Greater Morristown weekend preview: Learn about WWII, have Breakfast at Tiffany’s, make something for Dad, listen to the bells

On the head and in the hand: hats
On the head and in the hand: hats
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Those are just some of the things you can do this weekend in Greater Morristown. And if you need more ideas, check out our great calendar.

THURSDAY, June 16

Join Morris Museum educators today for an Open Art Workshop from 3:30 – 6:30 pm:  create your own work of art – or make Dad a Father’s Day gift – and have some fun. Drop in anytime during the session to participate.  $2/child for members; $3/child for non-members – and museum admission is included in the price of the workshop.  6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown.  Call 973-971-3718 for information.

On the head and in the hand:  hats
On the Head and in the Hand: Hats

Family and Friends: Life Behind the Scenes at Home, 1810-1850” explores the home experience during the first decades of family life at Macculloch Hall. Join guest speaker author, educator and museum consultant Elisabeth Garrett Widmer today starting at 5 pm as she looks at the specifics of family life and the many challenges in caring for and regulating a household, including the pleasures and inconveniences of hospitality and entertaining.  Ms. Garrett Widmer will use primary source materials  – diaries, letters and reminiscences – as she helps attendees to better “listen” to the past.   45 Macculloch Avenue, Morristown. Admission: Adults $6; Seniors & Students $5; Members and children under 12 are free. Call 973-538-2404, ext 10 for information.

Also at the Morris Museum tonight:  A Curator’s Talk: On the Head and in the Hand: 200 Years of Hats and Purses from the Museum Collection.  Associate Curator Angela Sergonis discusses societal conventions and how they can inform and change fashions over time.  She’ll look at hat and handbag fashions from 1875 until today to see how the roles of women in American society have evolved over time and how those new roles dictated popular fashion.  Bonnets and cloches to trendsetters and technology:  hat and handbag fashion is ever-evolving and the past continues to inspire the present. 6:30 pm at the Museum (6 Normandy Heights, Morristown), and free.

FRIDAY, June 17

Looking for something fun and educational to do with your young child?   Today, it’s the kids’ version of the hats-and-purses exhibit at the Morris MuseumTot Tours: On the Head and in the Hand runs from 10 am – 1 pm.  This program is for young children ages 2-5 and their caregivers. Activities include a mini gallery tour and an art project.  Free with Museum admission.

Want to find a deal on wheels? At noon, The Morristown police are auctioning bicycles that they have recovered. It starts at noon in the parking lot behind town hall, at 200 South Street.

Josh Joffen and the YaYas perform at The Minstrel in Morris Township at 8 pm. Admission: $7, plus whatever you wish to add. At the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road.

Dicey Riley brings its warm brand of Irish music to Morristown’s Dublin Pub later this evening. You can’t go wrong with John, Kevin, Tommy, and Bill.

SATURDAY, June 18

Goya'S "The Forge"
Goya'S "The Forge"

Try your hand at Intermediate Blacksmithing today from 9 am – 5 pm at Historic Speedwell.   Learn intermediate blacksmithing techniques and work on projects that you can take home.  Cost is $15.00 per student; call 973-285-6550 to find out more.

The 2011 Grapplers Quest U.S. National Grappling & Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships (and that’s a mouthful!) comes to the William G. Mennen Sports Arena today, from 10 am – 8 pm.   We’re not sure exactly what this is (perhaps find out more here?), but we’re told that it involves all ages, all belt divisions, and all skill levels for both amateurs and professionals, and that Team U.S.A. 2011 will be crowned.    161 East Hanover Ave., Morristown; cost is $12 in advance (tickets on sale at the link) and $20 at door.

George Vail’s Willow Hall is open to the public for the first time in 163 years.  Across the street from Vail’s Speedwell Iron Works, this handsome puddingstone villa, based on a design by Andrew Jackson Downing, was placed National Registry of Historic Places this past January. Recently restored, it’s now home to the Passaic River Coalition.  Take a tour of the home, the outbuildings, and the gardens which sit beside Speedwell Lake; learn about the Vail family’s contributions to the Industrial Revolution and the telegraph; and find out more about the restoration of this important local historic treasure.  The tour runs from 10 – 11:30 am at 330 Speedwell Avenue, Morristown.  Cost is $10; group size is limited to 25.  Parking is available on-site; call 973-631-5151 or see the Morris Tourism website for more information.

If instead you’d rather tour Morristown, why not join up with Morris Tourism for “Morristown in Three Centuries” this morning from 10 – 11:30 am?   Over three hundred years of Morristown history will be covered – from its earliest beginnings at the Presbyterian Church of Morristown through the Industrial Revolution and to the flamboyant Gilded Age.  The Vail Mansion, Macculloch Hall, and the Thomas Nast House are among the scheduled sites. Mark Texel is the Director of the Morris County Park Commission’s Historic Sites Division in Morristown, New Jersey. Ted Edgar was formerly a U.S. National Park ranger at Morristown National Historical Park and at Thomas Edison’s Laboratory and home in West Orange. He is an expert on New Jersey’s Revolutionary War history and weapons, and has participated in battle re-enactments. Group size is limited to 25, and reservations are required!  Call 973-631-5151 to reserve a spot.  Cost is $10, and the tour begins at 6 Court St., Morristown.

Alien Invaders at Jockey Hollow?  Where did they come from?  Invaders have come from faraway lands and are taking over our forests.  Join a Park Ranger at the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center to see the invaders in action and find out what you can do to prevent a complete takeover.  Today from 11 am – 12:35 pm; free.  Call 973-539-2016, x210, or see the National Park Service website for more.  (We’re pretty sure this is about invasive species, but you never can tell….)

World War II Correspondents
World War II Correspondents

This is World War II Weekend at Acorn Hall.  All kinds of activities are planned, and for all ages, including conversations with World War II American and British military re-enactors; a Victory Garden; scarf-knitting for veterans; making quilt squares for wounded veterans; learning how to record your family’s stories and how you can contribute your “oral history” to the Library of Congress Veterans’ History Project; learning to swing dance (Saturday only);  seeing the latest exhibit, “Over Here and Over There: Morris County’s Role in World War II.”  Today from 11 am – 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am – 4 pm at 68 Morris Avenue, Morristown.  Cost is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for students, and free for children under 12, for members of the Morris County Historical Society, and for veterans and active military with ID.  Call 973-267-3465 to find out more.

Morris Plains VFW Post 3401 Auxiliary hosts its Annual Pig Roast/Barbeque Picnic today from 12:30 to 6 pm at their Post at 45 Tabor Road (Route 53) Morris Plains.  Roast pork, ribs, burgers and hot dogs, salads, beer and soda.  $25 in advance and $30 at the door; the fee includes food, live band, and horseshoe tournament.   The Auxiliary raises and donates money to veteran causes such as Lions Hospital.  For more information call 973-455-9455.

Washington Tales; Fact or Fiction? That’s the question that will be addressed today from  1 – 3:30 pm at Washington’s Headquarters Museum.  There are lots of stories about George Washington – some are based in fact, but many are legends.  Park Rangers will separate fact from fiction; talks at 1:15pm, 2:15pm & 3:15pm; cost is $4.00 per adult.  Call the Museum at 973-539-2016, x210, or go to the NPS website, to find out more.

Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

See the classic film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” starring Audrey Hepburn, at the Morris Museum’s Bickford Theater from 3 – 5 pm this afternoon, and learn about the Lauren Elizabeth Failla Foundation.  Light snacks and refreshments will be served before and after the movie. Learn more about foundation’s work and future initiatives, and join them as they celebrate the life of the woman who inspired it all.  Sponsored by The Morris Museum and The Bickford Theater, and The Blaire Reinhard Band.   Free, at 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown.

Tonight’s the final Saturday Night Worship at St. Peter’s till fall.  Join Peter Moffitt and his band for worship and lots of music.  All are welcome.   From 5 – 6 pm in the St. Peter’s Church Parish Hall at 70 Maple Avenue, Morristown.  Free.

It’s Bollywood 101! tonight starting at 7 pm at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship.   Feed your curiosity about the Indian Film Industry, Hindi Cinema, & South-Asian aesthetics.  $15 in advance and $20 at door; $5 Kids and Youth.  Fun and Indian food for all!  21 Normandy Heights Road in Morristown.

Too Long Coming - Bill Griese
Too Long Coming - Bill Griese

MG.com favorite Bill Griese appears tonight at the Dark Horse Lounge on DeHart Street in Morristown.  It’s Bill’s “Too Long Coming” CD release party, with live band, starting at 7:30 pm.

SUNDAY, June 19

The Farmers Market is back today from 8:30 am to 2 pm, in its familiar location:  the municipal parking lot behind the post office, between Morris Street and Dumont Place.   In its 21st season, the Market will run through mid-November again this year, and will offer something else that’s new:  Art Scene Sunday on every 4th Sunday of the month.  Morristown businesses with an artistic bent–galleries, arts and crafts stores, camera and frame shops, etc.–will be invited to sell their creations.

The Whippany Railway Museum offers Excursion Train Rides for Father’s Day today.  Ride in restored vintage cabooses from Historic NJ rail lines – or, for a bit more, take a trip in the 1927-era Club Car “Jersey Coast.”  The excursion is a 10-mile, 45-minute round trip; trains depart from the Whippany Station at 1, 2, 3 & 4 pm, rain or shine.  Get more information, or purchase tickets online at www.whippanyrailwaymuseum.net – or call 973-887-8177.  Adults: $13; Children under 12: $8.; Infants 1 year & under: Free.  1 Railroad Plaza, Route 10 West & Whippany Road, Whippany.

Tour the New Jersey Brigade from 10 am – 12 pm today.  This is one of the less familiar parts of Jockey Hollow Park.  Learn about the suffering of the New Jersey soldiers – then about the lavish lifestyles of the Mountain Colony during the early 20th century at the Cross Estate.  Free.  This is a strenuous 2 mile round trip hike. Meet at 10:00 am at the New Jersey Brigade Parking Area.  Call 973-539-2016, x210, for information; get a copy of a trail map here.

Old Fashioned Family Garden Day
Old Fashioned Family Garden Day

It’s an Old-Fashioned Family Garden Day from 1 – 5 pm today.  Spend Father’s Day afternoon in the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum’s gardens and learn about children’s chores and family life in 1810. Was life at home different than it is today, or fairly similar?  Help do laundry the old-fashioned way, see how wool is spun into yarn, play with period toys, race Dad in an energetic game of hoops and sticks or play a fast paced game of graces. Take a break from the games and learn about reducing, reusing and recycling then and now with the Morris County MUA. Everyone in the family can also enjoy the make and take crafts as well as exploring the gardens together on a scavenger hunt.  Children are encouraged to dress in their favorite historic costume and participate in a costume parade at 2:30pm.  45 Macculloch Ave., Morristown.  General admission applies; members free.  Children must be accompanied by an adult – and Dads are admitted free.  Reservations are requested; please call 973-538-2404, ext 10.

Enjoy a Ringers-on-the-Green Concert with The Presbyterian Church‘s High School Bell Choir from 4 – 5:30 pm.  The Ringers-on-the-Green, a group of talented high school musicians perform contemporary works by American composers on handbells as well as other instruments – violin, trumpet, piano and percussion. Over the 37-year history of the choir, the ROGS have toured annually in 38 states, Canada, Bermuda and Europe. This year’s Send-Off Concert is a prelude to a week-long tour in Chicago.  57 Park Place, Morristown; the concert is free.  Call 973-538-1776 to find out more.

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