Greater Morristown weekend preview: Lady pirates, Harlem Wizards, the Coz and so much more

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival
The Wild and Scenic Film Festival
0

By Barbara Snyder

Lady pirates, Harlem Wizards, big bands, wild films, charity relays, the Coz–Greater Morristown will be a blur of activities this weekend. Here is a sampling; see our great calendar for more ideas.

THURSDAY, June 2

Blue Star Museum Season started this past Tuesday at Madison’s Museum of Early Trades & Crafts and runs through Sunday, September 4, 2011. It’s a “thank you!” to members of the Armed Forces and their families, in the form of free admission to the museum to those with a Geneva Convention Common Access Card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID Card, or a DD Form 1173-1 ID Card.  (This will include active duty military, and their immediate family members, in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Reserve.)  For more information call 973-377-2982 x14.  The Museum is at 9 Main Street in downtown Madison.

The Morris Museum presents an Open Art Workshop: Design an Album Cover from 3:30 – 6:30 pm. Join museum educators to create your own work of art and have some fun. You can drop in anytime during the session to participate. Cost: $2/child for members; $3/child for non-members — and museum admission is included in the price of the workshop. Where: 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township. Call 973-971-3718 for more information.

FRIDAY, June 3

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival
The Wild and Scenic Film Festival

The Third Annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival happens today and Saturday at the Schiff Nature Preserve in Mendham from 5:30 – 9:30 pm each day. Join Schiff and Base Camp Adventure Outfitters for environmental and adventure films that illustrate the Earth’s beauty, the challenges facing our planet, and the work communities are doing to protect the environment. Hike or take a hay wagon to the “theater” at Woodbadge Lodge and enjoy light refreshments and raffle prizes. A campfire and s’mores for kids ages 8 and up, too! Woodbadge Lodge is at 339 Pleasant Valley Road in Mendham. Admission is $20– and a discounted $17 each for four or more tickets. Call 973-543-6004 or see www.schiffnaturepreserve.org for more information.

The American Cancer Society’s 2011 Relay for Life for Greater Morristown starts with registration at 4:30 pm at Mennen Arena in Morris Township, and continues until 8 am on Saturday. Opening ceremonies and a cancer survivors victory lap begin at 6 pm, and relay laps go on through the night. Questions?  Contact event manager Eric Range at 973 285-8028 or eric.range@cancer.org.

See Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg and the Hubcaps with Quiet Storm in concert  at the Morris Museum, in a special benefit for the Daytop School, a not-for-profit adolescent substance abuse treatment and eduction program. Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg has toured with Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny, Diana Ross and for years has been a fixture on TV with Conan O’Brien. Opening the show is Philadelphia’s “Quiet Storm” a capella group. Light refreshments will be served. The program runs from 7:30 – 10:30 pm at 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township. Tickets are $45 per person; call 973-971-3718 for more information.

The Minstrel in Morris Township departs from its folk roots for an evening of big band classics from the 18-piece Reeds, Rhythm, and All That Brass. Launched in 1973 and comprised of professional and semi-professional players, they perform original arrangements favorites from Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. The band includes Folk Project members Jeff Rantzer and Hen3ry Nerenb3rg on trombone and Jay Wilensky on vocals. Opening for the band is the Folk Project’s bluesy Betsy Rose, a.k.a. Elizabeth Lachowicz. “Her clear voice and saucy style are rooted in the sights and sounds of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods and rowdiest music bars. Betsy’s brand of the blues is filled with life lessons, raw emotions, heartfelt sorrows and playful innuendos.” She is backed by The Chicago Fire, which includes top musicians from the Project. The show starts at 8 pm at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township. Admission is $7 plus an exit donation of whatever you think the show was really worth.

SATURDAY, June 4

Berit Ollestad leads a relief effort at Morristown town hall from 9 am to 4 pm to help Alabama tornado victims. Please bring non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, tarps, gently used clothing, soap, laundry detergent, pet food, etc., to help us fill a truck for the Alabamans affected by the devastating tornadoes last month.   Here’s a flyer with more details — or see the image below.  Morristown Town Hall Parking Lot, 200 South St. Call 305-632-1440 for information.

The Frelinghuysen Arboretum sponsors a Fern Propagating Lecture and Workshop from 9 am – 4 pm. Tom Goforth, owner of Crow Dog Native Ferns and Gardens in South Carolina, is an authority on native ferns, and researches fern ecology and plant community/geology correlations throughout the United States. The morning lecture will be a presentation on fern history, taxonomy, morphology, ecology and landscaping ideas followed by a walk to the Marvin A. Eger Fern Garden. The afternoon lab will focus on fern taxonomy and morphology, including close-up examination of fronds from a large number of fern species as well as a spore propagation demonstration. Cost: $25 for the morning lecture only; $50 for the lecture and workshop. Call 973-326-7603 to find out more.

Get to know some of the Secrets & Lore of Historic Morristown from 10 – 11:30 am. The tour begins at 6 Court Street in Morristown, where Docent David Breslauer will elaborate on the grand homes, the wealthy builders, and some annoying neighbors that are part of the story of the development of Morristown’s historic residential district. As two farms combined to become one of the nation’s most prestigious summer enclaves during the Gilded Age, the new ‘summer cottages’ and their inhabitants changed the character of Morristown’s landscape and its social scene. Walk by beautifully restored and maintained Victorian homes with Breslauer, former director of Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, and hear the stories of wayward chickens and pigs, brick walls against car traffic, week-long parties, tycoons and backyard views. The tour ends in Morristown’s ‘secret garden.’ Group size is limited to 25; cost is $10. Call 973-631-5151 to find out more, and see the Morris Tourism website.

The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms presents Block Printing Workshops with Laura Wilder today and tomorrow from 10 am – 4 pm. Laura Wilder is Artist-in-Residence this week, and in each of these workshops, students will carve two linoleum blocks and practice printing with a wooden spoon, to create a set of two-color note cards. Cost is $200 for members and $220 for nonmembers; tuition includes a block printing kit ($75 value) for future use. At 2352 Rt. 10-West, #5, Morris Plains. Call 973-540-0311 to find out more.

Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby is doing two shows at the Mayo in Morristown on Saturday

Historic Speedwell offers Dig It! Archeology for Kids from 1 – 3 pm. What kid hasn’t hoped to find an arrowhead or a musket ball dropped by a soldier during the American Revolution, or even dreamed of becoming an archaeologist and traveling the world to discover buried treasures? Historic Speedwell offers the junior archaeologist the chance to learn the basic skills and unearth some treasures of their own at Speedwell! This workshop is for ages 7 -11, and pre-registration (call 973-285-6550) is required. Museum admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for children.

Hey, hey, hey! The inimitable Bill Cosby appears in two shows at The Mayo Center for the Performing Arts: 4 pm and 8 pm. What more is there to say? The man’s a living legend. Tickets are $52-$107; call the box office at 973-539-8008.

It’s Mary Wesley & Contrazz at Swingin’ Tern, 7:30 – 11 pm. The Folk Project presents contra dancing at the First Presbyterian Church in East Hanover. Vermont caller Mary Wesley will lead, along with Contrazz, featuring Sam Zygmuntowicz on fiddle and mandolin, Marnen Laibow-Koser on fiddle and piano, Bob Jones on bass, and Joe DePaolo on percussion; $10 per adult and $5 per student. At 14 Hanover Road, East Hanover; call 973-551-4441 for more information.

Harmonium Choral Society presents Dreams and Visions at 7:30 pm at Grace Episcopal Church in Madison.   The concert features Whitacre’s Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine and works by Blow, Dawson, Dillworth and more, plus the 14th anniversary of the choir’s high school composition contest.  At 4 Madison Ave. in Madison.  Tickets:  $15 – $25; call 973-538-6969 to find out more.

The 25th Annual Central America Benefit Concert kicks off at 8 pm at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship.   Folk singers Liza & A.J. Bodner, Jean Rohe and The Rohe Family Singers, Mike Agranoff, and David Kleiner & Liz Paga are the headliners.   All proceeds go to agencies providing direct aid to impoverished people in Central America for “self-sufficiency” enterprises.  Cabaret seating, refreshments, BYOB.   Tickets $25 at door; $20 with advanced reservations (call 973-540-1177 ex. 203).  Doors open at 7:15; at 21 Normandy Road in Morris Township.

The Burns Sisters
The Burns Sisters

This is the End-of-Season Concert at Chatham’s Sanctuary.  It’s an ice-cream social and $1 CD Sale, and features The Burns Sisters.   The social begins at 8 pm and the concert at 9.  The Burns Sisters are known for unique harmonies and quirky songwriting, with strong Americana, Celtic and gospel influences; the group was signed to Columbia Records after singing on the soundtrack of the film Atlantic City.  (You can listen to samples of their songs at their “Music” page.)   For the past year, they have been touring with Arlo Guthrie.  Catch them on a night off at The Sanctuary. Tickets are $10 (free for Pick Six members).

Universal Rebel plays Morristown’s Dublin Pub around 9 pm, and it’s lead singer Adeo’s birthday. Special guests are promised for what should be a rollicking good time.

SUNDAY, June 5

Check out the intriguing-sounding Pirate Women of America starting at 2 pm at Madison’s Museum of Early Trades & Crafts.  Presenter Kati Brower  re-enacts stories about women pirates: Independence, civility and revenge.   Arrrrrgh!   Space is limited, and pre-registration is strongly recommended; call 973-377-2982 x14.  Regular museum admission. At 9 Main Street, Madison.

The Harlem Wizards bring their basketball prowess to Morristown High School (courtesy of Bethel AME Church)  from 6:45 – 9:30 pm for a fundraiser for the Church’s Youth Group mission trip to the Dominican Republic.  The High School is at 50 Early Street in Morristown.  Cost is $10 in advance and $12 at the door; you can buy tickets online at the Wizard website.  Call 973-644-0248  for more information.

LEAVE A REPLY