Morristown grid stars flex their muscles for tourism
Sunday was an historic occasion for the Morristown Colonials, who met General Washington–where else?–in a tent.
Members of the Morristown High School championship football team helped set up the “Destination Morris County” tent for the Tourism Bureau at the Morristown Festival on the Green. One of the featured guests was none other than George Washington, as portrayed by David Emerson of History on the Hoof.
We don’t know what advice the General may have given the players, but we imagine it was something along the lines of: “Fight on, boys!”
Which is what the 2-2 Colonials will do on Thursday, Oct. 6, at home against Morris Knolls.
VIDEO OF SATURDAY’S MORRISTOWN-RANDOLPH GAME
Matt Drake, Nick Falcone, Rich Avila and Kyle Sittman helping set up Destination Morris County stage at the Morristown Festival on the Green. Photo by Carol Barkin
David Emerson as General George Washington with Chris MacDonald, Kyle Sittman, Matt Drake, Nick Falcone and Rich Avila of the Morristown High School football team. Photo by Carol Barkin
Scenes from the Morristown Festival on the Green by Bill Lescohier
There was plenty to do at Sunday’s Morristown Festival on the Green, and photographer Bill Lescohier snapped lots of people doing it.
Our thanks to Bill for finding so much color on a cloudy day.
READ MORE ABOUT THE MORRISTOWN FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN
Photos by Bill Lescohier. Please click icon below for captions.
South Street is jumping at the Morristown Festival on the Green.Photo by Bill Lescohier
Happy faces from the Morristown Festival on the Green
The Morris County Tourism Bureau has plenty of great attractions to crow about, and people came in droves to see for themselves at Sunday’s Morristown Festival on the Green.
The Tourism tent at Schuyler Place housed 18 historical and artistic organizations, and a performance stage. If the smiles in these photos are any indication, everyone liked what they saw.
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Please click icon below for captions.
Fire Captain Jon Prachthauser and his wife Brigid have their own fire department: Grace, Johnny, Danny, Mary, Emily and Molly. They were exploring the Morristown Festival on the Green. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
A howling good time at the 17th annual Morristown Festival on the Green
By Robyn Quinn
We all enjoyed a beautiful autumn day on Sunday, after being cooped up all week while it rained cats and dogs. It looked like a lot of the dogs landed on the streets of Morristown. The streets around the Morristown Green were filled with friends, couples, families and a lot of dogs.
The dogs seemed to enjoy the day as much as their two-legged friends did. Everyone came out to enjoy the food, entertainment, vendors and other organizations at the 17th annual Morristown Festival on the Green.
Hosted by the Morristown Partnership, the festival was held along the streets surrounding the Morristown Green. For five hours, it was a great opportunity to sample food from the 25 eateries that had set up tents all along the route. There was sushi, steak, shish kabobs, soup, strawberries and even food that didn’t begin with “S”….
Photos by Robyn Quinn. Please click icon below for captions.
As far as entertainment goes, there was something for everyone at four venues. On the main stage the Heart of Gold band played classic rock music.
At the family stage there was a traveling zoo, a Chinese dance and music school, a fire juggler, a jump rope team and a band/comedy show.
The adults enjoyed a wide range of music at the UCNB Square. The assortment ranged from traditional Celtic to jazz. There was a swing band, a Brazilian Jazz group and a rock and roll band.
At the “Kid’s Place” on Speedwell Avenue the kids got the chance to kick off their shoes and enjoy the rock climbing wall, a giant slide, and a bounce house.
If all that wasn’t enough, there also was Destination Morris County.
On Schuyler Place off Washington Street you could visit 18 different historical organizations under one tent. Here the Morris County Tourism Bureau provided performances from local Morris county performers. There was a barbershop quartet, a hip hop workshop, a drum and bugle corps as well as crafts and storytelling. There also were special guest appearances by General George Washington and Molly Pitcher.
The streets around the square also were filled with local businesses and organizations eager to showcase their offerings.
At the Morristown Partnership tent I spoke to Jennifer Wehring, marketing director for the Morristown Partnership. Jennifer said the purpose of the festival was to “recognize Morristown as a dining, shopping, entertainment and living community.”
I think their mission was a great success. If you missed the festival this year, then mark your calendar for next year! It was a dog gone good time!!
READ MORE ABOUT THE MORRISTOWN FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN
The Morristown Festival on the Green, 2011. Photo by Robyn Quinn
Colonial Crooners at the Morristown Festival on the Green: Live blog replay
Below is a replay of our live blog from Sunday’s Morristown Festival on the Green, with photos and video clips of:
- Beat boxer Aaron Velasquez
- Hip hopper J Rock
- The Fusion Corps Drum & Bugle Corps
- Harmonium
- The Morris Men Barbershop Quartet
- Morris County Tourism Director Leslie Bensley and…
- … a duet by George Washington & Molly Pitcher (who bear passing resemblances to David Emerson and Stacy Roth of History on the Hoof).
Our thanks to everyone at the Morris County Tourism Bureau for their hospitality in the “Destination Morris County at Schuyler Place” tent. And thanks to everybody who came by our table to say hello. We had a great time!
Molly Pitcher and George Washington sing a duet at the Morris County Tourism Bureau tent at the Morristown Festival on the Green. They bear a passing resemblance to Stacy Roth and David Emerson of 'History on the Hoof.' Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Live (more or less) from the Morristown Festival on the Green
The 17th annual Morristown Festival on the Green runs from noon until 5 pm today, Oct. 2. Please stop by and say hello; MorristownGreen.com is at the Tourism Bureau tent as part of Destination Morris County at Schuyler Place.
We plan to be live-blogging all afternoon, Wi-Fi permitting. Just click the link below to follow the play-by-play: for the replay, including photos, video clips and a sparkling duet by George Washington and Molly Pitcher:
Got a question for General Washington? Ask him at the Morristown Festival on the Green
So you already own the famous Honus Wagner baseball card, the one investment safer than gold?
Well, here’s a collectible that tops that: George Washington’s autograph.
And you can get it on Sunday, at the Morristown Festival on the Green.
Come over to the Morris County Tourism Bureau’s tent on Schuyler Place. If you ask politely, we’re told the General may give you his John Hancock.* While you’re at it, ask Molly Pitcher, too. (Then you will have a Pitcher to go with your shortstop, Wagner.)
We’re not making this up.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, he looks Washingtonian. Meet him on Oct. 2 at the Morristown Festival on the Green.
The Father of Our Country and the Patriotic Lady for Whom They Named a Turnpike Rest Stop will be among the special guests at “Destination Morris County at Schuyler Place.” It’s also one-stop shopping for 18 area historic sites, museums and arts organizations. We will be there, too, happily chronicling the festivities for those in the outer provinces.
“We are excited about this because it’s the first time we have collaborated at a venue of this size, and it’s a terrific opportunity to tell a large audience about what Morris County has to offer and also that the Tourism Bureau exists to assist them,” said Carol Barkin of the Tourism Bureau.
You can get a jump on your holiday shopping with $5 ornaments inspired by famed Morristown illustrator Thomas Nast. If Halloween’s your preferred holiday, Carol can sign you up for an October graveyard tour. Glassworks Studio will host a community art project at the tent. Visit all 18 exhibitors on Sunday, and you could win a gift basket loaded with goodies. (Just grab a Tourism “passport” and have each exhibitor stamp it.)
There will be entertainment as well–and not just me singing the MG theme song. The Arts Council of the Morris Area has lined up these fun acts:
- NOON: Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods by the Brightest Star Summer Musical Theatre
- 12:30: A hip hop workshop with Gus Gauntlett, Joey Gatto (winner of the 2011 MorristownGreen.com Film Festival) and ARTS! By the People
- 1:30: Fusion Corps Drum and Bugle Corps
- 2:30: Harmonium Choral Society
- 3:30: The Morris Music Men Barbershop Quartet
Joey Gatto, winner of the Fourth Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival, will give a hip hop demo Oct. 2 for the Tourism Bureau, at the Morristown Festival on the Green. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
And of course, there will be plenty of other amusements at the Festival on the Green, which is celebrating its 17th year.
More than 140 exhibitors and 25 restaurants will be arrayed around the historic Morristown Green, said France Delle Donne of the Morristown Partnership, organizer of the festival.
Visitors can experience everything from a Neil Young tribute band to Lawrence of Suburbia. And jump-roping and fire-juggling. For rock fans of a different sort, there will be a climbing wall.
“The level of interest is remarkably high,” France said. “Businesses are being more creative.”
Out-of-town guests should beware:
“They’ll want to move to Morris County when they see what an incredibly connected and caring community we are,” France predicted.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR SUNDAY’S FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN
Our Tourism tent-mates will include the Morristown National Historical Park; The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms; historic sites managed by the Morris County Park Commission; the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; the Morris Museum, and the Community Children’s Museum.
Each exhibitor has some clever fun up his or her sleeve. Kids are welcome, and you can even get your pets blessed, outside the Presbyterian Church on the Green, between 1 pm and 3 pm.
For more info about the Tourism Bureau, stop by the Visitors Centerat 6 Court Street in Morristown or call 973-631-5151.
*We cannot vouch for the authenticity of these autographs. But the folks claiming to be George and Molly look very authentic, and in surprisingly good health more than two centuries after the Revolution.
Morristown Festival on the Green 2011
A visitor’s view of the Morristown Festival on the Green
These images of Sunday’s Morristown Festival on the Green come to us courtesy of David Pass, who is visiting from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Thanks, David!
Laura gives a spirited Flamenco dance for Wellness on the Green, at the Morristown Festival on the Green. Photo by David Pass.
Video: Sights and sounds of Morristown’s 2010 fall festival
Hats off to the Morristown Partnership for a splendid Sunday of food and fun at the 16th annual Morristown Festival on the Green.
Of course, music is always a highlight of the fall festival. In case you couldn’t make it this year, here is a video sampling of some of the entertainment.
Included are glimpses of an impromptu rap session on the stage of the Original Music School; a well choreographed flash mob (is that an oxymoron?) by the Fred Astaire Morristown Dance Studio; bagpiper David Palladino accompanied by a very tall dancer; and the kid band Boys Nyte, which floored our summer film festival and is hurtling toward stardom at warp speed.
MORE FROM SUNDAY’S FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN:
Some images from Morristown’s fall festival
More sunny scenes from Morristown’s weekend festival to brighten a moist Monday
Jevon Jorge and Domenico Randazzo of Boys Nyte at the Morristown Festival on the Green. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
