Looking at art and having a beer sounds like a perfect way to start the weekend. Tonight is Free First Thursday Night at Montclair Art Museum and Egan and Sons will be there offering a full-service bar with special First Thursday Night prices and a signature cocktail. Live music by the Montclair State John J. Cali School of Music Jazz Studies Program, led by saxophonist Dan Braden and a special performance by Passing Notes, Montclair High School’s a cappella group will provide great entertainment. It’s all free and it all sounds perfect.

Free First Thursday Night
Thursday, December 6 from 5 pm – 9 pm
MAM, 3 South Mountain Avenue, Montclair, NJ, 07042
Free 

scarf from VoTLO

Looking for unique holiday gifts?  Want to avoid the malls?  Check out the Stickley Museum’s Annual Holiday Trunk Show this weekend.  Taking place all weekend, the Trunk Show features the work of two Montclair artists among its offerings.  Montclair watercolorist Sharon Pitts is showing a number of small original watercolors, including some actually painted on site at the Museum.  Montclair’s own Kathy Imlay, founder of VoTLO Couture, is showing some of her new creations which feature the paintings of well-known American artist and former Montclair resident Janet Taylor Pickett Janet Taylor Pickett. This year’s trunk show also includes original and unique embroidery kits, jewelry, ceramic tiles and more.

Stickley Museum’s Annual Holiday Trunk Show
Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm
The Stickley Museum, 2352 Route 10 West, Morris Plains, NJ

 

Start off your Hanukkah celebration with a party in Hoboken and again for all eight nights! Yo La Tengo plays its Eight Nights of Hanukkah show with a musical act, a comedic act and a set from the band. It all happens at Maxwell’s.

Yo La Tengo Eight Nights of Hanukkah
December 8 to 15, 2012 Doors open at 8 / show at 9 pm
Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ, 201.653.1703
$35

 

Our ticket giveaway is over, but you can still purchase tickets to Midtown Direct’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at SOPAC on Saturday.  Inspired by the classic American film, It’s a Wonderful Life, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. Five actors perform the dozens of characters in the radio play as well as produce the sound effects.

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
Saturday, December 8 at 2 pm and 8 pm
SOPAC, One SOPAC Way, South Orange, NJ
Tickets are $15 – $30 and can be purchased here.

 

On Sunday, historic homes throughout Essex County will open their doors in unison for the 4th annual Historic Holiday House Tours. Each will be dressed for the holiday season while offering entertainment, refreshments or educational programming. Fees and times vary by location.

2012 Participating Houses:Essex County Kip’s Castle, Verona

  • Essex County Walther House, Upper Montclair
  • Ballantine House, Newark
  • Canfield-Morgan House & Museum, Cedar Grove
  • Charles Schultz House – Evergreens, Montclair
  • Force Homestead & Museum, Livingston
  • Glenmont at Thomas Edison National Historical Park, West Orange
  •  Grover Cleveland Birthplace, Caldwell
  •  Israel & Nathaniel Crane Houses, Montclair
  • Kingsland Manor, Nutley
  • Nutley Museum, Nutley
  • Zenas Crane Homestead, West Caldwell

4th annual Essex Historic Holiday House Tours
Sunday, December 9 from 12 pm  – 4pm
Admission fee at some of the locations. For more information, call 973-239-2485 or visit essexcountynj.org and download a map and brochure with all the details.

 

To find out what else is going on this weekend, be sure to check our calendar.