & Township Library. Guests are encouraged to dress in cosplay–but no sandworms, please! At One Miller Road, Morristown.
Melissa Etheridge, the Oscar- and Grammy winning singer-songwriter, performs songs from her album This is M.E., and such hits as Come to My Window, I’m The Only One and I Want To Come Over, in a solo show at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center at 8 pm. Tickets: $59-$109. At 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
FRIDAY, OCT. 2:
Drew University installs its 13th president, MaryAnn Baenninger, at 11 am. The ceremony has been moved indoors, to the Simon Forum and Athletic Center. The school is at 36 Madison Ave., Madison. Related events include a concert this evening, performances Saturday at Madison’s Bottle Hill Day, and fireworks on Saturday. Scroll down for details.
The 70 South Gallery in Morristown opens a new show at 6 pm, featuring artists from the American Society of Media Photographers, students from the Yard School of Art at Montclair Art Museum, and their “silver gelatin portraits, flowers, abstracts, landscapes, and a youthful look at today’s farmers market.” Photographers include ASMP Vice President Ellen Denuto, 94-year-old Walter Chandoha, Danielle Austen, and Bruce Frazier, from the Presbyterian Church in Morristown.
Meet the artists exhibiting at Morristown’s Atrium Gallery, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the reception for their Fall/Winter show. Four floors of art include figurative oils by Fran Wood, contemporary oils by Elaine Kurie, mixed-media works by Mitchell Rosenzweig, and much more. Presented by Morris Arts, the show runs until Jan. 7, 2016, at the Morris County Administration and Records Building on 10 Court St. Gallery admission is free on weekdays during business hours.
The Pulitzer Prize winning husband-and-wife team of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, authors of A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunities, will deliver the keynote talk at the second annual Morristown Festival of Books, at 7:30 pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $35 adult / $12 student. All adult tickets will include a signed copy of their latest book.
Fans of choral music are in for a treat as the Kinnara Ensemble performs one of three fall Serenade concerts at The Presbyterian Church in Morristown, at 8pm. A wine and cheese reception will follow. This is the first show in the fall series of Music on the Green. Tickets are $20. At 57 E. Park Place.
He’s one of the giants of ukulele. That sounds oxymoronic–until you see Stuart Fuchs perform. This man does things with a uke that would make Tiny Tim blush, had he lived long enough. Led Zeppelin, Bach, Sambas–it’s all fair game, at 8 pm at The Minstrel in Morris Township. Opener Andy Koenig is the Folk Project’s Renaissance man, bridging the gap from medieval recorder to digital clarinet. Admission: $9, plus what the show really is worth to you. Children 12 and under, free. At 21 Normandy Heights Road.
Video: Stu Fuchs, Fluke of Nature
Queen of Hearts, a women quartet from Nashville, will perform bluegrass, pop, folk and blues at 8 pm in the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts at Drew University. Tickets are available at the door: $20 for adults; children and students, free. The school is at 36 Madison Ave., Madison.
SATURDAY, OCT. 3:
The Morris Plains Farmers Market is back for its 13th season, every Saturday through Oct. 10, 2015, from 9 am to 2 pm. It’s on the Merchant Block, at the Speedwell Avenue extension, just before the train trestle.
More than 25 authors will give free talks between 10 am and 5 pm, at the second annual Morristown Festival of Books. Venues are: St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, the Morristown & Township Library and the Starlight Room of the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Here is the schedule. Authors include Gail Sheehy, Pulitzer winners Edward J. Larson and Héctor Tobar, and Rosemary Wells, creator of the Max and Ruby children’s series. Follow our coverage here!
The 8th annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk comes to Morristown for the day, led by South Plainfield photographer Ken Cavanaugh. The idea is to shoot together, and socialize afterward. It’s free, but registration is required.
The Morris County Tourism Bureau kicks off its fall walking tours at 10 am, with a 90-minute guided walk through the 1718 Whippany Burying Yard. Cost: $15. Led by members of the Hanover Landmarks Commission, who will tell the stories about some of the county’s earliest inhabitants, Revolutionary War notables and Civil War soldiers. Free parking in the J&R Tobacco lot adjacent to the cemetery at 301 Route 10 East.
All things Madison will be celebrated from 10 am to 5 pm at Bottle Hill Day, in downtown Madison. Drew University students will perform on the main stage.
The Morris Museum in Morris Township will screen the final episode of the Latino Americans series at 1 pm, followed by a discussion led by Dr. Maria Picallo and Dr. Stuart Siegelman of the County College of Morris. Free with museum admission. At 6 Normandy Heights Road. Call (973) 971-3700 for more.
The Morristown High School football varsity (2-1) takes on Roxbury at home, at 2:30 pm. Go Colonials!
Drew University will continue its inaugural festivities for President MaryAnn Baenninger with student performances on the Mead Hall lawn in the Ehinger Center at 4 pm. A dance piece by artist-in-residence Kyle deCamp is scheduled for 7:30 pm in the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts. UPDATE: A fireworks show has been canceled because of the weather forecast.
Comedian Joel McHale, star of TV’s Community and as host of E!’s The Soup brings an evening of standup to Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center at 8 pm. With opener JF Harris. Tickets: $49-$89. Adult content, language. Adults only. At 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
SUNDAY, OCT. 4:
The Morristown Farmers Market celebrates its 25th season, from 8:30 am to 2 pm every Sunday through Nov. 22, 2015, in municipal lot 10. That’s behind the Morristown Post Office, accessible via Morris Street or Dumont Place. Organized by the Morristown Partnership, the market features 16 area farms and specialty vendors, with entertainment offered once per month.
Grace Episcopal Church in Madison holds its “St. Francis Blessing of the Animals” for pets or stuffed animals in the sanctuary at 9 a.m., with children’s music. A reception follows with treats for both humans and animals. At 4 Madison Ave.
The Morristown Episcopal Church of the Redeemer holds its Blessing of the Animals at 10:30 am. At 36 South St.
Support The Seeing Eye Inc. at its annual Doggy Dash, at the corner of Maple Avenue and DeHart Street in Morristown. Registration for the 1-mile walk starts at 11 a.m., the walk begins at noon and the pageant judging takes place at 1 p.m. Details about fees and events are here.
