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Arts & Entertainment

The Weekender: Happy New Year

Turtle Back Zoo's Holiday Lights end on Saturday

Below are just a few of the festive events in West Orange and nearby cities. Click on “EVENTS” tab to see all the possibilities waiting for you. Feel free to add your own in the comments section. 

WHAT:
WHERE:    30 S Park St, Montclair, NJ 07042
WHEN:     Friday   10pm – 1am
WHY GO:   Only showing at Park Sports! The championship fight between Six foot three,265lbs Lesnar & Six Foot Five , 256 lbs Overeem! Preliminary fights start at 10!
COST:   $10 Cover Charge

WHAT:  
WHERE:  Wellmont Theatre
WHEN:  Friday & Saturday  8pm
WHY GO:  Continuing a long and strange trip since humble beginnings over a decade ago, Dark Star Orchestra’s determined commitment to ‘raising the Dead’ has drawn nationwide attention. Offering a continually evolving artistic outlet within the Grateful Dead’s musical canon, members of Dark Star Orchestra seek out the unique style of each performance era and offer their own interpretations and improvisations at each show. Using entire set lists from the Grateful Dead’s decades of touring as a launching pad, Dark Star Orchestra recreates song for song performances straight from the set list of these historic shows.
COST:  $45.00 / $75.00-VIP Ticket

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WHAT:
WHERE:   Newark Museum Parking Lot
WHEN:  
Saturday    Noon to 6:15
WHY GO:    This tour will tour some of the most beautiful and most historic churches decorated in their Christmas splendor. Our first stop will be the First Baptist Peddie Memorial, designed by William Halsey Wood, built in 1890, Byzantine-Romanesque in style with mysterious half hidden faces embedded in the Celtic like cornices adding to the building's intrigue. The building's interior is a masterpiece of carved wood and stone. Down Broad St. to Grace Episcopal Church, built in 1848, designed by Richard Upjohn who designed Trinity Cathedral in New York City. After our tour of this beautiful building we will be treated to a organ recital.  Up to the northern part of the city and the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.  Started in 1900 and consecrated in 1954, it is the fifth largest church in North America. Italian marble art work and stained glass windows imported from Germany, the beauty of this building is enhanced by it's holiday decorations.   We will end our day at St. Lucy's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1928 for and by the Italian population of the old first ward, it is a tribute to the faith of it's congregation. In the 1950's urban renewal destroyed the neighborhood, but the people stayed faithful to the parish and, despite the deterioration of the neighborhood, the church was never forced to close it's doors. The highlight of our visit will be the nativity scene depicting an Italian village preparing for the birth of Christ. Our visit will end in the "Museum of the Old First Ward" enjoying a champagne reception to toast the new year. RSVP: 973 622 4910
COST:   $35.00

WHAT:   
WHERE:  
Turtle Back Zoo, West Orange
WHEN:     Friday & Saturday   ending 12/31  
WHY GO:  Experience Turtle Back Zoo in the winter as 100,000 bulbs and 40 lit displays illuminate the zoo this holiday season!
COST:   Free.   Turtle Back Zoo will be collecting non-perishable food, winter coats and unwrapped new toys for the needy each evening of holiday lights.

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WHAT: 
WHERE:  Thomas Edison National Historical Park, West Orange
WHEN:   Friday & Saturday – ending Dec 31.  10am – 4pm
WHAT:   Glenmont will be decorated much as it was while the Edison family lived there. Favorite musical pieces will be playing and greenery and red poinsettias will deck the mantles above the fireplaces. In the Den, the majestic 10 foot tree will be lit and the presents underneath.   
COST:   Admission is $7.00, and includes the Glenmont Estate and the Laboratory Complex. Children under age 16 are free.

WHAT:  NYE Gala in the Main Lounge!
WHERE:   Piano’s Bar & Grill, 36 Broad Street, Bloomfield
WHEN:      Saturday  9pm – 2am
WHY GO:   No Cover, No Minimum  DJ and Special Prices on Super Premium Drinks all night; 11PM-Midnight Champagne Cocktail Special; Noisemakers; Free Midnight Buffet; Midnight Karaoke Contest.

WHAT:  
WHERE:   Trumpets Jazz Club & Restaurant
WHEN:      Saturday 8pm to 1am
WHY GO:   Melvin Davis, recording artist, vocalist, keyboard player and organist extraordinaire, has understood the power of his hands to transport the sound of instruments from his imagination to a concert hall or nightclub full of eager twitching bodies for all of his life, dating back to childhood.
COST:  $30 pp music charge and dinner specials

WHAT 
WHERE:   30 S Park St, Montclair, NJ 07042
WHEN:      Saturday 8pm to 1am
WHY GO:   Come ring in the New Year at Park Sports!  D.J. Troy Looney will be spinning all the latest.  Martini & Rossi Champagne giveaways from 8-10!
COST:  $40 you will receive unlimited open bar from 9-12!

WHAT:
WHERE:   
Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street, Newark
WHEN:     Friday, Saturday     12:00pm–5:00pm
WHY GO:   Season of Light (Limited run)   Saturdays & Sundays, 2 pm - Recommended for adults and children ages 6 and up    40 minutes
Trace the development of many of the world's endearing holiday customs, all of which involve lighting up the winter season. This show recounts the historical religious and cultural rituals practiced during the time of winter solstice—not only Christian and Jewish, but also Celtic, Nordic, Roman, Irish, Mexican and Hopi.
Seven Wonders    Fridays, 2 pm  Saturdays & Sundays, 2 & 4 pm - Recommended for adults and children ages 9 and up    40 minutes
Turn back the pages of time and witness the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as they have not been seen for thousands of years. 
The Little Star that Could    Saturdays & Sundays, 1 & 3 pm - Recommended for adults and children ages 5 to 8   35 minutes
A little star is born all by himself.  Lonely for some friends, he embarks on a journey through the galaxy.  Along the way he meets different stars, learns about their lives, colors and temperatures.  At the end of his voyage he is introduced to a star cluster, the Milky Way and the planets in our Solar System.
COST:   Adults $15; children under 12, seniors, and college students $9 - includes Museum & Planetarium admission

WHAT:
 
WHERE:  
Pleasantdale Presbyterian Church of West Orange
WHEN:  
Sunday  7:30pm
WHY GO:  
Jazz Vespers is an evening worship service focusing on music and the Spirit.  This alternative format service blends the age-old tradition of evening prayer with the unique musical language of jazz.  It will feature jazz music performed by local musicians as well as special readings, poetry, prayers and communion.  The service honors the diversity of the West Orange community and the contribution of the creative arts to the life of the community.  It celebrates inclusivity and creativity and is open to all.

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