Compiled by Kevin Coughlin
Time to get outside this weekend–regardless of the weather!
You can give Morristown a spring cleaning. Plant some trees. Bike for ice cream. Build a rain barrel. Hula-hoop in a garden.
There are still some great reasons to duck inside, however. The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey will premiere a symphony by its conductor. A spiritual workshop promises to re-spark your romance. Author lectures on race in modern America and lessons from the Civil War should be provocative.
That’s only a small sampling of what you can see and do around Greater Morristown. Scroll down for ideas. For even more entertainment choices, check our handy calendar.
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2014:
“Safety on the Go” is the topic of this month’s breakfast meeting of the Morristown Women in Business, from 8 am to 10 am in the Hyatt Morristown. Pam Fischer, transportation safety consultant, is the featured speaker. Admission is $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers.
Want to spice up a relationship? The Center for Spiritual Living Morristown presents The 5 Steps of Intimacy, taught by the Rev. Frankie Timmers, spiritual director of the center. The three-hour workshop starts at 6:30 pm and costs $50. (It will be repeated on May 4 at 1 pm.) Created with the spiritual principles of the Science of Mind Teaching theory, the class aims to turn your relationship from blah to vibrant. At 331 Mount Kemble Ave. (Rt. 202 South) in Harding. Call 973-539-3114 for more.
The North Jersey Civil War Round Table will give its 2014 book award to William S. King for To Raise Up a Nation: John Brown, Frederick Douglass and the Making of a Free Country. The Round Table says this work, researched for decades, “will be oft-cited as one of definitive sources of the Civil War era.” The author will receive his $1,000 prize and participate in a panel discussion, at 7:14 pm in the Haggerty Educational Center at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, 353 E. Hanover Ave., in Morris Township. The meeting is free and is open to the public; students and teachers are especially welcome. RSVP is not necessary, but would be appreciated: NJCivilWarRT@aol.com
FRIDAY, APRIL 25:
Flier by Christian Schuller
Join Bike and Walk Morristown for its monthly Critical Mass Ride, starting from town hall at 6:30 pm. Then head over to the South Street Creamery for Bike.Walk.Sundae, where you can sample Bike Walk Town’s signature ice cream flavor. The party runs from 7 – 9 pm and features ice cream in all shapes, flavors and sizes, along with Bike Walk Town memberships, bells and other cool swag, and info on Learn to Bike and Traffic Skills classes. Can’t wait to find out which ice cream name was chosen. Was it Banana.Seat.Sundae? Tootsie Stroll? Wheelie Awesome?
Spuyten Duyvil [SPITE-en DIVE-el] “might be thought of as Big Band Folk Music,” says The Minstrel, which hosts this rollicking Americana roots band at 8 pm. Singer-songwriter Robinson Treacher “growls and croons and whispers and wails until you feel you are staring eyeball to eyeball into his very soul.” And all for $8 (children 12 and under, free.) At the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road.
How many tenors does it take to change a light bulb? We don’t know, but we hear that the Ten Tenors’ wring powerful and unique sounds from the rock and classical canons. Hear for yourself at 8 pm in Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center, at 100 South St. Tickets are $39-$69. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
SATURDAY, APRIL 26:
The snow is (mostly) gone, but the dirt and litter remain. The Morristown Clean Communities volunteer committee is asking folks to pitch in for the annual town-wide Spring Cleanup. Volunteers will gather behind town hall, 200 South St., at 9 a.m. to register and receive work assignments. A light breakfast will be offered, and the cleanup should finish by noon. Please dress for work detail; if possible, bring work gloves, rakes, shovels and brooms. Bags for garbage and recycling and will be provided. For more info call 973-644-4363, or e-mail k-margiotta@townofmorristown.org. The “heavy rain date” is Sunday, April 27.
The Burnham Park Association will hold its 26th Arbor Day Celebration from 9 am to noon at Burnham Park, on Washington Street in Morristown. Three trees will be planted–the association has made 3,500 plantings over the years–and you can build your own 55-gallon rain barrel. That workshop, taught by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension from 1:30 pm to 4 pm, costs $65 per barrel and includes supplies and tools. Rain barrels collect runoff from your roof, to water your garden. Please register before April 24 with Mary O’Keefe at (973) 428-6279 or email info@wrwac.org. This program is co-sponsored by the Whippany River Watershed Action Committee.
Theologian and professor James H. Cone contends that racism continues to be a sinful, destructive element in our society. The renowned scholar of black theology will lecture on his latest book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., as part of the Christine Mary and John Shelby Spong Lecture Series. A question-and-answer period will follow the lecture. Cost is $20 for adults, $10 for students with ID. Tickets are available at the church website or by calling 973-538-0555. The church is at the corner of Miller Road and South Street.
The Morristown Shade Tree Commission will plant its first tree, a sugar maple, at 10 am, at the J. Robert Tracey Veterans Memorial Park. Mayor Tim Dougherty will speak. It’s a coming-out party of sorts for commissioners, who were appointed last year.
Ever wanted to try weaving, blacksmithing, painting, or jewelry-making? The Artisans’ Fair at Historic Speedwell in Morristown is your chance, from 10 am to 4 pm to 333 Speedwell Ave. Take specialized tours of the Vail House, enjoy craft demonstrations, and purchase handmade items from local crafters. For more information, or to be register as an artisan, please call 973.285.6550.
Bring your hula hoop to the Early Street Community Garden, for Grow It Green Morristown’s season opening party from 2 pm to 4 pm. Besides competing in a hooping contest, you can learn flower collage art and take your turn singing or reciting poetry at the open mic. It’s also a potluck picnic–so bring your favorite dish!
The Simon Gallery in Morristown will hold an opening reception for Macyn Bolt from 5 pm to 7 pm. The artist’s exhibit runs from April 22 – May 24, 2014, at 48 Bank St. Call 973 538-5456 for more details.
Comedian Drew Carey of Whose Line is it Anyway and The Price is Right fame comes to the Mayo Performing Arts Center at 8 pm. Tickets are $39-$59. At 100 South St. in Morristown. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
SUNDAY, APRIL 27:
Sid the Science Kid comes to Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center for shows at 1:30 pm and 4 pm. Straight from PBS Kids! Sid and his friends “set off on a fun-filled day of excitement and adventure, asking curious questions and finding cool answers.” Ages 2-6. Tickets $15-30. At 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey premieres a new symphony, by its conductor, Robert W. Butts, at 3 pm at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morris Township. Symphony #1 was commissioned by Summit residents Anne and Jon Plaut, in memory of their son Joshua, who died in a storm-related accident two years ago. Maestro Butts said he drew inspiration from Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Sibelius and Shostakovich, and especially, Beethoven. The program also includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto #1, The Emperor Concerto, featuring award-winning pianist Paul Zeigler. Tickets are $40/30/5 for Adults/Seniors/Students. The venue is Dolan Hall, in the Annunciation Center of the college, 2 Convent Road. Call 973-366-8922 for more.
Lyrica hosts an album release concert at 3 pm at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham, 240 Southern Blvd. The new CD features the world premiere recording of Nancy Galbraith’s Four Nature Canticles, along with Randal Thompson’s The Place of the Blest. Galbraith will field questions after the concert. The Lyrica Chamber Orchestra is led by Adam Waite, and the Kent Place Chamber Singers are conducted by Edel Thomas. Tickets are $25 general / $20 senior / students and children FREE. Call 973-309-1668 for more.
